{"id":148858,"date":"2026-04-26T15:54:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148858"},"modified":"2026-04-26T15:54:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:54:25","slug":"fastest-time-in-20-years-for-mens-race-lv-native-olivia-hoeing-nabs-second-consecutive-womens-victory-at-42nd-running-of-lehigh-valleys-most-beloved-half-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148858","title":{"rendered":"Fastest time in 20+ years for men\u2019s race; LV native Olivia Hoeing nabs second consecutive women\u2019s victory at 42nd running of Lehigh Valley\u2019s most beloved half marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured Image from left to right: (first image)Tudor Moldovan, Caleb Hershey,\u00a0 Matt Gillette =, (second image)Olivia Hoeing<\/em><\/p>\n

Article and photos contributed by: Michael Drabenstott\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (April 26, 2026)<\/strong> \u2013 With temperatures in the low 40s, cloudy skies and light winds, runners had conditions conducive to very fast times at today\u2019s St. Luke\u2019s Half Marathon and 5k. And they did not disappoint.<\/p>\n

Caleb Hershey, 22, Lebanon, Pa., crossed the line in 1:07:07, the fastest time in the 22 years of the race\u2019s current course. He bested 2025 champion, Matt Gillette, 34, Allentown, who ran a 1:08:14. Gillette, a 2009 Parkland High School graduate, clocked a 1:07:20 last year, but could not keep pace with Hershey, a student at Colorado Christian College who returned to Pennsylvania to race. Tudor Moldovan, 41, Allentown, finished third in 1:09:05, after being 2025 runner-up only three second behind Gillette.<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s race, Allentown\u2019s Olivia Hoeing, 24, broke the tape in 1:23:27, winning for the second year in a row and taking more than three minutes off her 2025 time of 1:26:32. She was trailed by Olivia Merrill, 22, Wyncote, Pa., 1:24:16, and third-place finisher Nicole Register, 22, Jacobus, Pa., 1:24:46.<\/p>\n

The 2020 Salisbury High School alumnus attributed her winning speed to improved form and preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m in physical therapy school (at DeSales University), so I’ve really been more intentional about knowing the biomechanics of running and, just as importantly, resting and fueling. It really paid off,\u201d she said. \u201cI also have an advantage in Lehigh Parkway (miles 6 to 10.5), which is one of my favorite places on the entire Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Male winner Hershey said the conditions and competition propelled him to victory midway through the 13.1-mile race. \u201cThey were perfect — low 40s, a little wind, but not much \u2013 almost as good as you could get and ideal for running,\u201d he said. \u201cThree of us were running probably like 5:10\/mile at around mile 5.5. I was getting antsy, so I took off and tried to run 5:00\/mile flat as long as I could. I just tried to put my head down and hammer it out. I researched my competition, so I knew what I was dealing with when I saw Matt and Tudor on the starting line.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 St. Luke\u2019s Half Marathon and companion 5k saw over 1,700 entrants racing through Allentown\u2019s streets and parks. Both races started at 18th and Linden streets near William Allen High School and ended at J. Birney Crum Stadium.\u00a0Sundays\u2019 races were preceded on Saturday by the St. Luke\u2019s Youth Run, where more than 500 children aged 3-14 braved steady rain during runs in Lehigh Parkway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe competition all weekend showed us the joyous spirit of running, whether you\u2019re neck-and-neck with a fellow runner or just pushing yourself beyond what you thought was possible,\u201d said Leslie Billowitch, co-race director and president of the Lehigh Valley Road Runners, which produces the fully volunteer-run event each April. \u201cRegardless of age, size, speed or ability, every runner has a reason to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 event, the 42nd running of the half marathon, marked the 16th year of title sponsorship for St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network. The event has raised over $800,000 to promote running and fitness programs for youth and adults in the greater Lehigh Valley. \u201cWe have an amazing running community here,\u201d Billowitch said. \u201cWith the support of St. Luke\u2019s, we\u2019re grateful that we can give back to the sport that gives us so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top 5 half marathon males\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Caleb Hershey, 22, Lebanon, Pa., 1:07:07<\/p>\n

Matt Gillette, 34, Allentown, Pa., 1:08:14<\/p>\n

Tudor Moldovan, 41, Allentown, Pa., 1:09:05<\/p>\n

John Tolbert, 30, Bethlehem, Pa., 1:13:39<\/p>\n

Patrick Broker, 16, Pennington, N.J., 1:16:40<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top 5 half marathon females\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Hoeing, 24, Allentown, Pa., 1:23:27<\/p>\n

Olivia Merrill, 22, Wyncote, Pa., 1:24:16<\/p>\n

Nicole Register, 22, Jacobus, Pa., 1:24:46<\/p>\n

Marissa Martino. 35, Dallas, Pa., 1:24:55<\/p>\n

Gabrielle Donchez, 34, Fogelsville, Pa., 1:26:24<\/p>\n

A field of 482 racers took part in the St. Luke\u2019s 5K. Danny Lyons, 17, Easton, Pa., won the men\u2019s race in 16:02, taking 90 seconds off his 2025 victory time. Anna Hawk, 15, Lehighton, Pa., was the top female in 20:28.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s 5k overall results:\u00a0https:\/\/runsignup.com\/Race\/Results\/11383#resultSetId-646025;perpage:50<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the oldest half marathons in the country, the St. Luke\u2019s Half Marathon had its origin in 1977 with a full marathon organized by the Lehigh Valley Athletic Association, a predecessor to the Lehigh Valley Road Runners. It was switched to a half marathon in 1984 and has been run continuously every spring except for a canceled race in 1996 and COVID-19 cancelations in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featured Image from left to right: (first image)Tudor Moldovan, Caleb Hershey,\u00a0 Matt Gillette =, (second image)Olivia Hoeing Article and photos contributed by: Michael Drabenstott\u00a0 ALLENTOWN, Pa. (April 26, 2026) \u2013 … Continue reading Fastest time in 20+ years for men\u2019s race; LV native Olivia Hoeing nabs second consecutive women\u2019s victory at 42nd running of Lehigh Valley\u2019s most beloved half marathon<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5716,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allentown","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/sl5k-finishers.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148858"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148860,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148858\/revisions\/148860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/148859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}