A record field of 24,700 runners lined the streets of San Diego for the thirteenth edition of the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon and inaugural half marathon on Sunday, June 6.
Coming out on top, former 5,000 meter world champion Richard Limo of Kenya, who earned his first career marathon victory in 2:09:59. Limo finished second in the LA Marathon on March 21.
After the race Limo told Competitor Running, "This was my first marathon win and I wanted to take a very good picture. This is wonderful.”
Kenya's William Chebor was second 2:10:15, and American Nicholas Arciniaga of Flagstaff, Arizona was third in 2:11:46. It was the highest placing ever by an American at the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego race. Arciniaga set a personal record by two minutes.
Former New York City Marathon winner Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa was a pre-race favorite, but ended up in seventh with a time of 2:14:41. Defending champ Khalid El Boumlili of Morocco had a disappointing day, ending up 35th overall with a time of 2:47:39.
Leading from the 17 mile mark, Russian Yulia Gromova won the women's division for her third straight year with a time of 2:27:42. She seemed very surprised by the threepeat, telling Competitor Running, "I didn’t believe in my victory. I didn’t believe it was real until I crossed the finish line.”
Shuru Diriba of Ethiopia was second in 2:29:09 and Serkalem Abrah, also of Ethiopia, was third in 2:32:06.
This is the first year a half marathon has also been run in conjunction with the event, drawing 13,561 runners.
Californians swept the top three spots in the men's division. Sergio Gonzalez of Oceanside won the half marathon with a time of 1:07:18, just edging out Kevin Poole of Folsom who was second in 1:07:42. Brad Poore of Sacramento was third in 1:08:11.
On the women's side, Jacquelyne Gallegos of Albuquerque, New Mexico was first in 1:21:00. Theresa Lowry was second in 1:21:52 and Jessica Brothers of nearby Carlsbad, California was third in 1:23:08.
Temperatures hit the low 80s during today's event, much warmer than the usual upper 60s for this time of year. Race organizers were prepared for the heat with extra water and medical volunteers. So far the only medical event reported was a minor injury from a runner who his hit by a slow moving car that was out on the race course.
Some runners took to Twitter to talk about the heat after the race. One runner reported, "Recovering from a nice walk/run half marathon. Had to add the walking for a bit cuz guess what? It's wicked hot in San Diego!!"
Several injured veterans also participated in the event, running the Wounded Warriors Marathon and Half Marathon. Richard Fouhy of Lakeside, California won the half marathon in 1:20:18. Michael Paul of Playa Del Ray, California won the men's division of the full marathon in 1:42:38 and Chelsea Biermacher of Kalamazoo, Michigan won the women's division in 2:48:10.
A brand new course was introduced at the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon this year. Runners started in the usual location of Balboa Park, but also ran through a part of downtown San Diego, the Padres' Stadium, Mission Valley and Fiesta Island before finishing in Sea World Park. The sold out event benefited the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Check here for the official results of the 2010 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon.
Comments
That's a funny quote from Twitter. Runners are usually pretty good at making fun of themselves.
Nice - doesn't sound like the heat had too bad of an effect on the day.
I love that race!
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