New Bedford hosts annual half-marathon

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — The city of New Bedford held their annual half-marathon Sunday morning.

Thousands of onlookers of all ages came to support the thousands of runners in this year’s race through the city.

Racers took off from Pleasant Street at 11:00 a.m. and ran the challenging course with two significant inclines.

The race concluded with a familiar face taking first place.

Matt McDonald of Cambridge Massachusetts crossed the finish line first, making him a back-to-back winner of the half-marathon.

“You know — running can be a great time to meditate but then you get different days like today,” McDonald said.

“Its a race day, its a chance to push yourself and test your mental toughness so I like that you can do everything running,” he continued.

Maegan Krifchin, winner of the women’s half-marathon said its her first time as a new Boston runner and she’s proud to take first.

“Enjoy your journey, its your process, small gains along the way will end up adding up in the long-run,” Krifchin said.

“Congratulations to all the runners out there, this was an amazing course, an amazing experience and I hope [the runners] had a lot of fun,” she concluded.

City officials thanked the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, city employees and the countless number of volunteers for all their help.