Stride by stride, minute by minute, Ramiro “Curly” Guillen is pushing himself into the top tier of U.S. marathon runners. The Goleta native took a big step last Sunday, finishing 18th in the Los Angeles Marathon. His time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 33 seconds was a new personal best by almost two minutes.
Guillen is not yet where he wants to be. He needs a 2:18 clocking to guarantee himself a place in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials next February in L.A. He’ll pursue it later this year on a flat course. Sunday’s race from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica waterfront was not conducive to fast times. Even though the start was moved up 30 minutes to 6:55 a.m., the temperature was already in the 70s, uncomfortable for many runners.
“I’d see fast runners pull off to the side and drop out, even some Kenyans,” Guillen said. “I was getting excited knowing my place would be higher.”