15,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes take on OC Marathon

A record 15,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes registered to take on this year’s OC Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday.

Cool, overcast weather made for ideal conditions on the routes, which wind through Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Newport Beach. Xavier Smith of Lake Forest took first place in men’s full marathon with a time of 2:23:41, and Stephanie Mundt of Tempe, Arizona, led the women’s marathon with 2:52:08 finish.

“It was perfect weather, and the view of the ocean during the first half of the race was spectacular,” Mundt said.

Sunday’s event was Mundt’s first marathon win. She ran collegiately at Arizona State, learning to manage both chronic training-related injuries and overcome an eating disorder in the process.

“I’ve gotten healthy since then,” she said. “Found my groove with a sustainable way of training. It feels really good, just awesome.”

Many among this years field of runners were chasing more than just PRs or a good workout. Tyler Schimpf of Newport Beach pushed his roommate, Hawken Miller, 26.2 miles in a wheelchair in an effort to raise awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

“It was an honor to do this for him,” Schimpf said. “That’s the coolest part of it is people are out there, cheering each other on. That’s what it’s really about. It’s about a community coming together and inspiring each other.”

Sunday’s race was the 58th marathon completed by Placentia Resident Christine Mayfield. The survivor of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas eight years ago made it her mission to achieve the milestone in honor of the 58 people killed in the attack.

“It’s an honor, an absolute honor,” Mayfield said after crossing the finish line with a time of 4:52:29. “It’s been a beautiful journey. Just to know that hopefully the families and close friends of the 58 angels will know that their loved one will never, ever be forgotten. We know their stories. We love their big, beautiful, bold lives. And we hope to honor those lives in the way we spend our days.”

A throng of athletes compete in the OC Marathon Sunday.

(by Josh Montoya, courtesy of Hoag OC Marathon)