A new course brought faster finishing times for two winners at the 6th Annual Lewis & Clark Marathon, held Sept. 16 in St. Charles.

Stephanie Hood of St. Louis took top female honors with a time of 3:00:08, besting the women's marathon record by more than 7 minutes. Margaret Nakintu, also of St. Louis, shattered the women's Half Marathon record with a finishing time of 1:15:20.

The top marathon time of 2:45:38 went to Tom Whalen (photo) of St. Louis, his second win. Mike Farrell of Belleville, IL placed 1st in the half-marathon at 1:10:38. It was Farrell's third Lewis & Clark win in 6 years.

The new course, which had half-marathoners running entirely on roads and marathoners spending the second half of the race on the Katy Trail, resulted in median times that were faster by 3 minutes in the half and 12 minutes in the marathon compared to 2006 times. The races started at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights and finished under the Lewis & Clark Statue in historic St. Charles' Frontier Park.

Lewis & Clark enjoyed a 30% increase in growth this year with just over 5,000 entrants, according to owner David Spetnagel. More than 400 volunteers helped put on the event.

The 7th Annual Lewis & Clark Marathon and Half Marathon is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 14, 2008.