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Women’s half marathon race down to the last mile

Darin Olde, Tribune staff writer

With less than a mile to go in the 13-mile Kokanee Trail Run, the race between Tina Ure and Kathy Hess was just beginning.

Ure, 42, an ultra runner from Mount Shasta, Calif., thought she was well ahead of the pack when Hess passed her.

Hess, 40, from Reno, started the race with a slower pace and picked up speed as she went along.



Ure sped up and caught Hess, then asked about her division.

The two quickly discovered that they were in the same division, and were battling for both overall finish and division title.



The race, then, was on.

The two were “elbow to elbow” throughout much of the last mile. But Ure gained higher speed on the downhill, passing Hess, and at least one other runner in front of her. She finished as the first women and eighth overall at 1 hour, 42 minutes, 24 seconds.

“Thank God for that downhill at the end,” said Ure, whose finish makes her the Road Runners Club of America’s California 13-Mile Trail women’s champion.

Hess finished a few seconds later with a time of 1:42:37. Behind her among the women was Amy Bottenberg, who crossed the line at 1:43:38 and was first for her age group (20-29).

The overall winner and Road Runners Club of America’s California 13-Mile Trail champion was Michael Sharp, 44, from Kirkwood, with a time of 1:31:38.

The half marathon was a short run for Sharp, who will leave Oct. 13 for the Ironman World Triathlon Championship, where he will have to run double what he ran Sunday after a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike.

Sharp was third overall in the half marathon last year, and improved his time by 7 seconds.

The next closest competitor was Fred Zalokar, 42, who crossed the line at 1:32:02, and Dennis Pederson, 53, who also won his age group at 1:33:55.

Other first-place finishers for their age group were Nathan Browne (1:32:49, age 20-29), Scott Clark (1:44:25, age 30-39) and Monty Coffman (2:47:56).

Lisa Schuette was first in the women’s 30-39 age group at 1:48:38. Joanne Mishio took first in the 50-59 age group at 2:13:24 and Louise Wholey (2:21:12) was first in the 60-69 age group.


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