Runners, Cyclists, Strollers and Wheelchairs Take to the Streets Cal Tech Grads Take Top Spots in Second Pasadena Marathon

By Terry Miller

The Pasadena Marathon got off to a slightly wet start on Sunday. However this drizzle didn’t deter nor or damper Marathon registered participants’ enthusiasm who numbered about 8300 and started off with the bike tour with ever- fashionable Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard leading the way.
Even though this was only the second Marathon in Pasadena, to many it is the third. The very first was cancelled due to dangerous smoke in the air. The rescheduled Marathon was then hit with a powerful rain storm and the third…well as they say: The third time is the charm.
As far as key winners for Sunday, Pasadena native Many Grantz, a graduate student at Caltech, topped her female competitors in the marathon with a finish time of 3 hours, 1 minute, 5 seconds.

Mike Davies, also a graduate of Caltech who lives in Santa Monica, beat all his competitors with a time 2 hours, 42 minutes, 51 seconds.
The undertaking: either the event’s 26.2-mile marathon, the 13.1-mile half-marathon, the 5K, a 26.2-mile bike tour or a Fun Run/Walk was indeed grueling for some.
About 7900 people finished the race(s) according to Israel Estrada, executive director of Pasadena Forward, which organized the massive event. Estrada said the economy this year hit everyone hard and feels this is one reason the numbers were a bit lower than anticipated. Also some date changes and the LA Marathon coming up also played a role in keeping registration down.
Estrada estimated that more than 8,300 finished one of the races this year compared to 7,900 last year.
Many of the runners enjoyed the mild rain in the opening hours of the race. In fact, some said it was “perfect” marathon conditions due to the heat they were about to build up during the 26 miles.
Putting on such an event has been 5 years in the making for Estrada, a former Marine whose specialty is logistics.
Dealing with civilian government compared to military confines is considerably different Estrada said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. Estrada said there are many more people with whom you have to deal and different departments who need to check with other departments. The process of getting the Pasadena Marathon off the ground was Herculean according to many who work with Estrada.
Complaints from local residents were considerably less this year and the porta potties were plentiful and welcome sight especially for those who consume mass quantities of energy drinks prior to a race. The number of portable toilets this year was double that of the inaugural event.
First-responders stationed along the route had a relatively easy day keeping an eye on the events, which kicked off with the bike tour at 6:15 a.m.
The Pasadena Fire Department responded to just four calls on the marathon route, but none of the injuries was serious, according to Pasadena Fire PIO Lisa Derderian.

Estrada said that one of the people involved with Race Central, a company that does Marathons for a living year in year out, told him that this was one of the best organized Marathons he’d seen in a while. High praise indeed!

With about 900 volunteers including some 150 plus students from Blair High School, Israel Estrada said the event was unquestionably a success and did a little better than break even this year. He noted that while a Marathon is not a spectator sport as such, many friends and family members do contribute to the overall feel of excitement at the races. “Logistically speaking, this year was considerably easier…” Estrada told the Pasadena Independent. He said that Pasadena Forward had a lot of the same people from last year and many previous issues had been resolved.
We Asked Estrada if he’s planning on doing another Marathon next year to which he replied, “We’ll have to see.”

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