Weekend Races: Napa Marathon and Redding’s NorCal 10
Saturday morning’s early rain showers let up long enough for runners of Redding’s NorCal 1o-Mile race to enjoy fairly warm conditions on that beautiful, if hilly, course along the Sacramento River.
The NorCal 10 is the first race of the Pacific Association USA Track & Field 2011 Grand Prix, and typically sees a highly competitive field. This year was no exception. There were 37 runners finishing the ten mile course in under an hour, including women’s winner Jane Kibii, of Kenya/Auburn, who ran 57:15!
The men’s winner was Mario Mendoza of Bend, Oregon, who finished in 51:53. Tim Tollefson of Roseville, at 3rd overall in 52:24, was the top area man, and 50-year-old Iain Mickle, of Sacramento, was the top Masters finisher in 55:57.
Jenny Hitchings, of Sacramento, was 4th woman and 2nd master, with a 1:02:40.
Many other Sacramento area runners saw fast finishes, including Brad Poore of Auburn (6th in 53:32) and Mike Styczynski of Sacramento (11th in 54:52).
Complete results are here.
In the Napa Valley Marathon, however, the weather was less kind to the runners and rain and wind were certainly a factor.
The race winners were Chris Mocko, of Palo Alto, who finished in 2:27:02, and Camille Herron, of West Lafayette, Indiana, who finished in 2:42:20.
The top local finisher was Chad Worthen, of Sacramento, who finished 4th overall with a 2:33:31.
The top area woman was Robin Soares, of Auburn, who finished in 3:22:02.
Austin Weaver, of Sacramento, and Kevin Pool, of Folsom, led the field early in the race, going out at a sub-2:19, or Olympic Trials qualifying pace. Sadly, Weaver dropped out after five miles and Pool was done by 15.
Napa Marathon results are here.