SEQUIM — More than 230 runners from all around the Pacific Northwest ran in the annual Valley of the Trolls run held outside of Sequim Saturday, with local runners winning the 5K and 10K events.
John Altemose of Port Townsend won the 10K with a time of 44:46 while Charles Logan of Sequim won the 5K with a time of 24:08. Logan dominated his event, winning by more than two-and-a-half minutes.
The winner of the half-marathon was Rick Becker of Selah with a time of 1:26:16.
Among the women, Sequim’s Sheila Fordrun won the 5K with a time of 32:32, beating the second-place runner by four seconds.
Stacy Ballard of Des Moines, Wash., won the half-marathon with a time of 1:54:16 (the fourth-fastest time overall) and Margaret Scott of Portland, Ore., won the women 10K with a time of 49:02. Scott’s 10K time was good for third overall and it was quite a race at the end as she beat Gretchan Sotebeer of Port Angeles and Kirsten Shelton of Battle Ground by only five seconds. Sotebeer and Shelton ended up having the fourth- and fifth-fastest overall times in the 10K.
Also, interestingly, the top three women half-marathon runners were all named Stacy (albeit with different spellings).
A total of 231 men and women ran in the three races with 52 runners in the half-marathon, 82 in the 10K and 97 in the 5K. Runners came from as far away as New York City and San Diego.
Top times include:
Valley of the Trolls Run
Half-marathon — Rick Becker, Selah, first, 1:26:16; Eric Ellefson, Sequim, second, 1:35:31; Andrew Nunn, Puyallup, third, 1:38.45.
10K — John Altemose, Port Townsend, first, 44:46; Troy Taylor, Sequim, second, 45:04; Margaret Scott, Portland, Or., third, 49:02.
5K — Charles Logan, Sequim, first, 24:08; Dominic Broderson, Port Hadlock, second, 26:41; Colby Ellefson, Sequim, third, 28:38.
Women
Half-Marathon — Stacy Ballard, Des Moines, first, 1:54:16; Staci Suneson, Olympia, second, 1:55:20; Stacy Ryan, Bremerton, third, 1:58:00
10K — Margaret Scott, Portland, Ore., first, 49:02; Gretchan Sotebeer, Port Angeles, second, 49:07; Kirsten Shelton, Battle Ground, third, 49:07.
5K — Sheila Fordrung, Sequim, first, 32:32; Jessie Stratton, Redding, Calif., second, 32:36; Barbara Nightingale, Port Townsend, third; 33:04.
