MARATHON: Riverside hosted its first marathon on January 7, marking the nascence of running opportunities in the city.
By Claudia Smith, Staff Writer
Marathons have long served a milestone for long distance runners, and Riverside’s local running club, the Riverside Road Runners, put on their first marathon as part of the annual Citrus Heritage Run. Up until 2017, the Citrus Heritage Run has only comprised of two distances for participants: the 5K (about three miles) and the half marathon (13.1 miles). The addition of a marathon to this annual race was an added amount of work for the organizers, as they had to create a longer course and block more roads for the runners than for previous races. However, hosting a marathon drew runners from around Southern California and around the world. Riverside’s sister city, Sendai, Japan, even sent two of its own runners to take part in the race: Shiori Saijo and Kei Fujiwara both who placed highly in their individual categories with over 1200 participants.
The marathon began at the Arlington Heights Sports Park on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Van Buren Avenue at an early 6:30 am; the runners ran through notable locations such as the California Citrus Heritage Park, California Baptist University and the Overlook neighborhood.
Jim Dewoody, the president of the Riverside Road Runners and the Citrus Heritage Course Director, deemed the run a major success. “I could not have been happier with the outcome of the 8th annual Citrus Heritage Run. The weather on race day was perfect for those runners who completed the 5K, half marathon or the City’s inaugural marathon. We also had a fantastic group of volunteers from the surrounding high schools and other community groups that helped guide runners around the scenic course, hand out refreshments and cheer them on to the finish line,” Dewoody said.
Poly students and staff also took part in the race. Chemistry teacher Mr. Matthew Schiller participated in the half marathon. “I didn’t do quite as well as I had hoped since I was fighting a cold, but ended up finishing 4th in my category. The race was extremely well coordinated and I look forward to doing it again next year,” Schiller said. Members of Poly’s Cross Country team also ran in the race, such as Lerenzo Gipson (11), who placed fourth overall and first in his age group in the half marathon. “It was my first half marathon. Even though I fell down during the fourth mile, it ended up being a fun and really good experience,” Gipson said.
All of the money earned from race entries is funneled back into local youth running programs. “The proceeds from the Citrus Heritage Run go back to our local youth in the form of financial support for 100-Mile Clubs [programs that challenge students to run, jog or walk 100 miles over the course of the school year] in the Alvord and Riverside Unified School Districts, free running shoes for cross-country runners at several local high schools and college scholarships to high school runners,” Dewoody commented.
Perhaps the new opportunities that arise from the addition of a marathon to the Citrus Heritage Run will continue to improve Riverside, and by extension the Southern California running community.