Alemayehu amazes, wins 5th straight half marathon

With four-time defending champion Tesfaye Alemayehu giving it his best effort to claim an amazing five-straight Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon triumph, the Antioch-residing Ethiopian runner outraced a field of world-class runners to achieve his impressive feat.

In Sunday’s national and internationally renown 11th annual Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon, Alemayehu didn’t break his own 13.1-mile certified course record-time- of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 38 seconds, but he did capture his fifth consecutive Napa-to-Sonoma title in a fast 1:03.22.

Finishing in second place 1 minute and 37 seconds behind Alemayehu was Sergio Reyes in 1:04.59, with Ben Bruce placing third in 1:05.59.

The top Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon women’s finisher was Sara Hall of Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1:13:16 – a new women’s course record – which was 2 minutes and 9 seconds faster than runner two-time USA 5,000-meter champion Lauren Fleshman’s 1:15.25.

Winning the Napa-to-Sonoma half marathon masters division and finishing 10th overall was Glen Ellen resident and long-distance standout John Litzenberg in 1:13:22, which was 1 minute and 20 seconds faster than last year’s time, and he was again the top Sonoma and Napa county finisher.

National charity partners for the Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon included the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, One Team One Fight, and City of Hope, and Hanna Boys Center was the primary beneficiary of the event.

The Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon is the flagship event in the series produced by Destination Races, which partners with national and local charities and nonprofit organizations. For more results and information on the series, visit destinationraces.com.

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