Hundreds of Newport Beach Junior Guards ran a mile in the sand, then jumped in the ocean and swam a mile back as part of the annual Monster Mile event held today near the Balboa Pier.
“I’m not a good runner, so I was very tired after the run,” said Kaela Whelan, who placed first among girls in the B group. “I told myself I was going to get first place. I got in the water and started charging it. I didn’t know I was first as I sprinted up the finish line. I just can’t believe it.”
The Junior Guards program runs four days a week and began June 25, teaching ocean safety and lifeguard techniques to about 1,300 children each summer.
The program will end with a graduation ceremony Aug. 14, but the Monster Mile event is typically viewed as the high point of the summer.
“It’s a lot of work and training,” said Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff. “For a little person, it’s a big accomplishment.”
Kiff — who participated in both the run and swim for the fourth time this year — praised the event and the program.
“Besides our libraries, this is the best program we do,” he said.
The 2012 Monster Mile theme was Year of the Dragon, and traditionally participants dress in costumes. Some sported faux dragon tattoos or wore Asian-themed costumes, but others went outside the box. A gingerbread boy cookie, a banana, Elvis, sharks, mermaids, a hotdog, jellyfish and hobbyhorse riders gathered on the sand before the start of the event.
Kaela, 12, and her friends wore silver tutus covered with bloody toy body parts.
“We’re sharks who eat Barbies and fish,” she said. “It is the Monster Mile.”
In all, about 1,100 guards did the swim and about 100 did the run-only course, said Jennifer Schulz, a Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman. Instructors were in the water on paddle boards, keeping an eye on the swimmers, while others helped the participants in and out of the surf. Hundreds of parents crowded the race course on the sand and on the Balboa Pier, snapping photos and cheering for their children.
The winners were:
A Girls:
1 Lauren Castleton 33:05
2 Angie Grigsby 33:20
3 Tehya Corona 33:40
4 Jolie Sevingy 34:11
5 MacKenzie Gaddis 38:05
A Boys
1 Luke Bradbury 29:15
2 Sawyer Farmer 30:30
3 Griffin Burke 31:15
4 Braden Postil 31:30
5 Michael Bonds 32:20
B Girls
1 Kaela Whelan 35:10
2 Sara Henry 35:30
3 Cassidy Bucklin 35:50
4 Amber Smith 35:55
5 Madison Strasmann 36:05
B Boys
1 Nick Rimlinger 25:20
2 Johnny Bram 25:55
3 Brian Hearst 26:40
4 Cole Brosnan 26:42
5 Jack Simpson 26:48
C Girls
1 Anna Wilde 38:30
2 Carly Yasko 40:30
3 Sophie Wallace 40:35
4 Kili Skibby 40:50
5 Jenny McIntyre 41:30
C Boys
1 Connor McManigal 28:50
2 Jake Tsubota 29:30
3 Wyatt Genc 30:25
4 Elliot Hamington 31:00
5 Oliver Teitscheid 32:10
D Girls
1 Grace Myers 46:03
2 Emma Kubiak 47:04
3 Kate Rodman 49:15
4 Emily Recker 49:22
5 Kaity Greenwald 49:47
D Boys
1 Aaron Clark 37:22
2 Troy Tsubota 39:18
3 Speedy Laster 42:37
4 Wyatt Rieden 43:18
5 Walker Magnusson 43:22
Comments
August 2nd, 2012
This is so much fun. Standing on the Balboa Pier, watching your child swim back from the Newport Pier, is truly amazing. A living river of colored caps sweeping south behind the swells. And an absolutely beautiful day for it.
