LA JOLLA — When Brian Culley began to pull away from him on theTorrey Pines hill, David Kloz wasn’t the least bit concerned.
After all, there was more than six miles remaining in the LaJolla Half Marathon, including a downhill stretch that played intoKloz’s strategy.
“I didn’t want to go really hard up the hill, because no matterhow you run it, you’re going to be really tired at the top,” saidKloz, 31. “I wanted to stay conservative and go hard the last threemiles.”
The Oceanside resident did just that Sunday to win the men’scrown at the 25th annual running of the 13.1-mile test from the DelMar Fairgrounds to La Jolla Cove. Kloz was joined on the winners’podium by Katya Meyers of Carmel Valley, who overcame an injuredshoulder to win the women’s title ahead of Rachelle Riggs ofCardiff.
Kloz, a perennial top-five finisher in nearly every local roadrace he enters, turned in a winning time of 1 hour, 12 minutes, 36seconds, good for a 42-second margin over Culley.
“David is a very strategic runner,” said Culley, an Encinitasresident who turned 35 on Sunday. “When I heard my lead was 10seconds (at the top of the Torrey Pines hill), I knew he wasstalking me.”
Culley led by as many as 14 seconds after Mile 8, but Kloz beganto chip away. He cut the lead to nine seconds by Mile 9 and pulledeven with Culley by Mile 10 on the downhill stretch of La JollaShores Drive.
“He’s a come-from-behind runner, and I’m a go-out hard runner,”said Culley. “Sometimes the two meet.”
The two North County runners actually staged an informal previewof the race when they ran together the previous weekend.
“We did a little 10-miler together in Carlsbad on Saturday,”Kloz said. “Then I went out and did another 20 on Sunday.”
The training numbers paid off for Kloz, an accountant for theCity of San Diego. After Mile 10, he left Culley behind in a hurry,opening up a 25-second lead by the time he reached the La JollaShores boardwalk with a little more than a mile to go.
“We’ve been working out with Jason Delaney, who ran 2:19 in theHouston Marathon,” Kloz said. “He’s been a big encouragement whenit comes to putting in the hard work.”
Although he was seven seconds off his third-place time here ayear ago, Kloz had more than enough for his first La Jolla victory.He also won the St. Patrick’s Day 10K last month after running to athird-place finish at the San Dieguito Half Marathon inFebruary.
Culley, a vice president for the Mira Mesa-based biotech companyAdventrx, was second in 1:13:18, and Richard Weis, 28, of HermosaBeach, held on for third place in 1:13:56 after running with Klozand Culley the first four miles.
David Easa, 31, of Vista, was fourth in 1:18:49 just six daysafter posting the best time (2:45:46) among more than 40 NorthCounty runners who ran in the Boston Marathon last Monday. JosephGalvin, 33, of Temecula, was fifth in 1:19:25.
Meyers, a professional triathlete, suffered a broken shouldertwo weeks ago when she hit a pothole and took a spill on her bikeduring a training ride in Del Mar. The recovery period has keptMeyers out of the water and off the bike for now, but her runningskills carried her to the women’s victory in 1:27:31.
“It primarily affected me on the hills,” said Meyers, 25, of herbad wing. “It was like running with one arm.”
Meyers knew she had to keep up the pace to hold off Riggs.
“She was definitely gaining on me,” Meyers said. “I was a littleslow on the uphills, so I knew when the course got flat, I had topush it.”
Meyers, competing in her fifth La Jolla Half Marathon, improvedon her fourth-place time of a year ago by more than 1 1/2 minutes.Riggs, 28, was running in her third La Jolla Half and has continuedto improve after placing eighth in 2003 and sixth two years ago.Her runner-up time was 1:28:08.
“This course just has a lot of energy,” said Riggs, an attorneywho practices law out of Vista. “There are so many people cheeringyou on, and the scenery is just gorgeous. It’s very motivating, andit’s why this is my favorite half marathon in San Diego, byfar.”
Kate Irwin, 28, of San Marcos, was the third woman in 1:30:37,followed by Lauren Matzuka, 24, of La Verne in 1:31:02 and KimberlyCook, 26, of Encinitas in 1:32:12.
The day’s events also included the La Jolla Shores 5K, which hadLt. Governor Cruz Bustamante as a participant. The 5K winners wereJeff Klemmer, 35, of La Jolla, in 15:18; and Aisha Coons, 15, ofSan Marcos, in 18:53.
Contact staff writer Rick Hoff at (760) 740-3545 orrhoff@nctimes.com. To comment, go tonctimes.com.
LA JOLLA HALF MARATHON
Male
1. David Kloz (Oceanside) 1:12:36, 2. Brian Culley (Encinitas)1:13:18, 3. Richard Weis (Hermosa Beach) 1:13:56, 4. David Easa(Vista) 1:18:49, 5. Joseph Galvin (Temecula) 1:19:25, 6. DavidSiwula (Costa Mesa) 1:20:00, 7. Kevin Kleinhenz (Los Angeles)1:20:05, 8. Javier Zavala (San Diego) 1:20:06, 9. Kevin Zimmer (DelMar) 1:21:05, 10. Cristian Cortes (San Diego) 1:21:36.
Female
1. Katya Meyers (Carmel Valley) 1:27:31, 2. Rachelle Riggs(Cardiff) 1:28:08, 3. Kate Irwin (San Marcos) 1:30:37, 4. LaurenMatzuka (La Verne) 1:31:02, 5. Kimberly Cook (Encinitas) 1:32:12,6. Sarah Whitaker (Los Angeles) 1:32:12, 7. Lara Ulrich (San Diego)1:32:24, 8. Sara Gilles (Laguna Hills) 1:33:24, 9. Mandy Braidic(Carlsbad) 1:33:37, 10. Sarah Linke (San Diego) 1:33:42.
LA JOLLA SHORES 5K
Male
1. Jeff Klemmer (La Jolla) 15:18, 2. Jeremy Brown (San Diego)15:50, 3. Patrick Fitzgerald (Costa Mesa) 16:28, 4. Dan Scanderbeg(La Jolla) 16:36, 5. Kevin Chindzund (Vista) 16:44.
Female
1. Aisha Coons (San Marcos) 18:53, 2. Marcella Teran (San Diego)18:58, 3. Taylor Carroll (Trabuco Canyon) 19:21, 4. CatherineWilliams (La Jolla) 19:28, 5. Jayne Klein (San Diego) 19:32.
