PALISADES-WILL ROGERS 5/10K

Hometown Favorites Win Holiday Race

A spirit of patriotism and pride for country exuded from the Recreation Center last Sunday morning as friends and neighbors, most dressed in red, white and blue, gathered to watch and participate in the Will Rogers 5K/10K, one of the Palisades’ proudest Fourth of July traditions. Shortly after Miss Palisades winner Gilli Shir Messer sang a stirring rendition of the national anthem, 2,204 runners packed the intersection at Alma Real and Toyopa to begin the 27th annual race. Less than 15 minutes later, the first runner was already crossing the finish line and, to nobody’s surprise, it was hometown favorite Peter Gilmore. Gilmore won the 5K for the seventh time in 10 years, finishing in 14:12. Though he ran the 3.1 miles two seconds slower than the record time he set last year, the victory was just as satisfying for the 27-year-old Palisades High alum. He dedicated the win to John Holcomb (whose wife, Cynthia, passed away in October) and their kids, Mariel and Johnny. “I wanted to do this for them,” Gilmore said upon catching his breath. “I’m not an artist or musician, this is just my way of expressing my love and support for them because they’re a great family and they’ve always supported my running. Cynthia looked forward to this race every year.” Though the 10K has been run every year since 1978, the 5K race was not added until 1986. Gilmore has broken the course record on four occasions and owns five of the six fastest times ever. He won the Post Cup Award as outstanding senior athlete at Pali in 1995, went on to run track and cross country at UC Berkeley and has lived and trained in Menlo Park ever since. “It was nice and cool today, but I knew at the two-mile mark I wasn’t going to beat last year’s time,” Gilmore said. “I’m training for the marathon now, so I haven’t been doing as much speed work. My focus now is on marathons and my ultimate goal is to qualify for the Olympics.” In stark contrast to Gilmore, 5K women’s winner Anna Aoki was running the race for the first time. She found the flat course to her liking and clocked in at 17:15, over a minute and a half ahead of the second-place finisher. Aoki attributed her fast pace to trying to keep up with 10K winner Kara Barnard. “I started off great and after about the first half mile, she [Barnard] was the only other girl in sight. She was running so fast, I couldn’t believe it,” said Aoki, in town to visit her boyfriend, tennis player and teaching pro Brady Heite. “I ran the first mile in 5:15 and was hoping for a little bit of a faster time but I’m happy with it.” Aoki, 26, works in the education department of the NCAA’s national headquarters in Indianapolis. She was twice PAC-10 Conference champion in the 10K and an All-American in cross country at the University of Washington. While Gilmore was motivated by personal reasons and Aoki ran on a whim, Barnard participated in this year’s race for the same reason she always does–because she loves the friendly atmosphere surrounding her hometown race. “I love Palisadians,” Barnard said after burning up the pavement to win her third 10K and eighth Will Rogers race overall. “The people here are great. Everyone is so friendly and supportive. It’s an amazing feeling to be running and have people cheering you on the whole way.” Three days shy of her 26th birthday, Barnard ran the 6.2-mile course in 35:24, the fourth fastest time in race history. Running at a 5:41-per-mile pace, the former PaliHi and UCLA cross country standout bettered her previous-best time by over two minutes. After winning back-to-back 10Ks in 2001 and 2002, Barnard won the 5K for the fifth time last year, finishing in 17:02. She won four straight 5Ks from 1997-2000, improving her time each successive year. Huntington Palisades resident Brad Becken, won the men’s 10K for the first time in six tries, finishing in 32:51 to hold off last year’s co-winners Nate Bowen and Tyson Sacco. Becken was ninth last year. “One guy [Bowen] was within 10 seconds of me but he never reached my shoulder,” he said. “It was easy to see where everyone else was when we got to the switchbacks.” Becken, 24, was on the cross country and track teams at Davidson College in North Carolina, where he graduated with a degree in economics last year. He is now interning as a financial analyst for Fine Arts Entertainment in Beverly Hills and plans on going to graduate school. Among the local age group winners was 16-year-old Ali Riley, who ran the 5K in 19:25 and won her age group for the second straight year. She is a standout in track and soccer at Harvard-Westlake High and recently joined a SoCal United U-17 girls club soccer team that is currently ranked No. 1 in the country. Riley’s mother, Bev Lowe, was first in the 50-54 age group of the 10K in 44:19. “I don’t like to run long distances, but once a year is okay,” said Riley, who was wearing her mom’s ‘lucky’ race t-shirt from 1987. “It’s a fun race. Today I felt a little pressure to repeat because I won my age group last year.” Christine Kanoff, Kathryn Gaskin, Danielle Greenberg and Nicola Kronstadt swept the top four places in the 12-and-under division of the women’s 10K while Alyssa Tennant, Stephanie Sommer and Haley Greenberg took three of the top four spots in the 13-15 age category. Janet Sherman finished first in the 60-64 age group of the 10K, finishing in 51:13. Carol Leacock ran the 10K in 1:19.53 while her husband, Palisades Bike Shop owner Ted Mackie, was first in the men’s 70-75 division. Andrew Martin was first in the 70-74 division and Chuck Workman topped the 60-64 category. In the 5K, Rita Gilmore, Peter’s mom, was second in the 60-64 age group while Barnard’s mom, Kathy, was fourth. Diane Goldberg won the 70-74 category in 41:44. Lauren Rode, Amber Oisen and Mackay Gunderson placed second, third in the 19-29 division while Carol Gordon, Robin Spencer and Tammy Poulos finished second through fourth in the 40-44 age group. Sweeping the top two spots in the 12-and-under men’s 5K were Bryce Caster (22:21) and Stephen Shigematsu (23:20). Other Palisadian 5K age group winners were Anthony White (45-49), Bob Gold (70-74) and 79-year-old Joseph Rossi, who finished in 31:12. Fellow Palisadian Ken Adams (33:58) was second in the 75-99 age category.