Runners Zip Through Santa Monica For 5K, 10K Races

SANTA MONICA, CA — Some 6,000 runners zipped through Santa Monica on Sunday for the Santa Monica Classic hosted by ASICS and The McCourt Foundation.

The 17th annual day of races included men's and women's 5K and 10K races and a kids run, complete with a finishing party at the Santa Monica Pier.

Runners raced with a classic Santa Monica backdrop — complete with ocean views and palm trees — and finished their races parallel to the ocean on Ocean Avenue near the pier.

“This is such a vibrant community,” said men’s 5K winner Sergio Reyes. “There’s so much color down by the beach, very interesting folks that add a lot of flair to the place. And Santa Monica is obviously very beautiful to run through. It’s alive and energetic, even at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. It’s awesome to be a part of this community.”

Reyes, of Palmdale, won the men's 5K with a 15 minute, 51 second time — a 5:07 per-mile pace, according to a representative of the McCourt Foundation. Allison Lynch of Venice won the women's 5K race with an 18 minutes and 51 second finish time — a 6:04 per-mile pace.

“I felt a little bit like a car wash sponge the entire way,” Reyes said in a news release. “I was drenched. It was humid. But I made it across the finish line and thankfully chose the 5K today. Running that pace for 10K would have been punishment.”

Franziska Vansickle took the women's 10K victory with a 6:06 per-mile pace and Luis Gutierrez of Rancho Cucamonga won the men's 10K with a 5:11 per-mile pace.

“This is absolutely amazing. The palm trees and the ocean. It’s just outstanding," Vansickle said. "We get to race where people go on vacation.”

The McCourt Foundation is an organization "dedicated to enhancing the lives of patients and families affected by health-challenges within the neurology community and beyond," according to the organization's website.

The foundation focuses on supporting patients and families of those with neurological diseases including Alzheimer's, MS, ALS and Parkinson's diseases.

Over 25 runners raised funds for the foundation with their runs.