Tri-County Running Club had something to smile about Saturday as
its runners dominated the 5K/10K Reek Run through Bonfante
Gardens.
Tri-County Running Club had something to smile about Saturday as its runners dominated the 5K/10K Reek Run through Bonfante Gardens.
Training three days a week paid off for Tri-County as they took the top places in both the 5K and 10K races.
The local running club’s dominance was most apparent in the shorter 5K where nearly 10 of the men finished before a non-club member crossed the finish line. In the 10K, the club runners finished in the top two spots.
“The course was pretty good,” said Hollister’s Frankie Renteria, 21, who was apologetic for leaving his teammates in the dust with a 16:22 finish in the 5K. “It seemed a little long, but it wasn’t that hard.”
Jonathan Rivera, 17, of Hollister, battled most of the way for first in the 10K, and pulled ahead in the stretch run.
The women’s club runners didn’t fare as well as the men, but they still dominated their categories. They finished one, two in the 10K, but saw a non-club member take the 5K.
“The course wasn’t easy,” said Fremont’s Holly Root, a junior at Chico State. She turned in a time of 19:25 in the 5K, the best among the women.
The top two women finishers in the 10K race were accustomed to finishing alongside each other. Grecia Garcia and Adrienne Tabag, both 17 and from North Monterey County, weren’t trying to top one another, just finish together like they have done in the past.
This was the first event in the Garlic Festival which officially kicks off next week.
It was also the first time in 10 years that the run was held at Bonfante Gardens, formally Hecker Pass Park. In previous years, the run was held at Gavilan College.
