Home › Race Coverage › Elste and Kusick Win Las Cruces, NM Marathon; Kaskalla and Rueda Win Las Cruces Half Marathon

Elste and Kusick Win Las Cruces, NM Marathon; Kaskalla and Rueda Win Las Cruces Half Marathon

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Article by Clay Shaw
Photography by Karen Mitchell

January 4, 2025, Las Cruces, NM—Lindsey Elste of Wheaton, IL won the really cool, artsy metal roadrunner award by winning the State 47 Las Cruces Marathon in 3:15:38.  Mitchell Kusick of Firestone, CO was the male roadrunner winner in 2:47:23.

Bailey Dantonio of Seattle, WA was second female in 3:26:01.  The remarkable Gwen Jacobson of Rochester, MN was third overall in 3:27:40. Gwen is 66, and likely set a NM state record for the 65-69 age group. Elste and Jacobson are master runners.

Andrew Castaldi of Perkasie, PA was second marathoner in 2:53:43. Castaldi is 50 and was top master. Ryan Gruhike of Gilbert, AZ was third in 2:56:20.  I learned afterwards from 50sub4 members, that a volunteer had turned some of the front runners around early.  They “made up” the shorter distance with extra laps on the track. 

There were 168 total finishers in the marathon.

In the half-marathon, Megan DiGregorio of Baltimore, MD had a substantial lead on the Llanora Trail, but with no volunteer or a women’s lead bike, she missed the turn and kept running east on the trail.  After running over a mile off course, she was corrected and returned to place third in 1:34:09.  As things turned out Tana Kaskalla of Albuquerque, NM was the women’s champion in 1:31:07.  Aniko Belim, also from Albuquerque, was second in 1:32:31.  Both the women from ABQ were masters. 

Armando Rueda of Las Cruces, NM ran alone the entire race to win easily in 1:16:27. Nikolaos Maggos of Las Cruces, NM was second in 1:22:07.  Joey Heinrichs of Wauwatosa, WI was third and top master in 1:26:47.

243 runners finished the half-marathon, including yours truly, earning second in the 70-74 age group.

As a participant, an ad in the 50 State Marathon Club newsletter got my attention.  My love of New Mexico was an excuse to get away with KM for a mini-5-day trip to somewhat better weather.  Growing pains do come with any new event, and this was only the third year for State 47.  Lead bikes for both men and women in the longer two races are a must, and volunteers are a must, too, at the few turns on these courses. I say this having my own experiences as a runner and a race director for the past 45 years.

The Field of Dreams is a great venue for the start/finish.  There was plenty of parking, bathrooms, food stands, seating for fatigued finishers and fans, etc.  It is rather close to the Llarona Trail system that was the course for much of both races, including the 4.7 mile event.

Plenty of runners flew or drove to Las Cruces to “get the state” in running the marathon or the half-marathon.  Las Cruces is the second largest city in New Mexico and even though elevated at nearly 4,000 feet, it is likely the lowest elevation of any NM marathon event. It is a fairly small event, nearly absent of any course spectators.  The view of the Organ Mountains and running along the Rio Grande (which is totally absent of water in some places along the course) made for a beautiful run.  With the advertising, awesome logos, and the absence of many NM Choices, it was a decent turnout of 168 (marathon) and 243 (half marathon).

The Good: It’s in southern NM and better weather than the northeast in January.  The shirt and medals were great; the medals were beautifully designed and included add-ons for 50 staters and award winners.  I enjoyed the course and was familiar with much of it from previous visits to Las Cruces.  The camaraderie with other runners, 50 staters, 50Sub4 runners, friends from Baltimore, etc., plus new friends were a big plus.  This was a right-sized event for meeting people, although we missed a few.

The Bad: Our friend Megan D, had the half-marathon lead for nearly the entire race, but missed the turn off the Llanrona Trail and kept running.  She ran an extra mile or so, and ran back to the spot and finished third.  Megan normally runs low to mid 1:20’s for the half and would have easily won.  There was no lead bike for her, or a volunteer at that critical point.  We know the event organizers will fix that for 2026.

The men’s marathon had a mishap as well, and a volunteer turned the lead men around early. Other runners that knew to go longer (to the proper turnaround) did so, correcting the situation for the remainder of the field.  The frontrunners that turned early, made up the distance with extra laps on the track. (In my opinion they should get a DQ even if it wasn’t their fault, and be given a comp entry for 2026.  Not all will agree with me.)

For 95% of us that were not attempting to win one of the races, the event was great, and we can recommend this worthy event in order to “get the state” and to visit a very interesting and beautiful area with much to offer:  mountains, national and state parks, a very interesting part of the Rio Grande with virtually no water much of the time, great restaurants, and mostly – very nice people!!

Full Results

Marathon Top Women

  1.  3:15:38 Lindsey Elste, 41, Wheaton, IL
  2. 3:26:01 Bailey Dantonio, 28, Seattle, WA
  3. 3:27:40 Gwen Jacobson, 66, Rochester, MN
  4. 3:36:01 Georgia Bromberg, 36, Leeds, AL
  5. 3:38:28 Erin Ding, 43, South Barrington, IL
  6. 3:48:36 Gina Hager-Moitoso, 54, Atlanta, GA
  7. 3:50:01 Laurie Lavallee, 56, Merrimac, MA
  8. 3:53:01 Kimberly Strupp, 45, Livingston, MT
  9. 3:57:30 Amy Bauer, 42, Tucson, AZ
  10. 3:59:07 Kimmy Jackson, 45, Yuma. AZ

Marathon Top Men

  1.  2:47:23 Mitchell Kusick, 32, Firestone, CO
  2. 2:53:43 Andrew Castaldi, 50, Perkasie, PA
  3. 2:56:20 Ryan Gruhike, 44, Gilbert, AZ
  4. 2:57:26 Anthony Snitker, 36, Monrovia, CA
  5. 2:57:48 Jose Carlos Hernandez, 33, Westland, MI
  6. 3:04:59 Dave Dixon, 54, Tucson, AZ
  7. 3:12:46 Gary Krugger, 39, Los Alamos, NM
  8. 3:13:18 Solomon Geht, 39, Chicago, IL
  9. 3:18:04 Matt Tabor, 35, Chicago, IL
  10. 3:19:08 Cade Remsburg, 51, Philadelphia, PA

Half Marathon Top Women

  1.  1:31:07 Tana Kaskalla, 46, Albuquerque, NM
  2. 1:32:31 Aniko Belim, 43, Albuquerque, NM
  3. 1:34:09 Megan DiGregorio, 36, Baltimore, MD
  4. 1:34:46 Cheryl Lowe, 40, Las Cruces, NM
  5. 1:39:27 Chelsey Gloude, 36, Warren, MN
  6. 1:41:11 Jody Musolino, 50, North Tonawanda, NY
  7. 1:42:28 Fern Greeenwell, 61, Tucson, AZ
  8. 1:44:34 Shannon Zanelli, 53, Albuquerque, NM
  9. 1:46:57 Lily Sturgell, 20, Germantown Hills, IL
  10. 1:52:06 Tammy Campbell, 53, Queen Creek, AZ

Half Marathon Top Men

  1.  1:16:27 Armando Rueda, 32, Las Cruces, NM
  2. 1:22:07 Nikolaos Maggos, 32, Las Cruces, NM
  3. 1:26:47 Joey Heinrichs, 47, Wauwatosa, WI
  4. 1:30:18 Jesus Adrian Servin, 47, El Paso, TX
  5. 1:30:30 Jesus Omar Rodriguez, 40, El Paso, TX
  6. 1:30:40 John Borrego, 47, Livingston, TX
  7. 1:32:04 Brandon Vaughn, 27, El Paso, TX
  8. 1:35:23 Isaac Gomez, 28, Lubbock, TX
  9. 1:35:35 Marshall Lego, 17, Savannah, GA
  10. 1:35:41 Nathan Cottrell, 52, Peoria, AZ
Lindsey Elste of Wheaton, IL was the State 47 Las Cruces Marathon champion in 3:15:38.
Mitchell Kusick of Firestone, CO wins the 2025 State 47 Las Cruces Marathon in 2:47:23.
Gwen Jacobson of Rochester, MN was third overall in 3:27:40. Gwen likely set a NM age group record at age 66.
Las Cruces Half-Marathon start. Race winner Armando Rueda #716 of Las Cruces starts strong. Fourth place female Cheryl Lowe #710 of Las Cruces is next to Rueda. None of the others in the photo placed in either top ten.
Metal awards given to top marathoners and top half marathoners.
Six friends meet at half-marathons with the goal of completing a half in each state in the USA. Carla Earlywine #568, Brockton, MA; Kidada Bivens #517, Lorton, VA; Ethel Belaier #571, North Miami, FL; Lyric Camper #516, Sun City, FL; Angela Thornburgh #570, Colorado Springs, CO; and Sonja Williams #543, Jacksonville, NC. (Photo by Clay Shaw)
Podium finishers Las Cruces Half-Marathon: Aniko Belim #618 of Albuquerque (2nd, 1:32:31), Tana Kaskalla #618 of Albuquerque (1st, 1:31:07), and Megan DiGregorio #613 of Baltimore, MD (3rd, 1:34:09).
Podium finishers in the Las Cruces Half-Marathon. Nikolaos Maggos #687 of Las Cruces (2nd, 1:22:07), Armando Rueda #716 of Las Cruces (1st, 1:16:27) and Joey Heinrichs #544 of Wauwatosa, WI (3rd, 1:26:47).
Tana Kaskalla of Albuquerque, NM wins the Las Cruces Half-Marathon in 1:31:07.
Megan DiGregorio of Baltimore, MD was third in 1:34:09. Megan was leading, but missed the turn off the Llarona Trail. (No volunteer or lead bike)
Armando Rueda of Las Cruces, NM won the half-marathon in 1:16:27.
The 50Sub4 group after the State 47 Las Cruces Marathon. Gary Krugger, NM; Solomon Geht, IL; Erin Ding, IL; Ken Skrien, MA; Lindsey Elste, IL; Cade Remsburg, PA; Gwen Jacobson, MN; Clay Shaw, PA
Drew Cook of El Paso, TX digs in the final stretch of the State 47 Las Cruces Marathon.
Gina Hager-Moitoso of Atlanta, GA was sixth in the State 47 Las Cruces Marathon in 3:48:36.
Cade Remsburg of Philadelphia finishes the State 47 Las Cruces Marathon in 3:19:03, finishing tenth.
Erin Ding of South Barrington, IL was fifth overall in 3:38:28. Her daughter won the 4.7 mile race overall by nearly four minutes.
Bailey Dantonio of Seattle, WA was second in the State 47 Las Cruces Marathon in 3:26:01.
Jose Carlos Hernandez of Westland, MI was fifth in 2:57:48. He was one of five marathoners to break three hours.
Daniel T Bryce of Las Cruces, NM was first 35-39 in the half marathon in 1:40:19.
Cheryl Lowe of Las Cruces, NM was fourth in 1:34:46. Lowe, 40, was one of seven masters in the top ten.
Aniko Belim of Albuquerque, NM was second in the half-marathon in 1:32:31.
Youngsters on the Field of Dreams track at the fun run start. Note the gal on the far right giving the “eye” to the others.
Bre Asia Lofton of Albuquerque, NM poses for RG photographer at the start of the half-marathon.
Ann Truong-Huffines of Union City, OK says hello at the start of the half-marathon.
Ethel Belair #571 of North Miami, FL says hello to KM at the start of the half-marathon. Chelsey Gloude #563 of Warren, MN placed fifth.
Friends meet at the Las Cruces Half Marathon. Rajkumar Subash #640, Nolensville, TN; Naveen Marthandan #638, Sykesville, MD; and Seetharman Rajendran #637, Brentwood, TN.
Small world. Friends meet before the Las Cruces NM marathon and half-marathon. Clay Shaw of York, PA with Megan DiGregorio and Pete Mulligan of Baltimore, MD.
RG photographer/journalist Clay Shaw of York, PA did the half-marathon and actually earned 2nd 70-74, in first race since June 2023. (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
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1 reply

  1. jibski00@aol.com's avatar
    jibski00@aol.com
    January 14, 2025 • 1:03 am

    So good to see “ALL” age results- particularly the 60+ age bracket! Thanks- (keep it up)

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