Traditional Will Rogers Race Returns on Fourth

Along-standing tradition in Pacific Palisades will carry on this Fourth of July with the Palisades-Will Rogers 5/10K Run, sponsored by the Saint John’s Health Center.

Other sponsors include William E. Simon & Sons, Will Rogers Institute, Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Group, Arrowhead Water and Cheribundi. All races are organized and presented by the Pacific Palisades Will Rogers Ridge Runners and the Pacific Palisades Optimist Club.

Celebrating their 36th year, the races will start at 8:15 a.m. at the entrance to the Palisades Recreation Center, and the 18th Annual Kids’ Fun Run (one-half mile) will follow at 9:15 a.m., also starting on Alma Real.

Last year, more than 2,800 runners participated: 1,654 people officially signed up for the 10K, 844 entered the 5K and 303 signed up for the Kids’ Fun Run,

“It’s a fun day for all, but it’s a very hard 10K,” said Race Director and Co-Founder Brian Shea, who was proud of last year’s turnout, adding that when the Fourth falls during the middle of the week, more people tend to show.

“We have a Kids’ Fun Run, and it’s a great way to start off the Fourth,” Shea said. “You have three or four generations of people gathering for this event in the Palisades, which makes it great for everybody.”

Kara Barnard, a 1996 Palisades High graduate and current Colorado resident, was last year’s female 10K champion with a time of 38:34, earning her sixth title, while Van Nuys lawyer Ankur Tarneja was victorious on the men’s side at 33:47.

The only Palisadian to crack the top 10 was Stanford track freshman Cami Chapus, a former standout at Harvard-Westlake, who finished sixth in 42:41.

Cornell graduate Yu Essay captured the men’s 5K race with a crisp time of 16:23, while the female winner was Dr. Sara Jurek of Santa Monica at 19:33. Top 10 female Palisadians included Cosette Smith (fifth, 20:34), Kaitlyn Parcell (eighth, 21:07) and JJ Wittbrodt (10th, 21:31).

Historically, the 10K race has been dominated by local runners who are more familiar with the course. The inaugural race was won by Drew Mearns, a law student from Virginia, who ran 31 minutes, 35 seconds.

The next year, Palisadian David Greifinger won in 31:09, which remains the ninth-fastest time in race history. The course record is 29:46, set by New Zealand’s Russell Edmonds in 1983.