Lea este artículo en español aquí.
A record 1,258 runners competed in the 42nd annual Mission 10 Race on Jan. 31 in San Juan Bautista, taking part in the half-marathon, the Kids One Mile Fun Run, the 10-mile and the 5k.
Event organizer Amalia Andrade said the number of participants was the most in the Mission 10’s 42-year history. According to Andrade, a total of 224 runners competed in the half-marathon, 201 competed in the 10-mile, and 737 competed in the 5k, while 96 participated in the kids fun run.
With a final time of 1:15.15, Aidan Tomasini of Aromas was the overall male winner of the half-marathon. Kelsey Alves of Salinas was the overall female winner with a time of 1:34:36.
Tomasini said he had been preparing for the upcoming Ventura Marathon and ran in the Mission 10 Race to see if he could hold a marathon pace for the half-marathon.
“I actually went out really fast because I was just trying to win,” he said. “But I was able to hang on to it. The last half was a little harder because it was a little bit uphill at the end.”
Tomasini said it was his first time competing in the race. He said his parents, Dave and Jana Tomasini, ran the Mission 10 for multiple years but did not come this year.
Pebble Beach resident Jake Santana, who is autistic, said he has competed all his life and has dominated every 5k road race he’s entered since 2023.
“Autism hasn’t stopped me from doing what I love doing so far,” Santana said, “and that’s winning everything. I’m proud of where I am right now.”
He said he will be back for the race next year. He said he tries to cut a few more seconds each time he races.
“I’ve been trying to inspire a lot of people,” Santana said, “so I can be my own celebrity athlete. If I get a good enough time, 5k in under 15 minutes, I will possibly even make it to the 2027 Olympics.”
Half-marathon winners
Male: Aidan Tomasini, Aromas: 1:15:15
Female: Kelsey Alves, Salinas: 1:34:36
Overall half-marathon results by age category
Male 13-18: Hunter Turpin, San Jose: 1:27:09
Female 13-18: no entries
Male 19-29: Aidan Tomasini: 1:15:15
Female 19-29: Lizette Garcia: 1:41:23
Male 30-39: Anthony Cortes: 1:17:11
Female 30-39: Kelsey Alves, Salinas: 1:34:36
Male 40-49: Alan Samuels, Prunedale: 1:22:29
Female 40-49: Nancy Eubanks, Turlock: 1:38:18
Male 50-59: Chang So, Hollister: 1:33:49
Female 50-59: Stacy Lakin, Hollister: 1:48:49
Male 60-69: Satoru Miyoshi: time 1:32:12
Female 60-69: Ann Baier Soquel: 2:14:12
Male 70-99: Bob Kemp Saratoga: 1:42:59
Female 70-99: Cynthia Antang, Walnut Creek: 3:38:14
One-mile fun run at Mission 10 Race Photo by Adam Bell. 
Pedro Jarquin runs in a Mission 10 Race event. Photo by Adam Bell. 
Kids and moms running in a Mission 10 Race event. Photo by Adam Bell. 
Runners of all kinds competed in the Mission 10 race. Photo by Adam Bell. 
Runner Oksana Shuliak running her heart out at the Mission 10 Race. Photo by Adam Bell.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
You must be logged in to post a comment.