Clif Bar Mountains 2 Beach Marathon and Half Marathon Results From Last Sunday

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The Clif Bar Mountains 2 Beach Marathon and Half Marathon took place this past Sunday, May 26th, on Memorial Day wekeend. The course begins near Nordhoff High School in Ojai with a 10k road loop followed by over 10 miles of downhill, paved bike path before beginning a road and bike path loop near the Ventura Oceanfront. There is a net downhill of over 700 feet over the course.

We saw some of the final finisher coming through back up the bike path from Marina Park to Surfers Point underneath the pier.This I believe was the 3rd year of the event (previously called the Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon) and it has fast become very popular , selling out registrations for both the full and half marathon. I think it is safe to say that this is the fastest marathon course located solely in Ventura County. There 1,258 finishers this year and the top 3 finishers were:

  • 41 year old Ricardo Ramirez of Sun Valley in 2:31:23
  • 22 year old John Svet of Brea in 2:31:57
  • 52 year old Matt Ebiner of Covina in 2:32:55 (Run at age 52 and just 6 weeks after running the Boston Marathon 2 seconds faster! In fact Matt is something else...according to his El Camino College website, he is currently ranked #1 in the WORLD for age 50+ marathoners and ran the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Trials Marathons. Wow Matt, let's get you transfered out to a local Ventura County college!)

The top female finishers in the race were:

  • 33 year old Jenni Johnson of Tustin in 2:51:34 (16th place overall)
  • 20 year old Paige Burgin of Los Alamitos in 2:53:20 (23rd overall)
  • 29 year old Jill Himlan of Santa Barbara in 2:55:25 (32nd overall)

A total of 54 runners, or 4.3% of the total, ran under 3 hours at Mountains 2 Beach. That compares to less than 1% of runners at the Los Angeles Marathon, 2.2% of runners at 2012 Santa Barbara Marathon and 1.1% of the runners at last year's Rock 'n Roll Marathon in San Diego as a comparison.

The fastest marathoners based in Ventura County were:

  • 38 year old John Kitt of Ventura in 2:52 (18th overall)
  • 28 year old Jose Lastre of Camarillo in 2:55 (30th overall)
  • 40 year old James Casper of Newbury Park in 2:55 (33rd overall)
  • 37 year old Joseph Jauregui of Newbury Park in 2:59 (51st overall)
  • 28 year old Melissa Hernandez of Oxnard in 2:59 (54th overall, 6th female)

Congratulations! Learn more about this race at www.mountains2beachmarathon.com.

Running Through Hamstring Problem and Trying Out Skechers Running Shoes

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When my running is "off" I tend to have less to write about; hence the month long break between postings here. My right hamstring became problematic at a local 5K race on April 13th and I've been running through the issue for the last five weeks.

If this were a sharp pain I would take some time off, but since the issue is more of a general, dull, soreness, I opt to continue running. But I generally get away with about an hour of running. But the good news is that it feels a little less sore as the days pass by.

For years my kids take me to the local Skechers store at The Oaks Mall. I've purchased a few pairs of casual wear shoes in there and like their shoes, but never ventured into their "GoRun" running shoes. Well recently I gave it a try. And I like them!

These GoRun shoes only weigh about 7 ounces but actually feel reasonably cushioned to me. I was shocked at how comfortable and light they felt the first time I actually ran in them. I've worn these on trails and roads and they feel perfectly fine on both. And they look different than other running shoes.

Skechers GOrun ride offers extra cushioning for elevated comfort and support on every run. Shop now!