Runners Return to the Rose Bowl for Largest Road Race in County Since COVID Struck

On a cool, gun-metal gray Sunday morning – near perfect conditions for road racing – thousands of runners, walkers and junior races took to the Pasadena streets for the 2021 Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5k in support of The McCourt Foundation’s mission to build a healthier world.

Celebrating 5 years running, the event marked the largest road race in Los Angeles County since COVID-19 struck last year.

“It’s great to be back racing again,” said men’s 5K winner Josh Ehinger, from nearby Corona, CA who won the 5k in 15 minutes, 55 seconds. “It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to compete, my last in person race was early 2019. Today was just a great time to be back, there’s nice energy and people around, it feels almost like it’s normal again with the positive atmosphere. It was a lot of fun.”

Boston-native Allison Lynch won the women’s 5k with a times of 18:10. It was the second road race victory of the month for Lynch, who recently moved from Boston to Venice Beach, and won the Santa Monica Classic 5k on September 12.

The first woman to cross the half-marathon finish line was 25-year-old Madison Dunlap, who covered the 13.1-miles in 1:31:44. Los Angeles locals Lissete Pastor (1:32:44) and Jessica Iribe (1:32:31) placed second and third respectively.

In the men’s race UCLA graduate Ryo Furukawa broke away from his training partners Mathieu Cross and Victor Martinez to win by almost a minute in 1:11:42. Cross finished second in 1:12:03 and Martinez placed third in 1:12:99.

“The Rose Bowl is home to the UCLA Bruins and I went to UCLA, so I wasn’t going to let anyone pass me at the end,” said Furukawa, who is training for November’s Los Angeles Marathon presented by ASICS. “I love it in Pasadena, I was out here last week cheering on the football team and had the game on yesterday, but I just really want to thank everyone who came out to cheer, the organizers and all of the volunteers. As we’ve experienced this last year and a half, even though you could run, you can’t have a race without all of the volunteers and supporters.”

The participants started outside the neon-lit Rose Bowl Stadium façade. The course crossed over the Colorado Street Bridge and past the Norton Simon Museum before heading through Pasadena’s historic Old Town, and past historic landmarks including the California Institute of Technology. Runners entered the stadium gates through the home team tunnel and onto the field to finish alongside the 50-yard line.

The family-friendly race also included the Rose Bowl Rush Kids Run, a 400-meter dash for children ages 3 – 8.run. Event weekend concluded with a finish line festival at the stadium with live entertainment, a Heineken 0.0 beer garden, and event sponsors.

The 6th edition of the Rose Bowl Half Marathon & 5k will return on Sunday, January 16, 2022. Runners can take advantage of special pre-sale pricing by registering before Sunday, at RoseBowlHalf.com.  For complete results, photos and more, visit mccourtfoundation.org