Mendoza, Heineck Prevail At Oregon Half Marathon

CARLTON, Ore. — On a brilliant sunny Sunday morning in the Willamette Valley, Carre Heineck and Mario Mendoza shone brightest of all, finishing ahead of a strong field of runners at the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon. At the second edition, Heineck, 29, from Portland, defended her title by setting a course record of 1 hour, 18 minutes, 44 seconds, shattering last year’s time of 1:22:18 and defeating runner-up Natalie Bak of Bend (1:19:59).

“I wanted to run the first eight miles as fast as I could, knowing I had the gravel section ahead,” said Heineck. “But I felt strong and was able to keep a good pace all the way.”

In the men’s race, Mendoza, 25, also of Bend, edged Tahir Chakisso from Clackamas, Oregon, 1:09:43 to 1:09:55. Mendoza broke away from Chakisso after mile 11 to secure the victory.

Mendoza and Chakisso were also impressed by the course. “It was beautiful out there, what a great day,” said Mendoza. “I’m glad I decided to enter.”

Mendoza and Heineck both took home $500 checks from West Coast Bank, a 5L bottle of wine from Ken Wright Cellars, a Ball Watch and an engraved Decanters trophy.

Conditions were spectacular for the nearly 1,600 runners from 45 different states who traveled to the heart of Oregon’s Wine Country in Yamhill County in the Willamette Valley. Runners completed the 13.1 mile course from Stoller Vineyards in Dayton, to the town of Carlton, where they were treated to a post-race wine and music festival. The top three places in each age group received wine at the awards ceremony.

The Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon is the fourth of five events in the Wine Country Half Marathon series. Produced by Destination Races of Sonoma, California, the Wine Country Half Marathon series also includes events in Santa Barbara Wine Country, Napa-to-Sonoma, Healdsburg and Loudoun County, Virginia.

2nd Oregon Wine Country Half-Marathon
Carlton, OR, Sunday, September 4, 2011

MEN
1) Mario Mendoza, Bend, OR, 1:09:43, $500 + Ball Watch + 3L bottle of wine + “Winers” decanter trophy
2) Tahir Chakisso, Clackamas, OR, 1:09:55, $300 + magnum of wine
3) Jason Griffiths, Portland, OR, 1:11:05, $200 + magnum of wine

WOMEN
1) Carre Heineck, Portland, OR, 1:18:44*, $500 + Ball Watch + 3L bottle of wine + “Winers” decanter trophy
2) Natalie Bak, Bend, OR, 1:19:59, $300 + magnum of wine
3) Eva Vail, Portland, OR, 1:21:27, $200 + magnum of wine
*course record (previous record, 1:22:18, Carre Heineck (OR), 2010)

Deeper results and more at: www.run4oregonwine.com