Former Redondo Union High School and UC Berkeley distance runner Simon Schmidt has enjoyed success on cross country and track courses throughout his career, but a winning the Manhattan Beach 10K Saturday morning holds a special place in his heart.
“There is something special about road races,” Schmidt said/ “They bring out the best of a community and the beach cities community is something to be proud of. Racing around my hometown definitely makes the event more exciting to me. The level of support and encouragement from the participants, volunteers, and spectators was outstanding. There wasn’t a block on the course where someone wasn’t cheering. The fact that the race profits are directly returned to the community is also what makes this event special.”
Running in the race for the first time, Schmidt raced to championship of the 39th Manhattan Beach 10K outpacing 2014 winner David Cardona and last year’s champion Teddy Kassa, both of Torrance.
Now living in Los Angeles, Schmidt crossed the finish line at the Manhattan Beach Pier in 31 minutes, 35 seconds. The 25-year-old is currently working as an EMT while taking prerequisite courses for Nursing School at Pasadena City College.
“I still run competitively, just with a very different attitude towards racing and running in general,” Schmidt said. “I’m all about keeping running fun. I run for a local running store in Pasadena called Run With US. They have been a great support for local athletes. I run with my fiancé almost every morning at 5a.m. so we can spend time together before we each go to school.”
Runner-up Cardona recorded a time of 31:53 while Kassa, who won the 2015 race with at 31:41, posted a time of 32:43.
After a third-place finish in 2015, Redondo Beach running icon Nathalie Higley improved her time by 36 seconds to win the women’s division with a time of 37:55.
Former Mira Costa High School cross country state champion Savannah Pio, of Hermosa Beach, finished second at 38:02, just ahead of last year’s runner-up Alison Kielty, of Torrance, who recorded a time of 38:22
Higley said it was her 18th year running the MB 10K and 13th time winning the women’s division.
“The MB 10K is my favorite race and it’s fantastic to have family, friends and locals cheering along the way,” Higley said. “I’m happy with the win on Saturday but it was a close finish with Savannah, Ali and Shadeh (Tabatabai) being such great competitors. I’ll keep trying but I’m getting older and the years and mileage are adding up.”
The race also was a memorable experience for the Chittenden family of Manhattan Beach. Sisters Anna, 11, and Cara, 14, won their respective age divisions as did brother Cy, 15, while mother Camille finished 16th out of 136 runners in the 50-54 age group.
Males winning their respective age divisions included: Henry Skinner (1-8, Manhattan Beach, 58:02), Frank Wells (9-11, Long Beach, 45:09), Alex Rochelle (12-14, Manhattan Beach, 40:41), Cy Chittenden (15-19, Manhattan Beach, 41:24), Kassa (18-23), Schmidt (24-29), Eric Bjork (30-34, Hermosa Beach, 34:50), Justin Neems (35-39, Torrance, 36:53), Matt Olin (40-44, Hermosa Beach, 36:01), Gregory Keyes (45-49, Newport Beach, 37:34), Jon Megeff (50-43, Rancho Palos Verdes, 36:49), Rich Gust (55-59, Hermosa Beach, 38:48), Franklin Tai (60-64, Plata Del Rey, 42:02), Ed Avol (65-69, Manhattan Beach, 43:22), John Mack (70-74, Manhattan Beach, 50:56), Russ Schatz (75-79, Manhattan Beach, 49:38), Richard Maynard (80-84, Manhattan Beach, 1:13:16) and Dick Windishar (85-89, Manhattan Beach, 1:22L47).
Females age group winners included: Jasmine Saul (1-8, 1:10:46), Anna Chittenden (9-11, Manhattan Beach, 45:52), Cara Chittenden (12-14, Manhattan Beach, 44:06), Brooke Inouye (15-17, Manhattan Beach, 44:26), Pio (18-23), Kielty (24-29), Gillian Mintier (30-34, Redondo Beach, 40:39), Emily Mitchell (35-39, Manhattan Beach, 40:27), Helen Ibbotson (40-44, Washington, D.C., 41:06), Higley (45-49, Cathy Lifschultz (50-54, Redondo Beach, 45:20), Renee Williams-Smith (55-59. Hermosa Beach, 45:29), Julia McKinney (60-64, Palos Verdes Estates, 52:50), Sharon Lotesto (65-69, Torrance, 47:40), Beret Shipman (70-74, Portland, Ore., 56:17), Mary Sikonia (75-79, Manhattan Beach, 1:25:15), Karen Profet (80-84, Manhattan Beach, 1:26:39) and Peggy Bartlett (85-89, Manhattan Beach, 1:49:53).
For complete results visit mb10k.com.
