On a cool Friday evening, Miguel Quezada finished strong and posted a record-breaking 38:48 time to win San Quentin’s 4th Annual Six Mile Race.
“I think it’s good because records are meant to be broken. He earned it because he put in the work,” said all-time San Quentin 1,000 Mile Club six-mile record-holder Eddie Herena about Quezada’s new record.
Quezada won first place in San Quentin’s 2013 1,000 Mile Club six-mile race that included 13 other runners.
His record placed him in San Quentin’s 1,000 Mile Club among elite runners such as Lorenzo Hopson and Herena.
“Lorenzo had set a new San Quentin 1,000 Mile Club marathon record of 3:26:58 in the first race of 2013,” said Quezada.
Quezada’s winning record beat Herena’s all-time record by 91 seconds.
“Eddie has maintained a 39:29 six-mile record since 2011,” said Quezada.
Quezada achieved the new six-mile record by a progressive running pace of 6:49; 6:44; 6:36; 6:25; 6:13 to 6:01.
Herena finished second with a time of 39:39. Third place was Morceli Abdul Kader’s time of 40:53.
“Eddie began the race five minutes after the six-mile race had officially started, and he had no knowledge of what exact time he was running,” said San Quentin’s 1,000 Mile Club coach and community volunteer Frank Ruona.
Herena began to fade in his second to fifth mile of the six-mile track meet. However, he finished just 10 seconds after his 2011 six-mile record.
Herena lead the first mile at 6:16, and ended his last mile at 6:37 for his second place finish to Quezada.
He described his running experience as a way to push himself to train more. “I think that runners have gotten much faster. I have to work twice as hard if I want to win next time.”
Ruona described Kader’s third-place run as a similar pace which Herena recorded.
“Morceli Abdul ran a successful third-place spot of 40:53. He started at 6:41; 6:47; 7:00l 7:01 and finished his last mile with 6:40,” said Ruona.
“In 2008, I got injured in a race, and since that day I never could get rid of my pain,” said Kader about his preparation towards his next 1,000 Mile Club track competition.
Kader expressed his personal growth as an admiration for his running coach Ruona.
“He is an older man; he tells us all to stay strong, have fun, and stay in shape. I am happy to have him as one of my running coaches,” said Kader.
