The following article features the inaugural Natro@Soboba races and was written by Scott Mills. This article first appeared in the spring 2024 issue of Trail Times quarterly newsletter.
Race Director Sheldon Subith created, organized, and hosted the inaugural Natro@Soboba 5-kilometer and 25-kilometer races on the Soboba Indian Rezervation (near San Jacinto, CA), on February 24, 2024.
With a stellar crew of volunteers including the support from the Soboba Rezervation Council, this first year event was an amazing success. The goal was to introduce and encourage Native American youth and locals to gain confidence and skills to incorporate running as part of their lives. A portion of the race fees were also donated to the Noli Indian School X-Country/Track programs to further promote athletic opportunities.
February had witnessed several storms that flooded the surrounding trails and sandy washes. Fortunately, the rains subsided the week prior to the event and the weather was perfect on race day.
Natro@Soboba race day
Over 70 entrants toed the starting line: twenty-six in the 25K and forty in the 5K. The race started and finished at The Oaks on the Rezervation. From the outset, runners were climbing a very steep and gnarly trail that took great effort to maintain breathing and forward motion.
Joseph Sahgun, the first Native 25K finisher and second place overall.
The 25-kilometer course boasted more than 2000 feet of elevation while the 5K was also very challenging. The male and female 25K winners were Matthew Michael and Rufus Schneider with times of 2:12:26 and 2:37:34 respectively. The overall winners and times for the 5K were Katelyn Subith and Ben Sproule with times of :28:36 and :29:16 respectively. The featured photo is Subbith with the top three women in the 5K. Complete results are available here.
The mark of any great event is often characterized by the camaraderie and post-race food, music, and awards. Finishers, volunteers, family, and friends were treated to a Disc Jockey, great breakfast food, and hand-crafted awards (not to mention great weather).
Subith is already planning to expand next year’s races and encourages others to come out and enjoy a terrific event. The date to be announced soon, but tentatively planned for April 19. In the interim, contact Subith with any questions: [email protected].
