New Bedford hosts annual half-marathon

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — The City of New Bedford held its annual half-marathon on Sunday.

The race kicked off at 11 a.m. and started and finished on Pleasant Street.

Connecticut runner Grant O’Conner was the overall winner, while Anna Oeser of Brookline was the first female finisher.

“I’m happy with the time, it was my fastest [half-marathon] ever,” O’Conner said.

He added that he is currently training for the Boston Marathon.

“It was a great day and a really fun race,” Oeser said, adding this was her first time running in the half-marathon.

Mayor Jon Mitchell said the race is an “occasion to get people together” and thanked everyone who had a hand in organizing the event.

“It’s a right of Spring here in new Bedford,” he said.

Mitchell added that he was glad to see an increase in participation in the race after what he said was a few years of “declining attendance.”

“[With] 2,000 runners, its a lot of fun,” he said.

Race official Dan McCarthy said that the weather for the race turned out ideal despite rain in the morning.

“We’ve been watching the updated forecast like hawks and we saw the rain this morning and we just knew we needed a little luck of the Irish today,” McCarthy said.

Organizers added the race is “one of the oldest half-marathon distance events in the Northeast.”