On a picture-perfect day for a marathon with a light breeze and temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s, 28-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison medical student Paul Laeseke won the 26th annual Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee on Sunday, Oct. 1. He finished the 26.2-mile course in 2:32:26, one minute and four seconds faster than runner-up Paul Jansky of Two Rivers.

Laeseke passed both Jansky, 33, and third-place finisher Joe Kurian from Madison with a little over 4 miles to go, and was able to hold off both runners in front of a crowd of several thousand spectators at Veteran's Park in Milwaukee.

On the women's side, Janesville native and former UW-Stevens Point All-American Rebecca Suehring, 26, crossed the finish line in 2:53:29. She was followed by Corina Canitz, 39, from Brookfield (2:58:21) and 26 year-old Jessica Hoepner of New Berlin (3:02:52).

Nearly 2,600 runners participated in the 26.2-mile annual race from Grafton High School to Veteran's park in Milwaukee. 140 relay teams also participated. Team Frog from Sheboygan won the men's division and InStep's Running team called 4 Non Blondes won the women's competition.

Race officials were grateful for the good weather, as well as the outstanding help of more than 1100 volunteers who helped make the race a success. "This race is about the runners, and our volunteers do a great job, and have for 26 straight years, to make it a great experience for everyone," said Kris Hinrichs, race director of Lakefront Marathon. "We had a record crowd this year and filled to capacity over six weeks before the race. We're already planning for an even bigger and better race next year."

The 2007 Lakefront Marathon is scheduled for October 7, 2006, beginning at 8 a.m. in Grafton. Registration will be available on www.badgerlandstriders.org/lakefront in early January. For more information on Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon and a full list of race day results, visit www.badgerlandstriders.org/lakefront.

Click here for complete race results.