Michael Rottenberk of Clarkston made his mother proud with his accomplishment in the Clarkston State Bank Back Roads Half Marathon, Nov. 9.
“I’m a proud mother of my 13-year-old who ran his first half marathon and came in first place for his age group,” said Kelli Rottenberk of Clarkston, who ran the 10K race with her boyfriend Jason Fuller to support her son.
Michael finished with a time of 1:57:52, a 9 minute mile pace, first in Male Age Group 1-13, and 148th overall.
The eighth grader, who earned a top finisher medal and runs cross country at Clarkston Junior High, said the course was fun, challenging, and exciting for his first half marathon.
“Everyone was so nice and cheering us on,” said Michael, who also liked the people handing them water and Gatorade during the whole race. “I loved running over the bridges and running through the paths in the woods.?
His goal for next year is to run the half marathon in under 1 hour and 30 minutes, and winning at least his next age group, 14-19 year olds.