The 2021 Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5k on Sunday morning, Sept. 26 (Photo- Don Miralle/McCourt Foundation)
Thousands of runners, walkers and junior races took to the Pasadena streets for the 2021 Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5k on Sunday morning, Sept. 26.
By News Desk
The event marked the largest road race in Los Angeles County since COVID-19 struck last year.
5K Marathon
“It’s great to be back racing again,” said men’s 5K winner Josh Ehinger, from nearby Corona, who won the 5k in 15 minutes, 55 seconds. “Today was just a great time to be back, there’s nice energy and people around.”
Boston-native Allison Lynch won the women’s 5k with a times of 18:10. It was the second road race victory of the month for Lynch, who recently moved from Boston to Venice Beach, and won the Santa Monica Classic 5k on September 12.
Half-marathon
Ryo Furukawa (Photo – Don Miralle/McCourt Foundation)
The first woman to cross the half-marathon finish line was 25-year-old Madison Dunlap, who covered the 13.1-miles in 1:31:44. Los Angeles locals Lissete Pastor (1:32:44) and Jessica Iribe (1:32:31) placed second and third respectively.
In the men’s race UCLA graduate Ryo Furukawa broke away from his training partners Mathieu Cross and Victor Martinez to win by almost a minute in 1:11:42. Cross finished second in 1:12:03 and Martinez placed third in 1:12:99. “The Rose Bowl is home to the UCLA Bruins and I went to UCLA, so I wasn’t going to let anyone pass me at the end,” said Furukawa.
The participants started outside the Rose Bowl Stadium façade. The course crossed over the Colorado Street Bridge and past the Norton Simon Museum before heading through Pasadena’s historic Old Pasadena, and past historic landmarks including the California Institute of Technology. Runners entered the stadium gates through the home team tunnel and onto the field to finish alongside the 50-yard line.
The family-friendly race also included the Rose Bowl Rush Kids Run, a 400-meter dash for children ages 3 – 8. The Event concluded with a finish line festival at the stadium with live entertainment.
The next Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5k will be run on Sunday, January 16, 2022. Runners can register at RoseBowlHalf.com.
Edited by Ann Hunnewell
Glad for the runners but the security guards at the blocked streets were not given information about where the open streets were to pass north south through Colorado Blvd. I started at Orange Grove Blvd and Waverly and could only turn north, then east at Green. I only needed to travel less than a mile north of my starting point but every intersection was blocked in 3 directions forcing a zigzagging route across town until finally being able to turn from California St. north on Hill. Please provide information to the people manning the barricades. GPS was not helpful.