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Story and photos by Robert Wilkens-Iafolla

Complete results from Mt. Wilson Trail Race:
All winners | Winners by gender | Awards by category | Sierra Madreans

Click photo to see Mt. Wilson Trail Race slide show.

The runners eagerly await the pop of the starting gun.

Before a cheering crowd of about 200 onlookers gathered at Kersting Court, defending champion Kevin Koeper won the 40th annual Mount Wilson Trail Race Saturday morning.

It was the fourth time since 2000 that Koeper took home first place in Sierra Madre’s race. He completed the 8.6 mile trek in just under 63 minutes.

“It was my slowest time I ever ran, mainly because I was just out of shape,” said the 27-year-old Arcadia resident. “It was a nice Saturday jog.”

Sierra Madre resident Sharon Pevsner was the woman’s champion, clocking in at a little more than 73 minutes.

Pevsner won the race in 2003 and 2004, but was sidelined last year after giving birth to her first child. Julia, Pevsner’s 11-month-old daughter, was in the crowd (safely minded by family) when the she crossed the finish line.

Both winners said that Saturday morning’s cool and misty weather was “perfect” for long-distance running.

The race began at 7:30 a.m., when the 325 runners took off from Kersting Court, ran uphill on the Mount Wilson Trail to the turnaround point at Orchard Camp, and looped back to the finish line at Baldwin Avenue.

“This really emphasizes what a wonderful area we live in,” said Mayor Pro Tem Enid Joffe, citing both the majesty of Mount Wilson, where most of the race took place, as well as the effort of the community members who worked together to make the event possible.

Joffe’s colleague, Mayor John Buchanan, was one of 75 Sierra Madreans running in Saturday’s race.

All told, the competitors were a fairly mixed bunch. At 78, Reinhold Ullrich of Rolling Hills was the oldest runner.

“I enjoy trail running, and I decided it was time to do Wilson again,” he said. “Plus, Dipsea Race [in Mill Valley] is next Sunday, so I thought I’d tune up and get ready for that.”

Miranda Stiver of Sierra Madre and Shane Moore of San Pedro, both 9 years old, were the youngest competitors.

For Karen Neese, a 24-year-old Santa Barbara resident, by racing Saturday she fulfilled a New Year’s resolution to compete.

“I’ve been training for a while on tracks, but running on the trail and hopping over rocks is a lot more fun,” she said.

The young ‘ins get psyched up for the first-ever kids’ race.

The fact that the race climbs up Mount Wilson Trail also attracted 38-year-old Leticia Cervantes of Long Beach.

“I had a fear of heights, so seven years ago I decided to run this race,” she said. “I conquered it, and I’ve come back every year since.”

The stretch from Kersting Court to the turnaround point features an elevation gain of approximately 2,100 feet, and sections of Wilson Trail have vertical drop-offs of several hundred feet, according to race organizers.

Furthermore, at points the trail narrows to about four feet across, which is just wide enough for two runners, one going uphill and the other down.

“It gets pretty hectic up there, and you just have to be as careful as you can,” said 16-year-old Zach Wall of Covina, who came in second place. “Sometimes it’s not about time, it’s about being careful and making sure nobody gets hurt.”

While the competitors were climbing the trail, race organizers squeezed in a mini-race. About 30 children competed in the first ever kids’ race, a one-mile loop up and down Baldwin Avenue.

Bernie Grace of Pasadena came out to support his children and grandchildren who ran the race.

“It’s been a great day,” he said. “It’s a typical Sierra Madre event: well-put together and well-attended.”