Phil Camp, a 29-year- old helicopter pilot stationed at the Naval Air Station in Imperial Beach, destroyed the
old record on his way to victory over 500 runners in the third annual Half-Marathon Monday.
Camp, who also won the event in 1974, bested Thom Hunt's record of last year by a minute and 54 seconds
as he out-legged the largest field in the three-year history of the Independence Day race.

After winning the 13.1 mile event two years ago with a time of 68:8 [sic], Camp managed only a seventh place finish last year because he had been at sea prior to the race. But in 1976 he came out with a vengeance, defeating second place finisher Les Myers by 2:48 and crossing the finish line almost four ahead of Coronado's Jeff Rigdon,
who placed third. In last year's race, Myers placed third. Rigdon took fifth last year and second the year before.

In the woman's division, Nicki Hobson of the San Diego Track Club took first place with a run that took exactly 89 minutes. Hobson finished ahead of Lolita Bache and Cheryl Flowers. Rich Rose won the junior division competition. He was timed at 73:11, while Tim Varley and Mike Marsh finished second and third respectively.

In the masters division, David Worthen recorded a 75:52 time to outrun second place finisher Bob Wiermaa.
Ed Almeida came in third. In the day's other race, a three-mile duel, Steve Burch won out in the men's division with a 15:10 finishing time. He came in ahead of Gary Cole and Joel House. Burch's time was 13 seconds faster than the old record.

Nadia Garcia of San Diego completed the three-mile course first in the women's division, giving her consecutive Coronado victories over the past two years. Garcia's run Monday, which was nearly four minutes faster than the previous women's three-mile record, made her record holder in both that event and the women's half marathon.
which she won last year.

More than 150 runners entered the three-mile event, but it was the half-marathon that attracted most of the
attention. Among the finishers were a 12-year-old and 77-year old.

The half-marathon, sanctioned by the American Athletics Union and cosponsored the Recreation Department, hits just about every section of the city as it winds and jags on a course that begins and ends near the Coronado Woman's Club house on Strand Way. The actual distance for the race was 13 miles 182 1/2 yards.