Related: Photo Gallery: Manhattan Beach 5K, Kids Races

Fresh on the heels of graduation Thursday from Mira Costa High School, Jacob Helfgott took to the sand Saturday morning, delivering an impressive performance to take first place in the Manhattan Beach 5K in a time of 17 minutes, 8 seconds. David Cardona of Torrance was one second behind him (17:09).

More than 400 runners, some barefoot, some pushing baby strollers, ran alongside the ocean during low tide on a beautiful morning, from the Manhattan Beach Pier north to the jetty at 45th Street and back. 

Jacob credited running barefoot in part for his win; last year, he ran the race with shoes, finishing in 4th place. This year, he followed a fellow Mira Costa track team runner (who wasn't officially in the race), passing him before hitting the finish line. 

"I just kind of wanted to stay with the top pack," he told DigMB after his victory. He said the pace was to his liking, as he slowly began to catch up to the lead runners toward race end.

Other top performances came from Rick Dodson, 51, of Manhattan Beach, who  finished in 7th place in 19:00; Kevin Lohner, 40, of Manhattan Beach, who took 9th place in 19:35; Duke Durand, 12, of El Segundo, who finished in 13th place in a fast 20:21, and a father-son duo from Santa Monica, Theodore Berger, 12, and Tim Berger, 47, who finished in 16th and 17th place, respectively in 20:45 and 20:47.

Other MB residents to run the 5K included Mike Warombse, Damian Wurt, Bruce Chesley, Brian Currey, Marty Friedman, Bruce Timmer, Glenn Lucas, JJ Turkmany, Steve Cho, Cambria Guernsey, Laura Knox, Dave Fratello, Michael Lindsey, John Cobb, Lauren Grubb, Carolyn Padden, Chris Franck, Zachary Rosenfeld, Vinoo Vijay, Teresa Cho, Jesse Yanocha, Jessica Turkmany, Misha Bedner, Huma Javed, Bill Weintsaub, Jillian Turkmany, Amit Kachala, Kathleen Kelly, Kelsey Shea, Peter Bech, Dick Cole, Maggie Berman, Amy Lange, Austin Mette, Dena Mette, Julio Davila, Dennis Gottman, Michelle Chu, Spuds Powell, Bill Lange, Chanee Vijay, Brett Danzer, Diana Franck, Celena Smith, Pete Grasso, Matthew Luce, Tawny Huynh, Dick Windishar, Jonny Rogin, Stephanie Rogin, Deanne Miller, Tim Tran, Paul Dorr, Phyllis Livingston, Robin Bouye, Joe Marcy, Peggy Horejsi, Randy Hamilton, and Kelly Hamilton.

Lindsey, 63, Friedman, 68, Timmer, 70, and Livingston, 71, each came in first place in their respective age division.

Kids under 16 who ran the 5K included Ryan Cho, McCarthey Bedner, Finn Powell, Sophia Franck, Gabby Lange, Owen Franck, Kaitlyn Tran, and Amalie Franck.

One runner, Noah Enoch, 8, ran both the 5K and the Kids 1K, showing some great endurance.

Participants in the Kids 1K or 400m from MB included Jayden Kainsinger, Cruz Icaza, and Chloe Icaza.

Runners came from as far away as Hanford, Redlands, Montebello, and Irvine to enjoy the 7:30 a.m. run on the hard-packed sand near water's edge in a race that celebrates the Summer Solstice. 

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