NAPA, Calif. - March 6, 2011 - Chris Mocko, 25, of Palo Alto, Calif.,
and Camille Herron, 31, of West Lafayette, Ind., registered victories
today at the 33rd Annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon. For
Mocko, the day was particularly memorable. His victory, in 2 hours, 27
minutes, and 2 seconds, came on his 25th birthday as his father, Paul,
watched from the finish line. Herron led the women's race from wire to
wire and recorded a finish time of 2:42:20. Periodic rain showers and
moderate headwinds dampened an otherwise mild day for the sellout crowd
of 2,400 marathon participants, but it did not damper their enthusiasm
as they raced through the scenic Napa Valley wine growing region.
Mocko used a strategy of hanging behind the early leaders and then
jumping at opportunity to score a victory and a personal record in only
his third marathon. The recent steeplechase and cross country specialist
for Stanford University did not attempt to accompany leaders Kevin Pool
(Folsom, Calif.) and Austin Weaver (Sacramento, Calif.) who took the
race out at sub-2:19:00 finishing pace. Pool, in particular, was
pursuing the sub-2:19 standard set by USA Track & Field for entry into
next January's 2012 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon.
"Going in, we knew about Kevin (Pool) and his hopes to go for the
Olympic Trials (standard)," Mocko said. "I wasn't capable of running
that fast. In my first two marathons I kind of blew up. Going out a
little bit slower made sense to me."
At five miles, Weaver pulled out of the race as Mocko ran comfortably in
a small pack that included 2008 U.S. Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy
Boulet who was on a 20-mile training run and did not finish. By 14
miles, Pool had built a four-minute lead, but was slowing as he fell off
the pace he needed for an Olympic Trials qualifier. Then, at 15 miles,
Pool called it a day and exited, yielding the men's lead to Mocko and
his Asics Aggie teammate, Kota Reichert (Menlo Park, Calif.).
"I got really excited when I heard that Kota and I were in the lead,"
Mocko said, "and at that I point I really picked up the pace. The
adrenaline got me through 20 miles, but then I really started feeling
it. But, I was able to hang on. Overall, I ran a negative split for the
race, so I was pleased."
Reichert finished second in 2:30:29. Nathan Yanko (San Francisco,
Calif.) was third in 2:33:07. Casey Strange (Campbell, Calif.), age 47,
won the men's masters (age 40 and over) title in 2:47:30.
Women's winner Camille Herron led from the gun and never looked back.
The Napa Valley Marathon was her fourth marathon within the last three
months. Before that, she ran 2:38:23 at the 2009 USA Marathon
Championships in Minneapolis, earning an "A standard" qualifier for the
2012 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials race. Herron wore bib number
235 at Napa in pursuit of a finishing time around 2:35, but the tall and
thin athlete said a persistent headwind (of about 8 m.p.h.) hampered her
efforts.
"I've been really consistent in the low 2:40s for the last few
marathons," said Herron, who is sponsored by MarathonGuide. "I haven't
been doing a lot of speed work yet, but have been running very high
(training) mileage, about 120 miles per week. I just need to get in some
speed work now, and maybe hit another marathon in a few months."
YiOu Wang (note capital "O" correct spelling) of Mill Valley, Calif.
emerged from a small trailing pack of women at about 18 miles and
garnered second place in 2:46:45, improving upon her third place finish
last year. Although Wang scored a new personal record, her time was 45
seconds short of the 2:46:00 women's "B" qualifying standard she sought
for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
"It was so windy the last couple of miles on the flats, and I was all
alone at that point," Wang said. I tried to put my head down and work
against the wind, but it took too much out of me. I knew I was going to
get a big PR, so I'm pretty happy."
Kami Semick, 44, of Bend, Ore. placed third in 2:49:23 and earned the
women's masters win. Semick was USA Track & Field's Female Ultra Runner
of the Year in 2009 and 2010, and the women's 100K World Champion in 2009.
A new, more spacious finish line greeted 1,755 marathon finishers. The
finish was moved around the corner to the parking lot at Napa's Vintage
High School this year, and the marathon course was re-certified for
accurate distance. The change was the first one to the fast, rolling
marathon course from Calistoga to Napa in the 33-year history of the race.
The 2011 Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon once again served as the
Road Runners Club of America's Western Regional Marathon Championship
race. Known as "the Biggest Little Marathon in the West," the race
rewards male and female open and masters winners with oversized bottles
of wine etched with their championship accomplishments. The male and
female winners of the race also receive their "weight-in-wine" from the
sponsoring Silverado Trail Wineries Association.
In the accompanying Kiwanis 5K Fun Run, Jeff Wilson (30, San Francisco,
Calif.) was the men's winner in 16:22 and Maggie Conley (27, Portola
Valley, CA) was first among women in 18:14.
Full race results for the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon are
available on the event's web site at www.napavalleymarathon.org.
All proceeds from the Napa Valley Marathon (a non-profit organization)
are donated to local charities in the Napa Valley.
* * * * * *
The Napa Valley Marathon appreciates generous sponsor support from
Kaiser Permanente/Thrive, Gatorade, ASICS America Corporation, Silverado
Trail Wineries Association, Marathon & Beyond, Road Runners Club of
America, USA Track & Field, MarathonFoto, Napa Valley Marriott Hotel &
Spa, GU, CBS 5 and The CW, Comcast, Napa Valley Register, KVYN/99.3 The
Vine, KVON 1440 AM, the Napa Running Company, KCBS 740 AM, Silverado
Brewing Company, Wine Country Inn/Napa Valley, Arrrowhead Water, and
Southgate Mini Storage.
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