Thousands are celebrating their accomplishments after taking part in the Omaha Marathon on Sunday. Runners could either choose to go the entire 26.2 miles, run the half-marathon or run a 10K. For veteran runners and beginners alike, the experience is priceless.

Mile after mile, runners in the Omaha Marathon pushed forward toward a personal goal, a sense of accomplishment. For Nate Stack, it's his third time running in the competition. "I just enjoy running, racing makes it even more fun, gives you something to train for and compete in."

Stack came in fourth for the full marathon, finishing 2:42:45, but it wasn't without pain. "Yeah I'm a little sore now. I've been training all summer, putting in a lot of miles and I've been battling some hip issues so makes it a little more difficult."

Like many runners, Stack says it's the competition which drives him. "They put on a great marathon, you get to see a lot of people you know out here and camaraderie and competition."

For others, the race is all about something new. "We decided together that we wanted, we did a 10K and then decided we wanted to up our game a little bit, so then we said we'll just do the half-marathon together,'" said Susan Breese of her friend Jenna Ackley.

The two finished their first half-marathon Sunday. "First for both of us, yeah," said Ackley.

Regardless of finish times, the women are proud. "Did pretty good up to mile 10," said Ackley. "Then you start really feeling it, but once you're to that point, you know you can't stop."

Now that one goal is accomplished, a new one can be set. "Absolutely!" said Breese. "It's totally addicting, I don't think I'm going for the full marathon though!"

"No, that's too much!" agreed Ackley.

The winner was 30-year-old Steve Chu from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska with a time of 2:37:26. Jeff Nielsen of Blair came in second. The top woman finisher was Cindra Kamphoff of Mankato, Minnesota in a time of 3:05:12.