San Diego International Marathon : Rivas Takes Off After 10 Miles to Win Easily

They had been battling for the lead for almost an hour, and when Carlos Rivas of Mexico took off at the 10-mile mark, two of his closest competitors--Sam Sitonik and Walter Sergent--speculated on how long he could hold out.

Turns out, it was longer than they expected as Rivas ran away with Sunday’s San Diego International Marathon, winning with a personal best time of 2 hours 12 minutes 8 seconds.

Malcolm East, from Butler, Pa., was second in 2:18:21. Sitonik, a Kenyan living in Albuquerque, N.M., was third (2:19:04) and Sergent of Colorado Springs, Colo. was fourth (2:20:01).

“Sitonik said, ‘He’ll slow down,’ ” said Sergent, laughing. “And he didn’t. People were shouting out how far behind we were and I turned to him and said, “He’s not fading very fast.”

It was a mistake to think he would, the others said in retrospect.

“As a competitor I don’t like to make a mistake,” Sitonik said. “I realized I’d made a mistake by letting him go.”

Said East: “I ran a dumb race. I stayed back a little bit too long. I guess it was around the 18th and 19th miles that I decided I’d better start running.”

By then, it was too late. Rivas was already striding down Nimitz Boulevard near the finish.

Rivas, who finished second in his last marathon at San Francisco, carefully chooses races because of a small budget. He works an 8-hour shift in a Mexico City grocery warehouse, training in his spare time. His $3,000 earnings from Sunday’s race will go toward paying for his next marathon.

“We can’t spend a lot of money,” said Jaime Martinez, Rivas’ coach. “We look for (races) that aren’t too expensive.”

Rivas, 26, said through an interpreter that he felt so good at the 10-mile mark that he decided to push the pace. He said he felt strong the entire race.

It’s no wonder. Rivas trains at Desierto de Leones, elevation 11,000 feet.

Henry Rono of Kenya, once one of the world’s great distance runners, is just glad to be training at sea level. He entered Sunday’s race in another comeback attempt from alcohol-related problems.

Rono, who has entered a number of rehabilitation centers for treatment in the past 4 years, completed his fifth marathon in 3:27, more than an hour slower than his first marathon at Chicago 2 years ago.

“I was hoping for a 2:56, but I’m just happy to finish,” Rono, 36, said.

In the women’s race, Chantal Best, 26, also took off at the 10-mile mark and then fought off fatigue to win in 2:42:22, her personal best and first marathon victory.

Suzi Morris of Leucadia finished second in 2:43:37; Maricarmen Cardenas (2:44:29) was third.

Kim Q. Berkshire contributed to this story.