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By Zach Schneider
Scott Behling and Chelsey Youngberg both ran to repeat victories on Saturday morning at the Fitger’s 5K, leading the way as nearly 1,000 people participated in the 35th annual event.
For Behling, a native of Duluth who ran collegiately at UW-Superior, it’s a third straight and sixth overall title at the Fitger’s 5K. He finished in 15:40 ahead of runner-up John Curley, joining Michael Benchina as the only men to have won three straight Fitger’s 5K titles.
Youngberg, meanwhile, ran a time of 18:37 to claim her second title in three years at the Fitger’s 5K. A Duluth native who competed in nordic skiing at St. Scholastica, Youngberg outlasted runner-up Tiffany Kari Cizmas on Saturday to become only the fourth woman to have won two or more titles at this event.
After also winning the Saint Fennessy 4K last month, Ammie O’Connor became the event’s first-ever non-binary champion on Saturday with a time of 35:37.
There were 996 total finishers in the 2024 Fitger’s 5K, making it the largest field in the event since 2019.