Homefield advantage leads Joseph Hale to second BMW Dallas Marathon win in three years
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Homefield advantage played a crucial role in Joseph Hale’s victory in the 52nd running of the BMW Dallas Marathon Sunday.
The 30-year-old resident of West Dallas made up half of his one-minute deficit on the loop at White Rock Lake and three miles from the finish line made a final move to capture the feature race for the second time in three years.
“I’ve run that loop around White Rock so many times, I know every single step,” said Hale, who grew up in Grapevine and attended Dallas Baptist.
Just a week ago, Hale ran a marathon in Sacramento, Calif., and was disappointed with his showing.
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That was all the push he needed.
“I was hungry for more today,” Hale said.
Women’s marathon champion Jill Wolf manages to train every day despite owning a pet supply business with five locations — none of them within 130 miles of Dallas.
All of the training, whittling 50 minutes off her time since 2017, paid off in a personal best time of 2:51.47.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Wolf has called Dallas home the last seven years and got married two months ago.
“I thought I might have a chance today,” Wolf said. “The weather was the best we’ve had for running. I trained hard for it.”
Half-marathon champion Mitch Ammons, who grew up in Dallas, enjoys running on the streets he used to drive.
“Going down Greenville is my favorite,” said the 34-year-old who has resided in Austin the last 10 years.
Ammons, who grew up in the Lakewood area and graduated from Bishop Lynch, was a little disappointed with his time of 1:07.54.
“I’m training for the Olympics and it was a lot slower than I wanted,” he said, “but I gave it all I had.”
For the second consecutive year, Mimi Smith took top honors in the women’s half-marathon with a 1:15.20 clocking.
“I feel better than I did after last year,” said Smith, a Chicago native and a Dallas resident the last 18 months. “I have a big race, a marathon, I’m training for in February.”
Smith, a Wake Forest alum, said her last three miles were challenging when she found herself running alone.
Related:Las Colinas resident to run Dallas Marathon in football uniform for Guinness World Record
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