NORTHERN OLYMPIC PENINSULA MARATHON: Winners come from near and far on opening day

PORT ANGELES — More than 500 runners from as far away as Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and Amsterdam braved the rainy Northern Olympic Peninsula to compete in the first day of the 5K and 10K events of the Olympic Discovery Marathon North.

The marathon and half marathon will take place on Sunday starting in Blyn for the full event and Agnew Football Grounds for the 13 mile run.

Among the winners are three confirmed champions and a new champion, who came from Colorado to race along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Conditions were overcast, which doesn't bother many runners.

The Larson family of Port Angeles, who have won NODM events several years in a row, took first place in both 5K races. Langdon Larson won with a time of 17 minutes, 39.05 seconds and right behind him, in second place, was his sister and women's winner Lauren Larson with a time of 18:05.03.

“The conditions were perfect…pretty humid but warm,” Lauren Larson said. Lauren finished just 26 seconds behind her brother, but said she never thought she would have a chance of catching him. “No, he took off from the start.”

“5:39 p.m….I’m happy with it,” Langdon said.

The women's second place winner was her sister Leia Larson with a time of 20:45.78. The youngest runner in the Larson family, Leyton Larson finished 11th in the men's race in 20:41.63. In total, the Larsons had four of the 13 fastest times in the 5K. Maman Jeanne Larson finished 11th among the women in 25:45.69.

The Larsons have competed in the team marathon in recent years, but this year Langdon and Lauren said they will compete in the half marathon on Sunday.

The 10K victory was taken by a former marathon winner, John Mauro of Port Townsend, with a time of 34:57.89, which he said was a personal best by one minute. He won by two full minutes over Timothy Lara (36:53.21) of Everett.

“It’s really nice, I love it here,” said Mauro, who has also competed in Peninsula Adventure Sports races that involve the slightly different discipline of trail running.

“I love being in it. It’s the same, you have the ocean right there, I love being in nature,” Mauro said. Mauro, who competed in the Boston Marathon, said he doesn't plan to run any marathons this year, but he'll be 50 soon and may do some marathons after he turns 50 .

The only new winner was Melissa Snobeck of Arvada, Colo., who won the women's 10K and finished third overall with a time of 37:58.07. The second woman in the 10K was Sarah Paquet of Seattle, whose time of 38:30.32 gave her fifth place among all runners.

Snobek decided to lead NODM because she has family in Oregon. “I like this fun, fast race,” she said. She said running at sea level is much easier than running in Arvada, at an elevation of 6,100 feet. “There, I can’t breathe,” he said.

A total of 524 runners finished Saturday, including 186 in the 10K and 338 in the 5K. Several hundred more are expected to take part in the marathon and half-marathon on Sunday.

The top 20 runners in each race are included (full names are not available from the timing company for runners under 13). Results are not official and subject to change:

Women's 5K — Lauren Larson, PA, first, 18:05.03; Leia Larson, PA, second, 20:45.78; Patricia Bachmeier, Prior Lake, MN, third, 22:02.79; A. Wieschhaus, Poulsbo, fourth, 23:10.49; Kaherine Braun, PA, fifth, 23:19.98; Maddie Walton, PA, sixth, 23:42.65; Alexa Kearns, Vancouver, British Columbia, seventh, 24:00.41; Tanja Goedecke, Tacoma, eighth, 24:12.56; Aimee Olbu, Marysville, ninth, 25:12.83; Sophie van Vrijberghe de Coningh, Amsterdam, 10th, 25:25.34; Jeanne Larson, Pennsylvania, 11th, 25:45.69; Cela Waknitz, Pa., 12th, 25:50.63; Claire Ruotolo, Everett, 13th, 25:52.37; Onyx Gish, PA, 14e, 25:59.24; Selah Turrey, 15th, Sequim, 26:00.23; Christine Loewe, PA, 16th, 26:13.43; Shelby Box, PT, 17th, 26:32.55; Natasha Ashenhurst, Olympia, 18th, 26:42.8; Ava Fox, Pennsylvania, 19th, 26:50.71; Stella Fradkin, PA, 20, 27:8.02.

men's 5k — Langdon Larson, PA, first, 17:39.05; Andre Campbell, PA, second, 18:54.39; Michael Higuera, PA, third, 19:00.59; Adrian Osborne, Sequim, fourth, 19:06.63; Oliver Westerndorf, Maple Valley, fifth, 19:52.91; Owen Armstrong, Maple Valley, sixth, 20:08.22; Dylan Zehr, Maple Valley, seventh, 20:09.24; Easton Dempsey, PA, eighth, 20:29.81; J. Lieberman, PA, ninth, 20:13.16; Keith LaLonde, Monroe, 10th, 20:28.26; Leyton Larson, Pennsylvania, 11th, 20:41.63; Michael Boyle, Arlington, MA, 12th, 21:41.5; Avi Allison, Seattle, 13th, 22:09.08; Jamie Dunnett, Nanaimo, B.C., 14th, 22:13.46; C. Dunnett, Nanaimo, British Columbia, 15, 22: 13.97; Tod Jones, Sequim, 16th, 22:31.5; F. Dunnett, Nanaimo, BC, 17, 22: 31.88; Ben Tegge, Seattle, 18th, 22:37.44; Brandon Weishhaus, Poulsbo, 19th, 23:14.25; Dylan Vianna, Port Hadlock, 20th, 23:15.46.

Women's 10K — Melissa Snobeck, Arvada, Colo., first, 37:58.07; Sarah Paquet, Seattle, second, 38:30.32; Carolynn Pype, PA, third, 43:57.02; Samantha Schofield, Seabeck, fourth, 45:02.48; Sophia Macdonald, Brmerton, fifth, 45:07.97; Noella Patel, Lake Forest Park, sixth, 45:48.69; Nancy Patel, Seattle, seventh, 45:54.95; Sarah McCurdy, Seattle, eighth, 46:05.78; Renée Macdonald, ninth, 47:23.24; Rochelle Lancaster, Silverdale, 10th, 48:00.89; Quinn Herr, Pennsylvania, 11th, 49:46.64; Jessica DiBari, Pennsylvania, 12th, 50:46.07; Madelaine McCullough, 13th, Olympia, 51:13.28; Courtney Raehl, Ashland, Ore., 14th, 51:36.35; Reagan Curtis, Seattle, 15th, 52:33.14; Alison Castle, Vancouver, British Columbia, 16th, 53:13.97; Kris Higginson, Tacoma, 17th, 53:58.1; Abby Duffy, High Point, North Carolina, 18th, 54:28.67; Austyn Heinlein, Leavenworth, 19th, 54:39.89; Katie Potter, Sequim, 20th, 54:52.76.

men's 10 km — John Mauro, Port Townsend, first, 34:57.89; Timothy Lara, Everett, second, 36:53.21; Sawyer Roark, Silverdale, third, 38:12.38; Aman Luthra, Lilburn, Ga., fourth, 39:05.78; Taylor Lee, Sequim, fifth, 40:55.79; Derek Burke, Centralia, sixth, 41:23.42; Justin Garrett, PA, seventh, 43:32.45; Justin Serrill, Issaquah, eighth, 44:08.39; Tri Ngo, Seattle, ninth, 44:40.25; John Ostezan, Reno, Nev., 10th, 44:59.18; Paul Corzatt, Fort Myers, Fla., 11th, 45:27.26; Kelton Finrich, Bothell, 12th, 46:27.17; David Hall, Folsom, CA, 13th, 46:34.1; Ayden Macdonald, Bremerton, 14th, 46:39.68; Matthew Bekker, Edmonds, 15th, 46:41.27; Aaron Petersen, Monticello, Utah, 16th, 47:09.32; James Dobberfuhl, Clinton, 17th, 47:52.70; Damien West, Puyallup, 18th, 48:18.36; Derrick VonBank, Everett, 19th, 48:37.46; Frank Bekker, Kingston, 20th, 49:21.86.