Time and miles quickly passed by as Racemine of Morgan Hill hosted the second annual Nor Cal Half Marathon and 5K in downtown San Jose on Sunday.
Construction and logistics in downtown prevented a full marathon this year. However, a new distance – the 3.1-mile was added. Next year endurance athletes will get to enjoy the 26.2-miler again.
But this time, everyone toed the line on Santa Clara Street near the HP Pavilion at 7:30 a.m. in the cool weather.
The miles flew by on the flat course. For some reason I expected another mile but there was the finish line. The race ended right when I warmed up.
The 5K winners blasted their way to the finish at the Arena Green area with Austin Hallahn, 37, of Santa Clara winning overall in 20 minutes, 49 seconds.
“I moved over to America three months ago . . . I would take up the running and this is my third 5K,” remarked Hallahn who moved from Ireland. “It was perfect cloudy – people are calling it cold – I find it a good Irish summer.”
Sonora’s Camden Wilson, 16, came in second with 21:01 and Matt Kucera, 22, of the Czech Republic grabbed third in 21:47.
“The conditions were great. I loved it. The people here are amazing,” Kucera said.
Gabriel Ramirez of Salinas, 38, nabbed second in his age group with 22:16.
“It was wonderful. I’ve been at other races and the weather was too hot for me,” Ramirez stated.
Elizabeth Ramirez, 42, also from Salinas, was the first 5K female finisher in 22:48.
“It was really easy,” Ramirez said. “I encourage anyone to give running a try. It’s always a nice challenge and you feel good afterwards.”
Unbeknownst to me, I won second in my age division in 33-minutes flat, and missed the announcement while I was talking to the other winners.
Adult age division winners took home a bottle of wine and the younger ones got a Sports Basement certificate.
Soon, the racers of the half marathon arrived at the finish. Andrew Demas, 28, of Los Altos shut out the pack in 1:15:25 conquering the 13.1-miler.
“About mile nine, after the big hill, I started getting tired. It was harder to sustain a 5:45-6:00-minute mile pace. My toe started whacking into the front of my shoe and I tried to ignore it. My foot got so bloody and it was very painful,” Demas shared.
I shifted my gaze to his feet. Bright reddish stains were spreading from the tip of his white shoes. I sent him to the medical tent.
Second place winner, Casey Strange, 48, of Campbell breezed through in 1:17:12.
“I really like the course. My first race of the year. I was pleased with my performance,” Strange added.
Adam Little, 38, won the bronze in 1:17:30.
Salinas resident Sean Curry, 44, took second in his age group with 1:23:12.
“I feel really good today. I watched the leaders and knew I was in the top-10. I conserved a little bit of energy for the end. I tried to stay ahead of Stephanie Kato.”
Kato, 24, of San Jose tailed Curry and was female overall winner in 1:23:19.
“I was not expecting to win at all. It was a (personal record.) I was excited about that,” Kato said.
Jessica Wittmayer, 37, won second overall.
Kiyoko Ikeuchi, 35, of Mountain View was third female overall in 1:32:51. “I’m with the running addicts (a pacing group), the other pacers cheered for me,” she enthused.
Fremont’s Rebecca Yi, 38, achieved third in her age bracket with 1:36:36.
“This is all part of my training. I’m aiming for fast times in the Chicago Marathon in two weeks,” she explained.
Manuel Haro, 33, from Gilroy enjoyed his race and completed the half in 1:53:53.
“It was nice, flat and fast. It wasn’t crowded as other races,” he said.
Morgan Hill’s Zachary Abrams, 18, won silver in his age category with 1:28:47.
“I did really good. It was way easy. No hills, just little bumps. Nothing serious,” he said.
His father Allan, 55, pace leader for the two-hour group finished in 1:59:17. “I ended up with about six or eight runners at the end. We all got under two hours,” Abrams explained. “It was successful.”
For race results go to www.svetiming.com.
