While most people were relaxing on Saturday morning, athletic addicts showed up at the Coyote Creek Trail for the Mushroom Mardi Gras Fun Run in Morgan Hill.
The race is sponsored by the Live Oak athletic boosters to benefit all sports at the high school.
What better way to prepare for the Memorial Day holiday weekend than sweat, pain and good old-fashioned calorie burning? One hundred and sixty-one competitors toed the line in the dirt on the scenic out-and-back course.
The overall winners of the 5K and 10K received an Amazon.com $100 gift certificate and a Mardi Gras court-jester crown.
The serene backdrop plus gray skies were the perfect combo for decent times in both distances. Morgan Hill’s Ken Oliver, 51, and his 14-year-old daughter, Kendra, members of the South Valley Running Club, ran the 5K. Oliver dominated the race in 20:25.
“The weather was cool, overcast, which is great running weather,” he said. “ … I went out strong and ended up catching the person who was in first place at Mile 2, so from then on, I put the hammer down and to see if I can hold it to the end and I was able to pull it out.”
Kendra Oliver grabbed first place in her age group with 25:26. “This is my second 5K. I’m proud of what I did. It’s fun running with my dad. It’s our thing,” she said.
Andrew Bergholz, 38, also from Morgan Hill took second overall in 20:44.
“The race was fine. We’ve run this trail so many times,” Bergholz said and pointed at Oliver. “That guy with the funny hat passed me at Mile 2.”
“This is my running partner,” Annie Bergholz, 37, gestured to her husband, Andrew. “I only run twice a week. I wish I can train more, but I have work and kids.”
Annie won overall in the female division with 21:53.
I ran 3.1 miles at an easy pace in 34:17, drinking in the countryside and cheering fellow runners along the way. I kicked it in gear on the gravel near the finish, not realizing ultra marathoner Sean Curry, the winner of the 10K, was right behind me.
Curry, 44, of Salinas, triumphed 6.2-miles in 39:34. He planned to log 17 more miles on Sunday as part of his marathon training.
“I’m ecstatic. I wasn’t expecting to get first in the race. It was really exciting from the start. Everything came together. I ran 9 miles the night before; I thought it might take away my energy a little. But I felt good.”
Fremont’s Rebecca Yi, 37, won gold overall for the women in 42:58. Yi said, “I’ve done 103 marathons. This is my first Mushroom Mardi Gras race. It’s very low key and very friendly. People are very supportive.”
Marti Menz, 56, of Morgan Hill and a member of SVRC, took first in her age division with 49:47. “The weather was perfect, nice crowd here, fun time, it was great,” she said. “I had a very good race. ”
This was the first 10K for Jody McRoberts, 45, and her daughter, Shannon, 20. They live in Morgan Hill and are also members of SVRC.
“It was tough but not as tough as I thought it might be. My knee has issues, but the Lord strengthened me and I ran the whole 10K. The last mile was the longest,” McRoberts said. She finished in 1:06:44.
Yvonne Ducket, 54, of Mushroom Town, did the 10K in 1:33.44. “We’re going to have some cool-down bacon. That’s why we do this. We run for the breakfast. We go over to Betsy’s and have bacon afterwards,” explained Ducket. Because her friend Lynn Mito, 52, was behind schedule, Ducket didn’t begin the race with the other 10K runners. “We started at the 5K. I couldn’t run without my partner.”
Mito finished the 10K in 1:34:38. “It was fun, nice weather, it wasn’t too hot.”
“We are just getting started in our running careers. You’ll see us at a 50K in our wheel chairs and canes,” Ducket joked.
The younger McRoberts ran 6.2-miles in 1:07:20. “I’m glad I did it. I proved to myself that I could do a 10K. It was awesome.”
