Maddy Pfeifer, of Lake Placid, crosses the finish line of the Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Sunday. Pfeifer won the women’s half marathon. (News photo — Parker O'Brien)

LAKE PLACID — When it comes to racing in the Lake Placid Marathon and Half, David Bea seems to have a knack for winning.

The Cincinnati, Ohio resident won the Lake Placid Marathon in 2018, and he also won the event’s half marathons in 2019 and 2022. So when he crossed the finish line in first place in the men’s full marathon on Sunday, it wasn’t much of a shock.

“I figured I’d even the score and run the full again,” Bea said. “I was ready for the punishment.”

Bea, who wears a tan fedora that his friend dared him to wear in 2018 and has since been his lucky charm at the Lake Placid Marathon, won the full 26.2-mile marathon in a time of 2 hours, 40 minutes and 27 seconds.

Lee Sortore, of Rochester, claimed second place overall, while Michael Hoffman, of Clinton, Massachusetts, was third. Sortore finished in 2:40:38.0 and Hoffman finished in 2:46:05.0.

Runners take off at the start of the Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Sunday. (News photo — Parker O'Brien)

For Bea, it was his fourth time competing in the Lake Placid Marathon and Half and he still says the course is challenging.

“Just the doubling back and you never feel like you’re steady, you’re always going back and forth,” he said. “It’s like rollers up and down, but it’s very challenging, obviously. You’re right along the creeks and you smell all the pine and everything so it’s really beautiful and I love it.”

In the women’s marathon race, Kelsey Davidson was the first to cross the finish line in the women’s full marathon race — however, she didn’t win. Karina Bolton, of Albany, who crossed the finish line shortly after Davidson, won the race in a time of 3:22:28.00 — 0.02 seconds faster than Davidson.

After both runners finished, it was determined that Bolton actually started behind Davidson at the beginning of the race, meaning she finished the marathon slightly faster than Davidson. Meanwhile, Lexington Stoyell, of Moravia, finished in third place in a time of 3:28:17.0.

Despite coming up short, Davidson was just happy with her journey, or what she calls her “Baby to Boston journey.”

Marc Guberti, of Scarsdale, crosses the finish line of the Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Sunday. Guberti won the men's half marathon. (News photo — Parker O'Brien)

“I did better than I expected,” she said. “I just had a baby 10 months ago and I said within the year I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon, so that’s what I did.”

Davidson, of Stonington, Connecticut, said this was her first time competing in Lake Placid. She said she chose this specific event to complete her journey mostly because of the date.

“I wanted to compete in a year of having a baby — he was born last August — and in June was a good time to get some training in,” she said.

Davidson also came up here because of the area, having never run in Lake Placid or the surrounding area before.

“This was kind of a destination area and we made a long weekend out of it,” Davidson said. “(The course) was gorgeous and the conditions were great. I know there was a little concern with the smoke from the wildfire(s) in Canada, but everything just came together.

Cecilia Allen, of Tupper Lake, runs toward the finish line while pushing her three children in a stroller during the Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Sunday. (News photo — Parker O'Brien)

“The first half marathon out was really nice and started to rain, but it cooled us off,” she added. “It was perfect. I loved every second of it.”

While most people spent Saturday preparing for their race on Sunday, Maddy Pfeifer, of Lake Placid, spent her afternoon competing in the Black Fly Challenge — a mountain biking race — in Indian Lake.

Somehow it didn’t seem to slow her down in the 13.1-mile half marathon either, winning the event in a time of 1:27:10.0.

“It was tough,” Pfeifer said. “I definitely had some tired legs today, but the course felt good.”

Her time was good enough to edge out Sydney Johnson, of Albany, who finished in second at 1:31:43.0 and Syd Steger, of Buffalo, who claimed third at 1:32:58.0.

David Bea, of Cincinnati, Ohio, nears the finish line of the Lake Placid Marathon and Half on Sunday. Bea won the men’s marathon. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

“I mean it’s not a (personal record),” Pfeifer said, “but I had a lot of fun out there.”

Pfeifer, who moved to Lake Placid two years ago, said she’s competed in a bunch of races, including the Boston Marathon in April, but never in the Lake Placid Marathon and Half.

“I knew the course, but I don’t know if it’s good to know those hills at the finish,” she said. “But it was fun. I love running around Mirror Lake and then down and back to River Road is just a tough course.”

For Marc Guberti, it was just his first time in Lake Placid, but, it didn’t appear that way on Sunday when the Scarsdale native won the men’s side of the half marathon.

“I’ll definitely be back,” he said. “We’ve really enjoyed our stay and the course.”

Guberti said the course was great, but the rolling hills made it a bit challenging. He said he enjoyed the event because of the atmosphere. Guberti won the men’s half marathon in a time of 1:17:26.0.

“I was happy with my time and the effort,” he said.

Bryant Farley, of Syracuse, finished in second place in 1:23:10.0 and Spencer Daley, of Troy, was third in 1:24:45.0.

This year’s Lake Placid Marathon and Half held a 10K race for the first time ever. In the race’s debut, Joseph Sullivan was the first person to cross the finish line in a time of 35:35.0.

“I felt great,” Sullivan said. “I’ve been training for triathlons so this is like a nice last-minute speed session before the triathlon.”

Sullivan, of Schenectady, said he and his wife spend the summers in Keene Valley.

“When we hit the spring seasons we come up on the weekends,” he said. “We get to train on the weekends here so we’re pretty used to the roads and everything around here.”

With the race being brand new, he said he was curious to see what the turnout would be like for the 10K and how he should approach the race.

“Shooting out at the start, I didn’t know who was around me until you hit the turn at mile four and then you get to see who is coming up the turn, so I didn’t really know until that point,” Sullivan said.

Curtis Howard, of Lake Placid, finished in second place in 39:23.0, while Lincoln Barclay, of Ballston Spa, was third in 48:43.0.

Amanda Martin, of Plattsburgh, won the women’s 10K race in 47:15.0.

“I didn’t think I was going to (win),” Martin said. “I just came to have fun and enjoy the crowd and it turned out (pretty) good.”

Despite living a little under an hour away, Martin said this was her first time competing in Lake Placid.

“It was tough. The last hill was definitely a challenge. I felt like I wanted to puke,” she said. “But it was a good run overall. There were some good competitors out there.”

The women’s category was rounded out by Vicki Dingman, of Clifton Park, in second place at 48:31.0 and Bonnie Galvin, of Ballston Spa, in third at 49:35.0.

Lake Placid native Lisa Grigoriadis, who persuaded Lake Placid Marathon owner/operator Greg Borzilleri to add the 10K race, finished in 13th place in the women’s category and 18th overall. She finished in 59:40.0.

The event had 254 runners finish the full marathon, 612 people finish the half-marathon and 53 people finish the 10K race.