GILROY—More than 100 people turned out for the 40th annual Mt. Madonna Challenge Aug. 22. Runners came from as far away as Flagstaff, Ariz., but it was the locals who took home the lion’s share of the race’s awards.
Gilroyan Jose Cruz was crowned the 12K course champion. The 23-year-old battled an 1,100-foot elevation gain through the 7.4 mile loop and completed the course in 55:40. Travis Finucane, also of Gilroy, was close behind to take second in a time of 59:56. Santa Cruz runner Marcelino Mendoza took third for the men with a time of 1:06:40. Nancy Eubanks of Turlock, Ida Rosenblum of San Jose and Ana Bautista from Salinas finished first, second and third for the women, respectively, in the 12K course.
South Valley athletes dominated the podium in the 6K, too. Hollister’s Noemi Rivera was the 6K champ for the women, finishing in 37:03. Julianne Whitelaw, of Morgan Hill, took second in 37:23, followed by Gilroy’s Nora Hunt, who recorded a time of 39:34.
On the men’s side, Brad Jacobs from Mountain View claimed first in the 6K with a time of 29:07, beating out Gilroy’s Ruben Perez by mere inches. Perez took second with a time of 29:23, followed by David Law of San Jose in 32:36.
Nike Trail elite athlete David Roche, of Sunnyvale, tested himself against the 2,900 elevation gain and won the 30K in a blazing 2:11:31. His wife Megan, also a Nike Trail elite athlete, claimed the 18K overall and women’s titles, finishing the course in 1:30:19.
Zach Abrams of Morgan Hill wasn’t far behind David Roche, however. He took second in the 30K in a time of 2:30:58. Sean Curry from Salinas was third. Cecelia Chagoya and Valerie Weadon, hailing from San Jose and Salinas, respectively, were the two lone women to complete the 30K course. Chagoya finished in 4:22:14, while Wheadon recorded a time of 4:43:07.
Jason Reed from San Bruno was the 18K Male champion. He finished in 1:46:14, just ahead of Eric Hoke from Palo Alto who notched a time of 1:47:06. Rick Bravo of Prunedale was right on their heels to finish third in 1:51:06.
Erika Kikuchi took second for the women in the 18K, needing 1:57:10 to complete the grueling course. Carrie Dent was third for the women with a time of 2:23:06.
