Rath and Vinuelas take top honors in 2024 Fontana Days Half Marathon

Nathan Rath came all the way from Chandler, Arizona to participate in the Fontana Days Half Marathon, and he was certainly pleased with the outcome of his journey.

The 42-year-old Rath took first place with a time of 1:10:16 on the pleasantly cool morning of June 1.

“The day was beautiful,” he said. “Great weather, great course — it was a good experience.”

Traversing the 13.1 miles down Sierra Avenue from Lytle Creek, Rath was able to pull away from tough competitors Helio Carrillo (who came in second place in 1:10:29) and his friend Erik Chazin (who was third in 1:10:51) and cross the finish line at Fontana City Hall.

“I had a good push at the end,” he said. “I was here with my friend Erik and we pushed each other. Without that, it would have been a lot tougher.”

The first-place female finisher (and 13th place overall) was Abbey Vinuelas, a 38-year-old resident of the Northern California city of Fairfield.

Vinuelas was all smiles after receiving her award.

“What a beautiful course,” she said. “It really energized me all the way down, and I absolutely loved it.”

It was the third half marathon that Vineulas had entered in the past two months, and she took top honors each time.

More than 1,000 runners took part in the Fontana Days Half Marathon this year.

posted Monday June 3rd