Winners Stay the Course in Irvine

Confusion on the course did not prevent Riverside’s Wilhelm Gidabuday and Chula Vista’s Jeanne Lasee-Johnson from winning at the 13th Orange County Half Marathon Sunday in Irvine.

Race officials on bicycles leading the way for competitors accidentally veered off the course at about the nine-mile mark. The lead runners followed before the problem was discovered and they were eventually directed back to the course.

“I was hoping to finish with good time, but when the mix-up happened, I just started thinking about winning,” said Lasee-Johnson, who won the women’s division with a time of 1 hour 16 minutes 58 seconds. “Other than the confusion, I felt really good out there today.”

Gidabuday shrugged off the mix-up and ran the course in 1:05:43 to win the men’s race for the second consecutive year.

“For the first 25 minutes, there were a couple of guys about 15 or 20 seconds ahead of me,” he said. “But after the 10,000-meter mark I caught them and got stronger from there.”

Danny Reed of Laguna Niguel finished third in the men’s division with a time of 1:06:59. Reed, who has been invited to run in the Boston Marathon next year, was happy with his finish.

“This was my long-distance test, so I went out easy and started rolling,” he said. “With this field, I’ll definitely take third.”

Kelly Flathers and Dolly Ginter of Huntington Beach, teammates on the Cal Coast Track Club, finished second and third behind Lasee-Johnson in the women’s division.

“I was hoping to be closer to first, but [Lasee-Johnson] was running strong today,” said Flathers, who finished with a time of 1:17:26. “So I was hoping to run a six-minute [mile] pace and finish strong.”

Ginter, whose time of 1:17:43 was a personal best, said running with Flathers helped her.

“It was nice to be out with a teammate, especially during the mix-up,” she said.

Race organizer Bill Sumner said the race was a success despite the mishap.

“If you take that out of it, the race was near picture-perfect,” he said. “It was 60 degrees with a little bit of fog when we started, and people were really moving out there.”

Mike Moreno of Placentia won the men’s 5K in 15:09. Erin Petrossi of Fullerton finished second in the women’s division with a time 17:46, one second behind winner Rosa Linda Alcata of Long Beach.

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Results

MEN

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Pos. Name Time 1. Wilhelm Gidabuday 1:05:43 2. Gray Mavhera 1:06:55 3. Danny Reed 1:06:59 4. Oscar Gonzalez 1:07:20 5. Jamie Padilla 1:09:12 6. Chris Clark 1:11:17 7. Jose Ortiz 1:11:41 8. Juan Ramirez 1:13:39 9. Chris Jaggers 1:14:40 10. Enrique Santoyo 1:14:46

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WOMEN

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1. Jeanne Lasee-Johnson 1:16:58 2. Kelly Flathers 1:17:26 3. Dolly Ginter 1:17:43 4. Melanie Ellis 1:18:09 5. Briana Frigo 1:24:11 6. Merce Sastre 1:25:59 7. Anissa Seguin 1:27:10 8. Jennie Johnson 1:28:52 9. Maia Maduen 1:28:56 10. Sabrina Caplis 1:29:25

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