Palmdale Man Wins 4th Annual Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon

Willamette Valley, Oregon - September 7, 2013



Sergio Reyes and Zita Bauge won their debuts in the 4th Annual Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon on a picturesque day in the Willamette Valley. The race, presented by Subaru, featured a scenic 13.1-mile race that started at Stoller Family Estate Winery, and finished in downtown Carlton. Produced by Destination Races of Sonoma, the event was the fourth of six in the Wine Country Half Marathon Series.

Reyes, from Palmdale, CA, won the race with time of 1:07:49, beating 2nd place finisher Mario Mendoza of Bend, OR (1:08:36) and 3rd place finisher Michael Nicks of Portland, OR (1:09:25). Reyes, 2010 US Men's Marathon Champion and past winner of the Napa-to-Sonoma, Santa Barbara and Healdsburg Wine County Half Marathons, led the race from start to finish. On the awards stage Sergio was his usual humble self, "I want to congratulate all of the finishers today. You all deserve to be up here on the awards stage today," added Reyes. "I was challenged but loved every mile of it, what a beautiful course."

Three Oregonians swept the women's podium. Zita Buage, a native of Hungary who resides in Bend, OR, ran a time of 1:20:14, defeating 2nd place finisher Eva Vail, of Portland (1:20:14) and former winner of the first two Oregon Wine Country Half Marathons, Carrie Heineck of Portland (1:03:59).

Steve Mattina of Vancouver, WA and Jane Inouye of Sacramento, CA were victorious in the Masters division. Team ClubSport won the team competition and Ken Wright Cellars team won the Winery Team Challenge competition.

Over 2,000 runners traveled from 42 different states and six foreign countries to the heart of Oregon's Wine Country to enjoy a weekend of festivities, culminating with the Wine & Music Festival in downtown Carlton.

"We had everything we had hoped for today," said an enthused Matt Dockstader, Race Director and President of Destination Races. "It was a competitive race, perfect weather, and we all had lots of fun at the post-race festival. It was an event everyone can enjoy, we couldn't be prouder of the final result."

Kara Goucher, a 2008 and 2012 Olympian representing the United States, was the guest speaker at the Race Expo on Saturday, at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. A resident of Portland, she shared he experiences developing into one of the top runners in the world. A new addition to the race expo this year was the Playworks Fun Run at the Evergreen Aviation Museum and Wings & Waves Waterpark.

The Wine & Music Festival, presented by United Healthcare and Ken Wright Cellars, was held in downtown Carlton from 9:30am to noon. Twenty-seven wineries and Fire Mountain Brewery poured tastings at the festival and the band Franco Paletta & The Stingers played on the stage next to Carlton Cellars. Each finisher received a performance running shirt, unique finisher's medal, and a Riedel wine glass good for the wine festival. The top three finishers in each age category received a bottle of wine.

Destination Races partners with local and regional charities and non-profit organizations to serve as the beneficiary and volunteer provider for the event. Carlton Together Cares, Carlton Booster Club, and Playworks Portland were the beneficiaries and provided the volunteers for this year's event. Sponsors for the 2013 Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon include Subaru, Ken Wright Cellars, Oregon Sports Authority, Stoller Family Estate, UnitedHealthcare, ACCELERADE, SPIbelt, Willamette Valley Wineries Association, Riedel, Touring & Tasting, RunCoach, Foot Traffic running stores and 101.9 KINK FM.

Destination Races, of Sonoma, CA, produces the Wine Country Half Marathon Series and the Vintage Festival 12K and 5K. The Wine Country Half Marathon series consists of races in Santa Barbara Wine Country, Northern Virginia, Napa-to-Sonoma, Oregon (Willamette Valley), Kelowna, B.C. and Healdsburg, CA. For more Information on the event series and Destination Races, go to http://www.destinationraces.com.

 

- Maryalicia Verdecchia

Oregon Live