Great Race Draws Enthusiastic Crowd

The 28th annual Dole Great Race of Agoura Hills brought out approximately 15,000 runners and spectators to Agoura Hills Saturday morning. Participating in two half marathons, a 10K, a 5K and a Kids One Mile, people came from 350 cities and 35 states.

First to cross the finish line was Isidore Herrera, from Ventura, finishing the Old Agoura 10K at 30:36 in the men's 19 - 24 age division. "I got a lot of energy back in the downhill," he said. 

Brad Jones from Houston, Texas, finished 7th out of 1,315 runners in the 10K despite the “killer hills,” he said. “I’m used to flat, but it is beautiful running weather.”

The first female to cross the finish line in the 10K was Liz Camy-Blackwell, Camarillo, at 36:46 in the 25 - 29 age division.

First place winner of the Chesebro Half Marathon for men was Cameron Zimmermann, from Thousand Oaks, with a time of  01:22:41 in the 40 - 44 age division. He credited his win to his family support as well as how well the run was organized. “It’s an overall good vibe," he said. "The volunteers at all the stations along the route guiding and encouraging us definitely makes for a better run.”

Finishing first for the women was Elaine Woodward, from Canyon Country, 01:31:13 in the  25 - 29 age division.

For Myles Cockburn from Westlake Village it was his tenth time running the Chesebro Half Marathon. This year he edged up to fourth place. “The course was drier than normal for this time of year which helped,” he said.

For the Pacific Half Marathon taking first for the men was Jeffrey Jackson, of Newhall, in the 25 - 29 age division and for the women was Jessica Douglas, Santa Barbara, finishing at 1:28:49 in the 30 -34 age division.

In the Deena Kaster 5K, named after the Olympian and Agoura High School graduate, winner for the men was Zack Schwartz of Newton, from Maine, finishing at 15:14 in the 19 - 24 age division and for the women was Andrea Mclarty, from Santa Barbara, finishing 17:12 in the 35 - 39 age division.

Winners of the Kids One Mile for the boys was Connor MacKinnin, of Oak Park, age 10, finishing at 5:37 and for the girls was Celeste Schreifels, from Agoura Hills, age 10, at 6:20.

Along route, supporters were tracking their runners with apps and runner tracking. “It’s great,” said Morgan McDouglas from Canoga Park who said she got up two-and-a-half hours earlier than normal to support her sister and her sister's boyfriend running the 10K. “Through our phone apps, I can find locations where I can cheer them on or hang out at the festival and know exactly when they'll cross the finish line.”

With runner tracking John Cominski and wife Kathy from Thousand Oaks were following their 26-year old daughter's progress via a digital street map. “She broke her ankle a couple of years ago, and we can share her accomplishment with her this way,” said John.

Despite his bad knees, Bill Chen joined his daughter, Joy, in the 10K so they could spend some time together. Chen said he was in it for the memories but his daughter won her 11-to-12-year-old division.

Awaiting runners at the post-race party was a full buffet of various food and drink booths along with music, kid's activities, demonstrations and vendors related to health. 

For Lili Diaz  from Reseda, running the Dole Great Race is all about health and staying active. She worked out three times a week to upgrade from her traditional 5K run to tackle the Old Agoura 10K. Was she ready? "Yes," was her reply, "I'm an over achiever I guess."

For all race results visit http://greatraceofagoura.com/results/