PORT ANGELES — The 2024 Run the Peninsula series kicked off Saturday with more than 350 runners from all around western Washington braving heavy rain and frigid temperatures in the Elwha Bridge Run.
Weather is often a challenge for the Elwha Bridge Run, but it was still a particularly cold and wet race. That didn’t stop people from enjoying the opening race of Run the Peninsula.
Run the Peninsula’s title sponsors are the Peninsula Daily News and Sequim Gazette, and Olympic Medical Center is the presenting sponsor.
There were repeat winners in this year’s Elwha Bridge Run 5K and 10K.
Winning the 5K was Port Angeles High School track and field distance runner Langdon Larson in a solid time of 17 minutes, 52.75 seconds. Coming in second was Port Townsend High School runner Noah Iseberg at 17:59.01, and third was 14-year-old Nico Errichetti of Port Townsend in a time of 20:09.20.
“My time was a little off my best,” Larson said. “I can definitely do a little faster.”
He said the cold didn’t bother him once the race got going, “but it was kind of a bummer warming up for the race.”
Winning the 5K for the women was Langdon’s sister, Leia Larson, 15, in a time of 21:08.99, which was good for fifth overall. She dominated, beating the second-place woman by 3½ minutes.
Coming in second for the women was Aimee Olbu of Marsyville in a time of 24:34.41 and third was Lena Wigger of Port Angeles in 25:23.22.
Both Langdon and Leia had won Run the Peninsula races before.
“It was cold at first. Halfway through the race, it felt really good,” Leia Larson said.
She would like to run more Run the Peninsula series races this year.
“It kind of depends on the [high school] track and cross country schedules,” she said.
In fact, three of the top six finishers in the 5K were members of the Port Angeles Larson family with 13-year-old Leyton Larson coming in sixth (21:36.39).
The top six runners were all 18 and younger.
In the 10K was another repeat winner, and he won by a massive margin. Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro, who has won numerous local distance races, including the North Olympic Discovery Marathon, won the 10K in a time of 36:10.47, keeping up a pace of 5:50 per mile for six-plus miles and winning by more than two minutes.
Second was 16-year-old Sawyer Roark of Silverdale at 38:11.01. Matthew Wolpert of Neah Bay was third at 38:41.79.
The women’s winners were the mother-daughter combo of Laura Gould of Sequim and 11-year-old phenom Eleanor Jones.
Gould won the women’s 10K in a time of 42:54.49, while Jones was right behind in second at 43:18.49. Coming in third was Lucy Wait of Port Angeles in 44:44.32. Gould, Jones and Wait finished seventh, eighth and ninth overall, respectively.
A total of 131 runners completed the 10K and 226 in the 5K.
The next event in the five-race Run the Peninsula series is the Sequim Railroad Bridge Run on April 27.
The crown jewel of the series, the NODM, is a two-day event June 1 and 2.
Next is the inaugural Spruce Railroad Run on Oct. 19 along the north shore of Lake Crescent, then comes the Jamestown S’Klallam Glow Run at night on Dec. 7.
For full results, go online at http://tinyurl.com/2024ElwhaBridgeResults.
Elwha Bridge Run
Top 10 finishers
Chip time included. Full names not available for some runners under 13
10K men — John Mauro, Port Townsend, first, 36:10.47; Sawyer Roark, Silverdale, second, 38:11.01; Matthew Wolpert, Neah Bay, third, 38:41.49; Michael Higuera, Port Angeles, fourth, 39:49.50; Andrew Gorbert, Forks, fifth, 41:40.87; Kyle Bardwell, Poulsbo, sixth, 41:43.54; Cort Mao, Sequim, seventh, 46:22.95; Luke Stednick, eighth, Seattle, 46:33.7; Drew Bardwell, Poulsbo, ninth, 46:45.82; Ben Mavy, Thayne, Wyo., 10th, 46:52.22.
10K women — Laura Gould, Sequim, first, 42:54.49; Eleanor Jones, Sequim, second, 43:18.49; Lucy Wait, PA, third, 44:44.32; Sabrina Hill, PT, fourth, 45:45.49; Carolynn Pype, PA, fifth, 46:13.52; Samantha Schofield, Seattle, sixth, 47:09.23; Tonya Woodward, Forks, seventh, 47:55.99; Amanda Erickson, Brier, eighth, 48:18.37; Madeline McLean, PA, ninth, 48:55.12; Lynsay Meek, 10th, 49:09.56.
5K men — Langdon Larson, PA, first, 17:52.75; Noah Isenberg, PT, second, 17:59.01; Nico Errichetti, PT, third, 20:09.20; Dylan Zehr, Maple Valley, fourth, 21:01.94; Leyton Larson, PA, fifth, 21:36.39; Matthew Kiddle, PA, sixth, 21:39.06; John Gomez, Poulsbo, seventh, 23:02.27; Gabe Harder, Shelton, eighth, 23:20.03; E. Isenberg, PT, ninth, 23:26.29; Jesse Gmazel, PA, 10th, 24:32.22.
5K women — Leia Larson, PA, first, 21:08.99; Aimee Olbu, Marysville, second, 24:34.41; Lena Wigger, PA, third, 25:23.22; Katherine Braun, PA, fourth, 25:27.04; Jeanne Larson, PA, fifth, 25:56.57; Becca Johnson, Bainbridge Island, sixth, 26:09.69; April Ottey, PT, seventh, 26:40.45; Angela Larson, PA, eighth, 26:52.12; Amanda Kiddle, PA, ninth, 26:52.19; Rachel Chard, PA, 10th, 27:14.08.
Among the participants of the Elwha Bridge Run were plenty of moms and dads pushing baby carriages and braving the wet conditions. (Pierre LaBossiere/Peninsula Daily News)
Competitors get ready to take off at the starting line of the Elwha Bridge Run. In front are 5K and 10K winners John Mauro, Leia Larson and Laura Gould. (Pierre LaBossiere/Peninsula Daily News)
Men’s 10K winner John Mauro of Port Townsend holds up the poster handed out to race winners. (Pierre LaBossiere/Peninsula Daily News)
