Couple races to Village Runner 4th of July 5K championships
More than 2,000 runners and walkers participated in the 24th annual Village Runner 4th of July 5K. Photo
Juan Paredes won his second consecutive Village Runner 4th of July 5K with a time of 15 minutes flat. Photo courtesy of World Class Sports
Catching his breath after winning his second consecutive Village Runner 4th of July 5K championship, Juan Paredes turned around to look for his girlfriend, Valerie Sanchez, to cross the finish line.
Paredes only had to wait two minutes before the couple from East Los Angeles realized they had won the men’s and women’s divisions at the 24th annual race sponsored by UCLA Health.
Paredes, 27, crossed the finish line at 15 minutes flat holding off Stewart Harwell, 33, of Redondo Beach, who finished at 15:09. David Cardona, 25, of Torrance placed third at 15:40.
“It’s exciting to win the race two years in a row,” Paredes said. “I love the community race and the atmosphere. It’s a cool course which is why I came back and I’ll be back next year. The course is a little challenging on the way up but it’s downhill at the end making for fun finishes.”
Harwell finished third in last year’s race with a time of 15:04.
“I am so happy to move up to place second from third. A group of us three runners broke away, but Paredes surged late in the race,” Harwell said.
Cardona, who won back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014, continues to race competitively after successful careers at North Torrance High School, El Camino College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He currently trains and works as a track coach at El Camino.
“I just ran my best road mile up in Santa Barbara at 3:55,” Cardona said. “But I’m pleased to finish third in this race.”
Sanchez, 27, posted the women’s winning time of 16:59, outpacing D’Ann Arthur, 30, of Redondo Beach (17:39) and Mary Ladnier, 20, of Hermosa Beach (17:42).
Valerie Sanchez captured the women’s crown with a time of 16:59. Photo
“This is great to run on the 4th of July,” Sanchez said. “It was nice to run with my boyfriend, Juan Paredes the men’s winner. Last year was tough for me, I had to watch Juan win from the sidelines because of my knee injury.”
“I won the race previously, but this year I am proud to finish second,” Arthur said. “I am currently doing 70-80 hours per week of my orthopedic residency at Harbor UCLA Hospital, so the only time I could train for the race was at 4 a.m.”
Festivities began Tuesday morning with the Red, White & Blue Costume Contest won by Tyler and Tysen Lucas who comprise Team Lucas. The brothers compete in many local races with older brother Tyler pushing Tysen, who is wheelchair-bound with medical conditions including spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
The Laker Girls then led race participants in a warm-up before the runners and walkers headed to the starting line.
Prior to the start of the race, two-time Olympic high jumper Jamie Nieto was presented with the 2017 Pathfinder Award by Jac Folkert, Area Director of Marketing and Community Outreach for UCLA Health.
In April 2016, while coaching Olympic hopefuls at Azusa Pacific College, Nieto was demonstrating a backflip. His foot slipped on the rotation causing him to hit his head leaving him with a severe spinal injury and partial paralysis.
“I’m getting better everyday, getting stronger and more mobile with better balance stability,” Nieto said. “A couple of weeks ago I took 130 steps without a cane or walker so I’m getting there. It’s a true blessing for me to be here and be honored. People say you should be honored while you’re alive so this plaque means a lot to me.”
Nieto was accompanied by his fiancee Shevon Stoddart who is anxiously awaiting the moment when Nieto walks down the aisle during their July 22 wedding.
Nieto proposed to the Jamaican hurdler from his wheelchair six months after his accident.
Shevon Stoddart, left, joins Jamie Nieto after the two-time Olympic high jumper was presented the Pathfinder Award by UCLA Health’s Jac Folkert, right. Photo
One of the few world-class jumpers to jump off his right leg, Nieto has a best of 7’8 ¼” in the high jump which ranks as one of the top jumps ever by an American. He is a 4-time National Champion, 3-time All-American, 2-time Olympian and, in 2012 at the age of 35, was the oldest American high jumper to make the Olympic team.
Males winning their age divisions were: Sawyer Ross (Torrance, 1-8. 30:19), Ruihan Zhu (9-12, 22:00), Wade Nygren (Palos Verdes Estates, 13-17, 17:02), Alejandro Martinez Ambrosio (North Hollywood, 18-24, 15:50), Paredes (25-29), Harwell (30-34), Nick Knipe (Los Angeles, 35-39, 18:10), Aaron Mungren (40-44, 17:21), Thavee Nantarjanaporn (45-49, 20:41), Jon Megeff (Rancho Palos Verdes, 50-54, 17:16), Rich Gust (Hermosa Beach, 55-59, 18:58), Jeff Press (Hermosa Beach, 60-64, 20:330), Ed Avol (Manhattan Beach, 65-69, 21:56), Dennis Holderman (San Pedro, 70-74, 28:26), Chris Gagliano (75-79, 24:35) and Nathan Winer (Palos Verdes Estates, 80-99, 29:23).
Females winning their age groups were: Kate Olson (1-8, 25:05), Audrey Nakamura (Torrance, 9-12, 21:01), Melia Chittenden (Manhattan Beach, 13-17, 18:31), Ladnier (18-24), Sanchez (25-29), Arthur (30-34), Linn Schulte-Sasse (35-39, 18:31), Irene Prokos (Redondo Beach, 40-44, 22:47), Stephanie Boyd (Redondo Beach, 45-49, 24:30), Kirsten Leetch (Redondo Beach, 50-54, 18:38), Pamela Westhoff (Palos Verdes Estates, 50-59, 25:47), Julie McKinney (Palos Verdes Estates, 60-64. 25:42), Monyean Acuna (Hermosa Beach, 65-69, 30:33), Setsuko Abe (Palos Verdes Estates, 70-74, 30:23), Nancy Mustard (Redondo Beach, 75-79, 36:13) and Joann Bally (Redondo Beach, 80-99, 46:01).
The oldest of the 2,114 finishers was 93-year-old Marie Kopcho of Granada Hills with a tie of 58:34.
Following the 5K, while children and parents were lining up for the Firecracker Kids Dash, GI Joe Charles was hosting his $1,000 One Push-Up Challenge. Maurice Chambers outlasted his competitors to win the event.
Winners of the Firecracker Dash included: Hiroshi Ogawa (1-5), Becker Lopes (6-7), Morgan Marks (8-9) and Savannah Duke (10-12).
The post-race party that included the awards ceremony and raffle drawings was held at Rock & Brews, Redondo Beach.
Race Sponsors included lead sponsor, UCLA Health, Rusnak South Bay Alfa Romeo, who highlighted their new Alfa Romeo Quad as the official race pace car, 100.3 TheSound which provided tunes for the race, and COAST Fitness, the official gym. Plaza Del Amo Animal Hospital and Aqua Ball were also event supporters. Fresh Brothers Pizza provided
free pizza slices for the runners and Aqua Ball provided kid’s beverages.
The official Charity Partner of the race is the Redondo Beach Educational Foundation.
Complete race results are available at villagerunner.com.