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RRCA Championship Spotlight
RRCA National Marathon Championships Reported by Mark Winitz March 1, 2009
Peter Gilmore
WhenItClicks.com
Mary Coordt
WhenItClicks.com
The Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon in Napa, CA served as the RRCA National Marathon Championship. The marathon boasts one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Despite the rainy, but otherwise temperate conditions, a remarkable 1,822 runners (out of 1,895 starters) finished the 26.2-mile race that runs the length of the beautiful Napa Valley. Beginning in Calistoga, famous for its geysers and curative waters, the race winds south along the historic Silverado Trail to finish in Napa. It was the all-time highest finisher count for the race for the second year in a row. Californians Peter Gilmore, age 31, of San Mateo, and Mary Coordt, age 39, of Elk Grove, were named RRCA National Marathon Champions. Both runners registered clear-cut wins, finishing well ahead of their competition. Gilmore’s winning time was 2:23:05, the second-fastest men’s time at this race in the past 15 years. Coordt topped the women’s race with a finishing time of 2:48:54 and claimed her third RRCA National Marathon Champion title. Johannes Rudolph, age 43, of Boulder, CO, captured the RRCA Masters men’s title in 2:33:41, while Cinthya Vielma, age 42, of San Jose, CA, garnered the Masters women’s title with her time of 3:06:15. Visit www.napavalleymarathon.org for more information.
RRCA National 10K Championships Reported by Jean Knaack March 29, 2009
Trevor Ward
Kristi Rossi
brightroom.com
18 ClubRunning • S p r i n g / S u m m e r 2 0 0 9
brightroom.com
The Presidio 10 in San Francisco served as the RRCA National 10K Championship and was held in conjunction with the 51st Annual RRCA National Convention. Racers lined up at the starting line on the beautiful, sunny morning of race day. Shortly after the gun went off, runners were treated to a steep uphill climb to the Golden Gate Bridge. As the mass of runners crossed the bridge, they could see Jonathon Pierce already on his way back, running alone with a large gap between him and the rest of the pack. He won the RRCA National 10K Champion title with a time of 31:31. Pierce, a 2008 RRCA Roads Scholar grant recipient, is currently training with the Mammoth Track Club in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Kristi Rossi, age 40, from Hillsborough, CA was awarded both the RRCA National 10K Championship title and the RRCA Masters Champion title. She won the women’s race with a time of 41:23 and a pace of 6:39. The RRCA 10K National Male Master Champion title went to Sherwick Min, age 42, with a time
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