PASO ROBLES, Calif. - On December 22, 2003 earthquake waves rolled through Paso Robles, a thriving community that sprang up in the 1880s exactly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The 6.5 quake on the Richter Scale destroyed 82 historic buildings and killed two people in the downtown square where the town's annual Heritage Oaks Banks Fun Day road races start and finish.

On Sunday morning, waves of runners soothed painful memories and celebrated a dramatic revitalization of Paso Robles by filling its streets for road races that included the USA Masters 10K Championship.

Dennis Simonaitis, 42, of Draper, UT emerged as the U.S. master men's 10K champion, negotiating the flat and fast two loop course in 30 minutes and 24 seconds. Rosemarie Lagunas, 42, of San Jose, CA captured the women's title in 36:19. Both scored convincing victories, trouncing their respective fields.

Simonaitis used perfect racing conditions in the low 50s to avenge last year's second-place performance to rival Eddy Hellebuyck. Brian Pope, 41, of Oxford, MS placed second, well behind Simonaitis in 30:47. Hellebuyck, 43, of Albuquerque, NM was third, over two minutes slower than his national masters record of 29:05 set in this race in 2003. Hellebuyck, who holds multiple U.S. masters records, competed despite an out-of-competition positive drug test for erythropoietin (EPO) last January that he is contesting.

Taking an early lead, Simonaitis fronted a large pack that whittled to about six contenders by the 5K, hit in 15:21. His lead was tenuous, however, since one shoe became untied two miles into the race.

"That's never happened to me before," said Simonaitis about the misstep, "So I was running a little gingerly. But otherwise I felt good. I wanted to push it a little bit through halfway and not leave it to the end. Some of those guys have good kicks. I felt in control pretty much all the way through."

Indeed, Simonaitis gradually increased the tempo over the last several miles, leaving his contenders far in his wake. He improved his time by almost 30 seconds over the 2003 race, which was also run in ideal conditions.

Said Hellebuyck: "This was my first race in eight months, so I'm trying to get the intensity back. I've been training, but it's not the same as racing. I hope to get this [drug] situation behind me and start focusing on racing again."

For Lagunas, the masters women's victory came a bit as a surprise. Although she qualified for the 2000 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials, and has been competing since she was 14-years-old, she rarely appears on the roads. This fall, Lagunas is concentrating on cross country races.

"I haven't run a 10K in a million years, and I didn't know if I was going to die," admitted Lagunas, who led the entire race. "I thought just let's wait and see what happens. But then I still felt really good after the first loop, and thought that it was a good sign. I said 'Let's just pick it up at mile four and see what happens.'"

That strategy left long-time standout marathoner Maria Trujillo de Rios and Sarah Kramer to contend for runner-up spots. Kramer, 44, of Ogden, UT overtook De Rios, 44, of Los Gatos, CA in the second mile and proceeded to a second place finish of 36:54. De Rios was third in 37:22.

53-year-old Kathryn Martin (Northport, NY) ran a superb 37:32 which gave her the top female age-graded performance (a 32:23 age-adjusted time). Antoni Niemczak, (48, Albuquerque, NM), competing in his first race in several years, notched the best men's age-graded mark. His fourth-place 31:09 finish converted to a 28:24 age-adjusted time.

In the separate California 10K Championship race for competitors under 40 years old, Kenyans Eric Chirchir and Wilson Kigen crossed the finish in a virtual tie. Chirchir was awarded the victory by USATF finish line judges. Both men were timed in 29:18. Ethiopia's Atalelech Ketema successfully defended her women's title in an unchallenged 33:39. Christian Hesch (7th, 30:04, Morro Bay) and Megan Daly (2nd, 35:06, Palo Alto) were the first California finishers and were also crowned Pacific Association/USATF Open 10K Champions.

Heritage Oaks Bank awarded $56,000 in prize earnings of which over half is devoted to masters runners, and $8,000 to the accompanying Pacific Association/USATF Championship. All proceeds generated from the event's entry fees are distributed to local non-profit organizations. Through 2003, these donations totaled nearly $70,000.

Heritage Oaks Bank 10K: USA Masters Championship
Paso Robles, CA, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2004

MASTERS MEN
1) Dennis Simonaitis, 44, UT 30:24
2) Brian Pope, 41, MS 30:47
3) Eddy Hellebuyck, 43, NM 31:07
4) Antoni Niemczak, 48, NM 31:09
5) Dan Nelson, 40, CA 31:11

45-49
1) Niemczak (see above)
50-54
1) Gary Romesser, 53, IN 33:26
55-59
1) Dave Dooley, 57, CO 36:16
60-64
1) Byron Melendy, 64, CA 38:51
65-69
1) Thom Weddle, 66, MN 40:45
70-74
1) Glynn Wood, 70, CA 54:07
75-79
1) Sam Hirabayashi, 77, CA 51:31
80-plus
1) Stanley Coombs, 81, CA 58:03

MASTERS WOMEN
1) Rosemarie Lagunas, 42, CA 36:19
2) Sarah Kramer, 44, UT, 36:54
3) Maria Trujillo de Rios, 44, CA 37:22
4) Kathryn Martin, 52, NY 37:32
5) Kelly Keeler, 42, MN 38:06

50-54
1) Martin (see above)
55-59
1) Gloria Jansen, 57, MN 43:32
60-64
1) Shirley Matson, 63, CA 43:02
65-69
1) Barbara Miller, 65, CA 43:57
70-74
1) Barbara Robben, 70, CA 58:00
75-79
1) Elizabeth Baker, 79, CA 1:38:45

For complete results, go to: www.hobfunrun.com

source Running USA