Friday night was the first time Jeff Jonaitis stepped foot in Madison. A day later, he walked away a champion.

"I was kind of lost getting around (Saturday) and a little bit (Friday)," said Jonaitis, a resident of Tinley Park, Ill. "But I made it to the start line."

Jonaitis also was the first of a record 18,541 participants to make it to the finish line, winning the rain-soaked 28th annual Crazylegs Classic 8-kilometer run from the Capitol Square to Camp Randall Stadium in 24 minutes, 17 seconds.

Henry Dennis of Fond du Lac was second at 24.41, and Aaron Nodolf of Menomonee Falls took third in 24.42.

The victory, which also included a $4,000 Trek Bontrager mountain bike, almost never came to be for the 28-year-old elementary school physical education teacher. Jonaitis said he may have "messed up" on his registration form, putting down an incorrect time.

"I had a little bit of trouble at the starting line. They gave me an "E" (bib) instead of an "A" so I was supposed to start a little bit further back," Jonaitis said. "But I talked to the race director and he moved kind of me up and that was lucky for me because if I would have started at 'E' I probably wouldn't have been up in the lead with the top guys.

"The 'A' guys will start at the starting line, the 'E' people will start a couple minutes later. It's based on prediction times and what you've run in the past. I must have put the wrong time on my registration card."

The former Eastern Illinois athlete certainly has the credentials worthy of an "A" bib. He won the Ohio Valley Conference cross country title as a senior and competed at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials last November in New York, where he finished 91st. In December, Jonaitis won the St. Jude Memphis Marathon, only the third time he competed in that type of race.

"I kind of progressed as I got out of college, I started to get better and better," said Jonaitis, who runs for Universal Sole, a specialty running store in Chicago. "I hope I peak in a couple years. I hope to make it to the next Olympic trials in the marathon. 

"It was an awesome experience. Just running with the top guys in the country, I've never done that before."

Jonaitis gave an assist to former University of Wisconsin track and cross country athlete Matt Withrow, who is from Jonaitis' hometown, for the title in his first Crazylegs appearance.

"We kind of train together and he knew I wanted to run a quick 8K so he told me about this race and I decided to give it a try," Jonaitis said.