Musyoki Fends for Himself, Defends Title : Bastille Day 8K: Kenyan native is left to push the pace alone, but conditions leave him short of record. Mosqueda wins women’s competition.

NEWPORT BEACH —  Had it not been for the scorching hot weather, the lack of competition and a new race course--one laid out to accommodate a sponsor--William Musyoki might have come closer to breaking the world record for an eight-kilometer race Sunday at the Bastille Day 8K.

But had the conditions been better, would Musyoki, who won his second consecutive title in 23 minutes 29 seconds, have broken Alberto Salazar’s record of 22:04?

Not according to his assessment.

“I’m very, very disappointed. It (his race) was terrible,” said Musyoki, a 23-year-old native of Kenya whose victory earned him $1,000 and a trip for two to Paris. “I felt strong, but with the course and the heat . . . it is not the place to run a world record.”

Musyoki, who spent the entire month of June training at Big Bear in preparation for the race, sped to the lead at the start with Samson Obwacha at his side.

Obwacha, a Kenyan who shares a house with Musyoki in Van Nuys, pushed the pace in the beginning, leading Musyoki through the first mile in 4:19, with the closest group of runners 20 yards behind.

But just before the first water station, Obwacha suddenly hopped onto the sidewalk and stopped, saying later that back problems and soreness from recent competitions forced him to drop out.

Without Obwacha, Musyoki was forced to push the pace alone.

“You know, it’s very hard to run fast by yourself,” Musyoki said. “If we had gone three miles together, then maybe it would have helped. But one mile? Not very good.”

Still, Musyoki managed to hold off those in chase, though it appeared that the heat and humidity wore down the majority of runners. Several from the elite field, in fact, dropped out because of the weather.

“It was hotter than sin out there,” said former UC Irvine standout Ralph Garibaldi, who finished seventh in 24:11. “It was hard to get motivated.”

Alfredo Vallejo, a Mexican national residing in Los Angeles, earned $800 for finishing second, just seven seconds behind Musyoki. Daniel Reed of Riverside was third in 23:40 and received $600.

Asked if a world record could ever be run on the course--one that was re-routed this year to pass a local health club, one of the event’s sponsors--Musyoki shook his head.

“Never,” he said. “Not by (world-class runners Abdi) Bile or (Said) Aouita. . . . No one.”

Which would mean the $100,000 bonus--half of which would go to a charity--that race organizers offered anyone who could better the world record should be a fairly safe gamble for those who put up the money.

Sylvia Mosqueda of Alhambra wasn’t thinking about bonus money as she ran away with the women’s title. Instead, she was thinking about her shoelace.

“My shoelace came untied after the first mile mark and I sort of panicked,” said Mosqueda, 24. “I tied it four times (before the race). Some guy said, ‘Hey, are you going to stop?’ I said I’ll just keep going until my shoe falls off. It was bad because I couldn’t toe off (push off with the front of her foot). I had to run flat-footed.”

Mosqueda also earned $1,000 plus a Parisian trip for two. Her time of 25:56 was just nine seconds off the course record she set on the original course in 1987.

Kathy Kanes of Pasadena was second in 27:02, and 36-year-old Brenda Webb of Austin, Tex., was third in 27:41.

Webb, who held the American women’s record in the 8K for a short time at 25:14, was one of the few runners who believed a world best was possible on the new course. She said the two hills--actually San Diego Freeway overpasses--and the 13 turns weren’t the problem.

“I don’t think the course was as much of a factor as the heat,” Webb said. “I think if the temperature was right, if conditions were right, yeah, it could happen.”

Race Notes

Ray Stewart, 36, won the wheelchair division in 20:03. . . . A total of 2,967 registered runners finished the 8K. . . . Several of the top finishers, including William Musyoki, Sylvia Mosqueda and Brenda Webb, are planning to run in the elite portion of the Fiesta 5,000 in San Clemente on Sunday.