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Hundreds of local runners hit the beach
Published February 10, 2008
SURFSIDE BEACH — With the marathoners still on their way to the turnaround at San Luis Pass, Dave Depinet, 44, of Sugar Land finished the shorter 13.2-mile Surfside Beach Half-Marathon in one hour, thirty minutes and 52 seconds, a 6:56 pace.
Last year Depinet finished the half-marathon distance sixth overall and second in the male masters (40-plus) competition in a faster 1:29:22, but he was more than a minute ahead of the this year’s second-place male finisher, Gribinko Alexander, 31, of Salt Lake City, who finished in 1:33:20.
“The weather conditions were not quite as good as last year; it was a little hotter,” said Depinet. “There were a few marathoners ahead of me in the race, but by mile five, I was pretty much ahead of everyone in the half marathon. At the turnaround, I was around 20 seconds ahead of my competition and a minute ahead at the finish.”
John Williams, 15, of Lake Jackson, finished third overall in 1:34:20. Williams was not available for comment after the race.
Catherine Kruppa, 34, of Houston finished first in the overall female competition in 1:36:41,a 7:12 pace.
“I took the lead from the beginning,” said Kruppa. “The race was great. It wasn’t quite as windy as it was last year.”
Neither Depinet nor Kruppa finished near the contest records, 1:19:41 for the men and 1:28:33 for the women.
Shelia Minor, 33, of Pearland finished second in the female competition in 1:46:25, behind Kruppa.
“Catherine was over 10 minutes ahead of me, she’s a serious runner,” said Minor. “It was a beautiful race. I loved it, and I’ll be back next year.
Elisabet Borsheim, a native of Norway now living in Galveston, finished third in the open female competition in 1:48:41.
“The leader took off near the end of the race,” said Borsheim. “The last two miles were hard, but the race inspires me and the beach was beautiful. There was a very good spirit out there.”
Just before a dense fog bank rolled in on the Beach, Rick Autrey, 46, of Nacogdoches finished first in the male marathon competition in 3:03:10, 13:45 faster than he finished last year’s contest.
“Last year’s Surfside Marathon was my first,” said Autrey. “I have been training hard and running ultras.” Ultras are distances farther than the 26.2-mile marathons.
Ed Bickley, 49, of Calgary, Alberta, who is working in Houston, finished second in the male competition in 3:13:59.
“Rick and I ran together for a few miles; I let him go at about 10 miles,” said Bickley. “I beat him in Kingwood and let him have it today.”
Last year’s second-place marathon finisher Ed Sturdivant finished third in 3:19:44, 10:10 slower than his finish last year. Sturdivant and Autrey ran close together until the 24th mile, when Autrey took the lead.
“I thanked him at the end of the race for giving it to me,” said Autrey, and he said, ‘Give me a break.’”
“The heat slowed me down,” said Sturdivant. “Rick ran a smart race, and I didn’t. I went out too fast and didn’t pay attention to the heat. Cramps settled in mile 24.”
Adienne Langelier, 25, of Huntsville emerged through the thick fog and finished first in the female marathon competition in 3:36:10, an 8:16 pace.
“I was all by myself in the race,” said Langelier. “It was strange; when that fog rolled in, it was something else. But it was a cool experience, running on the beach. I had no issues with traction, and the beach was a welcome change from the state park and hills around Huntsville.”
Elizabeth Larimier finished second in 3:50:00. Larimer, a native of Shippenville, Penn., is working on a physical therapy internship in Houston.
“I was nervous about the sand, but it was pretty packed,” said Larimer. “It may have slowed me down a little, but it was pretty packed.”
Germaine Kropilak, 47, of Dallas, who was not available after the race for comment, finished third overall in the female competition in 4:03:22.
In the male masters (40-plus) marathon competition, David Elder, 45, of Clearmont, Fla., finished first in 3:21:53; Chuck Cox, 51, of Katy finished second in 3:26:54; and Jeffrey Raymond, 43, of Decatur, Geo., finished in 3:32:34.
In the female masters competition, Susan Gallup, 44, of Calgary, Alberta, finished first in 4:07:29; Parvaneh Moayedi, 44, of Austin finished second in 4:08:02; and Barbara Brady, 63, of Livermore, Cal., finished in 4:09:12.
Don McNelly, 87, of Rochester, NY, finished his 731st marathon in 9:28:00.
“It was tough, tough,” said McNelly. “What made it tough was the humidity. I want to keep going until I’m 90, and I enjoy it and meet a lot of nice people.”
Jane Cuttig, 67, who finished her 164th marathon and wants to run a marathon in all 50 states, marked Texas off her list on Surfside with a 7:23:00 finish.
“I loved it,” said Cutting. “It was beautiful.
OverNite Software is the contest title sponsor, and ConocoPhillips is the founding sponsor of the contest. The Village of Surfside assists in the race, Hope Fellowship Church of Lake Jackson prepares and serves the post-race barbecue, the Brazoswood Honor Society helps at the water tables, and Daryl Beatty, director of road racing of the Brazosport Area Road Runners Association, directs the event. The proceeds of the race go to the Surfside Save Our Beach Association, which provides volunteer assistance, and to the association’s college scholarship fund.
Race results were not available at press time.
When official race results are determined, they will be posted on the BARRA Web www.barrahome.net.
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