Coach Litzenberg 2nd across the line in Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon

Though no one expected 49-year-old John Litzenberg to win the Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon – and he didn’t – the cross country coach from Glen Ellen impressed both crowd and athletes with his second-place finish, behind John Williams, a 28-year old Dallas runner who has also run the race a number of times.

“It was a really nice, cool day,” said Litzenberg. “The winner had a big lead, so I was focused on competing for second.” The winner did indeed have a big lead: his time was 1:12:11, nine minutes ahead of Litzenberg’s 1:21:01.

In third and fourth place were two women, with Dawn Grunnagle, of Dallas, Texas, coming in with a time of 1:21:07. Mill Valley’s Phebe Ko finished fourth in 1:21:38.

Charles Madden of San Francisco finished fifth in 1:21:52.

Saturday’s more relaxed Rosé 5k race found Rich Velazquez of New York City coming in first with a 17:25, followed by Napa’s Rudy Reyes second at 18:03. Courtney Ackerman of Wilmette, Illinois, came in at 19:36, and Cathy Adamo of Castro Valley at 19:53.

Both events finished in Sonoma Plaza in front of City Hall, and participants celebrated on Saturday with a Health and Fitness Expo, and on Sunday with tastings from 40 wineries at the post-race Wine Tasting Festival.

Over the race’s 16-year history, charity participants have raised more than $25 million for a variety of worthy causes and nonprofit organizations.

“The wine country region of Napa and Sonoma Country is truly one of the special places in the world, we were delighted to give runners the opportunity to experience it over two days of events in 2019,” said Alex Bennett, executive race director for Motiv Sports.

Next year’s Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon and Rosé 5k is scheduled for July 18-19, 2020.