Simon Ricci easily defended his Big Sur International Marathon men’s crown, crossing the finish line a full five minutes ahead of second place finisher Jake Erschen from Wisconsin.
Under cool, wet conditions on Sunday, April 27, the 27-year-old from San Francisco cruised at an average pace of 5:45 per mile, posting a time of 2:31:04—slightly off his winning 2024 run of 2:29:30. Serena Burla of Stafford, Virginia claimed the women’s competition, covering the undulating 26.2 miles in 2:49:40.
Pacific Grove’s Adam Roach finished fifth overall, as well as in the men’s race. Kelsey Alves of Salinas put in the top performance for a local runner on the women’s side, crossing in 25th with a time of 3:24:21—good enough for 165th overall in the field of 3,297 who completed the distance.
Other locals of note include Lu Wen Chuang of Carmel. The 17-year-old recorded the best time in her age group on the women’s side, running a tick over four hours. Pacific Grove’s Penny Parch, 72, was the first woman over the age of 70 to reach the finish, clocking in at 4:19:54. At 72 years old, Michael Sosnowski of Carmel Valley wrapped up in 4:16:02.
The Weekly’s business development director, Keely Richter, took part in the mixed relay. Her team—Relay for Rachael-Alex's Washouts—ran 24th in the field of 58. Former Weekly associate editor Tajha Chappellet-Lanier completed the marathon in 3:44.58.
The event features relays and other distances. Some 9,000 runners from 41 countries came to Big Sur to challenge the scenic hills of Highway 1.
The 21-mile title went to Ervin Velasquez of Los Angeles, with Kaeloni Neville from Kalispell, Montana capturing the women’s win. Michael Charbonneau of Santa Cruz and Monterey’s Rebecca Taylor-Perryman claimed the 11-mile finishes.
In the shorter runs it was Braulio Ramirez (men) and Margaret Urheim (women) taking the 12K victories, while Daniel Clarke (men) and Lanée Lammers (women) earned 5K crowns.
Clarke finished about a minute ahead of Diego Garcia from Marina. Lammers just edged a 16-year-old from Pebble Beach, Selah Kwasnoski.
Competing in the 12K and 5K, respectively, were 86-year-old Carl Outzen of Monterey and 93-year-old Marty Rosen, a Carmel resident.
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