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PEAR BLOSSOM RUN Gage sets record run Klimek Gage sets course mark in winning her fifth Pear Blossom Run Comment By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 11, 2015 at 6:02 PM Updated Apr 12, 2015 at 12:41 AM By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 11, 2015 at 6:02 PM Updated Apr 12, 2015 at 12:41 AM --> WOMEN RECAP: Former Phoenix High runner Marci Klimek Gage breaks the 21-year-old course record for her fifth straight championship. Her time of 57:04 over the 10-mile course bet... » Read more X WOMEN RECAP : Former Phoenix High runner Marci Klimek Gage breaks the 21-year-old course record for her fifth straight championship. Her time of 57:04 over the 10-mile course betters the mark of 57:07 set by Canby’s Deanna O’Neil in 1994. TOP 10 1. Marci Gage, 57:04 2. Michele Holcomb, 1:02:54 3. Carissa Fleskes, 1:03:18 4. Becka Kem, 1:04:59 5. Heather Oliveria, 1:07:20 6. Ashley Baldovino, 1:07:35 7. Lorelei Phillips, 1:08:21 8. Madison McCarthy, 1:08:31 9. Kristin Peterson, 1:08:31 10. Janelle Ralph, 1:09:23 » Social News That ho-hum feeling from doing something repetitive wasn’t about to creep into Marci Klimek Gage’s psyche. Sure, the distance runner was working on a string of four straight Pear Blossom Run 10-mile women’s championships entering Saturday’s race in downtown Medford, but motivation to continue the streak was hardly an issue. Having struggled greatly in her previous race, the 15-kilometer national championships, Gage had redemption on her mind, and she got it most thoroughly. In the 39th annual Pear, she cruised to her fifth consecutive victory — the same number of times she’s entered — and she snapped up the coveted course record. Gage won in 57 minutes, 4 seconds, bettering the 21-year-old standard set by all-time victory leader Deanna O’Neil. O’Neil, who claimed nine Pear Blossom titles from 1991-2003, set the previous record of 57:07 in 1994. “I definitely did want the course record,” said Gage, a 27-year-old former Phoenix High and Linfield College standout who lives in Bend. “That was a goal. I went out and used my watch for the first couple of miles to get a pace for the record, then I turned it off for the rest of the race and just wanted to see how it played out.” She received feedback about her status along the way, including from the bicycle rider who leads runners in. “I knew I had to run a fast last mile to make it,” she said, “and I didn’t know if I could do it. But I thought I’d give it a shot. I didn’t see the clock at the end, and my family said they thought I was really close.” Chip timing for the runners is monitored via a van parked near the finish line. Gage’s record was overlooked until times were posted a short while later. “I finished and no one said anything,” Gage laughed, “so I figured I must not have gotten it. I was really surprised, pleasantly surprised when I found out. It was definitely a nice way to end it.” Gage won by nearly 6 minutes over Michele Holcomb, of Medford. Holcomb, last year’s 5K winner, entered the 10-mile as part of a Medford School District initiative to have a representative from each school in the marquee race. Her time was 1:02:54. Portland’s Carissa Fleskes was third in 1:03:18, Ashland’s Becka Kim fourth in 1:04:59 and Medford’s Heather Oliveria fifth in 1:07:20. Gage, who has qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, was coming off a major disappointment at the 15K nationals one month ago in Jacksonville, Fla. Her aggressive training regimen had her at peak fitness, but when she arrived in the Florida, reality smacked her in the face. “I stepped off the plane and it was like 100 percent humidity,” she said. “I was, ‘I can’t breathe down here.’ It was not Northwest weather.” Warming up for the race 1 ½ days later, she realized it wasn’t going to be her day. Her goals dissolved and were replaced by a desire to simply finish the race. “It was very disappointing because you commit months and months of training with that being the goal,” said Gage. “So after the race, I put it behind me and switched my focus to the Pear. I wanted to come out here and give a good, honest effort and try to show some of that fitness I worked so hard for.” With no women racers to challenge her, she settled in with a group of men that was going at a suitable pace. “It was good to have them,” she said. “I wasn’t alone at all during the race. I always had someone to kind of key off of.” Gage’s only challenge was to avoid complacency during the flat, 4-mile stretch of pavement returning to town from the Hanley Road turnaround. “You get in such a nice comfortable pace not having to turn or go over a hill or anything, you can fall off pace without even knowing it,” she said. “That’s half the battle.” Gage doesn’t see a scenario in which she would miss the Pear. That said, next year — when a victory would tie her with O’Neil for the most in a row — figures to present a unique challenge. The marathon trials are in February, and she’ll follow that with a track schedule in hopes of qualifying for those trials. “I will definitely race it,” she said of the Pear. “I don’t know exactly what it will look like, but I will be here one way or another.” Given Gage’s national stature, Holcomb had no intention of pressing her. Holcomb, a sixth-grade teacher at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, began running some six years ago. “I knew I would not catch her,” laughed Holcomb, a former Pear Blossom queen while a senior at Cascade Christian High in 1994. Holcomb prefers the 5K, but when Medford schools Superintendent Brian Shumate asked for at least one runner from each school to enter the 10-miler “and really be a part of the community,” she said, she was Lincoln’s obvious choice. “We had a great turnout,” she said, noting the group had dinner the night before at the district office and all the runners had “team” shirts to wear. “We had a lot of fun, even out on the course cheering each other on.” Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479, or email [email protected] By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 11, 2015 at 6:02 PM Updated Apr 12, 2015 at 12:41 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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