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Sunday's United Run for the Zoo brought more than 2,000 runners to Lincoln Park on a cool spring morning. The 5K and 10K runs and a 5K walk benefited the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The 5K was won by Emisael Favela, 26, Chicago with a time of 15:33. Favela, a top performer on the local scene, was satisfied with his performance. "It was a good race," said Favela, who is concentrating on shorter distances. he was well ahead of runner-up Mark Wyckoff, 40, Chicago, who ran a 16:31.

Fionna McKenna, 30, of Chicago, was the women's 5K champ in 20:04. "I wanted to support the zoo, especially since it's a free zoo and this is something everyone can benefit from," McKenna said.

McKenna tucked in behind the eventual second-place finisher, Kirsten Nyhus, 29, Willow Springs, and then put in a surge and passed her at mile two.

"We were running together most of the way and I was in front," said Nyhus, who finished in 20:17. "I knew she [McKenna] was there, I saw a shadow and it had a ponytail, so I knew it was a woman."

When asked why she wanted to run this race she replied, "Because it supports the zoo. It was a big part of my life when I was a child. We always came here. My favorite part is the Reptile House.

Jose Valdez, 18, Chicago, won the 10K in 34:38, one day after placing third in the Elim Bridge 5K in Palos heights with a 16:30.

"Today was great!," Valdez said of his first victory in a 10K race.

Anette Ronnerman, 38, Chicago took the women's title in the 10K with a solid 36:56. Ronnerman explained that she went out too fast with a 5:40 on the first mile. She had planned to run 6:10. Things worked out for her, though, and she was glad she decided to run the 10K. It was her first race at that distance since last year's Mrs. T's (now Accenture) Chicago Triathlon.

Unofficially, there were 1,254 finishers in the 5K and 879 in the 10K. Those numbers are basd on preliminary results.