Sacramento Running News

Mason Myers deserved a fist bump for his masters win in 2:41:26.

Local Men Dominate

By Mark Winitz

NAPA, Calif. — Two-time Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon winners Chris Mocko and Devon Yanko ascended the winners platform yet again at today’s 37th Annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon.

Mocko, age 28, of Folsom, who previously won the race in 2011 and 2012, emerged victorious in the men’s race with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 6 seconds.

Yanko (née Crosby-Helms), 32, of San Anselmo, dominated the women’s field after previously emerging victorious at the Napa Valley Marathon (NVM) in 2007 and 2012. The winners headed a sold-out field of 3,000 entrants who were greeted by blue skies, little wind, and ideal temperatures in the low-40s rising to around 60 degrees by the 6-hour finish cut-off time.

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The Napa Valley Marathon was this morning and if you were hoping for a top-spot, you had better have brought your long-game. A quick survey of the results shows a surprising number of the region’s top ultrarunners among the top finishers.

The winning woman was San Francisco’s Devon Crosby-Helms, whose 2:39:37 appears to be a new course record. According to my March issue of Ultrarunning, Crosby-Helms is also the woman who ran the fastest 100Km in the North America last year. (7:46:33 at the Mad City 100Km)

I don’t recognize any of the other top women, but the men’s field was stacked with some of the top ultra guys.

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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.

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