FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BAUER AND CROSSON VICTORS AT
40th ANNUAL KAISER PERMANENTE NAPA VALLEY MARATHON
NAPA, Calif. - March 4, 2018 - The 40th anniversary of the Kaiser
Permanente Napa Valley Marathon presented perfect conditions for racing
26.2 miles through California's picturesque Napa Valley. Cool temperatures
at the start in the mid-30s with little wind greeted over 2,100 entrants
eager for fast times. Andrew Bauer, 34, of Martinez, Calif. ran way with
the men's overall victory while Casey Crosson, 19, of Los Angeles, Calif.
earned the women's title. Bauer crossed the finish line at Vintage High
School in Napa with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 4 seconds. Crosson
secured her win in 2:50:49.
Both winners earned titles as 2018 Road Runners Club of America National
Marathon Champions and were awarded their "weight-in-wine" donated by
NakedWines.com. Nineteen-year-old Crosson will receive her wine when she
reaches age 21.
Bauer selected the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon (KP-NVM) as his
debut at the marathon distance after watching his wife compete in last
year's race and qualify for this year's Boston Marathon. Previously, he had
competed in half marathons and other shorter distances, including track and
cross country as a collegian, and in triathlons. Early in the race he ran
conservatively in a pack of four men which passed through the 5K point in
16:37. By halfway, eventual third placer Grayson Hough (age 26, Davis,
Calif.) had a one-minute lead, hitting the 13.1-mile split on the rolling,
26.2-mile point-to-point course that starts in Calistoga and finishes in
Napa in about 1:11:03.
Towards the end of the race it became a two-man contest as Bauer and Justin
Hall (31, Palo Alto, Calif.) battled for the victory with Hall eventually
taking the runner-up spot in 2:24:08, just four seconds behind the winner.
Hough was third in 2:28:03.
"Never having run a full marathon, I ran a couple of 23-mile training runs
in preparation for this race," Bauer recounted about his preparations for
his KP-NVM win. "Past mile 20 I just said 'OK, here we go. Let's do it.' I
tightened up a little bit and started cramping in my hamstrings and quads
at mile 21 or 22. I eventually just tried to settle myself down,
concentrate on my stride, loosen up and try to get to the finish."
Aaron Gassner (41, Durham, Ore.) secured the Masters (age 40 and over) win
in 2:46:44, finishing eighth overall.
In the women's race, three-time KP-NVM female champion Devon Yanko was
favored to walk away with her fourth win, particularly since she owns the
women's KP-NVM course record of 2:39:37 which she set in 2012. Yanko led
this year's contest after 4 miles, and recorded a split time of 1:24:27 at
halfway. Around 14 miles, however, she dropped out of the race, leaving the
door open for debut marathoner and eventual winner Casey Crosson, and
others.
"At that point I was just in shock," said Crosson who found herself in
first place. "I didn't expect it to last very long. My goal was just to
finish without walking. I expected to get passed pretty quickly and I
decided to just keep chugging along."
Crosson, a college freshman at Vanderbilt whose hometown is Los Angeles,
trains alone. Her longest race to date was 5K, but she put in a 20-mile
training run before lining up at KP-NVM.
"I just said 'whatever is going to happen in the last six miles today is
just going to happen.' I'm glad I didn't completely hit the wall," she
said.
Sarah Hallas (38, Cotati, Calif.) finished second in 2:51:01, 11 seconds
behind Crosson. It was Hallas' 32nd marathon. Kristen Zaitz (37,
Brookfield, Colo.), who is a three-time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
qualifier with a marathon personal record of 2:32:38, finished third in
2:55:12.
Dan Quatrochi (41, Boulder, Colo.) was the women's Masters victor in
3:06:56.
The Napa Valley Marathon's scenic point-to-point, USA Track and Field
certified course (for accurate distance) through the Napa Valley wine
growing country hasn't changed in the event's 40-year history.
In the accompanying Greater Kiwanis Club of Napa 5K Run, Kevin Fagan (age
51, Berkeley, Calif.) topped the men in 17:25 and Madison Denny (age 14,
Fairfield, Calif.) led the women in 19:07. Featured guest Joan
Benoit-Samuelson (age 60, Freeport, Maine), the gold medalist in the first
women's Olympic Games marathon held in Los Angeles race in 1984, finished
in third place in 20:24.
All proceeds from the Napa Valley Marathon (a non-profit organization) are
donated to local charities in the Napa Valley.
Full race results for the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon will be
available on the event's web site at www.napavalleymarathon.org.
For more information about the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon,
please visit the marathon's web site at www.napavalleymarathon.org.
The Napa Valley Marathon appreciates generous sponsor support from Kaiser
Permanente/Thrive, Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa, Legendary Napa Valley,
Road Runners Club of America, Whole Foods Market, Gatorade Endurance,
MarathonFoto, Napa Running Company, Running USA, USA Track & Field, KCBS AM
and FM Radio, KPIX CBS5, KBCW 44 Cable 12, XFINITY, KVON 1440 AM, KVYN/99.3
The Vine, Wallaby Organic, Napa Smith Brewery, California Half and Full
Marathon Series, and NakedWines.com.
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