Tuesday Aug 5

With heavy heart, local runner wins San Francisco Marathon

FROM DAILY NEWS DISPATCHES

Lauren Gustafson won the women's portion of the San Francisco Marathon in convincing fashion Sunday.

The 25-year-old Millbrae runner crossed the finish line near the Ferry Building after covering the 26-mile course in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds, a whopping 14 minutes and 23 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Jenny Graef of Norman, Okla.

Gustafson's time beat all but 28 of the men in the race and was the best among 219 local runners, men and women. Austin Logie was the next-best local runner, placing 38th. The 18-year-old San Carlos runner finished in 2:56:43.

Gustafson said she was determined to run well because her mother had a heart attack several days earlier and is recovering in a Burlingame hospital.

"I dedicated my race to her," Gustafson said. "I was thinking of her every step of the way."

Gustafson was so inspired that she set a three-minute personal record while running away with the women's crown in her fifth marathon.

Chad Worthen, a 34-year-old Sacramento resident, was the first man to cross the finish line with a time of 2:31:52.

More than 19,000 runners from all 50 states and 56 countries participated in the marathon, two half-marathons and a 5-kilometer run/walk.



Ana Morales, 26, had perhaps the most impressive winning performance of the day. The San Mateo runner clocked 1:14:38 to capture first place in the elite half-marathon women's division.

"I was planning on going out and running 8-minute miles, but then I got with a good group of guys and picked up the pace," said Morales, who was a standout at Burlingame High School and the University of Notre Dame. "I felt good and had fun with it, definitely a personal record performance for me."