Hundreds battle muck, mud in benefit run for Annadel
Alex Wolf-Root holds a big lead as he cruises to a first-place finish during the Annadel Half Marathon, in Santa Rosa's Annadel State Park, on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010.
CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / The Press DemocratPublished: Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 5:28 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 5:28 p.m.
Dry socks might have been an appropriate finish-line prize for runners at Sunday's inaugural Annadel Half Marathon in Santa Rosa.
Running shoes became mud-soaked sponges as racers paced themselves through 13.1 miles of puddle-ridden trails and a 1,000-foot elevation gain at the marathon benefit through the state park.
Threats that state park closures might include Annadel launched protests by local park supporters and drove staff of Santa Rosa's Fleet Feet Sports to plan the fundraiser. The race brought in about $20,000 that will go to the park through the Valley of the Moon Natural History Association, a nonprofit set up to raise funds for Sonoma County parks.
“It's a huge boost for us,” Neill Fogarty, supervising state park ranger for the park, said after the event's organizers presented Fogarty with a larger-than-life check in front of a crowd of muddy racers, who cheered between mouthfuls of bagels, oranges and pasta.
“This is my playground,” said second-place runner Bob Sebest, 35, of Santa Rosa. “So anything we can do to shore up funds in case they threaten to close it again, we'll do.”
About 300 runners lined up in the 38-degree, sunny morning before the race began at 8 o'clock. They ran past the park's oaks and through its meadows, up Canyon Trail, Marsh Trail, Ridge Trail and back on Canyon to the finish line.
Montgomery High School freshman Leila Nacouzi and her friends sat in chairs at the finish line, waiting to cheer Nacouzi's mother, Stephanie, 51, and sister, Julie, who recently placed 25th in a national cross-country running contest, Nacouzi said.
“She's our idol,” said a friend, 14-year-old Sadie Carpenter.
“She's really fast,” said Kassidy Pierce, also 14.
The park's ground was saturated by the recent rains, making the trail an obstacle course of rivulets, puddles and mud.
The mud sucked some runners' shoes off their feet, said Polly Mora, 49, of Petaluma, who ran with five running buddies.
First-place runner Alex Wolf-Root, 23, of Santa Rosa finished in 1 hour, 23 minutes and 38 seconds, according to the official clock. He was barely out of breath.
“Look at this place, look at what we get to run through,” Wolf-Root said.
First-place among women racers, 16-year-old Julie Nacouzi said she landed waist-deep in a mud puddle after slipping. Nacouzi lives a few blocks from the park, and she said she'd probably sneak into the park to run if it ever was closed.
Park-goers sent up an outcry after parks officials last September announced a plan to close 100 of California's about 200 parks. Annadel reportedly was on that list.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger later said he would cut park hours and maintenance crews to keep parks open, but the fear of closing Annadel, the county's most accessible park to urban areas, sent the park's fans into motion to raise money to ensure it won't close.
“It all transpired over a Lagunitas,” said Hank Nason, 36, of Santa Rosa, an avid cyclist and runner whose friend, Mark Strozyk of Santa Rosa, shared his idea over beers about four months ago to start a benefit marathon for the park.
“Mark kept coming to work saying, ‘What are we going to do to keep Annadel from closing?'
Strozyk, race director for the marathon and Fleet Feet Sports staff, trained 100 runners every Sunday for 12 weeks for the marathon. On marathon day, he marked the trail with pink ribbons and stationed volunteers along the trail to cheer the runners on.
“It's all downhill from here,” Jenine Wilson, 47, called out to panting, red-faced racers about a quarter-mile from the finish line. “That was the last rock.”
Petaluma firefighter Mac Thompson, 34, finished the last half mile along a raging Spring Creek with his 6-year-old son, Joe.
The trails through Annadel's 6,000 acres were once unaccessible to Heidi Facciano, 36, who only began running about one year ago after a doctor told her she had diabetes, she said.
“The very first time I tried to walk up Cobblestone Trail, I couldn't do it,” said Facciano, who moved to Santa Rosa about six years ago.
So she joined a running group. A year later and 40 pounds lighter, she said, Sunday's race brought her into Annadel's back country for the first time.
You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or e-mail julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com.
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