Pounding the pavement took on a new meaning Sunday underneath
the brutal, nuclear-fusion reactor high in the sky. More than a
thousand runners and walkers got in on the action at the first
NorCal Marathon and Half in downtown San Jose. South Valley
Endurance Timing and Racemine, LLC partnered in hosting the race
series, with cool medals for stalwarts running in both the NorCal
Marathon and Morgan Hill Marathon + Half this fall
Pounding the pavement took on a new meaning Sunday underneath the brutal, nuclear-fusion reactor high in the sky. More than a thousand runners and walkers got in on the action at the first NorCal Marathon and Half in downtown San Jose.
South Valley Endurance Timing and Racemine, LLC partnered in hosting the race series, with cool medals for stalwarts running in both the NorCal Marathon and Morgan Hill Marathon + Half this fall.
A sea of humanity bottlenecked at the start and slowly inched forward down the wide empty street, so I leisurely took photos while trying not to give the runner ahead of me a flat tire. Eventually everyone spread out and got into a steady rhythm.
Thousands streamed throughout the Silicon Valley capital with not much traffic in sight. It was cool running around the city and not having to deal with cars.
Toward the final miles of the 13.1-mile trek, the heat blasted me from all sides, especially on the dirt trail near the airport. The aid stations along the racecourse replenished my glycogen reserves with lots of Gatorade, water and pretzel snacks. The red-shirted volunteers cheered us as we trudged mile after mile. They were great.
While I documented my steps with camera during the race, winners of the half marathon crossed the finish at the Arena Green Park. Sergio Reyes won the race in one hour, four minutes, 55 seconds, followed by Miguel Nuci (1:04:57) and Jameson Mora (1:07:10).
Shortly thereafter the ladies came blazing to the finish, with Lindsay Nelson in the lead at 1:19:38. Brook Wells (1:22:57) came in second, and Alicia Freese (1:23:17) third.
Ken Oliver of Morgan Hill covered 13 miles in 1:36:43.
“This is the first of the three local half marathons for me: NorCal, San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Morgan Hill Half,” he said. “I always expect the first of the three to be a little weaker. … I expect that the Morgan Hill will be my strongest showing for the season.”
Morgan Hill’s Alan Simmonds won first place in the Clydesdale division in 1:42:31.
“I tried to keep up with the 1:40 pace, but about Mile 8 I lagged behind a little. Still not my fastest, but it was good.” said Simmonds, who trains with his wife, Bernadette, with South Valley Running Club and Train For Life.
Bernadette ran the half in 2:32:22.
“I really loved the course,” she said. “It was tougher than I thought it would be. I run for fun and fitness.”
Marathon champion Cheyne Inman of Vacaville won the overall title in 2:32:45.
“The first half I had the half marathoners to run with, and I was doing fine,” Inman said. “After the half, I was alone. I was a little off. I would’ve liked to qualify for the Olympic Trials, but it didn’t happen today. Hopefully in December I’ll hit the trial standard of 2:19.”
Chuck Engel from Coos Bay, Ore., snagged second in 2:34:59 with John Munene of Santa Clara taking third in 2:37:28.
“My target goal was 2:32, and it got really hot out there,” Engel said. “I didn’t have the right shoes for the course — a lot of loose gravel, much more of a trail marathon than a road marathon. It was nice, relatively flat, and it wasn’t bad.”
Munene is originally from Kenya.
“The race is nice, but it was too hot near the end, and it slowed me down. There wasn’t enough water out in the trail,” said Munene, who plans to redeem his performance at the Morgan Hill Marathon on Oct. 23.
The top three women in the 26.2-mile race were Suet-fei Li (3:14:03), Anne Gemkow (3:23:58) and Karen Tran (3:31:52).
RESULTS: Visit www.svetiming.com.
