Moses Waweru Wins 13.1 Marathon from Venice Beach to Playa del Rey

Kenyan native Moses Waweru, 33, finished first Sunday among the thousands of runners who participated in the 13.1 Marathon race that followed a littoral course from the Venice Beach boardwalk, through Marina del Rey and into Playa del Rey.

Waweru, who resides in Sun Prairie, WI, finished the 13.1 mile, half-marathon race in 1:06:19. He was followed by Carl Dargitz, 24, of San Luis Obispo, at 1:06.25 and Mark Batres, of Pomona, at 1:07:07.

In the women's field, Risper Gesabwa, 22, of Marietta, GA, finished the half-marathon course in 1:14:37. She was followed by Stacy Cail, 33, of Los Angeles, who finished at 1:23:09 and Liliana Hernandez, 24, of Glendale, at 1:23:19.

Race results showed that 47 runners from Venice completed the course, ranging from 23-year-old Claire Schmitt, who finished with a chip time of 2:09:29, to Amy Galbraith, 68, who finished with a time of 2:08:51. Joseph Gabriel, 51, had a chip time of 1:38:40 and Rachael Babcok finished with a chip time of 1:38:43.

Thirty two runners from Marina del Rey ran the 13.1 Marathon and Elizabeth Hernandez, 44, had the best chip time among women at 1:57:16 and Richard Cappelli, 27, had the best men's chip time at 1:35:51.

Playa del Rey fielded 19 runners, including Eric Zivic, 28, who had the fastest men's chip time among his neighbors with a 1:28:08 finish, while fellow Playa del Rey resident Andrea Myers, 31, was the fastest among the women with a 1:47.33 finish.

In the coinciding Karhu 5K, Zachary Gomez, 16, from Camarillo, finished first with a time of 17:55. Shane Brouwer, 14, of Venice, finished in 10th place with a time of 19:46.

Running shoe maker Karhu entered its bear mascot in the 5K and promised free running shoes to any runner who finished ahead of it. The Karhu bear finished in 20:30 with 15 runners who were faster.

About 700 runners in the half-marathon also raised funds for Team World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization. Donations generated by the runners will go toward clean water projects in Kenya and Malawi.