Runners conquer conditions, race course

PORT ANGELES — It definitely was not a beautiful day on the North Olympic Peninsula on Sunday afternoon as heavy winds and cold, heavy rain hit fairly hard.

Fortunately, the North Olympic Discovery Marathon came to a close long before the nasty weather hit. The race had near-perfect conditions early Sunday morning along the Olympic Discovery Trail between Blyn and Port Angeles.

Runners experienced partly cloudy skies and barely any wind or showers, keeping the race course cool and conditions ideal.

The NODM is part of the Run the Peninsula Series. The Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Olympic Medical Center are all title sponsors for Run the Peninsula.

Winning the marathon was Port Townsend runner John Mauro, who won the Olympic Adventure Trail half-marathon in April.

Mauro, who was wincing and could barely stand after posting a time of 3 hours, 47 seconds, said it was his first marathon.

“I’m wiped,” he said. “I’m not feeling well. I felt pretty good until the end. What a gorgeous run.”

Mauro runs and places in a lot of local 5Ks and 10Ks. He said doing a marathon “takes a lot more grit.”

Port Townsend represented well in the marathon with two top-10 finishes. Joshua Camacho of Port Townsend finished fifth among men and seventh overall at 3:20.26.

Winning the women’s marathon and coming in second overall was Melissa Melough of Seattle, an experienced marathoner. She won in a time of 3:10.53.

“What a beautiful course. I’m so glad I came out here to do it. It’s my first time here today,” she said.

“It wasn’t my best time, but I’m proud of my effort. I’m definitely taking a day off tomorrow.”

Coming in second among the women and third overall was Ruth Perkins of Puyallup in a time of 3:12.10.

Winning the marathon relay was a tie-dye-clad college team, the Lactic Addicts, put together by a pair of Port Angeles High School graduates, Kenzie DeLeon and Gracie Long.

DeLeon and Long were both champion long-distance runners for the Roughriders. DeLeon now runs for Portland State University and Long runs for Corban College in Salem, Ore.

DeLeon said her team’s tie-dye “is our unofficial uniform. We’re Oregon crazy.”

“It was fun. It was warm out there,” she said.

Lactic Addicts won in a time of 2:56.27. The other members are Campbell Faust, Sophia Hackett and Alex Solberg, all of Portland State.

Coming in second was Team Larson of Port Angeles in 3:12.48. This team is made up of Jeanne Larson, 45, Lauren Larson, 18, Langdon Larson, 16, Leia Larson, 13 and Leyton Larson, 11. Lauren runs track for Boise State and was a teammate of DeLeon’s and Long’s at Port Angeles High School.

Winning the half-marathon was Joe Skovron of Seattle in a time of 1:19.30. His twin brother Danny won the NODM 5K on Saturday.

Savanna Steffen of Silverdale won the women’s half-marathon in 1:31.31.

“What a beautiful day for a run,” she said. “I wish I had done this race before now.”

Saturday’s races

It was a a bit of a Larsonpalooza at the first day of the North Olympic Discovery Marathon on Saturday.

The Larson family of Port Angeles dominated the first day of events, winning the men and women’s 10Ks and the women’s 5K.

Port Angeles High School distance runner Langdon Larson won the 10K in 36 minutes, 10 seconds. Lauren Larson won the women’s 10K in 38:36, which was the third-best 10K time of the day. It was the best women’s time by nearly 7 minutes.

Thirteen-year-old Leia Larson won the women’s 5K in 22:02, winning by more than two minutes.

The men’s 5K winner was won by Danny Skovron of Seattle in a blistering time of 16:52, about 1½ minutes ahead of second place.

“It was fun. I enjoyed it. I did a 5:30 first mile and just cruised from there,” Skovron said.

All the runners praised the route and the weather, which can be interesting along the water in early June. It was overcast but fairly warm at the time of the race with little wind, no rain and temperatures in the upper 50s, perfect for running.

For Leia Larson, it was her fourth victory of 2022. She won the Elwha Bridge 5K, the Sequim Railroad 5K and the Rhody Run 5K. In Stevens Middle School runs, she won the Olympic League Middle School 1,600 championship and helped win the 4×400 championship.

“It felt pretty good. It was super warm,” she said.

Jeanne Larson finished 11th in the women’s 5K while Leyton Larson finished 12th in the men’s 5K.

“It was a fun race. I definitely did better than I thought I would,” Langdon Larson said. “Once you got out there, there was a nice breeze.”

The 5K and 10K used to be run on Sunday, but both were moved to Saturday last year partly to lessen crowds along the pier.

For complete results, people can go online at www.tinyurl.com/2022NODMresults.

North Olympic Discovery Marathon

Unofficial results

Marathon

Men — John Mauro, Port Townsend, first, 3:00.47; Christopher Houser, Woodinville, second, 3:12.48; Vince Davis, Tacoma, third, 3:17.17; Jeffrey Lusink, Tacoma, fourth, 3:17.34; Joshua Camacho, Port Townsend, fifth, 3:20.26; Tyler Rocha, Seattle, sixth, 3:21.14; Ted McColl, Sequim, seventh, 3:22.46; Pete Dills, Happy Valley, Ore., eighth, 3:23.52; Benjamin Barber, Seattle, ninth, 3:27.39; Michael Higuera, Port Angeles, 10th, 3:28.16.

Women — Melissa Melough, Seattle, first, 3:10.53; Ruth Perkins, Puyallup, second, 3:12.10; Bonnie Boyes, PA, third, 3:37.41; Brianna Hunting, Spokane, fourth, 3:42.09; Samantha Wilford, Brier, fifth, 3:42.58; Stephanie Imig, Portland, Ore., sixth, 3:44.05; Jordan Rycroft, Victoria, B.C., seventh, 3:54.10; Rebekah Conger, Silverdale, eighth, 3:56.37; Tiera Martin, Chilliwack, B.C., ninth, 3:57.15; Mackenzie Popp, Spokane, 10th, 3:58.13.

Half-marathon

Men — Joe Skovron, Seattle, first, 1:19.30; Sam Peckham, Poulsbo, second, 1:20.09; Matthew Bishop, Austin, Texas, third, 1:21.40; Moises Torres, Des Moines, fourth, 1:24.31; Quinn Hoisington, Seattle, 1:25.04; Sadig Alhajji, Saihat, Saudi Arabia, 1:27.19; Zac Wise, Seattle, seventh, 1:28.56; Craig Isenberg, Port Townsend, eighth, 1:29.31; Ryan Akiyama, Olympia, ninth, 1:30.22; Jude Furubotten, Olympia, 10th, 1:32.35.

Marathon relay — Lactic Addicts, first, 2:56.27; Team Larson, second, 3:12.48; Chicken Leg Running Club, third, 3:20.34; Twisted Ankles, fourth, 3:22.54; The Wild Things, fifth, 3:50.27; The Bald Toes, sixth, 4:14.49; Not Fast But Fabulous, seventh, 4:25.36; Clallam’s PUD, eighth, 4:26.36; SPD, ninth, 4:36.03; Team Living Water Relay, 10th, 4:58.56.

Top 10K runners

Men — Langdon Larson, Port Angeles, first, 36:10; Jesse Tsai, Brier, second; 36:44; Justin Serrill, Issaquah, third, 39:19; Sean Sargent, Seattle, fourth, 39:56; Robert Bondurant, Chimacum, fifth, 41:06; Mark Davis, Gig Harbor, sixth, 42:12; Brad Earl, Seattle, seventh, 42:39; Cliff Mountjoy-Venning, Seattle, eighth, 45:20; Benjamin Grigg, Chicago, ninth, 45:23; Sean Ryan, PA, 10th, 47:10.

Women — Lauren Larson, PA, first, 38:46; Alli Madison, PA, second, 45:10; Liz Mills, Bellevue, third, 45:10; Alison Skinner, University Place, fourth, 46:24; Tonya Woodward, Forks, fifth, 46:54; Kristen Smith, Seattle, sixth, 47:30; Katherine Ericson, Rockville, Md., seventh, 40:42; Kiley Winter, Sequim, eighth, 51:10; Timea Tihanyi, Seattle, ninth, 52:28; Susan Larson, Gig Harbor, 10th, 52:34.

Top 5K runners

Men — Danny Skovron, Seattle, first, 16:52; Ethan Martin, Sequim second, 18:22; Michael Higuera, PA, third, 18:44; Colin Feik, Sequim, fourth, 18:46; Sean Southard, Sequim, fifth, 19:37; Sadiq Alhajji, Saihat, Saudi Arabia, sixth, 20:45; Sawyer Davis, PA, seventh, 21:44; Jay Lieberman, PA, eighth, 21:46; John Shoul, Portland, Ore., ninth, 22:10; Ben Brunjes, Lake Forest Park, 10th, 22:42.

Women — Leia Larson, PA, first, 22:02; Cheryl Holcomb-Roberts, Bothell, second, 24:29; Isa Giovando, Fort Collins, Colo., third, 24:38; Kim Willse, Hutchinson, Kan., fourth, 24:53; Aimee Olbu, Marysville, fifth, 25:19; Samantha Gaither, Tucson, Ariz., sixth, 25:20; Adrienne Christian, Sequim, seventh, 25:33; Heather McGivern, Poulsbo, eighth, 25:43; Noella Patel, Lake Forest Park, ninth, 25:44; Maisy French, Sequim, 10th, 25:48.