Chicago Athlete staff was out in full force on Sunday at three area events. Below you'll find a brief recap and some photos from the Making Great Strides Half Marathon, Ravenswood 5K and Universal Sole Lakefront 10.

Making Great Strides Half Marathon (Libertyville, IL)
221 finishers and 171 for the 5K

It was a windy morning at Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Libertyville for the inaugural Making Great Strides Trail Half-Marathon and 5K. Colin Andrews, 29, of Chicago, said he used the race as a training run for the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon with the goal of running 6:15s and he was satisfied with running 6:18s. He crossed the finish line in 1:22:35. Evanston's Sara Otekpa had a commanding lead winning in 1:33:03, beating the next woman by five minutes.

In the 5K, Arthuro Hernandez, 20, of Vernon Hill, won handily in 17:21 and Lynn Vocelka, 42, of LaGrange took top honors in the women's division with her 21:00 finish.

1. Colin Andrews, 29, Chicago IL, 1:22:35
2. Jim Cassioppi, 39, Hinsdale IL, 1:24:59
3. Michael Terry, 37, Gurnee IL, 1:26:02

1. Sara Otepka, 27, Evanston IL, 1:33:03
2. Cyndi Burk, 35, Barrington IL, 1:38:11
3. Jennifer Phillips, 32, Libertyville,IL, 1:38:52

Ravenswood 5K (Chicago, IL)
1,229 Finishers

Rob Chenoweth, 35, a member of Fleet Feet's racing team, wanted to place in the top 10 at this popular Ravenswood neighborhood race. "Coming around the last turn with about a quarter mile to go," recalled Chenoweth, "I was really cheered on and felt I could win." He broke the tape in 16:41.

Susan Dunn is coming back from injury and did most of her training this winter on a treadmill. "It was nice to get out and run on the road," said the 33-year-old from Highland Park, who edged out Sonia Kraftson to win in 18:28.

1. Rob Chenoweth,35, Chicago, IL, 16:41
2. Joe Jenkins, 43, Chicago, IL, 16:44
3. Christopher Wolf, 30, Chicago, IL, 16:45

1. Sue Dunn, 33, Highland Park, IL, 18:28
2. Sonia Kraftson, 28, Chicago, IL, 18:58
3. Kelly Roliardi, 26, Chicago, IL, 19:23

Universal Sole Lakefront 10 (Chicago, IL)
1,549 finishers

Some of the top regional talent was drawn to the early season 10-miler, and in the men's race, the first four finishers eclipsed the course record set in 2001, earning a $100 bonus in doing so. Matt Thull, from Milwaukee, WI, won the overall title in 50:41.

On the women's side, Dot McMahan, from Jackson, WI, trailed by nearly 40 seconds half way through the race, but managed to steal the victory from Kim Lorenz (Indianapolis, IN) in the final stretch.

"Kim put up a great fight when I finally got within a couple of strides," said McMahon. "She put on a final surge at the half-mile to the finish and I fell off her shoulder, but I used my 800m speed to catch her just before the tape."

1. Matt Thull, 29, Milwaukee, WI, 50:50
2. Paul Howarth, 26, Indianapolis, IN 50:56
3. Jeff Jonaitis, 23, Tinely Park, IL, 51:23

1. Dot McMahan, 27, Jackson, WI, 1:01:19
2. Kim Lorenz, 25, Indianapolis, IN, 1:01:19
3. Erin Kelly, 25, Indianapolis, IN, 1:03:37

For complete results of these events and more, check out our Results page.