Miami man holds on for victory

PATIENCE, PLEASE: Complete results were not available but were expected to be posted today online at www.coolrunning.com.

By PETE YOUNG

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 24, 2000

CLEARWATER -- Reinaldo Garcia is a native of Venezuela and has lived in Miami for the past year and a half.

Richard Christensen is from Boise, Idaho.

When the sun began to make its presence felt Sunday with the two leaders about 20 miles into the inaugural Florida Gulf Beaches Marathon, guess who was at an environmental advantage?

Garcia held on to win in 2 hours, 42 minutes, 25 seconds, 25 seconds ahead of Christensen. Christensen closed the margin in the final 2 miles but couldn't threaten Garcia, who won by about 150 meters.

"It was tough. I really wasn't feeling that good at the end," said Garcia, 28, a systems engineer who specializes in distance triathlons. "It was a little bit lonely out there, but I felt good most of the race and just held on. I didn't know (exactly) how far back he was, but I never felt I was in trouble."

Christensen, who finished more than three minutes ahead of David Newcomb, didn't have the energy to threaten Garcia.

"He was well within my sight for about the last 10 miles (along the Pinellas Trail)," said Christensen, who has several relatives in the area, which enticed him to enter the race. "I didn't think I could catch him. He was starting to wear me out. At the end I started picking up on him, but the closest I got was about 150 yards."

Clearwater's Judy Maguire, 41, was the women's winner in 2:52:38, and she placed eighth overall in the field of about 650. She was nearly 10 minutes ahead of Kim Donaldson, 38, of St. Petersburg (3:02:13). Patricia Farese, 37, of North Redington Beach was third in 3:05:04.

Maguire was gunning for under 2:50, which would have earned her an invitation to the U.S. Olympic trials. She was far from disappointed, however, with the way things went.

"I thought the race was great. The course was great," Maguire said of the route, which began on Clearwater Causeway, went south on Gulf Boulevard to Park Boulevard in Indian Shores, then back north on the Pinellas Trail.

"You really gain an appreciation for how beautiful the area is in which we live," she said. "I started out on a 2:50 pace, and it was just a matter of whether I could maintain it, and I couldn't, that's all. I'm not really disappointed, though. I did about what I expected."

Katherine Hunter, 38, of Orlando placed first in the wheelchair division in 2:35:05. She was the lone woman among four entrants. This month Hunter also won the women's division of the Walt Disney World Marathon in Lake Buena Vista.

Maguire and David Joyce of St. Petersburg won the Ralph Perry Pride of Pinellas Award, given to the fastest female and male finishers from Pinellas County. Joyce was fifth in the men's race in 2:49:20.

Several local residents won their age group. On the women's side, Maryann Protz, 43, of St. Petersburg won the masters (40 and over) division in 3:24:18; Carol Glasscock, 32, of St. Pete Beach won the 30-34 age group in 3:16:25; Noora Alidina, 43, of Palm Harbor won the 40-44 in 3:36:47; Kathy Dodd, 48, of Clearwater won the 45-49 in 3:46:04; and Sara Applebaum, 50, of St. Petersburg won the 50-54 in 3:45:15.

On the men's side, Rocko Scannon, 16, of Tampa was the youngest finisher and won the 15-19 age group in 4:50:03; Gregory Firss, 37, of Clearwater won the 35-39 in 2:56:19; Michael Ward, 52, won the 50-54 in 3:07:16; Jon Kieffer, 56, of Treasure Island won the 55-59 in 3:29:15; Pat Fitzgerald, 70, of St. Petersburg won the 70-74 in 4:18:00; and Charlie Lasley, 78, of Belleair won the 75-79 in 5:43:39.

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