There were plenty of men in tutus, brides on bikes and bright socks—but there could only be one winner at the 2018 JetBlue Long Beach Marathon Sunday morning.

That honor went to Chris Mocko of Boulder, Colorado, who said he wasn’t sure he was even going to make it to the finish line. But, he said, having acclimated to higher altitude gave him an edge.

“I was either going to win this thing, or drop out,” Mocko said, 32, out of breath, shortly after crossing the finish line at Shoreline Drive and Linden Avenue.

His time? Two hours, 25 minutes, 43 seconds. That’s a pace of about 5:33 per mile.

The women’s winner was Mary Akor, 42, who finished with a time of 2:54:12.

First place marathon winner Mary Akor, with a time of 2:54:12, crosses the finish line along Shoreline Drive, during the 34th JetBlue Long Beach Marathon /Half Marathon Saturday, October 07, 2018. Photo by Stephen Carr.

The race featured more than 15,000 runners in the half marathon, full marathon and 20-mile bike race.

At least one couple tied the knot just before the half marathon. Exciting.

Congratulations to all the finishers. Many accomplishments today.

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See pictures here of Saturday’s kids fun run at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Melissa Evans is the Chief Executive Officer of the Long Beach Post and Long Beach Business Journal. Reach her at [email protected], @melissaevansLBP or 562-512-6354.