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Oeser and Frans triumph at Philadelphia Marathon

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by Clay Shaw
Photography Clay Shaw and Karen Mitchell

11.23.25 Philadelphia, PA—Anna Oeser of Brookfield, CT made her marathon debut a winning one in Philadelphia, winning in 2:34:56.  The former Boston College runner led from start to finish. Once again this year, top runners were separated by “pro” and “open” status.

The open runners started five minutes after the “pro” runners. One of the open runners, Michka-Mae Hyde, a former 800-meter runner for George Mason University, set a new women’s marathon mark of 2:35:28 for Jamaica.  Hyde who started five minutes later, caught most of the elite field and was credited by this journalist as placing second.  Hyde was making her marathon debut.

Orla (O’Connor) Rocha of Peabody, MA was third in 2:36:45; not sure if she is still a citizen of Ireland.  Jenna Gigliotti of Amherst, MA was fourth in 2:39:37. Another open starter Isabel Meyers of New York was fifth in 2:43:13.  Chelsea Hollingsworth of Palm City, FL was sixth in 2:44:07 and finished with a big smile. Four open runners placed in the top ten and only eight women were in the elite women’s start.

Melikhaya Frans of South Africa, won the Philadelphia Marathon gleefully in 2:13:58. He was scheduled to run the Cape Town Marathon in October, which was cancelled due to dangerous winds. Frans was running with Elisha Barno of Kenya, who is 40, at halfway.  Barno, the four-time Grandma’s Marathon champion, was second in 2:15: 08.

Milton Rotich of Kenya was third in 2:15:35. Kristoffer Mugrage of Alamosa, CO just missed the USA Olympic Marathon Trials standard with a 2:16:05 to place fourth. Bradley Makuvire of Zimbabwe was fifth in 2:18:20. Tanner Chada of Hudsonville, MI was sixth in 2:19:52.

Colin McCauley of Philadelphia was seventh overall, and as first “open” runner he broke the tape in 2:22:14.  Open runners took places seven through nine and eleven through seventeen.

Miguel Vergara and Hannah Babalola were the marathon wheeler champions. On Saturday at the Rothan 8K, Jessica Gockley-Day of Fountain, CO won in 26:14, as did Reid Buchanan of Kansas City, MO in 26:14. Everlyn Kemboi of Kenya won the Dietz & Watson half-marathon in 1:10:43, as did Mohammed El Youssfi of Morocco in 1:01:45, with a course record.

As a journalist, it took some doing to gen through and make sense of the results. For the common runner among the 30,000 entrants, it’s a great tour of one of the great USA cities, meeting running stars Dakotah Popehn, Jared Ward, Lauren Fleshman, and Bart Yasso. Total finishers for the weekend were as follows: marathon 12,307, half-marathon 11, 991 and the 8K 3,739.

Full Results

Top Women

  1. 2:34:56 Anna Oeser, 26, Brookfield, CT
  2. 2:35:28 Michka-Mae Hyde, 24, Jamaica
  3. 2:36:45 Orla Rocha, 30, Peabody, MA (Ireland)
  4. 2:39:37 Jenna Giglotti, 32, Amherst, MA
  5. 2:43:13 Isabel Meyers, 25, New York, NY
  6. 2:44:07 Chelsea Hollingsworth, 33, Palm City, FL
  7. 2:47:01 Elaine Estes-Garton, 28, Philadelphia, PA
  8. 2:48:08 Stephanie Ryan, 29, Fayetteville, NY
  9. 2:48:12 Caroline Rusinski, 23, Washington, DC
  10. 2:49:19 Caroline Kellner, 31, Ewing, NJ
  11. 2:49:49 Angela Rechart, 40, Middle Township, NJ
  12. 2:50:06 Julia Flower, 27, Charlotte, NC
  13. 2:51:46 Mary Kate Randolph, 30, Brooklyn, NY
  14. 2:52:34 Isabel McFarlane, 24, New York, NY
  15. 2:52:37 Laura Antinucci, 34, Philadelphia, PA

Top Men

  1. 2:13:58 Melikhaya Frans, 35, South Africa
  2. 2:15:08 Elisha Barno, 40, Kenya
  3. 2:15:35 Milton Rotich, 39, Kenya
  4. 2:16:05 Kristoffer Mugrage, 31, Alamosa, CO
  5. 2:18:20 Bradley Makuvire, 27, Zimbabwe
  6. 2:19:52 Tanner Chada, 26, Hudsonville, MI
  7. 2:22:14 Colin McCauley, 24, Philadelphia, PA
  8. 2:25:03 Charlie Marquardt, 31, Philadelphia, PA
  9. 2:26:14 Matthew Walker, 26, Westerly, RI
  10. 2:26:25 Jordan Daniel, 30, Westhampton, NY
  11. 2:27:11 Guillaume Huot, 39, St Charles Boromee, Quebec
  12. 2:27:23 Christopher Luciano, 30, Brookline, MA
  13. 2:27:45 Ethan Doshi, 24, Seattle, WA
  14. 2:27:48 Kevin Cory, 28, Arlington, VA
  15. 2:28:00 Matt Schweitzer, 26, Pittsburgh, PA
Melikhaya Frans of South Africa wins the AACR Philadelphia Marathon in 2:13:58.
Anna Oeser of Brookfield, CT wins the AACR Philadelphia Marathon in 2:34:56.
Anna Oeser of Brookfield, CT cruised through the streets of Philadelphia in first place. Anna won her debut marathon in 2:34:56 and had a OTQ, a USA Olympic Marathon trials qualifying time.
Melikhaya Frans of South Africa was delighted with his win in Philadelphia. Frans was scheduled to race in the Cape Town Marathon which would have been in October but was cancelled due to dangerous winds.
Orla (O’Connor) Rocha of Peabody, MA was third overall in her first marathon.
Chelsea Hollingsworth of Palm City, FL finishes sixth in 2:44:07.
Colin McCauley of Philadelphia won the “open” in a rather odd split of the elite and open athletes. Colin ran well and was seventh in the combined results in 2:22:14.
Hannah Babalola was the women’s wheelchair champion, shown here at 20K on the Girard Street Bridge.
At 20K, Melikhaya Frans #23 of South Africa, shared the lead with Elisha Barno #22 of Kenya. They would place first and second.
Michka-Mae Hyde of Jamaica, a former 800-meter runner at George Mason University, was second in her debut marathon in 2:35:28. Hyde may have set a national marathon record.
Elisha Barno, 40, of Kenya was second in 2:15:08. Barno is the 4-time winner of Grandma’s Marathon.
Milton Rotich of Kenya was third in 2:15:35.
Kristoffer Mugrage of Alamosa, CO was fourth overall and just missed the OTQ with a 2:16:05.
Jenna Gigliotti of Amherst, MA was fourth in 2:39:37.
Isabel Meyers of New York City was fifth in 2:43:13.
Bradley Makuvire of Zimbabwe was fifth in 2:18:20.
Tanner Chada of Hudsonville, MI was sixth in 2:19:52.
Elaine Estes-Garton of Philadelphia was seventh in 2:47:21.
Stephanie Ryan of Fayetteville, NY finishes eighth in 2:48:08.
Caroline Rusinski of Washington, DC was ninth in 2:48:12.
Angela Rechart of Middle Township, NJ was top master and eleventh in 2:49:49.
Sarah Cottone of Malta, NY ran 2:53:51 to place sixteenth.
Dan Forry of Columbia, PA ran 2:29:21 placing 19th. Good timing to get an Amtrak train in the background.
Sara Girotto of Wynnewood, PA rocked her 50th birthday with a 2:57:07 and 50-59 age group win.
A large 2:50 pace group. I could have used one in my younger racing days.
John Ausel of Lancaster made his marathon debut a good one with a 2:41:59.
John Matthews of Lancaster having a good day ran 2:46:57.
Otis Ubriaco of Lancaster ran 2:32:11 as the Red Rose Track Club was well represented.
Marissa Coombes of Morris Plains, NJ finishes in 2:54:51.
The A wave starts with Miles Gibson #1222 of Pittsburgh wearing a Flint Tropics basketball jersey (2008 movie Semi Pro with Will Farrell). Funny and a reminder of the ABA and of the ugly Baltimore Bullets jerseys of 1972.
Gianna Tedeschi of Skillman, NJ sprints to the finish in 2:53:58, placing 18th.
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