Encinitas Runners Supreme Among Locals in Tough Catalina Marathon

Laura Pryor of Encinitas won Saturday’s 35th annual Catalina Island Conservancy Marathon, one of the toughest in America with its hills and trails, finishing 42 seconds ahead of Emily Toia in the women’s division.

Chase Eldridge, 22, of Brooklyn, N.Y. was the men's 
winner.

But perhaps most impressive was Jeff Creighton of Encinitas, second in the men’s race. He is 48.
  

Pryor, 25, completed the 26-mile, 385-yard course in 3 hours, 51 minutes, 9 seconds. Toia of Scottsdale, Ariz., clocked 3:57:51. Pryor was 14th in the race overall—beaten only by 13 men.
  

Eldridge topped the field of about 450 runners in 3:09:52. Creighton finished in 3:12:35.

Other local Patch communities were represented as well. (Clock times given may be slower than actual times from start to finish.)

• Carlsbad’s Brandon Walsh, 36, finished sixth overall and first in his age group in 3:33:58.  Michael and Maximilian Berwald, age 59 and 21, respectively, finished the walk in about 7:25.
• La Mesa’s William Grailich, 37, finished in 6:31:58.
• Oceanside’s Beth and Chad Spaman, 38 and 41, finished in 5:51:48 and 4:01:58, respectively.
• Ramona’s Andy Waters, 36, finished in 4:48:38.
• Santee’s Joanne Salaz, 46, finished in 6:35:59
.

The brutal course started at Two Harbors and ended in Avalon. Runners covered 23 miles on dirt trails, which runners often share with Catalina Island's buffaloes, according to race director Mike Bone.
  

The trails are usually inaccessible to the general public, Bone said.
  

The course also includes numerous hills and a 1,600-foot climb in elevation, Bone said.
  

Bill McDermott, 60, a retired aerospace engineer who lives in La Habra Heights, is a 13-time winner of the race.

He told City News Service that “nothing really compares to this for its unique character. Being on an island makes it unique. When you get up into the high place on the island where you can actually look out over the ocean in both directions, you just get this sense there’s no place quite like it.”

McDermott said he has run more than 150 marathons and “there's nothing similar to all the races I’ve ever run. Hills and trails are generally more fun than pounding pavement.”

“People who come here for the first time assume it’s going to be much harder than any race they’ve done because of the hills. Then they find the hills introduce variety and makes it in a way easier because psychologically, you’re faced with variety all the time.”

City News Service contributed to this report.