By Talia Kaplan

St. Louis (KSDK) - More than 15,000 people took to the streets of St. Louis Sunday for the 12th annual Go! St. Louis Marathon.

PHOTOS - GO! St. Louis Marathon 2012

Thousands pounded the pavement in downtown St. Louis. People from as far as Australia, participated in the Go! St. Louis 26.2 mile marathon and 13.1 mile half-marathon, including E.J. Scott from California.

Scott signed up for the full 26.2 miles and planned to do it blind-folded.

"I thought if I do something crazy enough maybe I'll get even more attention," he said.

Attention for an important cause. Scott has choroideremia, a rare genetic disease causing him to go blind. He is running 12 marathons in 12 months to raise awareness.

"I don't want the disease to bring me down. I want to fight against it I don't want it to win," he said.

So with his cousin as a guide, the two were off.

While they were making their way around the course, Jackie Pirtle Hall of St. Charles was smashing the women's Go! St. Louis Marathon record by nearly eight minutes.

"I'm so happy that I live here and that I got to represent and it was so fun crossing the finish line in first," she said.

Hall beat the women's full marathon record, but Daniel Kirwa of Arkansas broke the men's half-marathon record when he crossed the finish line in a record one hour, five minutes, and one second.

"I was fighting hard all the way through and I knew like what doesn't kill me makes me stronger," said Kirwa.

Ryan Ploesser proposed to his girlfriend of five years, Audrey, after they finished the race.

"She signed me up for it, so I was like if she signed me up for this there is something I want her to do for me too," said Ploesser.

Scott also got a bit of a surprise. He found out he finished in five hours and fifteen minutes; his fastest time yet.

Organizers say five people were transported to area hospitals this year, compared to 15 last year. They say this year was cooler, and the cloud cover and winds helped runners finish safely.

If you'd like to contact E.J. Scott, feel free to friend him on Facebook, or visit the website, curechm.org.

Half-marathon winners
Male: Daniel Kirwa from Searcy, Arkansas, 1:05:01
Female: Alexandra Blake from Tuscon, Arizona, 1:20:52 
Full list of half-marathon placement

Full marathon winners
Male: Julius Kosgei from Searcy, Arkansas, 2:28:38
Female: Jackie Pirtle Hall from St. Charles, Missouri, 2:42:03 
Full list of marathon placement

KSDK