Daniel Tapia won the men’s race and Sarah Crouch won the women’s race in record-breaking fashion in the inaugural Double Road Race in San Juan Bautista on Saturday.
Competitors first ran a 10k leg and then, one hour and 45 minutes later, started a 5k, with times from the two legs combined for scoring.
Tapia, 26, finished first in both legs, running a blistering 30 minutes, 28 seconds in the 10k and a 15:12 in the 5k for a combined time of 45:40.
That was a good 2:06 better than second-place finisher Adam Roach, and the fifth fastest time in men’s Double Road Race history. Matt Duffy (49:54), Charles Matheri (50:05) and 2013 Anzar High graduate Diego Leon (51:41) rounded out the top five.
On the women’s side, Crouch had a dominating performance, finishing her 10k in 35:02 and 5k in 17:21 for a combined time of 52:23 to set a Double Road Race women’s world record.
Tina Kefalas (55:24), Monica Nicholson (57:49), Christine Kennedy (59:10) and Rosa Gutierrez ((59:29) rounded out the top five. Two other Hollister residents had strong showings, as Carlos Vasquez finished 12th in the men’s race and Tracy Bloomfeldt was 12th in the women’s race.
