A field of 2,400 runners fills Atterdag Road for the start of the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon in Solvang. 
The top men’s and women’s finishers show of the magnums of white win from Brick Barn Wine Estate. The male runners are, from left, Caleb Ebert (second place), Connor Reck (first) and Ryan Kirk (third). The women, from left, are Jordan Hasay (fist), Danielle Zola (second) and Amanda Spaulding (third). 
The race course took runners through the vineyards of Ballard Canyon. 
A pair of runners dressed for the occasion, wearing grape outfits. 
Wine from 14 local wineries was being poured following the race at a festival in Solvang Park. 
Women’s winner Jordan Hasay, one of the top marathoners in the United States, poses with Solvang Mayor Charlie Uhrig. 
This trio of running friends had their race strategy printed on their T-shirts.
It was a picture-perfect autumn day in the Santa Ynez Valley for the return of the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon.
A sold-out field of 2,400 gathered early Saturday at Atterdag Road for the start of the hugely popular 13.1-mile scenic road race that winds along county vineyards on Alamo Pintado Avenue and Ballard Canyon Road before finishing in downtown Solvang on Copenhagen Drive.
The race had some star power as Arroyo Grande’s Jordan Hasay, one of the top women’s marathoners in the United States, returned to the Central Coast.
On the men’s side, Santa Ynez Valley High alum Connor Reck, who ran collegiately at Harvard and qualified for 2020 Olympic Olympic Marathon Trials, traveled from his current home in Minneapolis to run on the roads he knows so well.
Results
Reck was the overall winner in 1 hour, 16 minutes, 12 seconds, while Hasay came in second in 1:20.06. She was followed by Ryan Kirk, an Air Force second lieutenant stationed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, in 1:23.012, and Caleb Ebert of Virginia in 1:24.18.
The second- and third-place women finishers were Danielle Zola of Santa Barbara in 1:26.06 and Amanda Spaulding in 1:33.31.
Hasay moved back to San Luis Obispo after living in Oregon for several years. She earned 18 NCAA All-American honors and two NCAA titles running track for the University of Oregon.
She turned to marathon running after college and twice finished third at the Boston Marathon. She ran 2:23.00 in her first race in 2017, which was the fastest debut by an American woman in Boston. She ran 2:25.20 in 2019.
Hasay told Wine Country Half Marathon media director Dan Cruz that running in Solvang brought back a lot of childhood memories.
“We used to come here when we were real little and see the miniature ponies,” she said. “They’d be running around, and my brother and I just loved to watch them.
“I texted my aunt today, because that’s what we would do with my aunt and uncle almost every weekend.”
She admitted she just learned about the race, and now hopes to make it every year.
“It was gorgeous,” she said of the course. “I love hills and that big one in the middle kept it fun.”
In addition to running the beautiful course, participants enjoyed a wine tasting festival at the finish. The top three men’s and women’s finishers received a magnum of white wine from Brick Barn Wine Estate.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.