Feb. 2, 2014
For immediate release
Shahmirzadi, Green win 5k races; Peschel, ARC’s Luna top 10k runs
Sacramento Running Association standouts Camron Shahmirzadi and Courtney Green took home 5k titles and Luis Luna and Colleen Peschel won 10k races in the fifth annual Super Sunday Run.
The event on Sunday morning served as a great warm-up for the Super Bowl, with football-themed awards, stadium-style food, Super Bowl highlights and race finishes in the end zone at Sacramento State University’s Hornet Stadium setting the tone for the big game.
Shahmirzadi covered the 5k course through Sacramento State’s campus in 15 minutes and 54 seconds, well ahead of Roseville’s Tre Lockwood (16:59) and Sacramento’s Pedro Flores (17:15).
“It feels great,” said Shahmirzadi, a 24-year-old business analyst who lives in Folsom. “I was trying to come out and run a good opener for the year.”
Green, a 26-year-old preschool teacher from Folsom, won the women’s 5k in 19:26, just ahead of Granite Bay’s Carla Kehoe (19:35) and Sacramento’s Cynthia Ortiz (20:00).
“It was good,” Green said. “I enjoyed it.”
Luna, who won the state junior college cross country race last fall in helping lead American River College to the team title, cruised to the men’s 10k title in 31:03. Sacramento Running Association teammates Charlie Brenneman (32:41) and Miguel Nuci (32:43) took home the next two spots.
“I wanted to go break 31 (minutes).” said Luna, 19, who lives in Sacramento. “I got a side cramp at mile 4. That slowed me down a little bit.
“It’s a perfect (course) to run fast. If I had somebody after me, to push me, my time would have been better.”
Peschel, a 43-year-old Human Resources specialist from Shingle Springs, delivered a convincing win in the women’s 10k with a 40:23 effort. Brentwood’s Ashley Chavez (41:21) and Sacramento’s Rachel McMichael (41:22) rounded out the top three.
“This is a race to see where I’m at,” said Peschel, who is aiming for a three-hour Boston Marathon finish. “I like where I’m at.”
Peschel, a Sacramento State graduate, also said she enjoyed the 10k course, which went through part of the campus, crossed the Guy West Bridge into Campus Commons and then returned to Sac State.
“It’s a great course going through the college,” she said. “It was cool to be back here.”
The races were a good way to prepare for the rest of Super Bowl Sunday.
“I’m from L.A.,” Shahmirzadi said. “I kind of grew up not having an NFL team to call my own.
“I just want a close game.”
The event, put on by the Sacramento Running Association, drew close to 2,000 runners for the 5k and 10k races and 250 kids for the Future Stars’ 40-Yard Dash.
Billy Mills, the 1964 Olympic gold medalist in the 10,000 meters, was among those who attended the races.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.