RUNNING / TORRANCE 10-KILOMETER RACE : Hunt Has a Happy Birthday

Thom Hunt gave himself a birthday present Sunday, sprinting from the pack at the halfway point to win the Mobil Tom Sullivan 10-kilometer race at Torrance.

Hunt celebrated his 33rd birthday by running the 6.2 miles in 28 minutes 54 seconds to win $5,000. Leann Warren, who celebrated her 30th birthday two weeks ago, won the women’s race in 32 minutes flat. She, too, won $5,000.

The race, which drew more than 9,000 runners, also served as the national wheelchair championships. Craig Blanchette won the men’s race in 22:32, and Ann Cody-Morris won the women’s race in 25:32.

Hunt ran with a pack for about three miles when he grew impatient with the slow pace. He engineered a breakaway with four other runners. Hunt, of Coronado, was closely followed by Marcos Barreto of Mexico, but Barreto began to falter on the course’s hilly portions five miles into the race.

“From that point, it was just a matter of me finishing off the race,” Hunt said.