CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A busy weekend of running started with the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon 5K on Friday night. Evan Patel won on the men’s side, Laura Krasa took the women’s race.

Patel finished with a time of 15:53, more than 30 seconds better than his previous personal best.

“There was a bet I had with a friend if I could finish 30 seconds behind a kid or better, then he’d give me 20 bucks and I ended up beating him so, it was nice. I don’t know if he let me win or not but it was fun, it’s a good meet,” Patel said.

Krasa won her second Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon 5K in a row. She won last year as a senior at Judah Christian. Her time of 17:57 was 45 seconds better than the second place finisher.

“On Monday I really didn’t think I would be able to run but I’m feeling a lot better now so I feel like I’m not back to 100 percent but I really wanted to focus on enjoying the run and I surprised myself by going out there and still being able to go out there and get a good time,” Krasa said.

The Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon starts at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning.