By David Rogers. MONTEREY BAY, Calif. — Three North Carolina women were among the Top 10 finishers of the Monterey Bay Half Marathon in California on Nov. 13, including two athletes from Blowing Rock’s On/ZAP Endurance elite running team.
Tristin Van Ord was formerly a star long distance performer at Appalachian State University, now training and competing with ZAP Endurance. She finished fourth among the 4,709 athletes competing in the Women’s Division, with a time of 1:13.30, a sizzling 5:36 minutes per mile pace. Whitney Macon was just over two minutes behind her ZAP teammate, in seventh place, recording a time of 1:15.52 (5:47).
The other North Carolina woman competing in the revival of the Monterey Bay Half Marathon after a three-year COVID-19 induced hiatus was Sarah Naibei, of Chapel Hill, in sixth (1:14.37, 5:41 mile pace).
The top two finishers in the Women’s Division were athletes from Pacific Palisades, Calif., with the title and $4,000 in first place money going to Joyline Chemutai, in 1:10.58. Second place went to Caren Maiyo (1:12.33, 5:32). Diane Nukuri of Flagstaff, Ariz., also finished just ahead of Van Ord, in 1:13.08. Following Van Ord in fifth place was Maor Tiyouri, of Boulder, Colo.
According to ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea, Van Ord and Macon are just beginning preparations for the upcoming marathon season and Monterey Bay was their competitive “kickoff.”
“Tristin and Whitney will both run in the Houston (Texas) Marathon on Jan. 15, 2023,” said Rea. “Today’s Monterey Bay Half Marathon performances are an excellent start for them in their marathon prep.”
In the Men’s Division, 4,710 athletes completed the course in the reserved time of just over four hours (in both the men’s and women’s categories, hundreds more were entered, but either did not complete the course or did not complete it within the reserved time). The top male finisher was David Bett, also of Pacific Palisades (a northwest Los Angeles suburb), in 1:02.13 (4:44 minutes per mile).
