Runners Go the Distance at the Cambridge Half Marathon and 5K

Nearly 11,000 runners, joined by supporters and volunteers, gathered at Cambridgeside to participate in the 7th annual Cambridge Half-Marathon and 5K.

The event began at 7 a.m. Sunday morning on First Street with the course taking runners along the Charles River, past Harvard and MIT.

For the second year in a row, Jacqueline Gaughan broke a course record for women running the half-marathon event. Her 1:12:29 time beat the previous record — which she set last year — by almost two minutes.

Gaughan, who lives less than one mile from the race’s starting line in Cambridgeside, described the half-marathon as “a hometown race.”

“Trying to get a little bit faster every year is always a goal,” she said. “I think this is always a good benchmark too, since it’s the same course, similar conditions, so it’s nice to feel like I’m heading in the right direction.”

The top finisher of the men’s half-marathon was Gilmar Lopes of Whitman, Mass., who came away with a time of 1:06:15. In the 5K, Michael Gutierrez of Boston and Anna Burt of Somerville dominated the respective men’s and women’s races.

Participants included both novice and experienced runners, who had varying levels of training coming into their races.

“I didn’t train very much,” said 5K runner Hannah Levine. “But I felt like I did pretty well for not training and being cold.”

Half-marathon runner Charles Brydges said he prepared for the race with a combination of Wednesday workouts and Sunday long runs. A back injury limited his training during the last two weeks, but he still finished near the top of the men’s division.

“I would do a workout on Wednesday, which was something like three by two mile repeats on the road, and then a long run on Sunday,” said Brydges. “I think I got up to 14 miles.”

While some participants ran for fitness or recreation, others raced to support a cause.

“I’m here running with Runners for Justice Palestine to get some visibility on running for solidarity for a free Palestine,” Nick Patel, a runner in the 5K, said.

Regardless of their training level, many runners said the spirit of surrounding runners and supporters propeled them through the course.

“You always hear about the runner’s community, but experiencing it for the first time is great,” 5K runner Junelle Matthias said. “Just seeing how other people are high-fiving each other and really keeping that momentum up during the race is really nice.”

Brydges credited the crowd, along with the runners, for motivating him.

“The crowd that comes to these is also a lot of runners, and they know the struggle, and they’ll yell out your bib number or something to keep you going,” Brydges said. “I wouldn’t have run near this time without them.”

“The running community — it’s the best group of people I’ve ever known,” he added.

Some runners said the race’s scenic course added to the experience.

“It’s a great escape from everything,” Troy Mullenberg, who ran in the half marathon, said. “Running along the bridges and in the city, that’s a lot of fun.”

“The race isn’t really just about the actual run on the day,” 5K runner Joyce Chiang said. “It’s the journey that you take to get to the start line.”