An old favorite

Jenny Marder

Runners took the sweltering heat and the beach path crammed with

people in stride on Saturday at Orange County’s oldest road race.

More than 1,000 people ran in the 49th annual Distance Derby in

Downtown Huntington Beach. The morning featured three runs: a

five-mile, a 10-mile and a five-mile run/walk for the youngsters.

The race has evolved over its half-century, said Herb Massinger,

president of Race Pace Promotions.

“It used to be such a quiet little race and such a sleepy town

until 10 or 15 years ago,” Massinger said.

People have been known to travel from as many as 18 different

states, he said, and many come back year after year.

“There are guys and girls in this race who have been running for

30 years, and their nemeses are there and they chase them,” Massinger

said.

But some, like 22-year-old Julie Bott, who ran farther Saturday

than she’d ever run in her life, were just hoping to finish.

Bott completed the 10-mile run in little more than two hours.

“It’s an easy course and it’s flat,” Bott said. “It’s a good time.

I’m glad I ran the whole thing. That’s all I care about.”

Garden Grove resident Wilhelm Gidabuday, 28, placed first in the

10-mile run with a time of 53 minutes, 19 seconds. Dolly Ginter, 40,

from Irvine was the fastest female, clocking in at 1:02:48.

In the five-mile race, Kevin Koeper, 25, from Arcadia won the

men’s division at 25:36 and the top placing female was Norco resident

Rosalva Bonilla, 41, who finished at 31:00.

All runs started at Pier Plaza, headed north on the beach path

and then looped back past the pier, heading south the same distance.

Willie Calvin, 69, placed first in her division in the five-mile

race at 46:48.

A former marathon runner, Calvin runs at 6 a.m. every day from her

home in Laguna Niguel with her husband, who bikes by her side.

Her husband told her she would win, she said.

The Distance Derby shared the beach with the X Games surfing

event, limiting parking and forcing runners to navigate around

pedestrian traffic on the beach path.

“In future years, if the event exceeds 1,500, we’re definitely

going to have to reconsider where we run the participants,” said

Louise Weiner, director of Race Pace Promotions, who organized the

event.

But the races were considered a success despite the setbacks, she

said.

“We felt that this year was by far one of the most enjoyable years

that we’ve had,” Weiner said. “We felt the event went very smoothly.”

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at [email protected].