Making a run for the money

A while back, avid long-distance racer Sena Hoodman decided she needed to shorten her runs. Rather than focusing on 50-to-100-mile trail races, the 48-year-old Huntington Beach resident chose to focus on good old classic 26.2 mile marathons.

“I had a few injuries, plus it takes less time to train [for a marathon],” she said. “Then I can do other things, like yoga. I am pretty religious about that.”

Hoodman was definitely a cut above the competition, completing the 2007 Pacific Shoreline Marathon held Sunday first in her age group and 33rd out of all women in the race, with a time of 3:49:29. She was also the eighth Huntington Beach resident to cross the finish line in her 53rd or 54th marathon since 1992. There have been so many, she lost track.

More than 11,000 participants from 47 states and 19 different countries completed the course Sunday morning — 1,592 of those hailing from Huntington Beach.

Runners began and ended their respective races in front of the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort on Pacific Coast Highway. They made their way north along the coastal stretch into the city’s Central Park, then looped around to complete their journey.

The half-marathon has gained a great deal of popularity, this year attracting nearly 7,500 runners from around the globe. The $11,000 offered by the race organizers to those who broke last year’s record times might have contributed to the increase in entries.

The prize money is split every year among runners who beat the course record from the previous year.

Silvia Mosqueda, 40, of Los Angeles, won the prize money, breaking her 2006 record with a time of 1:14:25 and coming in first place for the women and 15th overall in the half marathon. Nick Arciniaga, 23, of Fountain Valley; Christian Hesch, 28, of Morro Bay; Sergio Reyes, 25, of Palmdale; and Ibraham Limo, 29, of Albuquerque, N.M., all broke the men’s record.

Even though they were forced to split the winnings five ways, both Arciniaga and Mosqueda — who both broke records in 2006 — were thrilled, considering that last year they shared that year’s pot of $10,000 with almost 30 record breakers.

“People just had a hard time passing 1:15 this year,” Mosqueda said.

The only negative remark concerning the day’s activities seemed to be focused on changes made in the course layout from last year. Many return participants such as Cindy Demarco, who ran the half-marathon, felt stymied by the rerouting.

The finish seemed choked by the 5K group, almost 3,000 strong, many of whom walked, Demarco said.

“It felt very strange trying to run fast when all you could see was a sea of people,” Demarco said, adding that the masses messed with her kick toward the finish.

Demarco’s sentiments about the new course layout quickly dissolved after she learned that she had placed third in her age group of 40- to 44-year-olds. Equally impressive is the fact that the 42-year-old Newport Beach resident only started running on a regular basis at the age of 36.

“I didn’t get started until my kids were old enough for me to leave them alone,” Demarco said. “Back then I just got tired of hanging out in the gym. I wanted to do something different to lose a few pounds.

“Then it became a sort of social outlet for me.”

Now Demarco belongs to four different running clubs.

“When you have kids you can only get out certain days of the week,” she said. “This way I always have a back-up plan.”

Proceeds from the race will raise funds for thousands of wheelchairs to be distributed around the world by the Free Wheelchair Mission.

The subject holds a great deal of weight for Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, 30, of Ghana. The focus of the 2005 documentary “Emmanuel’s Gift” has a prosthetic leg, but that did not stop him from walking the 5K in Huntington Beach.

“We’re helping people from the ground to come up,” Yeboah said. “So many people, it keeps them smiling, that’s why I keep coming. I have to keep telling the story.”

Despite running with blisters on her feet Sunday, Hoodman finished with a time qualifying her for this year’s Boston Marathon on April 16, just a day after she turns 49. Qualifying was never the problem, Hood- man just never had the availa- bility to make the race, she said.

“I though this year I have to do it,” Hoodman said. “One day I might get injured and not be able to go.”

TOP FINISHERS: MARATHON

Rob McNair 3:02:59

Lenny Munari 3:16:26

Mike Verrastro 3:25:56

Thomas Stelter 3:29:48

Erin Hudson 3:36:47

Nichole Kendall 3:38:04

George Mills 3:39:39

Sena Hoodman 3:49:21

Thomas McNamara 3:49:45

Carrie Prince 3:52:37

Jessica Kozuki 3:53:48

Rebecca Rogoff-Bartis 3:54:36

Michele Burch 3:55:11

Barry Kuhnke 3:55:28

Philip Rottenborn 3:56:07

Sean Chalmers 3:57:46

David Milem 3:59:45

Ken Saxton 4:01:32

Mark Rule 4:02:37

Robert Szekeresh 4:03:22

Robert Neves 4:04:09

Andrew Bramblett 4:04:15

Mike Hoffman 4:04:38

Lori Heinselman-Craig 4:05:20

Dennis Kato 4:06:14

John Cerecedes 4:07:47

Zanetta Carr 4:09:16

Paul Yoo 4:09:21

Leslie Oliver 4:13:40

Craig Ciandella 4:15:22

Sandra Draper 4:16:23

Terry Rabun 4:18:04

Barry Sohl 4:21:55

Chris Sommer 4:23:43

J Taniguchi 4:27:40

John Barcellona 4:28:44

Paul Both 4:29:01

Kristi Balaam 4:32:23

Rebecca Hesser 4:34:18

Jeffrey Flory 4:36:20

Franklin Banzali 4:36:54

Jeff Horton 4:37:01

Charles Pearce 4:38:34

Steve O’Neill 4:40:11

George Border 4:40:52

Fidelin Willybiro 4:41:55

Thomas Warner 4:43:54

Doanh Nguyen 4:45:32

Frances Castillo 4:46:16

Michelle Hetherington 4:46:51

TOP FINISHERS: HALF-MARATHON

Roger Mignosa 1:17:47

Kirk Larson 1:19:46

Roger Forest 1:21:13

Juan Morales 1:21:27

Benjamin Halliday 1:27:19

Emesh Fernando 1:27:30

Ieng Klukken 1:28:08

Juice Menasion 1:28:42

David Turbow 1:29:16

Chris Davis 1:29:51

Wendy Marshall 1:30:11

Dora George 1:31:16

Jeffrey Bredek 1:31:30

Steve Singer 1:33:36

Kareen Nilsson 1:33:56

Thomas McGrath 1:34:07

Gary Kutscher 1:34:13

Stefani Dixon 1:35:43

Sean Grange 1:36:16

Sally McRae 1:36:18

Aaron McAthy 1:36:21

Martin Delaney 1:36:35

Stacey Badawi 1:37:12

John Kincheloe 1:37:37

Dwight Wilson 1:37:51

Jack Yin 1:38:06

Dori Coetzee 1:38:53

Dominick Tomaino 1:38:59

Jimmy Bray 1:39:01

Greg Kovell 1:39:16

Andrew Coetzee 1:39:21

John Fick 1:39:21

Phaedra Arellano 1:39:21

David Desbois 1:39:43

Michelle Heyn 1:40:20

Brad Ruppert 1:41:28

Gary Burton 1:41:30

Jeremy Taggart 1:41:55

Chris Boatman 1:42:08

Jon Schneider 1:42:11

Tim Smith 1:42:23

Richie Starr 1:42:28

Danamarie Gilchrist 1:42:30

Justin Kleber 1:43:53

Kevin Greene 1:43:54

Wesley Chow 1:44:13

Kevin Vucinic 1:44:16

Anthony Ramirez 1:44:25

Sharon Shaw 1:44:30

Robert Clouser 1:44:38