San Diego International Triathlon : Kearns Plays Follow the Leader on Wrong Path, but Wins Race

SAN DIEGO — Brad Kearns followed the lead vehicle down the wrong route Sunday, but that didn’t hamper his lead as he held off Scott Tinley to win the Pepsi/San Diego International Triathlon.

Kearns, 22, of Woodland Hills, won the men’s professional race in 1 hour 38 minutes 48 seconds, four seconds faster than Tinley of San Diego. Janet Greenleaf of Laguna Hills won the women’s professional division in 1:53:05.

Kearns’ troubles started when a police escort accidentally led him in front of the Harbor House Restaurant in Seaport Village. The race’s finish was behind the restaurant.

So, when Tinley, 3, came running alone 200 yards from the finish, most thought he was the winner. But then Kearns appeared out of the crowd 80 yards from the finish and crossed the line first.

“The policeman led me the wrong way,” Kearns said. “As long as it didn’t change the finish . . . it’s OK, I guess.”

New Zealand’s Brett Marshall, who is training in Encinitas, built a 200-yard lead coming out of the water after the 1-kilometer swim off Spanish Landing.

Some of the swimmers behind Marshall missed the final buoy and had to re-enter the water to do so. Kearns, who was in the middle of the pack, gained about 10 seconds by circling the final buoy correctly. Once on the 30-kilometer bicycle leg, a group including Kearns, Tinley and San Diego’s Rob Bistoudeau went after Marshall. Bistoudeau, who finished third last year, had to drop out after getting a flat tire on Talbot Street.

Kearns and Tinley, leading the pack, closed to within 20 seconds of Marshall as they descended a steep one-mile stretch on Cabrillo Road at the tip of Point Loma. Marshall’s lead was five seconds when the bicyclists had made their way back to the top of hill.

Finally, on the first of two two-mile loops on Cabrillo Memorial Drive, Kearns and Tinley passed Marshall. And at the 10-mile mark of the 18.6-mile leg, Kearns pulled away from Tinley.

“That was my mistake,” said Tinley, a two-time Hawaii Ironman champion. “I shouldn’t have let him get that lead.”

Tinley is considered by many competitors as the sport’s strongest runner, so overcoming a big lead in a 10-kilometer run wasn’t out of the question.

Kearns had a 40-second lead after the bike leg but Tinley closed to 15 seconds midway through the run along Harbor Drive.

“I can’t run as fast as he can,” said Kearns, who ran track and cross-country at Taft High School in Los Angeles. “I did not want to run with that guy. When I passed him (on the bike), I just took off. When I got ahead I think he got a little discouraged.”

Kearns maintained a strong pace and eventually regained a 40-second lead within a mile from the finish. That’s when he took the long way to the finish line by following the escort vehicle.

But taking the wrong way didn’t stop the right guy from winning.

Race Notes

The UC San Diego Cancer Center team of Irene Volodkevich, Stan Butler and Rick Ward placed third in the mixed relay division. Volodkevich, who has malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, was one of the top 15 women (out of 200) out of the water in her leg of the event. Butler, who is a professional time trial cyclist, was a last-minute replacement for Steve Klasna, who was originally scheduled to ride for the UCSD Cancer Center team. Klasna, a professional racer, was obligated to a 100-mile race in Mexico. . . . Brad Kearns picked up $2,500 for first place, Scott Tinley $1,500 for second, and Tucson’s Michael Durkin won $1,000 for third. Women’s winner Janet Greenleaf won $1,500. . . . Carlsbad’s Rick Wells, last year’s winner, opted to compete in a triathlon in Columbus, Ohio, instead of defending his title. Last year’s runner-up, San Diego’s Mark Montgomery, was among the top 10 riders chasing Brett Marshall on Cabrillo Memorial Drive. He failed to catch the front-running pack and dropped off the pace. He didn’t finish among the top 10. . . . The event was part of the Waterfront Festival, and benefits from the race went to the downtown St. Vincent de Paul Center. . . . Greenleaf was pushed by runner-up Molly Bettinger of Dayton, Ohio, in the bicycle portion, but pulled away during the run. Bettinger, who finished in 1:55:01, has placed in the top seven in each of six triathlons she been in since picking up the sport last August. Joy Hansen of Philadelphia finished third, 1:57:55.