The 22nd season of the Nite Moves series at Leadbetter Beach is in full swing after the fourth weekly race on Wednesday evening. A total of 343 competitors took to the 5K run, half-mile swim or both this week, and race director Jake Clinton has been very pleased with the turnout thus far.
“Things are going great. The weather seems to have broken our way four weeks in a row. I was a little worried about it until about 11 this morning, when the blue skies came through,” he said.
This week’s winner in the run section was 46-year-0ld Michael Smith of Goleta, who picked up the biggest margin of victory thus far (49 seconds) with a blistering time of 16 minutes, 40 seconds. The winner of the swim was local product Adrienne Binder, 25, and the Aquathon (run and swim) victor was 41-year old Norbert Hoene of Camarillo.
For Clinton, however, the results are not the important part. He said he’s proud to have built an event that produces smiles and is family friendly. Plenty of young children have been coming down every week to enjoy the live music and McConnell’s ice cream. For those old enough, Firestone has been dishing out tasty beers after the race.
“I’ve worked at making it a family-oriented event. I focus on doing things for the kids and keeping kids interesting for the athletes. I try not to let it get stale,” said Clinton.
Kids have been competing as well, posting some impressive times. Nine-year-old James Kirk ran the 5K in 25:11 this week, while 12-year-old Walker Bell continued to shine in the water, finishing third in the swim at 15:28, 20 seconds behind Binder.
The series will continue every week until September 1st. For more information, visit www.nitemoves.org.
