» 2008 Long Beach Marathon

Tens of thousands of participants and spectators descended upon the waterfront in Long Beach near the Convention Center this morning for the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon. In addition to the marathon there was a half marathon, a 5k run, a 1k kids run, a wheelchair race, a handcycle race, and a recreational bike tour. In other words there was something for everyone.

The Marathon Course

The course was changed slightly this year to include CSU Long Beach between miles 16 and 18. The introduction of the campus into the course had two major impacts on the participants. It introduced the motivation of a lot of cheerleaders and students encouraging the participants and it added some hills and one steep downhill. The course remained otherwise unchanged from years past. It goes across the bridge towards the Queen Mary and then in a loop and back across another bridge and then it tracks the coastline all the way through mile 10. From there it tracks north towards CSULB on an out and back course before turning back towards shoreline drive and the finish via Ocean Boulevard.

The Weather
The sky was perfectly clear but the temperature dropped precipitously compared to just days before. Bike tour participants were greeted with 52 degree air temperatures. Include the wind chill factor and it was about 45 degrees on the bike tour. Once the Marathon starters lined up it was still only hovering around 60 degrees. You could see people shivering as they waited for the start of the race. It was also slightly windy and the occasional gust would catch people off guard.

The Start
The Bike tour started almost exactly at 6AM. The sun had not even risen at this point. The marathon and half marathon were scheduled to start at 7:30AM but was delayed by 10 minutes which left the runners shivering and slightly grumpy. Finally the time came and nearly 10,000 people started down Shoreline drive on what would be for many the longest race of their lives. It took about 20 minutes just for all of the runners to pass the start line.

The Race
As the race went on the temperatures climbed to a more normal range. One thing you can say about this race is that it is very well supported. Hundreds of volunteers spread out at the water stations all over the course to keep the racers hydrated and motivated. This marathon also had some of the best spectators, many of them did not personally know any of the athletes but made sure they knew that they were proud of their efforts. The winner of the half marathon, Christian Hesch came in at 1:06:24 with second place Brian Livingston only two seconds behind. At this point people on their beach cruisers and mountain bikes were still finishing the bike tour. Fortunately the bike finish and run finish are separated even though they are right next to each other.

For the full marathon, Shin Nozaki came in at 2:21:21 which is a full 8 minutes faster than the winner last year. Second place Romualdo Sanchez came in only a little over a minute later. For the women Jasmine Sessions came in first with Ieng Klukken only one minute and ten seconds behind.

Nicholas Lopez who is only 15 years old won the 5k race with a 16:33 time. The first woman across the 5k finish line was Ceci St. Geme.

Finish Line Festival
The finish line festival was very well laid out and had something for everybody. Participants in all events are given water, bananas, bagels, and Cliff Shots after they finish. Then they are treated to numerous give-aways and yes the most important thing of all… Free Beer! Each participant of age was allowed one full cup of beer in the beer garden accompanied by live music. If after all of that you were still hungry you could visit any number of vendors selling food.

All for a Good Cause
Each year this event raises over $850,000 for charities. This year the event organizers expected that to reach or come near the one million dollar mark. Many of the charities are local to the area although some operate on a national scale. Each participant is given the option of donating when they register and in addition can team up to raise money for a specific charity. This event therefore has become the most important fundraiser each year for many of the charities involved.

RACE RESULTS

OVERALL MALE WINNER
Shin Nozaki 2:21:21

OVERALL FEMALE WINNER
Jasmine Sessions 3:04:18

MEN 15 & UNDER
Abel Contreras 3:51:02
Adrian Rios 5:47:43

WOMEN 15 & UNDER
Amanda Rabith 5:18:11

MEN 16-19
Andrew Rohrlich 3:04:14
Jemerald Soon 3:07:51
Bryan Rocha 3:08:19

WOMEN 16-19
Nicole Rapp 4:13:19
Yiding Zhu 4:26:29
Stephany Campbell 5:26:33

MEN 20-24
Tim Autshuas 2:26:12
Eli Rodriguez 2:26:27
Greg Reindl 2:26:46

WOMEN 20-24
Megan Schedler 3:33:23
Amanda Hicks 3:33:34
Amy Jimenez 3:38:19

MEN 25-29
Derek Decicco 2:35:47
Ben Brown 2:42:46
Blue Benadum 2:44:16

WOMEN 25-29
Colleen Sweeney 3:07:38
Jackie Miller 3:14:00
Megan Hosp 3:14:50

MEN 30-34
Michael Wardian 2:27:42
Aaron Gillen 2:44:00
David Quadhamer 2:45:43

WOMEN 30-34
Sawako Gonzales 3:14:52
Laura Roth 3:23:23
Heather Ryan 3:28:20

MEN 35-39
Fermin Sequen 2:28:41
Colin Macdiarmid 2:48:14
Brian Eldridge 2:50:08

WOMEN 35-39
Michelle Hoaglund 3:08:48
Taimi Schweighardt 3:11:10
Laurie Meacham 3:24:48

MEN 40-44
Hiroko Harper 2:51:55
Mark Johnson 2:52:34
Angel Soto 2:55:35

WOMEN 40-44
Lorena Ocon 3:22:58
Selina Nordberg 3:23:59
Meghan Ling 3:28:14

MEN 45-49
Paul Sexby 2:58:20
Thomas Roth 3:01:47
Chulseung Lee 3:01:57

WOMEN 45-49
Katie Tapia 3:27:03
Pam Reed 3:27:55
Yvonne Jessup 3:34:33

MEN 50-54
Craig Bronstein 3:08:44
Michael Taylor 3:08:51
Jim Stimson 3:11:05

WOMEN 50-54
Devere Karlson 3:30:13
Constance Boyd 3:36:29
Maria Randall 3:39:29

MEN 55-59
Craig Wheaton 3:09:22
Arturo Salcedo 3:20:38
Bill Kissell 3:30:18

WOMEN 55-59
Patricia Shapiro 3:47:30
Michelle Coulter 4:05:29
Donna Botkin 4:13:18

MEN 60-64
Michael Larkin 3:18:44
Bill Braun 3:26:08
Rick Allan 3:36:04

WOMEN 60-64
Sandy Israel 4:55:47
Mary Sculley 4:58:13
Inge Granzow 5:01:15

MEN 65-69
Vazgen Vartanian 3:29:03
Ralph Cripe 3:48:22
Jack Kirks 4:02:10

WOMEN 65-69
Pat Meyers 4:33:57
Jeannette Roostai 5:01:21
Aurora Ortiz 5:0124

MEN 70-74
Sail Hong 4:01:18
John Strand 4:59:11
Douglas Ahn 5:03:36

MEN 75+
Stanley Polski 4:40:31
George Border 5:04:49
Edward Salkin 5:05:14

WOMEN 75+
Marlene Kalish 5:14:02

HALF MARATHON OVERALL MALE
Christian Hesch 1:06:24

HALF MARATHON OVERALL FEMALE
Mary Akor 1:17:45

5K OVERALL MALE
Nicholas Lopez 16:33

5K OVERALL FEMALE
Ceci St Geme 17:17

WHEELCHAIR MARATHON OVERALL MALE
Raul Alvarado 6:26:55

HANDCYCLE MARATHON OVERALL MALE
Chris Fuller 1:34:24

HANDCYCLE MARATHON OVERALL FEMALE
Beth Sanden 2:50:56