Rankin, Neuberger win Donna Marathon

Weighed down by memories of years of near-misses in the marathon, Robert Rankin wasn‘t thinking 2020 would be his time.

“I was like, ‘Oh, great,’” he said. “Here we go again.”

Felled at mile 20 by calf spasms so severe that she was forced down to the pavement, Meaghan Murray-Neuberger wasn‘t even sure she would finish the course in her latest visit to Jacksonville.

“I was pretty convinced I was done,” she said.

For both, Sunday was a day of comebacks and celebrations, as Rankin broke through for the men‘s title and Murray-Neuberger extended her women’s marathon streak to four years at the Donna Marathon.

Rankin, from Kingsland, and Murray-Neuberger headed the pack of thousands of runners across the streets of the Beaches in Jacksonville‘s 13th annual race to finish breast cancer.

This race was the second along the modified route, which begins and ends at the Beaches Town Center, and once again it delivered 26.2 miles of pink-tinted spirit.

“I‘m always amazed that every year people turn out for this, and they do it bigger and better,” said race founder Donna Deegan. “I’m just grateful.”

For the 36-year-old Rankin, who was running his ninth Donna Marathon in honor of his mother, Lori, winning this race was particularly sweet.

“I just do it every year for her,” he said.

Sunday slammed the door on a frustrating run of almost-but-not-quite for Rankin, who had earned numerous high finishes at the race, including second place in 2019. After he spent the first 23 miles running behind leader Kal Kseib, Rankin thought that‘s where he would finish again.

But Rankin saw his chance at mile 24, as Kseib began to tire on the northward return leg into Neptune Beach.

“I was just like, OK, I‘m gonna go,” Rankin said.

He timed his move with precision. Rankin launched himself into first place and broke the tape at the Beaches Town Center in 2:59:02.

Tom Ivancik of St. Johns placed second at a minute and 23 seconds behind, with John Ryder, from Drayden, Md., in third.

In the women‘s race, Murray-Neuberger, 32, further cemented her status as a top star in Donna Marathon history.

The Baltimore resident hadn‘t planned to defend her titles from 2017, 2018 and 2019. She originally intended to enter the half marathon instead. But she said she switched to the full marathon Thursday night after the weather forecast called for pleasantly cooler temperatures.

For her, the question wasn‘t whether she would hold off the competition — she built a substantial lead in the early miles — but whether her legs would hold up to the end.

Three-fourths of the way through, they didn‘t.

Violent calf spasms forced her to slow down, then stop and sit on the road. Murray-Neuberger said she thought her race was over. Boosted by the race-day enthusiasm, she decided it wouldn‘t be.

“I think just seeing everyone out there, the community cheering me on the whole time, I couldn‘t [quit] at an event like this,” she said. “People are struggling here with much harder things than running a marathon.”

After grabbing some water, she rose to her feet and gutted through the remaining six miles in a first-place 3:07:04.

More than two and a half minutes behind was Betsy Magato of Marietta, Ga., with Sarah Jones, from Madison, Wis., in third.

The race began chilly — temperatures started in the upper 40s for the 7:26 a.m. start, with the occasional breeze off the Atlantic Ocean — but quickly rose into the 60s under cloudless skies.

Race executive director Amanda Napolitano said there were no major medical incidents, although one runner was assisted from the finish line after sustaining cuts in a post-race fall.

The event continued its mission of raising money — nearly $6 million through the run‘s history — for breast cancer research and support.

“It has a special meaning to me,” Rankin said. “The reason I even started running was my mother, when she was diagnosed 10 years ago. The cause behind it all is why I keep doing it, what‘s so special about this weekend.”