Small Club Showing, But Big Results at Magic Shoe 5K
(Ed
Avol - Running Reporter)
Still, Club Ed members were a little hesitant to go race,
given that 15 of our racers were still recovering from the Boston Marathon, and
the prior week had been filled with unseasonable heat from a weather event and unexpected
smoke from nearby San Diego fires. Fortunately, the weather cooled a little,
the winds relented, and the race ended up being just a bit warm but not too
smoky.
Race-wise, the first three 5K finishers crossed the Finish Line
within 2 seconds of each other. Juan Paredes officially got the win in 14:34,
with Roosevelt Cook (14:35) and Brandon Bethke (14:36) chasing him through the
finish. On the women’s side, newcomer
Dann Mineo from Redondo Beach, just about to begin her medical residency at
Harbor General, surprised the field to win in 17:08 (but rich and Ed had
noticed her in the race warmup and predicted she would be fast). Club Ed
newcomer Kate Myers showed just one of the many reasons we’re excited to have
her in the group, nabbing second overall in 17:35. Rachel Baker of Redondo Beach (and the Janes
Racing Team) finished third in 17:42.
In the club racing category, several local racing groups
were present, including literally hundreds of Cal Coast runners (the race hosts
and organizers), seemingly hundreds of Equalizers (Coach Jerry’s incredibly
talented kids from Placentia), and assorted Southern Cal Road Runners, Janes,
Club Ed, Snail’s Pace, Jamul Toads, etc.
Aaron Munger and Humberto Sanchez led the way for Club Ed,
pulling each other along until Aaron got the win in 16:14 (with Humberto close
behind in 16:23). Both were recent PRs for these two rapidly-improving
athletes. Bill Weber showed the strength of youth, running 17:28 just weeks
after his 3:01 at Boston. Kate Myers was next, cruising along in the race with
headphones, until she realized the race was about over, running 17:35 and serving
notice that she will be rapidly moving to the front. Rich Gust finished in an
impressive 17:45, demonstrating he is most definitely on the comeback trail
while notching a friendly win over perennial co-competitor Tania Fischer of the
Janes. Nathalie Higley made a gutsy showing for the club, despite being unable
to breathe due to respiratory allergies (so who needs to breathe to run?).
Though disappointed in her 18:10 showing, her presence helped the team and made
a statement about her commitment to the group…and though not up to “Nathalie”
standards, she was still fast enough to win her age group.
James Reinhardt made an unexpected showing, running 18:51
while in town to visit high school friends. Former club member Paul King
(19:01) also ran the race, and asked Coach Ed-- halfway through the race-- how
Cal Coast had managed to convinced us all to come down and run. Coach Ed was
unable to answer, due to an increasingly pressing need for oxygen from about
the one-mile mark to the finish line. Nevertheless, Coach Ed did show he is
also on the comeback, finishing in 19:44 and winning his division
(first-left-handed-old-bald-guy-with-a-bum-knee-and-a-long-list-of-excuses).
Sharon Lotesto was there to race, fighting through the back
injury she suffered earlier in the week. In typical Sharon-esque fashion, she
ran tough and finished in 23:20, good for 2nd in her age group.
Rounding out our travelling team, Irene Mapua ran a respectable 25:19, just a
prelude to future faster times as she gets back into racing form.
We had fun, generally ran fast, and re-confirmed that age,
size, gender, and excuses don’t well-predict finish times… we look forward to
the next starting line, and hope to see you there!