Local Athletes Could Race Down Under

One competitor in Santa Cruz's Wharf to Wharf race later this month will get the run of his or her life.

The Wharf to Wharf is giving away a $5,000 trip-for-two to the January 2013 Wharf 2 Wharf fun run and walking event in New Zealand.

One hundred entrants randomly selected from the sold-out field were announced Monday, and two Scotts Valley residents are in the mix. They are: Heidi Seago and Michelle Henry.

The 100 athletes entered in the "Kiwi Drawing" will race with gold bibs (that's the race number pinned to your chest). It's not who finishes first; the final selection will happen at the race, Sunday, July 22. The winner has to be present to collect the prize.

Seago, who says the race had been on her bucket list for a while and entered last year for the first time, says she was shocked when she received her bib in the mail.

“I had been waiting for the bibs to come in the mail. I got my son to enter with me this year and I thought how great it would be if he got the golden bib,” Seago said. “I opened his first and he didn’t get it. Then I opened mine and I had it. I couldn’t believe it.”

Seago says her son isn’t too disappointed though that she got the bib instead of him because she plans on taking him on the trip with her if she wins.

The Wharf to Wharf starts at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and meanders 6 miles down the coastline to the finish line at the Capitola Wharf. The popular race sells out every year. It's a benefit for area sports program, giving away more than $240,000 in 2011.

Check out the full list of golden bib racers here on the Wharf to Wharf Facebook page.