Unlike the New Orleans Superdome where Super Bowl XLVII was held, there was plenty of light for Redondo Beach’s Super Bowl celebration Sunday as the absence of a marine layer provided ideal conditions for the approximately 9,000 participants and spectators who congregated near Seaside Lagoon for the event hosted by the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.
[scrollGallery id = 566]The course was as clear as the weather for Anthony Solis who outran his nearest competitor by nearly two minutes to win the 10K race at the 35th edition of the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K/5K presented by Kaiser Permanente.
The 22-year-old runner from Barstow bested the field of 3,173, finishing the race in 30 minutes, 46 seconds, marking the third consecutive year the winner of the race has completed the 6.21-mile course in less than 31 minutes.
“I was out in front from the start to the finish so really didn’t have anyone to work with,” said Solis, who runs for Team Nike Run L.A. “This is the first time I ran in this race and I used it as a tune-up for the U.S. 50K in Jacksonville, Florida next month.”
Solis outpaced Phillip Gonzalez, 35, of Arcadia who finished with a time of 32:41 and John Gardiner, 40, of Rancho Santa Margarita who placed third at 33:11.
Redondo Beach running icon Nathalie Higley captured the women’s division of the 10K with a time of 36:16. The 43-year-old improved her fourth-place finish in 2012 by 42 seconds.
Kirsten Leech, 47, of Redondo Beach finished second with a time of 37:27, outpacing Leilani Rios, 33, who crossed the finish line at 37:52.
In the 5K race, 26-year-old Stephen Kilroy of Norwalk defeated 2,930 participants to claim top honors with a time of 15:53.
Justin MacDonald, 17, of Manhattan Beach finished second at 17:01 and was followed by Brandon Arakawa, 18, of Long Beach who completed the course in 17:35.
“It’s a tougher course than you think,” said Kilroy, who was running his first Redondo Beach Super Bowl 5K after competing in the 10K two previous years. “There are a lot of hills out there.”
Grace Zamudio captured the women’s division and agreed that “the hilly part was the toughest part of the race.” The 19-year-old, who is a member of the cross country team at Glendale Community College, crossed the finish line at 18:35 and was seventh overall.
Zamudio beat another teenager for the title when Torrance 15-year-old Kimberly Coscia’s time of 19:21 edged Christine Appell, 34, of Huntington Beach who finished at 19:48.
Sandwiched between the 5K and 10K run/walk was the Baby Buggy 10K that drew 216 child-pushing participants.
Scott Rickert, 37, of Los Angeles won his second straight title after taking a four-year hiatus.
“This is great weather,” said Rickert as he lifted 4-year-old Adia from the stroller. “I can’t remember it being this good with no wind. I forgot how much fun this race is and really enjoyed the bagpipes along the course. Between the costumes and the scenery, when you’re on the run there’s so much to look at, especially for Adia.”
Despite being four years older and pushing more weight (Adia was four months old in the duo’s last win), Rickert improved his time from 38:16 to 36:21.
Leonardo Martinez, 37, placed second at 38:32 followed by Sergey Lototsky, 43, of Long Beach who moved up one spot from his 2012 finish with a time of 39:27.
Sunday’s festivities began with the ever-popular costume contest presented by the King Harbor Association. The turnout for the contest was the best in many years, featuring elaborate and imaginative costumes such as Road Kill, 1980’s MTV, a group of peanuts and elephants and a team representing the King Harbor Association that danced Gangnam Style along the course.
The contest marked the swan song appearance for the husband-wife team of Robin Charin and Mark Ferris. The couple first met at the Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10K in 1998.
“The meeting was set up for us and I told Mark I would be dressed as Napoleon,” said Charin, who has been donning costumes at the event since 1993. “Humor makes it work.”
Over the years, Charin and Ferris have entered the costume contest as Batman and Catwoman, Robocop 2 and Transformer, Dolly Parton Madison and Samuel Adams and Sponge Bob and Lady Pirate.
Along with Napoleon, Charin said her favorite costumes were Catty Woman last year and this year’s depiction of a “Long-past-her-prime Barbie.”
Charin and Ferris are hoping that the King Harbor Association allows them to be judges of the contest in future years.
Male division winners in the 5K included: Kyle Pederson (14U, Hermosa Beach, 19:45), MacDonald (15-18), David Chalmers (19-24, 19:38), Kilroy (25-29), Matthew Parlee (30-34, Lawndale, 19:01), Bruce Reisenfeld (35039, Los Angeles, 17:53), Anthony Saxon (40-44), Whittier, 20:30), Jon Rummler (45-49, Redondo Beach, 18:35), John Yamashita (50-54, Rancho Palos Verdes, 19:44), Terry Alkana (55-59, Hermosa Beach, 19:26), Don Brown (60-64, Dana Point, 21:34), Marty Friedman (65-69, Manhattan Beach, 21:38), Jerry Hackett (70-74, Redondo Beach, 24:19) and Frank Greene (75-79, Hermosa Beach, 26:55).
Females placing first in their respective 5K divisions were: Lucina Vincent (14U, Brea, 21:43), Coscia (15-18), Zamudio (19-24), Rachel Ragona (25-29, Redondo Beach, 20:35), Appell (30-34), Julie Guthrie (35-39, 21:35), Liz Guerrini (40-44, 21:08), Mirza Gallardo (45-49, 21:06), Trish Riley (50-54, Redondo Beach, 23:56), Leslie Cohen (55-59, 21:45), Sharon Lotesto (60-64, Torrance, 23:44), Yoko Eichel (65-69, Woodland Hills, 24:47), Susan Stevens (70-74, Los Angeles, 41:40) and Lois Calhoun (75-79, Redondo Beach, 31:26).
Males winning their division in the 10K race included: Nicklas Majamaki (14U, Torrance, 41:48), Grant Lapovich (15-18, Torrance, 34:38), Solis (19-24), Ryan Ung (25-29, Manhattan Beach, 35:30), Mark Tripp (30-34, Redondo Beach, 34:15), Gonzalez (35-39), Gardiner (40-44), Jon Megeff (45-49, Rancho Palos Verdes, 34:58), David Olds (50-54, Los Angeles, 34:46), Mike Delgado (55-59, Bangkok, Thailand, 38:37), Carlos Jovel (60-64, Los Angeles, 45:57), William Sumner (65-69, Newport Beach, 44:32), Byron Melendy (70-74, La Crescenta, 49:01) and Nathan Winer (75-79, Palos Verdes Estates, 56:51).
Division winners in the women’s 10K included: Karen Pierce (14U, 48:10), Emily Dabrow (15-18, 42:54), Jennifer Mueller (19-24, Rancho Palos Verdes, 44:14), Liliana Hernandez (25-29, Glendale, 38:21), Rios (30-34), Fatimoh Muhammed (35-39, Culver City, 39:09), Higley (40-44), Leetch (45-49), Deborah Hafford (50-54, Pacific Palisades, 45:17), Linda Hodgson (55-59, San Dimas, 49:20), Anne O’Brien (60-64, Redondo Beach, 49:37), Jinny Blandford (65-69, Redondo Beach, 56:22), Fumiko Cable (70-74, Redondo Beach, 1.17:28).
