It’s been nearly a decade since Scotts Valley native and Nike runner Vanessa Fraser last competed in the annual Wharf to Wharf race, which takes place from Santa Cruz to Capitola.
The former standout at Scotts Valley High made her return to Sunday’s 51st running of the event, but at one point it seemed like she wasn’t going to reach the finish line.
Fraser, who last competed in the event in 2014, stood on the sideline suffering from severe cramping a little more than five miles into the race. She thought about walking back the entire way, possibly even calling it quits.
“I didn’t think I was gonna finish just because my individual goals were to be a little bit higher up,” she said. “Then I saw Ashlyn [Boothby], the Scotts Valley [High] runner, coming up and I said, ‘I’ll finish with her,’ so that was really special.”
Fraser took 16th in 35 minutes, 9 seconds to claim her spot as the top local female, finishing just one second ahead of Ashlyn Boothby (35:10), an incoming senior at Scotts Valley High School.
“I was so surprised, that was like such a special experience,” Boothby said.
Boothby—who broke all of Fraser’s school records in cross country and track—was also amazed how well she did her first time running in the event. Especially after she was sick two weeks ago and then pushed herself hard last week in some high altitude training in Truckee.
“I really didn’t know how today was gonna go, but I had a lot of fun,” she said.
Ethiopian Tigist Ketema won the women’s race in 29:51 and earned $4,000 in prize money. Kenyan Sarah Naibei (30:11) took second, followed by Ethiopian Werkuha Getachew (30:37) in third.
Fraser, 27, said the Santa Cruz running community is special and getting to finish alongside Boothby was a joy for her, as well.
“I’ve become such a big fan of hers and follow her success, and other Santa Cruz County athletes’ success,” Fraser said.
Fraser, who was also a former standout at Stanford University, has become sort of a mentor for student-athletes in the area by helping in whatever way she can as they navigate going to college.
“It’s brought so much meaning to me in this sport and means so much more than my individual goals,” she said. “I just have a lot of pride in Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz County.”
Fraser knows what it’s been like to be in their shoes and how helpful it was for her to have mentors to look up to for questions about the college recruiting process.
“It gives me a lot of purpose,” she said.
Salinas native Diego Estrada, 33, won the Wharf to Wharf in 27:14 after coming up short as runner-up in last year’s race. Keynyans Josphay Kipchirchir (27:47) and Shadrack Keter (27:49) finished second and third, respectively.
“Now I feel good,” said Estrada, who was hanging out by the ceremony stage awaiting his first place plaque. “But when I crossed the finish line, I felt pretty horrible. It was one of those days where you’re not feeling great. I ran in the first mile, I knew that was gonna be my pace for the rest of the race. And once we slowed down a little, I was like, that’s not good for me. Because once we get to the downhill, I’m in trouble.”
The former standout at Alisal High School pulled away during the fourth mile and distanced himself from the rest of the pack the entire way.
“That was the only move I had,” he said. “I put everything into that move and I was like, if anybody just covers it, I’ll give it my best and that’s what it is.”
Jeremy Kain, a former standout at Scotts Valley High, drove the course a day prior to the event to get a feel of the road before his first taste of competing in a six-mile race.
Kain took 33rd in 31 minutes flat, just behind Aptos’ Jack Rose (30:50) in 30th and Scotts Valley’s Patrick Goodrich (30:30) in 21st.
“There was some friendly banter between Patrick [Goodrich] and I going into the race,” Kain said. “When he came around me in mile three and just dropped me on the hill, I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was a good race.”
Kain, who currently competes at Duke University, said he did fine during the first two miles until he hit the 3-mile mark, which is where he’s used to finishing a race. Then he quickly realized it was just the halfway point.
Still, he enjoyed every moment, especially the bands that quickly motivated him as continued to push through.
Kain also finished behind Watsonville native Julian Vargas, a former St. Francis High School standout, who took ninth in 22:29 and was the top local finisher in the men’s division.
“I would never expect to be the top local for this,” Vargas said. “There’s so many athletes in our area. They’re all really good and they’re all very competitive.”
