Jessica Sebor, Chikara Omine win titles in Modesto Marathon

Jessica Sebor, the editor-in-chief of Women’s Running Magazine, runs one marathon per year. And the Modesto Marathon is her choice.

That’s saying something.

Sebor resides near sunny San Diego, which has more than a half dozen marathons each year. And, as editor of a running magazine, she has a firm grasp on the top races in California.

“I liked it so much last year that I came back again,” said Sebor, who finished a distant second in a then-personal-best 3 hours, 9 minutes, 21 seconds in Modesto in 2015. “It’s a full-on marathon with a small-town feel, and the community is so friendly.

“I had no expectations of winning.”

Expectations or not, Sebor took the women’s title of the seventh annual event, navigating the 26.2-mile course in a new personal best of 3:08:14 and qualifying for April’s Boston Marathon. In all, 61 runners hit Boston qualifying marks.

Ripon’s Kara Jung finished second, breaking the tape in 3:20:17. Oakdale’s Vanessa Walton (3:34:36) was fifth, and Ripon’s Devon Fasani (3:39:32) was seventh. Modesto’s Amanda Drake (3:47:12) was 14th, and Ceres’ Nancy Rodriguez (3:49:10) rounded out the list of local runners in the top 20.

Daly City’s Chikara Omine, 33, was the men’s winner with a time of 2:34:04, nearly 3 minutes ahead of runner-up Tim Conway (2:36:57) of Walnut Creek.

Matt Fitzgerald of Oakdale was the top local finisher, clocking 2:51:24.

More than 3,000 runners – and probably twice as many spectators – jammed the streets of downtown Modesto about an hour before sunrise. They were greeted by temperatures in the mid-50s when the starter’s pistol sounded at 7:17 a.m. By the race’s conclusion, temperatures were in the 70s.

Turlock’s Miguel Nuci (1:15:30) won the men’s half-marathon, and Lan Clayton (1:26:57) of Salinas won the women’s half.

In the men’s 5K, locals took the top three places. Turlock’s Douglas Cox (16:43) placed first, followed by Modesto’s Alexis Camarena (17:29) and Turlock’s Josh Van Allen (18:01). On the women’s side, Dallas Campbell (17:21) of Pittsburg took first, followed by Shellin Chuong (17:29) of Berkeley. Turlock’s Jazlene Alexander (18:05) was third, and Modestans Jasmine Bohn (18:42) and Dulce Acatitla (21:00) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

The marathon wasn’t the only local weekend event. The inaugural Riverbank One Day 24-hour run was held Friday and Saturday at Riverbank High School.

Modesto’s Jon Olsen, the International Association of Ultrarunners world champion in 2013, was the race director.

He cheered family members Sunday at the marathon and said the One Day was a success.

“We received a lot of positive feedback about the race,” said Olsen, who completed more than 120 miles over Friday and Saturday. “And the (Riverbank High) track was incredible.”

The marathon concluded around 2:30 p.m. when the last timed runner crossed the line more than 7 hours after starting the event.

A little before 1:30 p.m., Modesto’s Doug Mulnix, 64, finished the 5K in 5:40:54, which resembles a marathon time.

But Mulnix’s goal had nothing to do with a clock and everything to do with the finish line.

The retired teacher suffered a stroke in August 2014 and has been on the comeback trail since. Accompanied by his daughter, Kirsten Scheele, and friend Hans Heppe, Mulnix was heading north on M Street when workers began taking down roadblocks along the course.

“Uh-oh, am I that late?” Mulnix asked a volunteer at the intersection of M and 13th. “You’re rolling up the streets, and I haven’t even gotten to it.”

“You’re doing awesome,” was the reply.

This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Jessica Sebor, Chikara Omine win titles in Modesto Marathon."