Luna Takes First in Fitch Mountain 10K, but Everyone's a Winner

Some 300 runners, walkers, strollers and even toddlers lined up at the starting tape for the Sunday morning, and by 8 a.m. they were off.

"The race went off without a hitch," said David Jones, race director for the which founded and has sponsored the race for the past 37 years. "The weather was perfect."

Uncommonly soon, Chris Badolato of Reno and, shortly behind him, Peter Everton of Windsor sprinted under the Finish Line banner to finish first and second in the 3K portion of the race. Both men expressed surprise at their time, and upon reviewing the course they realized they – and probably most if not all of the other 3K racers – had inadvertently shaved two short blocks off the course due to a signage confusion.

“I knew something was off when I saw the time,” said Everton. “It just didn’t seem right.” He thought the printed map (see attached PDF) did not reflect an extra block detour from First Street up to Second Street between North and Piner, making the route about 100 meters short.

Zekaryas Mebrahtu of Santa Rosa, who runs for Piner High School, was third in the 3K category. First female to cross the line was Victoria Tomaszekwki, and winner of the 12 and under division was Max Hoppe, 12.

About 20 minutes later, the first of the 10K racers to cross the finish line turned out to be Luis Luna of Piner High School in Santa Rosa, who recently finished sixth in the 3200 meter state finals.  Jaime Silva was second; both runners are only 16 years old.

First in the women's 10K  race was Nicole Lane of Santa Rosa, with a time of 40:46. Nicole, 16, runs varsity track and cross-country for El Molino High School.

Healdsburg personal trainer Adrianne Meese came in second in the women's race with a time of 42:24. Meese, 24, said she ran last year in Fitch Mountain Footrace and came in first in her age group.

"I only do this race," said Meese, who works at . "I run two to three times a week, but I don't do races."

Third in the women's race was 17-year-old Amber Peirsol of Windsor, with a time of 44:57.

"This is one of the most grueling 10K races in all of California," Jones said, referring to the steep uphill on Powell Street going up to the mountain, and the steep downhill coming off the mountain onto Fitch Mountain Rd., which circles the landmark.

"The downhill is even harder -- it's hard on your shins," Jones said. "You have to be a seasoned runner."

Not all runners were quite as fit, nor quite as fast. Healdsburg attorney Gail Jonas, 71, finished the 3K course holding hands with her two grandchildren Rody and Sophia. “I’ve done a tone of races over time,” Jonas said. “I thought their first race should be fun.

“They didn’t know how to pace themselves, but they said they’d do it again.”

The Fitch Mountain Footrace is an annual fundraiser sponsored by Healdsburg Kiwanas to raise money for the Memorial Scholarship fund. Jones said he expects to raise about $5,000 this year -- all of which will go toward scholarships.

"This is one of the last real small-town races around, with less than 1,000 runners," Jones said. "All of the proceeds go back into the local community."

Beautiful long-sleeved race T-shirts were designed by a art student who entered an annual contest. About 30 students submitted contest entries, Jones said.

Bob's Signs printed the T-shirts, which show a runner about to climb Fitch Mountain and sprig of grapes and grapevines.

Timekeeper for the event was Dan Peterson of Empire Runners Club of Sonoma County, the volunteer organization that managed the event.  Official winners and times will be tabulated by the Empire Runners Club and results released later this morning.

Race results should also be up on the Healdsburg Kiwanis Club website by the end of the day today, said Kiwanis President Richard Bugarske,