Victoria E. Freile

@vfreile

He was the first to start Sunday morning and the last to finish, but nothing else mattered.

Four months after his left leg was amputated, Darth Vader of Canandaigua walked 13.1 miles through Rochester.

This U.S. Marine veteran formerly known as Eric Welch (he legally changed his name in 2014) has been running half marathons and obstacle course races for several years. Despite his recent surgery, he didn't want to miss the 2017 Rochester Regional Health Flower City Half Marathon. Vader, 45, said the event was his first big race-post surgery and his return to the Rochester running scene.

Race co-director Ellen Brenner said she was impressed with Vader's performance: "He was actually negative splitting and speeding up as he went on. No one knew how he would do. He didn't even know."

But he did it. Five hours, six minutes and 33 seconds after he started walking, Vader beamed as he crossed the still-standing finish line.

"It was brutal," he said of the weather, which included hours of bone-chilling rain. "My goal was to tough it out and cross the finish line no matter what. I completed it and to me that was a huge victory."

Only several race staffers and one of Vader's friends remained at the finish line on Exchange Boulevard, including Brenner who gave Vader a much-deserved race medal.

Vader, who also owns and operates a small basement gym on Mill Street in Canandaigua, has also battled leukemia and a serious bone marrow disorder for 15 years. His chronic condition is manageable, but will eventually require a bone marrow transplant.

Throughout the race, Vader said he chatted with other runners as they passed by.

Fleet Feet Sports and Yellow Jacket Racing allowed Vader to start his race 45 minutes before the official start, Brenner said. And he was alone again for the last three(ish) miles, most of which he completed on the river trail path alongside the Genesee River.

Vader said he never expected to make the 3.5 hour time limit and admitted he probably should've started with a far shorter race distance.

"But that's not who I am," he said. "I'm an all or nothing kind of guy."

In all, 2,093 people completed the 2017 race, which weaves through several southern Rochester neighborhoods and Mt. Hope Cemetery. The top three men were Kiplangat Tisia, 28, of Rochester, who won his fifth Flower City Half in the last six years with a time of 1:07:39. Omar Boulama, 23, of Walworth finished second in 1:09:59 and Dylan Lowry, 25, of Buffalo was third with a time of 1:10:15.

Kati Snyder, 33, of Chicago, won the women's race with a time of 1:20, followed by Monica Otwori, 32, of Rochester at 1:21:59 and Trisha Byler, 32, of Honeoye Falls at 1:22:08. For full results go to yellowjacketracing.com.

VFREILE@Gannett.com