Fourth of July 5K Returns After Two Years

Ekene Ikeme--Participants at the starting line of the Fourth of July 5K Race on Park Street.

Fourth of July 5K Returns After Two Years

Phil Hebda finished first overall out of more than 1,000 participants in the Alameda Fourth of July 5K Race for Midway Shelter last Monday. The Berkeley native finished the 5K (3.1 miles) with a chip time of 15:52.8.

Alameda teens Mateo Malko-Allen, 17, and Benjamin Wilson-Ripsom, 18, finished second and third respectively. Malko-Allen finished the race with a chip time of 15:54, while Wilson-Ripsom, an Encinal High School Class of 2022 graduate, finished with a time of 16:13.9.

Cesar Lira, 40, of Daly City and Arturo Fernandez, 37, of Oakland, rounded out the top five. Lira finished with a chip time of 16:17.6, while Fernandez came in at 16:22.6. Edward Hill of Oakland (16:23.9), Ivan Lieben of Lafayette (16:27.1), Ralph Kasow of Alameda (16:52.5), Noel Bautista of South San Francisco (16:54.2) and Blake Capper of Alameda (16:54.4) rounded out the top 10 fastest competitors.

Karen Eckberg, 37, was the first woman to cross the finish line. The Alamedan finished 21st overall with a chip time of 18:01.2. The next fastest woman was Jen Odom, 43, of South San Francisco. She finished with a time of 19:01.1 Talia Green, 16, of Oakland, came in with a chip time of 19:12.1, Kristina Rivera, 30, of San Jose, with a chip time of 19:35.3. Alameda resident Katie Freed, 39, rounded out the top five fastest women with a time of 19:45.1. Alameda High cross-country athlete Sophie Carpenter, 17, was the sixth fastest women competitor with a time of 19:49.4.

The event was open to participants of all ages. The oldest participant was 83-year-old Alameda resident Paul Lankin. He finished with a chip time of .49:35.3. His time put him 15th out of 18 participants in the men’s 70 years-and-older division. Les Ong, 72, of San Francisco, won the division with a time of 23:15.8. Terry Rowson, 70, of Alameda, finished second (25.56.4), Robert Fintland, 74, of Alameda finished third (29.30.1), Alameda resident Jack Mingo, 70, came in fourth (32.20.7) and Gerald Flynn, 73, of Alameda, rounded out the top five in the division (32.52.5).

Just three women over 70 years old took part in the event. Ann Burton, 70, of San Carlos, finished first with a time of 41:49, followed by Alameda resident Susan Haworth, 72, (49:17.9) and fellow Alameda resident Linda Shinn, 73, with a chip time of 1:02:06.8.

The youngest participant in the whole event was two-year-old W. Dent (the first names of participants younger than 13 were withheld). She finished fifth overall in the girls’ 12-and-under division, with help from her parents, with a time of 25:40.9. Sisters N. and R. Gorelik finished first and second in the division, respectfully. N. Gorelik, 12, finished first with a chip time of 20:42.1, while R. Gorelik, 10, finished at 21:42.6. E. Tucker, 12, of Alameda, finished with a time of 23.29.7, while R. Jenkins finished fourth in the division at 24:04.3

The youngest male runner was C. Gehrett, 4, of Alameda, who finished with a time of 1:18:37.3. The boys’ 12-and-over division was won by Alameda resident M. Hansson. The 10-year-old finished the race with a chip time of 20:39.5. He was followed in the division by E. Chiu, 10, of Alameda (22:17.6); T. Truong, 12, of Alameda (22:39.8); A. Gorelik, six, of Oakland (23:20.5) and A Rosenbloom, 10, of Alameda (24:11.1).

A total of 1,019 people competed in the 5K race. Proceeds of the event will benefit the Midway Shelter for abused women and children.

The race took the same route as the Mayor’s Fourth of July Parade. The race began on 1420 Park St. in front of Lauren’s Closet. The race ended at 1526 Webster St. across from Tapout Fitness.

The annual 5K was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was conducted by Outfront Endurance, an outdoor fitness event management organization. To view the entire results of the 5K race, visit https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/74200#resultSetId-325446;perpage:10.

Ekene Ikeme   The 5K Race for Midway Shelter resumed after a two-year delay.