Reed Wins Half Marathon on Cruise Control
Danny Reed stayed close to home and far from the competition Monday at the Flo-Jo Memorial Half Marathon in Laguna Hills.
Reed, a 40-year-old Laguna Niguel resident, won the 13.1-mile race in 1 hour 10 minutes 37 seconds, two minutes ahead of second-place finisher Eli Gutierrez, 20, of Norwalk.
“It was easy,” Reed said. “After a while, I just started cruising.”
Reed said he’s still mending from last month’s Boston Marathon, where he finished 37th overall and fifth in the 40-and-over masters division, in 2:26.49. Reed ran the first half in 1:09.42, but developed a blister on the inside of his left foot around mile 10. It popped about five miles later and forced Reed to run the last 10 miles in pain.
“It was on fire,” Reed said. “Especially on the downhill sections.”
Reed thought about dropping out, but held on and pocketed $1,000 for finishing fifth among the masters. Wearing the same blood-stained shoes Monday, Reed burst out to an early lead and quickly turned it into a one-man race.
Gutierrez, who runs for Rio Hondo College, said he watched Reed at the start and knew it was a race for second place. After he crossed the finish line, Gutierrez marveled at the speed of a man twice his age.
“That’s a 20-year-old compared to a 40-year-old,” said Gutierrez, who finished in 1:12.49. “[Reed] is pretty good.”
Gutierrez rode to the race with his coach at Rio Hondo, Marco Ochoa, who was also the event’s defending champion. Ochoa, who lives in Fullerton, finished sixth in 1:15.36.
Ochoa didn’t expect to challenge for the title. He only recently decided to make a comeback in competitive distance running.
Ochoa, who finished fifth at the Olympic trials marathon in 1996, missing an automatic bid by one minute, has recently set his sights on the New York Marathon.
The marathon will serve as the U.S. men’s and women’s national marathon championships this year. The race, to be held Nov. 4, will offer big prize money to the Americans, in addition to the cash benefits normally associated with the event. The five fastest U.S. men and women receive bonuses starting at $15,000 and going down to $4,000.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get back into the shape I want to,” Ochoa said. “But I’m going to take another shot at it.”
Dolly Ginter, 37, of Huntington Beach won the women’s division in 1:22.39. Ginter ran in preparation for the next Dannon Duathlon Championship Series stop in Alpharetta, Ga., on June 10. The race consists of two five-kilometer runs sandwiched around a 30-kilometer bike ride.
“I just got back from Big Bear last night,” Ginter said. “I’ve been riding my bike all weekend.”
Ginter held off Cal Coast track teammate Kristin Farmer of Rancho Santa Margarita, who was second in 1:23.41.
Farmer, 32, is a former La Quinta High multi-sport star who at one time held the Southern Section record for career assists in girls’ soccer. Farmer took some time off to have a baby 17 months ago, but is starting to run some of the best times of her career.
She finished fifth in her age group at the Carlsbad 5,000, considered one of the top five-kilometer races in the country, and was third overall in the Laguna Classic 10K earlier this month.
Farmer said she felt so good after Monday’s half marathon that she plans to race Sunday in the Rock N’ Roll Marathon in San Diego.
“I held myself back a lot during this race,” she said, “just to see where I was at.”
Farmer said she wants to maintain a busy schedule because she’s not sure how much longer she’ll be able to compete. She and her husband, Matt, hope to add to their family sometime next year.
“I might not be here a year from now,” she said.
Finishing third in the women’s division was Amy Skieresz of Agoura Hills, the 1996 NCAA cross-country champion at Arizona. Skieresz crossed the line in 1:25.18.
Gray Mahvera of Casa Blanca won the 5K in 15.44. Steven Murray, a Santa Margarita High senior who was the Times’ Orange County runner of the year in cross-country last fall, finished third in 16:09. Teresa Vega of Chino Hills won the women’s division in 18:13.