Hunt and Lasee-Johnson Win in Coronado Bridge Run

Thom Hunt of Coronado overtook Matt Clayton with half a mile remaining Sunday to win the ninth annual 6.5-mile Leukemia Society Coronado Bridge Run.

In the women’s division, Jeanne Lasee-Johnson of Bonita broke away from Canadian Sue Berenda at the 3-mile mark and held on to win by 17 seconds. Defending women’s champion Mindy Ireland of San Diego finished third another minute and a half back.

Clayton, a 23-year-old former San Diego State runner, was in the lead and seemingly in control of the race after 1 1/2 miles. However, stride for stride about 25 yards behind him, was Hunt, the 1986 Holiday Bowl marathon champion and the former American 10-kilometer record holder.

On the hill of 5th Avenue, Hunt began to close the gap between himself and the cramping Clayton, then took the lead as the two runners turned the corner at Laurel Street, about half a mile from the Balboa Park finish line. Hunt, 31, finished in 32 minutes 38 seconds, 8 seconds ahead of Clayton. Aaron Ramirez, 23, the 1986 NCAA cross-country champion from Tucson, finished third in 33:42.

“I was waiting for one of two things to happen,” said Hunt. “Either he was going to slow down or I’d have to go get him. I just kept being patient and actually, both things happened simultaneously. He started struggling and I said, ‘I got to go for it.’ ”

Said Clayton: “I was cramping a little bit. I think it was the pressure. I felt Thom back there the whole time. Once he started to make his move, there was nothing I could do to hold him off.”

In their previous meeting, the San Diego Track Club’s 4-mile cross-country championship, Clayton beat Hunt down the stretch after Hunt had led most of the race. In that one, Clayton said, “He took off and I reeled him in. Today, I took off and he reeled me in. He ran a smarter race than I did. It’s easier being the hunter than the hunted.”

In the women’s race, Lasee-Johnson, who didn’t sign up for the race until Saturday morning, finished in 38:01. The 31-year-old runner had planned on skipping this event to train for next month’s 8-kilometer women’s world championship in Alhambra.

Friday morning she changed her mind. “I was training Friday morning when my coach cut my workout short and said, ‘You’re ready for a race now.’ “You never know how you’re going to feel until the race actually begins. Today, I felt really strong.”