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Mark Batres of Rowland Heights, CA and Lauren Weaver of Sacramento, CA turned in impressive performances in winning the 2009 Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon. Batres crossed the finish line in a blistering time of 1:04:55 beating defending champion Mario Macias from Alamosa, CO by just over a minute while breaking the course record set by Macias the previous year. Weaver, who specializes in the 5k distance, turned in an astonishing performance by crossing the finish line of her first half marathon in 1:18:44, also a course record. Weaver beat out second place finisher Heather Gibson of Carpinteria, and 2-time defending champion Susan Loken of Phoenix.
Nearly 2,200 runners ran this scenic 13.1 mile course through the Santa Ynez Valley under sunny blue skies and ideal temperatures. Many Santa Barbara residents were unable to attend the race due to hardship conditions created by the Jesusita fire that started on Tuesday and was still burning in Santa Barbara through the weekend. The air quality remained favorable in the Santa Ynez Valley so race organizers and local officials felt it was in the best interest to continue the race for the majority of runners who traveled from all over California around the country to attend the race.
The post-race Wine & Music Festival featured wine tasting from a dozen local wineries and music from Nashville based songwriter, musician Carey Ott. We congratulate the all the runners, and thank our volunteers and staff who worked extra hard this past week under stressful conditions.
Runners give the thumbs up as they cruise past Rusack Winery
