Quinonez Wins for Second Time

Los Alamitos’ Gus Quinonez won his second consecutive Orange County Half-Marathon Sunday, outdistancing the field at the four-mile mark and cruising to the finish line in a time of 1:07.46.

Quinonez, 31, felt pressure from other runners three miles into the 13-mile race and put on a surge to take an unsurmountable lead.

“I saw them coming so I just took off,” Quinonez said. “After that I just tried to maintain a good distance from everyone else.”

Although Quinonez bettered his time from last year (1:09), by most standards it was not a fast race.

“He didn’t run as fast as he could have because he spent himself between four and six miles,” said race director Bill Sumner. “He put in a very hard surge and then he didn’t have to run a blistering fast race. He ran a tactical race.”

Emigdio Zarazua of Mexico City finished close behind Quinonez in 1:07.55 and San Diego’s Javier Zavala finished third in 1:08.11.

Austria’s Ulrike Puchner, vacationing in Southern California, won the women’s division with a time of 1:21.01. Chino’s Tina Escobar finished second (1:22.34) and Fountain Valley’s Michelle Conlay took third (1:23.34).