With temperatures in the 60s, blue skies and palm trees lining the Pacific Coast Highway course, mother nature was the star Sunday morning for the 26th annual Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon this past weekend in Huntington Beach.
“It was beautiful out there,” said women’s marathon winner Johanna Torgesen. “It was so cool to run down the highway, see the waves, just the gorgeous views throughout the whole race. It was really nice.”
The 33-year-old Torgesen grew up in Seattle and is a Navy pilot based in Coronado. Many of her training runs unfold on the Silver Strand, so she’s accustomed to running surrounded by water and palm trees.
“It was very similar,” she said. “I felt right at home.”
Torgesen covered the 26.2-mile coastal course in 3 hours, 6 minutes, 13 seconds for the first marathon win of her career. Molly Crotteau was second in 3:10:30 with Nikki Boyd third (3:15:21).
Torgesen loved flying as a child, was passionate about planes and pursued her passion.
“I stuck with it and never looked back,” she said.
Kind of like her attitude when she was leading late in the race.
“I tried not to think about being first place,” she said. “You never want to get too comfortable, don’t want to be too confident. But coming down the last mile, I just thought, ‘You’ve really got to push it.’ Once I could see that finish line, the adrenaline kicked in big time. It was pretty amazing.”
Rob Mohr, a former long-distance triathlete who lives in Malibu, won the men’s marathon in 2:32:52. George Gleason took second (2:38:24) with Jason Yang finishing third (2:39:26).
The 2023 Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon and Half Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, February 5 and runners can take advantage of a presale registration special through next weekend. For complete results, photos and more, visit www.RunSurfCity.com.
