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Tim Ritchie wins 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon

Tim Ritchie won the 13.1-mile race with an unofficial time of 1:01:22

More than 18,000 runners hit the pavement this morning at the 2015 American Association for Cancer Research Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. 

Tim Ritchie of Brighton, Mass. won the 13.1-mile race with an unofficial time of 1:01:22 and punched his ticket to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Averaging a 4:41 minute per mile pace, Ritchie beat out Jacob Riley by two minutes.

"Feels great to win. Beautiful day and course. Fans were supportive. Only disappointment was no Bruce Springsteen," Ritchie told Ashley Greenblatt of Philly.com after crossing the finish line. "I took the lead at five miles and kept going from there."

Maegan Krifchin of Bellmore, N.Y., was the first woman to cross the finish line with an unofficial time of 1:09:47. Krifchin told Greenblatt that she was super excited to be here. "I drove the course yesterday. It was really fun. I love Philly and racing here. I felt competitive today."

Neely Spence Gracey of Colo. finished second, and Alisha Williams took third place.

At 7:30 a.m., runners took off from Eakins Oval and wound their way through Center City before turning onto Kelly Drive and taking in the scenes of Boathouse Row. After crossing Falls Bridge, runners raced down Martin Luther King Drive to finish line at the Art Museum.

The Rock 'n' Roll Half typically takes place at the end of September but the annual race was pushed back this year to accommodate Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia. Also new this year was the addition of a title partner, the American Association for Cancer Research, the first and largest scientific organization in the world focused on cancer research.

In the 2014 race, Bedan Karoki of Kenya won with an official time of 59:23. Aberu Kebede was the first woman to cross 2014's finish line in 1:08:39.

More coverage of Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon: Live photo stream & updates »

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