Forbes, Smith take home Orient titles

Zack Weldon (223) leads the pack off the starting line followed by eventual mens’ winner Brian Forbes (248) and womens’ winner Samantha Smith (over Weldon’s right shoulder). MAGGIE BECK/UNION DEMOCRAT

“We were pretty amazed with the turnout,” said Robin Phillips, of the Sonora Sunrise Rotary Club, which hosted the event. “It was a great turnout and we had a good time.”

Brian Forbes, 35, won the overall 4-mile title with a time of 24:14.8, almost 37 seconds in front of the next competitor, Zack Weldon, who also finished in second place last year.
   

Weldon, a student from Summerville High School, had a 54-second improvement over last year’s time which would have been good enough to win last year’s race, but not this year with Forbes in the race.

Forbes is making his mark on local footraces. He added the Orient Express to his list of wins, which include the Pinecrest Run (last year) and the Jamestown Run (twice).

“I had the day off and I’ve have never run this race before,” said Forbes, a Sonora resident who works as a nurse at Sonora Regional Medical Center. “It was a good run. The first mile was easy because it was downhill, but the last three miles were uphill — it was tough. I was surprised by the turnout because it seemed like a lot for a rainy day.”

Weldon set the pace from the start, but Forbes took the lead before the first mile was complete.

“I was a little worried about him (Weldon) when he went out so fast,” said Forbes. “I wanted to run 6:15-minute miles at least. But that was the only goal I had coming into the race. I really didn’t know what to expect.”

Following Weldon was Tim Wyman (25:53.38), Marty Hermann (26:10.2) and Samantha Smith (26:40.26).

Smith, 14, of Sonora, was the womens’ overall winner and she is now the two-time defending champion of the Orient.

“A lot of people saw the preview for the race in the paper and they asked if I was going to defend my title,” said Smith, who runs for the Sonora Wildcats cross country and track team. “So, I figured I’d better run and besides, I like that race — it’s real fun.”

Smith dusted her competition by over three minutes and improved her time over last year’s mark by 1:21.

“I like running in the rain,” said Smith. “I guess it’s just a cold weather thing. My mom (Eve) also used to like to run in the rain so I guess it runs in the family. The race felt shorter this year and easier than last year probably because I have a year of experience on the course.”
 Following Smith was Julie Oliver and Cathy Moss both clocking the same time of 30:13.17, Abby Parcon (30:26.95) and Meri Lopez (31:05.6).

In the 1-Mile Fun Run, Mike Boyer won with a time of 5:40.9.

Boyer was followed by Shannon Westbrook (5:52.63), Eric Lund (6:38.30), Kai Bannister (6:43.21) and Darren Eaton (7:14.15).

Overall, 83 runners competed in the 4-mile event while 35 competed in the 1-mile run.

As part of a fundraiser, the Sonora Sunrise Rotary Club donates all proceeds from the Orient Express Run to the Tuolumne County Special Olympics.