{"id":3137,"date":"2015-12-12T14:50:41","date_gmt":"2015-12-12T22:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spiken.wpengine.com\/news\/auburn-man-scoots-to-christmas-rush-fun-run-title\/"},"modified":"2016-10-23T15:30:29","modified_gmt":"2016-10-23T22:30:29","slug":"auburn-man-scoots-to-christmas-rush-fun-run-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/auburn-man-scoots-to-christmas-rush-fun-run-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Auburn man scoots to Christmas Rush Fun Run title"},"content":{"rendered":"
James Roach had passed this way before.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Only this time, he ran freely and in front of the crowd Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old Auburn man captured his first 10-kilometer overall win at the 33rd Christmas Rush Fun Run\/Walk on a wet morning at Hogan Park at Russell Road.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Roach covered the relatively flat, 6.2-mile loop course in 34 minutes, 35 seconds. He settled for second in the same race a year ago, running a time of 33:46.1 and following the winner, Seattle’s Uli Steidl, who posted a 31:53.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This time, Roach prevailed, running strong despite the steady rain. The 10K attracted a field of 238 runners.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“The conditions were fine,” said Roach, a health and physical education instructor at Madrona Elementary School in SeaTac. “I felt fine today, being that is was my first race coming off a marathon (at Portland in October).”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Roach is a former All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference academic cross country performer at Central Washington University. Roach also competed at Highline College and coached in the area.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He also excels in the marathon, having posted a personal-best 2:42.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In July, Roach finished third overall (16:45.6) at the Kent Cornucopia Days 5K.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In Saturday’s 10K, Anthony Raftis, a senior standout runner at Kent-Meridian High School, was second (34:38) and Tacoma’s Cameron Freshwaters, 20, was third (34:49).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Seattle’s Rachel Leftwich, 23, took the women’s overall win in 39:52, which was 17th overall. Kent’s Katherine Thompson, 24, was second (42:54) and Renton’s Kari Vreugdenhil settled for third (43:57).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In the 5K, Seattle’s Michael Chinchar (15:27), 27, edged Kent’s Isaac Derline (15:29) for the overall victory. Tacoma’s Nicole O’loughlin, 25, topped the women’s field (18:20).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The 5K field was more than 1,300 strong.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kent Parks, Recreation and Community Services hosted the run, a Kent tradition.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n