Dave Halferty set his sights on the leader during the early stages of the Lincoln Marathon, then tacticfully bided his time.

At last, after 22 miles, arrived the crucial moment. Halferty prepared to overtake Gannon White.

Halferty wanted to make it a decisive pass. Wanted to send White a message.

“When I caught up to him, I just wanted to make a statement like, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ ” Halferty said. “I tried to emphasize it. But then I paid for it.”

Although Halferty said he “was hurting pretty badly” during the final two miles, the 37-year-old from Kansas held on to easily capture Sunday’s 26.2-mile event, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 26 seconds.

White, last year’s winner, finished second in 2:30:09, four minutes ahead of third-place William Bohlke of Puerto Rico, who only last week completed a grueling Air National Guard pilot “survival school.” 

Meanwhile, Christy Nielsen, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was never seriously challenged while capturing the women’s part of the Lincoln Marathon for the third straight year, this time in 2:52:14. Valerie Gortmaker of Omaha was second in 2:55:51.

 A record total of 4,149 runners competed in the marathon and half-marathon, with both races beginning and ending on the University of Nebraska campus. Weather conditions were nearly perfect — little wind and temperatures in the 40s and 50s.

Although Halferty aggressively stormed to the lead, his work wasn’t finished. The Topeka resident wasn’t feeling as strong as he let on as he bolted to the front.

“It’s all a lot of bluffing,” he said. “It’s like playing poker sometimes.”

Halferty was in third place at about the halfway point. He caught the second-place runner between miles 18 and 19, then went after White.

“Gannon looked like he was struggling a little bit, I just couldn’t quite cut into his lead,” Halferty said. “Finally, at about 22 or 23 miles, it looked like he slowed down some.”

White started the race quickly, with Halferty trailing by a minute after eight miles. Halferty, though, kept track of White’s progress through word of mouth and eventually layed eyes on the leader.

“Even at 20 miles, I didn’t know if I could catch him or not,” Halferty said. “I was just kind of hoping that maybe he’d slow down a little bit.”

Halferty, who ran collegiately at Simpson (Iowa) College, completed his 28th career marathon and recorded his second career win. He also won a marathon last fall in Wichita, Kan.