NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) – Runners gathered from across the country to race in the 18th annual Fox Cities marathon on Sunday.

The runners began their journeys to the finish line at 7 a.m. The marathon began at the UW Oshkosh Fox Cities campus and ended at Riverside Park in Neenah.

The first-place runner for the men was Seth Massot, finishing after about 2 hours and 24 minutes.

Massot says, “The goal today was just to come out, have fun, and to learn a little bit more about how to race something like this. I’m really happy with how it went.”

Seth may not have gone in with the intention to win, but for women’s winner Anne Schreiber, first place was always on her mind saying, “My goal was to win. I was so happy. I was worried, the second-place female was right behind me, so I had to really push at the end.”

The Fox Cities race is one that the winners will cherish forever, not just because they were victorious, but because of the support they received.

Schreiber says, “It definitely helped me push and just feel loved.”

Massot also says the crowd’s chants gave him more motivation. He explained, “It’s fun to connect with the people that are opening their garage doors, getting out on the streets, just cheering, even if they have no idea who you are or maybe they don’t know anyone running at all. It’s really fun.”

One person cheering on the runners was Neenah native Kelly Landstrom. While she didn’t have anyone in particular she was rooting for, she feels it’s important to motivate the runners in any way she can.

Landstrom says, “I know what it takes to be able to do it, and to have someone at the finish line cheering for you is so important, even if it’s a stranger, we need to do that for each other.”

To see the final marathon results, click here.