Carlos Siqueiros embodied the loneliness of the long distance
runner Saturday.
San Juan Bautista – Carlos Siqueiros embodied the loneliness of the long distance runner Saturday.
The 25-year-old San Jose runner was on his own after the first mile as he easily won the 24th annual Mission 10-Miler in 54:08.
On the other hand, Shannon Fredeen was accompanied for nine of the miles by Stella Gibbs. But Fredeen, a mother of four from Turlock, took off in the last mile to win in 1:09:15.
Steve Flint is new to the area but he made himself at home on the 5K course, clocking a 16:55 to take first by four seconds over Michael MacHado.
San Benito High senior Dana Balsey was the women’s winner in 21:07, well ahead of Glorybelle Lillie’s 22:25.
The rains had cleared out by the time the 420 runners toed the starting line at Mission San Juan Bautista. Temperatures were in the mid to upper 50s over a course that featured one significant hill for both runners.
Siqueiros, who works at the Runners High store in Menlo Park, said he was hoping to run faster. Given the time of the year, however, he felt the run fit into the objectives he is working toward, which is qualifying for the Olympic Trials in 2008.
“I was pretty much alone after the first mile,” Siqueiros said. “The hill was the hardest part. It caught me and brought me back to a six-minute mile. I had to hustle back in the low 5s to get back on pace. This is always a good time of year to check your fitness level, to see where you’re at and where you need to be.”
Enrique Lopez of Salinas was second in 56:46.4 with San Benito High senior distance runner Rigo Vasquez, the only other runner to break one hour, clocking 59:06.
“It was the second time I’ve done (the 10-mile) race,” said Vasquez, who was second in the 5K race last year. “I did 1:02 here two years ago. I was happy with my time.”
Fredeen, 34, made the commute from Turlock. The 10-mile distance was new for her, although she has run longer distances including a 3:28 at last October’s Long Beach Marathon.
“I’ve never really run 10 miles,” said Fredeen, who qualified for April’s Boston Marathon at Long Beach. “I had a friend in Turlock who found out about the race. We decided it would be good to run. It’s awesome, a very nice course. I was in good company running with Stella. She was my motivation.”
Gibbs was 20 seconds behind Fredeen at 1:09:35 with Alyssa Flores third in 1:12:26.
Actually, Gibbs was only part of the motivation for Fredeen, the fitness director and a personal trainer at Brenda Athletic Club in Turlock. Her four children, ranging in ages from 2 to 11, keep her on the move, Fredeen acknowledged.
Flint moved to Marina from Durango, Colo., two months ago. He is working to earn money so he can take a mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints.
“I was able to open up on the downhill portion but it hurts on the way back,” Flint, 18, said. “Hey, when you’re running it’s going to hurt you either way. I like to run competitively and I enjoyed the course.”
So did Balsey, a cross country runner and distance person on the track team at San Benito.
“My time was OK,” Balsey said. “I want to get my mile time down to 5:15 so I’m training as hard as I can. I’m running against the clock.”
It’s that way for all runners, only more so for Siqueiros who was out on his own for nine miles.
