There aren’t enough superlatives to appropriately describe the magnificence of an afternoon and evening in Sabino Canyon. It was particularly beautiful this year given that the weather was cooler than it sometimes is for this event, albeit that the wind was a bit gusty at times.
About 450 folks made it out to challenge themselves with the hills of the canyon road in either the 7.4 mile or the 2 mile events, and to help us support the Friends of Sabino Canyon. All got a super-cool race shirt, a finisher gift, and enjoyed the party at the finish line including many treats such as Domino’s Pizza, eegee’s, Celsius Energy Drinks, bananas and salty snacks.
Many thanks to the Forest Service and all our amazing sponsors, Performance Footwear, Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers, Celsius Energy Drinks, The Damion Alexander Team with Long Realty, and Dental Periogroup in Nogales, AZ.
A huge thank you as well to all our incredible volunteers, which numbered around 40 folks. There are too many to list individually but special shout outs to Ray Henson and Michelle Edwards for filling in at the last minute for course setup (mile markers and aid stations), the Boykin family for fetching and serving so many tasty treats such as eegee’s and Domino’s Pizza, Board Members Craig McCarthy, Wayne Lubis, and Dave Dixon for helping with so many different things (and two of them ran the race as well), and Greg Wenneborg with Roadrunner Race Timing who doesn’t just do a fantastic job with the timing, he hauls around the SAR trailer and helps with tons of setup and tear down tasks.
As for the racing, the 7.4 mile race was won by Tucker Creger in 45:26, followed very closely in second place was Joshua Sifuentes in 45:29 (Joshua’s chip time was actually faster, but overall awards are done by gun time and Tucker crossed the finish line first), and third place male was James Miles in 47:16. The men’s masters crown was won by Matt Sheremeta in 48:48.
The ladies title was secured by MariKate Murphy in 49:49, second place was Hannah Shy in 52:33, and in third was Cara Pane in 54:13. The ladies master’s crown was taken by Ginger Knowlton in 57:57.
Until next year, we wish all good health and many fun miles. Please visit runsar.org to see and register for our upcoming events.
Steve Outridge
RD, Sabino Canyon Sunset Run
Obo Southern Arizona Roadrunners