Andy Martin’s hopes for a marathon victory in his hometown were dashed when he found out that Uli Steidl would return for Sunday’s Just Around the Bend Marathon.

”When Uli showed up, I knew I was running for second place,” said Martin, the Bend runner who did finish second behind Steidl on Sunday.

Steidl, who also won last year’s marathon, defended his title in the second-annual event with a time of 2 hours, 33 minutes, 21 seconds, a 5:52-per-mile pace. Martin finished in 2:42:58, and James Nelson of Bend was third (2:51:54).

Steidl, 33, ditched the entire field after the first mile and raced alone throughout the grueling, hilly course. Just two weeks ago, he finished seventh in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

”I decided on short notice to come and run (the Bend marathon),” said Steidl, who lives in Shoreline, Wash. ”I was not fully recovered. I haven’t done anything on hills lately, and those downhills beat up your quads. It’s definitely a tough course.”

The marathon (26.2 miles), which included 81 competitors, began in downtown Bend, and took runners north on a scenic loop through Tumalo – with several daunting hills between miles 12 and 18 – before finishing back in Bend at Drake Park.

Steidl said he did not mind running alone for about 25 miles.

”Obviously for a faster pace, it’s better to run in a group, but you can pressure yourself,” Steidl said.

The 30-year-old Martin, who ran cross country and track with Steidl at the University of Portland, said he was suffering from stress fractures on the balls of his feet. He first got the injury when he competed in an Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, this past summer.

”I was trying to get back in shape for a marathon in December, but I decided to do this one,” Martin said. ”I ran 20 miles of this course the last two weeks, so I knew the kind of pain I was in for.”

Another Bend runner who knows pain is Kami Semick, the top woman in the Just Around the Bend Marathon.

Semick – one of the top ultramarathoners in the country – finished sixth overall in 2:58:44, a 6:50-per-mile pace. Amanda Bullat of Bend was the second woman across the finish line (3:16:14) and Cheryl Tronson of Bend was third (3:20:55).

As an ultramarathon runner, Semick is accustomed to running 100-kilometer (62-mile) races.

”I ran the whole race hard from the beginning,” Semick said. ”In a 100K, I’m more conservative. Mentally, I think a marathon is easier. It’s more of just going out and running as hard as I can for 26 miles.”

The marathon must have seemed like a sprint for Semick, whose fastest time in a 100K is 9 hours, 30 minutes. She recently won the Montrail Ultra Cup 100K series, which included three 100K races across the country.

Semick, 39, will race a 50-miler in Texas in December, hoping to qualify for the 100K World Cup U.S. Team. The 100K World Cup will be held next October in South Korea.

Sunday’s Just Around the Bend Marathon events also included a half marathon and a 10-kilometer race.

Juan Martinez of Salem won the half marathon in 1:15:13. Anthony Rinck of Hillsboro was second (1:18:31) and Jim Bendis of Bend finished third (1:23:14).

The half marathon, which had a total of 155 runners, started in downtown Bend, then followed the Deschutes River Trail off of First Street in west Bend. The course looped around to College Way, along 14th Street, then finished in Drake Park

Martinez, 25, was able to take the lead around the 7-mile mark when other runners began succumbing to steep hills.

”I think they got tired on the uphill and then I just kept going,” said Martinez, who placed fifth in the full marathon last year. ”I just kept running on my own pace. It was a tough course. It was very hard, but there were nice views out there.”

Jennifer Sventek of Bend was the top woman in the half marathon, finishing in 1:31:41. Kirsten Bendis of Bend was second (1:37:37) and Jeannie Debari of Glacier, Wash., finished third (1:39:55).

Sventek said she didn’t mind the hills because she is used to training on them.

”It was a really good, fun course,” Sventek said. It’s tough, though. There’s lots of hills. But I live here, so I’m on them all the time.”

David Harding of Lake Oswego won the 10K race, which included 63 runners, in a time of 35:08. Jason Adams of Bend was second (36:22) and Kiersten Lippmann of Bend was third overall and the top woman (36:27). Karen Oppenheimer of Bend was the second woman across the finish line (40:35) and Elizabeth Justema, also of Bend, was third (43:23).