2004 Redondo Beach 5K

Report by: Eric Barron

You are going to spend the rest of the day sitting on your butt staring at the television while reaching for the chips and dip, so you might as well spend your morning at a race. Hence, the attraction of the Redondo Beach Super Bowl 5K and 10K. Of course, the beer garden might account for some of the draw. Whatever the incentive, thousands of runners showed up on a nice February morning for a run over moderate hills and the smell of aquarium fish in the air.

The popular race here is the 10K. About 3500 runners (several Elvii were spotted among the crowd, as well as a few Panthers and Patriots, all in full uniform) finished the longer distance. First among TCLA'ers was Adam Reid. Now that his arm is out of a cast, he seems to be more aerodynamic. Eric Davis took off at 5K pace, which did not help matters, and he is sure to improve as his pace evens out. Next to finish were two Bri/yans, Panosian and Johnston, respectively. You probably never thought that Tyrone Black would run a forty-three minute 10K (I mean that in the good sense), but with a sore Achilles, he played it smart and enjoyed the course. Right on his Achilles heel, Clarence Smith crossed the line seconds later. Finally, Mark Bearak, soon to be a New Yorker, started his farewell tour of L.A. races with a relatively slow race (perhaps he was trying to take it all in one last time).

In the 5K, Michelle Chille decided (against her coach's advice) to follow up last week's 2:57 at the Las Vegas Marathon with another race, and she still managed fourth place in her age division. Just behind her, Todd Patterson took the race as a hard workout and turned in a decent finish. One other TCLA'er finished second in his age division, and was reportedly motivated to finish quickly so that he could get a good place in the waffle line in the Nike area.