Providence's Kaitlin Goodman overcomes hardships, takes home victory in Naples Daily News Half Marathon

Sunday morning featured a new winner at the 31st Naples Daily News Half Marathon.

And it happened to be a runner making her debut in the race.

Kaitlin Goodman, a Providence, Rhode Island, resident, came home with a first-place time of 1:13.52. Ethiopian native Belainesh Gebre came in second place in 1:14.07.

“I’m pleased to get the win,” Goodman said. “Trying to win was definitely one of the goals. Being able to race in a warmer climate getting ready for Olympic Trials in Atlanta in six weeks was nice. Florida delivered with the heat and humidity, but mostly very nice conditions.”

Despite the second place finish, Gebre was very thankful that she was able to be near the top of the leaderboard.

“I’m so glad to take second place in this race,” Gebre said. “So many different years I’ve run this race, it is my favorite one to run.”

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Gebre trains in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has been rehabbing over the past year, recovering from an Achilles injury. In the races Gebre has won, she has ranged between 1:11.54 and 1:13.29, including a female record she set in 2011, placing first with a 1:09.57.

Goodman came into the race with a personal-best time of 1:14.42 and eclipsed that mark by 50 seconds Sunday morning.

In August 2018, Goodman was in the Providence area, not far from her residence on the East Side when a distracted driver nearly hit her as she was running.

Goodman was left with no choice but to dive out of the way, but the damage was done on that one day in August.

Because of the driver's poor decision-making behind the wheel, Goodman ended up partially tearing her hamstring.

“My hamstring has been suffering the past two years, so to be healthy and PR and feel good was a big win for me today,” she said.

Throughout the race, Goodman and Gebre were jockeying for first place until the 10.5- mile mark. Goodman was able to overtake the five-time champ for good, thanks to a pressing strategy that started around the four-mile mark.

“There was some separation, a group of four of us, and then Belainesh and I traded off for a while,” Goodman said.

Goodman mentioned that the loose turns around the course will help a lot as she preps for the Olympic Trials in Atlanta next month.

“I really liked the course,” Goodman said. “I think they did a very good job with the turns. In some races I’ve done, they make it a very tight turn, but here it’s a nice loop. You don’t really feel it, and Atlanta has a few of those, so it’s great prep.”

Follow Naples Daily Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For additional coverage of FGCU, FSW, Everblades, and high school sports across Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.