Runners who crossed the finish line first Saturday during the road races at Berry College weren’t the only winners, said organizer Alison Hunter.

“It’s a win-win type of event. Not only do we get to raise funds for our schools, but we also get to promote wellness and the beautiful campus,” Hunter said.

She’s already getting prepared for next year.

“About a year’s worth of work goes into planning for events like this. …We’ll have a post-race meeting and talk about what we want to change and how we can improve it,” said Hunter.

Click here to see complete results.

Runners had their choices of competing in a half marathon, 10K and 5K race. There was also a one-mile fun run for those who just wanted to enjoy the beautiful day.

Click here to see video from the races.

More than 2,000 runners participated in the races, compared to last year’s 1605, and 19 states were represented, Hunter said.

“People came from Ohio and Hawaii … just all over,” she said.

Atlanta resident Leo Kormanik won the half marathon, his first race after about 2 years of recovering from injuries.

“It was very conservative early on in the race for me. I had no idea what time I would run, but by about the fifth mile, I really started pushing it,” he said.

Kormanik, 27, claimed the $250 prize for his time of 1:07:59, nearly 4 minutes quicker than last year’s winner William Moss of Marietta, Ga. Moss had a time of 1:11:46.

Richard Tuttle, 37, of Woodstock, followed Kormanik at 1:15:38. Allison Kreutzer claimed first place as the female overall winner of the half marathon with a time of 1:19:50.

J.B. Box, 18, of Calhoun, and Kaitlin Shaw, a 21-year-old Shorter College student, were the male and female overall winners of the 10K race. The 5K male and female overall winners were Dawsonville native Charles Beusse, 20, and 11-year-old Jocelyn Brown of Marietta.

The half marathon as well as the 5K and 10K events are used as an annual fundraiser for the Berry elementary and middle schools.

Click here to see blogs about the race from Rome News-Tribune writers.