Arsenic Ortiz, an Ozone Park resident, captured The 15th Annual Hellgate 5K Road Race in Astoria last Saturday morning.
Ortiz, a member of the Astoria Park Track Club, started off strong in the 3.1-mile race that started west of Astoria Park by the East River on Shore Boulevard. Ortiz, along with Jacobo Perez, winner of last week’s Quantum Feet 5K, ran the first mile in 4:55. Ortiz started to pull away with a 10:03 time at the two-mile mark. Ortiz crossed the finish line at 15:51. Perez dropped to second with a time of 16:05.
“He went out easy because he felt there wasn’t anyone to push him,” Ortiz’s coach, Ray Candaleria, said. “He was in front as no one challenged him.”
Tom Vasquez finished third at 16:10. Carlos Andrade finished fourth at 16:12 and last year’s winner, Trevor Murray, came in fifth with at 16:26.
Alemtsehan Misganan finished first among women at 17:25, good enough for 13th place overall in a field of 295 finishers. Juana Vazquez placed second at 17:48, and Marilyn Charles took third at 19:34.
“We had a good turnout, and we were very satisfied with the race,” directors Jared and Meatre Luann said. “Everything was a success.”
The Hellgate 5K was the fifth and last leg of the Queens Grand Prix Series.
“We had very good support and the series was a success,” Dominic Ortiz, the series director, said.
The Hellgate race obtains its name from the Hellgate Bridge that runners pass under during the run. The bridge, built in 1917, is now owned by Amtrak and is used as the northeast corridor to Boston and Washington.
