FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hafer, Coordt Dominate Windy Big Sur International Marathon
Reid, Somers Smith Pacific / USATF 5K champions
CARMEL, Calif. - (April 26, 2009) - A first time participant and a former
race champion dominated the field Sunday at the 24th presentation of the
Big Sur International Marathon. The challenging, hilly course was made even
more difficult by 20-30 mph headwinds confronting runners throughout the
morning. Nearly 10,000 participants completed the weekend's events that
included the marathon, marathon relay, 21, 10.6 and 9 milers and a Pacific
/ USATF 5K Championship.
Ryan Hafer and Mary Coordt met the challenge of wind, hills, a cold
temperature and the competition for uncontested wins. Hafer, a 22-year-old
resident of Colorado Springs, CO, making his Big Sur debut, took the lead
at the start and was never challenged. At 2 hours, 32 minutes, 17 seconds,
he finished more than seven minutes ahead of Eric Bowles, 23, of Los
Angeles (2:39:34). Edward Crowley, 27 of Flagstaff, AZ finished third in
2:40:14.
Completing a remarkable double marathon week, local standout Jesus Campos
of King City finished fourth in 2:45:00. Only six days after a very strong
showing in the 113th Boston Marathon, Campos scored his fifth consecutive
top five at Big Sur. Rounding out this group was Alan Rozendaal, 38, of
Portland, OR who ran 2:45:17. Scott Sneddon, a 46-year-old from Billings,
MT, took the Masters crown with a time of 2:53:53, also good for 10th
overall.
The women's race was also dominated by one runner from start to finish.
Mary Coordt, 39, of Elk Grove, CA, took the lead at the start and cruised
to an easy victory in 2:56:06. Coordt is now a two-time Big Sur champion
having won the 21st presentation in 2006. Julia Mallon, a 30-year-old from
Miami, FL, finished a strong second in 3:04:18. Mallon, originally from
Santa Rosa and a standout runner at Stanford University, loved her first
Big Sur experience, calling it her "new favorite marathon." Mallon's time
is even more impressive in light of giving birth in January and only
recently resuming serious training. Nancy Buselmeier, 25, of Buffalo, MN,
finished third in 3:07:00.
Rounding out the top five females were Laura Turner, 36, of Santa Barbara,
CA, placing fourth in 3:08:50 and Mary Jones, 38, of Ventura, CA, taking
fifth (3:09:35). Susan Nuzum, a 42-year-old from Boulder, CO won the
Masters championship in 3:17:14.
Two comments were prevalent among the runners, from the champions to the
six hour finishers. First, was that the course is the most beautiful in the
country and second, that "it was windy".
While marathoners made their way up Highway One, another 800 runners
participated in the Big Sur 5K, with Phillip Reid, 23, of San Luis Obispo
winning the Pacific Association / USATF division with a time of 15:15. He
was followed by Duncan Weru, 25, of Santa Clara, CA (15:27) and Mike
Styczynski, 26, of Folsom, CA (15:28).
The women's Open division saw veteran and 1996 Olympian Linda Somers Smith,
47, of Arroyo Grande, CA, winning in 17:45, followed by Magdalena Visser,
40, of San Francisco (18:04) and Nicole Campbell, 26, of Sunnyvale, CA
(18:06).
Team Fluid Santa Cruz dominated the Marathon Relay with the frontrunner
leading the full marathon pack through the first checkpoint station. Team
Fluid finished at 2:34:40, crossing the finish line just two minutes behind
marathon winner Ryan Hafer.
Race director Wally Kastner stated, "For a race of this magnitude and
complexity, we executed a nearly perfect race today."
24th Big Sur International Marathon
Carmel, CA, Sunday, April 26, 2009
MEN
1) Ryan Hafer (CO), 2:32:17
2) Eric Bowles (CA), 2:39:34
3) Edward Crowley (AZ), 2:40:14
WOMEN
1) Mary Coordt (CA), 2:56:06
2) Julia Mallon (FL), 3:04:18
3) Nancy Buselmeier (MN), 3:07:00
Full race results can be found at: www.BSIM.org
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