Vancouver Lake Half Marathon fast despite cold, wet weather

As cold and wet as it was Sunday morning, no wonder the Vancouver Lake Half Marathon didn’t take long for the race winner.

Jared Carson of Portland finished the annual Vancouver event in the fastest time since at least 2000.

The 31-year-old won the 13.1-mile race in 1 hour, 7 minutes, 42 seconds.

Only two other years — 2003 and 2000 — had a runner gone under 1:08 at the finish line of the Vancouver Lake Half Marathon according to the Clark County Running Club’s records of past results.

And no wonder. Carson is a former two-time All American in cross country and track at Shorter University in Rome, Ga.

The top five finishers were all from Portland and tightly grouped.

Patrick Reaves, 33, was second in 1:09:18, edging out Chris Yates, 29, who was listed with the same time. Chris Platano, 29, was next in 1:09:38, and fifth was Jordan Welling, 29, in 1:11:44.

Ahrlin Bauman, 45, was the top finisher from Vancouver, placing sixth in 1:13:10.

The top female finisher was Melissa Hand, 30, of Tigard, Ore. She completed the course in 1:26:28 and was 13th overall.

Christa Meyer, 36, of Portland, was the second female finisher in 1:27:43, which was 16th overall.

Kelly Cole, 39, of Vancouver, was third among the women in 1:30:24, placing 22nd overall.

There were 254 finishers in this year’s race. (Click here for complete results.)