The Fourth Annual “One Mile Bang” Los Gatos Road Mile, July 20, 2014
The Fourth Annual One Mile Bang returned after a one year hiatus, and was welcomed with an eager bunch of runners ready for a fun and fast race. The weather was a bit unusual for these parts, being a bit humid, but the temp was near 60 and hardly any wind, so conditions were fairly ideal.
As a few people were getting taped up at the Rock Tape booth, 33 hardy souls made their way over to the start. Pastor Sharon Vaughn, representing City Team Ministries, whom the race’s funds were being donated to, gave her “elevator” speech on all that City Team does for the homeless and needy in the South Bay, thanked the crowd for their support, and then gave a touching pre-race prayer, blessing all the runners and everyone involved who gave of their time and effort to share with others.
Moments later, everyone toed the line, race director included, and the gun went off – boom! Youthful Kellogg Atkinson, 17, took off like a shot in the lead, with 2012 Masters winner Jose Pina, 44, and a small pack of others following closely behind.
At the 1/4 Mile mark, Pina had already caught up to the youngster, and went by him shortly afterwards. He held that lead, and opened it up even more coming into the finish, taking first overall with a time of 4:49.3. A bit off his Masters course record of 4:35. Still, claiming not only the overall Masters title again, but also being the overall Open Champion made up for the slower time this year. Atkinson held on for 2nd at 4:54, followed closely by three others just under 5:00: Lee Klarich, 4:56.1, Calvin Do, 4:56.7, and Tim Keenan, 4:57.5.
On the women’s side, Heather Malovos, 43, was not only running the One Mile Bang for the first time, but also it was her first time ever running the mile distance period. She ran a very solid 5:56.3 – excellent for a rookie – and good enough for a free pair of shoes from Athletic Performance as the both the Overall and Masters Female winner. There was a good battle for 2nd place as Mary Vidovich, 50, edged out Liv Brashears, 15, by a mere 2 seconds, 6:06.4 to 6:08.4. Age before beauty!
This year’s race had a wide age range of runners, going from the youngest with two 8 year olds, Elena Frakes and Madeline Bakken, to the oldest, at a robust 79, Bill Dodson. Bill ran a 7:33 – amazing for being nearly 80 years old! What is his Fountain of Youth secret?
Bagels and Gatorade were enjoyed by those who hung around for the awards ceremony, with some new prizes for top runners this year, including a free session with a local nutrition specialist, and a free haircut.
Overall, the Fourth Annual One Mile Bang was a success, going off without hardly a hitch, and everyone who ran it seemed to have really enjoyed themselves. Thanks to all who participated and come on down for the Fifth Annual One Mile Bang next year!
–Scott Bang