Reed Just Keeps On Trucking : He Buries Field to Win Bridge Run

Bo Reed expected tough competition in Sunday’s Coronado Bridge 6.5-mile run, but he expected it to come from the likes of Matt Clayton of Imperial Beach, Jim Klein of Flagstaff, Ariz., and defending champ Thom Hunt of Coronado--not from pace trucks.

In his previous road races, Reed had never been close enough to the lead to even see a pace truck.

But this was different. This time Reed stretched out such a wide lead early on (about 50 yards at the three-mile mark) that the “pack” had trouble keeping him in view.

“My goal was to hurt,” Reed said. “To feel pain.”

And Reed, the eventual winner, came close to feeling more pain than any masochistic runner could long for. He twice had to dodge race vehicles, the drivers of which insisted on navigating corners at the same time Reed rounded them.

A little-known 23-year old from Flagstaff, Ariz., Reed had his first close call as he turned the corner from Crosby Street onto Harbor Drive.

A half-mile later, a pedestrian held up a second pace truck as it tried turning from Harbor onto Fifth Avenue. After the truck stopped, the pedestrian scooted into Reed’s path, forcing him in front of the truck, which shifted into gear and had to again come to a quick halt to let him go by.

“I thought there was some bad driving going on,” Reed said. “A truck almost nailed me on a couple of the turns.”

But when it was over, Reed was the only one to have done any nailing, hammering home in a course record of 31:27.

“My goal was to hurt,” Reed repeated, “but honestly, I didn’t think I could hold it (the pace).”

Neither did the other runners.

“I’d say it was surprising how easy he won,” said Hunt, last year’s winner. “He really beat some good people.”

Hunt, citing lack of fitness, finished out of the top 10 at 33:39.

Not only did Reed have to dodge vehicular traffic, he also had to put aside the pain of a blister on his right foot that burst open on the bridge’s decline, soaking his shoe in blood.

“In the back of my mind, I could feel it,” Reed said. “But I didn’t dwell on it. I knew there would be time to limp around after the race.”

Harry Green of Palo Alto finished second in 31:43. Clayton was third at 31:53.

A course record was also set in the women’s race as Tina Ljungberg, a native of Sweden who now lives in El Paso, Tex., crossed at 36:00. Kellie Cathey, the prerace favorite from Fort Collins, Colo., was second at 36:52.