43rd Annual Napa Valley Marathon Hits The Silverado Trail: Photos

NAPA VALLEY, CA — With the sun just rising, it was a nippy 38 degrees at the starting line in Calistoga as some 2,000 runners from across America began their journey down the Silverado Trail and the streets of Napa for the 43rd annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon.

The event was canceled in 2021 because of the pandemic. This year, runners from as far away as New York and Canada were among those who turned out March 6 for the 26.2-mile foot race through scenic wine country.

Pre-race men's favorite Mason Frank, 32, of Aurora, Colorado, was by himself doing short sprints about 50 yards ahead of the starting line before the race began. When the California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer escorting the lead runners reached the Deer Park Road intersection — about 8 miles into the race — Frank and two other elite runners were well ahead of the rest of the field.

However, Frank prevailed and finished strong. Leaving the others in his wake, he clocked a time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 55 seconds — qualifying for the Olympic Open Trials.

In the women's race, Anne Centner, 30, of Tallahassee, Florida, battled the last leg of the marathon not feeling well but still broke the women's course record by a full minute with a time of 2:38:29.

Centner's determination could be seen on her face as she came down the finish line chute but steps after striding through the ribbon she collapsed onto the asphalt. Emergency medical personnel were in position at the finish line and placed her in a wheelchair, then rolled her into a makeshift medical facility inside a Vintage High School classroom.

Napa Valley Marathon President Jim Cotter advised that runners for this year's event needed to be vaccinated or have a recent negative COVID test to participate.

The full and half-marathons, along with the 5K, were all sold out, Cotter said. There were 2,000 runners in the full marathon, 2,500 in the half-marathon and 600 in the 5K.

In another milestone, Cotter said it was the 30th year Kaiser Permanente has been a sponsor of the Napa Valley Marathon.

Read more about the Napa Valley Marathon here.

See all race results here.