"King Of The Hills"
           "This scenic trail run will take your breath away!"

Race Recap:

  • What a great place for a race! The Lazy Lilac Ranch is a jewel of a place and I would definitely like to rent the
    place out someday. Do you want to improve your endurance, stamina & running strength? Do you want to "get
    away" & focus on TRAINING for a few days? Are you looking for a good location to get some quality & intense
    work-outs in? Then gather your running buddies & reserve your stay at the perfect location: King of the Hills
    RUNNING CAMP. The King of the Hills Running Camp is held at the Lazy Lilac Ranch, which is located in
    northern Kern County in the rolling hills of Glennville, CA.
  • I had decided to cover this race when I first heard about it but it was nice that the race director Fernando
    Mendoza invited me. I meet Fernando a few years ago, when he showed up at a Driller summer practice and
    ran away from my team. He is usually up in front at many local 5ks and I wish he would have gotten to run his
    own race but I beat he logged ten miles or more setting up and running the race.
  • The day before the race, I shot the Foothill Invite, that ended up getting rained out by the end. So I was not
    sure if I would go to the race if it was still raining. If I was running it, I would live to do it in the rain but shooting
    in the rain just doesn't work as i found out at Foothill. But I woke up Saturday and it was sunny in Bakersfield
    so I headed to Glennville.
  • As I drove up Granite, I remembered all the bike rides I took to Woody and beyond back in the old days. I also
    forgot how beautiful and how far away it all seemed from Bakersfield. My only concern was it seemed to be
    getting darker and darker as I got closer to the race but it never did rain that day and the sun came out from
    time to time.
  • The course was true to the name "King of the Hills" (Photo of hill) just to get to registration area, I traversed
    most of the course and I do not think there is a flat section on the whole course. Only the last couple hundred
    yards are on pavement and most of the race is on single track trails. The rains only made the footing
    excellent, the grass green and the flowers beautiful.
  • The course started on a dirt road and was downhill to where we had parked our cars by the barn. Then the
    runners had to go uphill on a single track that paralleled Highway 155. This trail went to the main entrance of
    the ranch and then the fun really began with a nice trek uphill and around the hill that overlooks the ranch.
  • Cruelly, the course runs right by the finish at mile two. But at least it is a downhill stretch! Then the race
    headed to the switchbacks to go up the big hill again. After the climb, one gets to go down a really long
    downhill that would be fun with a piece of cardboard. Then the course ungulates up and down before finally hit
    the only pavement on the course which is of course uphill. But at least the homestretch is downhill. The
    10kers got to do the whole course twice.

Below is a race recap by the race director:

KING OF THE HILLS 5K/10K/Biathlon
Saturday May 2, 2009

It was an amazingly beautiful day up in Glennville, Ca this past Saturday May 2, '09!! Nope, the rain never showed
up Saturday morning... but many RUNNERS & MOUNTAIN BIKERS did!! Aside from all the adults having fun &
pushing their limits in this challenging HILLY course... many kids also showed their stuff in the Pre-Teen FUN Run for
those 12 & under!! And, YES, the course is challenging. Some put it nicely: "Here's where Beauty meats the Beast!!"

At 9 am, all 5K & 10K runners raced off to test the course that had been rained on most of the previous day & night!
The running part of the KOTH Biathlon also started with this speedy bunch! 5K Overall Winner Polo Duarte (Madera,
CA) came all the way down to the Lazy Lilac Ranch, home of the annual King of the Hills 5K/10K/Biathlon, to defend
his title. He did what he had to do to WIN once again with a time of 27:19. You think you can run faster? Prove it.
Jose Montelongo (Bakersfield, CA) finished 2nd in the 5K with a time of 27:30, followed by David Plata (Visalia, CA)
in 29:14.

In the women's 5K race, 13-year old Brianan Smith (Bakersfield, CA) ran a 34:02, followed by Sylvia Smith
(Bakersfield, CA) in 36:37. Teresa Fahsbender (Bakersfield, CA) was the 3rd female to cross the finish line with a
time of 40:05. Not bad for this hilly course that even experienced marathoners find very challenging!!

The 10K runners really tested their climbing legs (& their lungs!) with TWO 5K loops!! The Overall 10K Winner was
Kalissa Maki (Wofford Heights, CA) with a time of 1 hr 8 minutes 50 seconds (1:08:50)!! She was followed by the first
male finisher in the 10K: Bob Moses (Bakersfield, CA) with a time of 1:14:32! Maybe we should name this the
"Queen of the Hills!" after Kalissa's great run!! The 2nd & 3rd female finishers were Erin Parker (1:17:11) and Jenny
Rous (1:18:31). And the 2nd & 3rd males were Fred Garza (1:17:47) and Mark Herman (1:19:26).

The BIATHLON consisted of a 5K RUN at 9am, and a 10K BIKE RIDE at 11 am. The winner was determined by the
fastest COMBINED TIME. In the INDIVIDUAL BIathlon, 39-year old Trent Theriault (Tehachapi, CA) had the fastest
combined time of the day of 1 hr 17 min 39 seconds!! He completed his 5K run in 27:05 (faster than the Overall 5K
Winner!) and his 10K bike in 50:34. And in the TEAM BIATHLON, runner Kelly Bittick (29:06) and mountain-biker
Chris Felix (55:32) had the fastest COMBINED TIME for the day of 1:24:38!!

Congratulations to ALL who participated, cheered, helped out & supported this incredible event! I'm looking forward
to next year's King of the Hills event to be even BIGGER & MORE COMPETITIVE & FUN for all!! Mark your
calendars: Saturday, April 24th, 2010!!

Very sincere & special thanks to:
-Lauri Taylor (BTC) for ALL of her help with the timing & results of this event!!
-Andy for his great pictures that I'm sure he'll post on AndyNoise.com for our enjoyment.
-Pedro Ambrosio & Victor Castro for their focused effort with official times & results.
-Sam Ames (Action Sports) & Emanuel De Alba (Xtreme Soccer) for their generous donations & support of this
event! And all other sponsors & supporters of KOTH.
-And the many others who gave of their time & effort and contributed to the success of this year's planning & hosting
of the King of the HILLS 5K/10K/Biathlon!!

Sincerely,

Fernando Mendoza
"King of the Hills" Event Director

King of the Hills 5K/10K/Bitahlon
Final Results of Saturday, May 2, ‘09

5K Run-
Place        Time        Sex        Name
1        27:19        M        Polo Duarte (Overall Winner)
2        27:30        M        Jose Montelongo (2nd Male)
3        29:14        M        David Plata (3rd Male)
Place        Time        Sex        Bib#        Name
4        33:09        M        28        Scott Smith
5        33:28        M        60        David Avila
6        34:02        F        38        Brianan Smith (1st Female)
7        34:04        M        39        Steven Saenz
8        36:37        F        36        Sylvia Smith (2nd Female)
9        36:38        M        37        Eric Smith
10        38:42        M        29        Bill Smith

11        40:05        F        66        Teresa Fahsbender (3rd Female)
12        41:21        M        67        Eric Fahsbender
13        43:45        F        33        Lisa Sorensen
14        44:54        M        35        Andrew Pandol
15        45:07        F         61        Cheryl Wahl
16        45:08        M        64        Brad Wahl
17        46:01        M        23        Ralph Wright
18        47:20        F        32        Sarah Kalinay
19        48:06        F        21        Gabrielle Alexander
20        71:40        F        30        Meghan Bennett
21        73:16        F         27        Sarah Richards
22        73:17        M        26        Willie Fields
23        84:10        M        31        Grant Bennett

10K Run-
Place        Time                Sex        Bib#        Name
1        1:08:50        F        138        Kalissa Maki (Overall Winner)
2        1:14:32        M        140        Bob Moses (1st Male)
3        1:17:11        F        145        Erin Parker (2nd Female)
4        1:17:47        M        149        Fred Garza (2nd Male)
5        1:18:31        F        147        Jenny Rous (3rd Female)
6        1:18:40        F        146        Tanya Hutson
7        1:19:26        M        142        Mark Herman (3rd Male)
8        1:19:27        M        141        Richard Herman
9        1:23:52        F        139        Laurel Posey
10        1:25:48        F        148        Elizabeth Smart

King of the Hills 5K/10K/Bitahlon
Final Results of Saturday, May 2, ‘09

Individual Biathlon- (5K Run/10K Bike)
Place         Total Time        Sex        Bib#        Name
1        1:17:39        M        105        Trent Theriault (27:05/50:34)
2        1:25:48        M        104        Andy Bonham (29:50/55:58)
3        1:39:29        M        144        Ryan Dembosky (31:16/68:13)


Team Biathlon- (5K Run/10K Bike)
Place        Total Time        Sex        Bib#        Name
1        1:24:38        F        102        Kelly Bittick (5K run- 29:06)
                    M        102        Chris Felix (10K bike- 55:32)
2        1:30:09        F        103        Cheri Thornberry (5K run- 36:21)
                    M        103        Gregg Thornberry (10K bike- 53:48)

Pre-Teen FUN Run (approx 1-Mile)
6 Year Olds & Under- Boys
Place        Time        Name                        Bib#
1        10:52        Cristian Mendoza        204
2        12:14        Miguel Robles         202
3        16:32        Cesar Mendoza        205

7-12 Year Olds- Boys                Bib#
1        8:30        Julio De Alba                206
2        10:16        Isaiah Avila                216
3        10:53        Sergio De Alba        207
4        10:54        Leonardo Robles        201
5        11:12        Marco Duarte                213
6        14:27        Paco Mendoza                212
7        14:50        Adolfo Mendoza        211
8        15:50        Polito Duarte                215

7-12 Year Olds- Girls                Bib#
1        11:18         Micaela De Alba        209
2        12:12        Aususena De Alba        208
3        15:38        Cielo Duarte                214


Race Preview:
Saturday, May 2, 2009


List of Events:

                5K & 10K Trail Runs (9am)             
              
                1.5 Mile Walk (9am)
              
                Pre-Teen FUN Run (10:15am)
              
                5K Relay Teams (3-person team)
              
                Individual Biathlon (5K Run/ 10K Bike)
              
                Team Biathlon (5K Run/ 10K Bike)

You are invited to take part in the annual King Of The Hills athletic challenge! Participants of all levels are welcome.
From the elite trail runners & mountain bikers to the weekend warrior wanting to push themselves, as well as the
young athlete wanting to stay in shape.  Guaranteed to be a great workout! Pre-Register today for a great trail
course that will challenge your climbing legs (& lungs!).

Need more info? Contact Race Director Fernando Mendoza at (661)333-4404 or email him at
FerMendoza126@hotmail.com
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