Sacramento Running News

Don’t expect to see many reports on triathlons here, but Eppie’s Great Race is still the big daddy of local, community centered sporting events.  For many locals, this may be the one organized race they compete in all year–either as an “ironman” or as part of a relay team. And the race raises a kayak-load of cash for Sacramento County Therapeutic Recreation Services, to help provide provide “therapeutic recreation opportunities for individuals with mental, physical, developmental, sensory, emotional impairments or special needs residing in Sacramento County.”

As a triathlon, it is odd in that you don’t need to know how to swim.  In lieu of a swim, this event includes a down-stream kayak (or evidently any other floating object) leg.

Once again, the winners of the Eppies Great Race Ironpersons divisions were 39-year old Nicole Young, who finished in 2:02:30, and 51-year old Vic Vicari who crushed the hopes and dreams of competitors half his age by finishing in an astonishing 1:44:24.  Interestingly, the next fastest man was 46-year old Mark Barrett, who was only a minute behind in 1:45:23.   Third and fourth place were 48-year old Jeff Schwing (1:48:21) and 40-year old Nikolas Rechtiene (1:51:48). Where are the fast young guys?

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I’ve been traveling a lot to some beautiful parts of the United States, and I’ve had some really nice runs in some wonderful places.  (e.g., This morning’s run next to the Vermillion River in Western Montana.)  However, I have never seen anything as nice as what we have in Sacramento and the surrounding area.  The American River Parkway is a treasure.  The multi-use trails in the foothills spoil us.  In our area, different user groups have banded together to advocate trail development, protection and maintenance.  In other parts of the US, I find myself sharing the beauty with speeding cars and trucks.

Yesterday, the Bee’s Sam McManis had an excellent article and description of one of those local multi-use trails:  The Olmstead Loop trail.  His story includes an account of a somewhat tense interaction with horseback riders that brought back memories of several encounters of my own with horse people.  One time stands out in my mind.  While running with a friend near Cool we came across a horse and rider.  The rider demanded that we get off the trail so she could pass.  At that moment, we were surrounded by an ocean of poison oak. A testy conversation followed.

Most of my encounters with horsemen and women have been fine.  Most of these horses are amazing animals.  However, some riders give me the impression that their horses have no business being on a multi-use trail.  Is it too much to ask for folks to only bring horses that are well trained (or at least well socialized) onto these trails?

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Runner with beer being stopped by police.

Organizing and hosting a race is always challenging.  As a race director, you have to plan for every contingency imaginable and then deal with the things that really happen on race day.  Imagine the headaches created by binge drinking race participants!

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bay to Breakers race organizers said “more than 30 participants had to be taken to hospitals via ambulance after this year’s race, most for alcohol-related reasons.”    This is why they are announcing a strict “no-alcohol policy” for next year’s race.  Are they going to start cracking down on the naked guys now?

There you are, standing outside in the hot Valley afternoon, staring down another bratwurst on a sourdough roll.  You know you shouldn’t but you think “Hey!  It’s Independence Day!” You bask in the knowledge that you are one of the 74% of Americans who know what country our founding fathers declared independence from.  So you decide to grab that dog and wolf it down.  It settles into your stomach and curls up next to the first one, and they slosh gently in the beer (or soda) you washed it down with.  You pat your stomach and catch yourself admiring the elastic waistband of your host’s trousers.

The dog was good, almost as good as the first one, but you’re left with a greasy taste in your mouth and a wish that your morning had included a decent run—maybe even a race.  Well, today is your lucky day because wishes—with a little planning—can come true!

For the past 35 years, there has been a free, five-mile race on July Fourth.  It is the aptly named Fourth of July Five Miler, and it starts and finishes at Glen Hall Park in the River Park neighborhood.   It is a free race, so don’t expect a lot of swag but it’s a nice way to start the day.  Walkers and baby joggers are plentiful and the neighbors come out to participate or cheer on the runners.  If you’re in the mood, there is usually a neighborhood parade shortly afterward.

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The 2010 USA Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships are this month–right here in River City!  The meet will be held at Sac State’s beautiful A.G. Spanos Sports Complex July 22-25, 2010.  You’ve still got a couple weeks to train, but those applications are due by July 3rd.

Once again, my wobbly stomach didn’t allow me the glorious finish I’d hoped for this year’s Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. However, Alaskan Geoff Roes managed to bang out a course record 15:07 on a modified “Snow Year” course. There have been criticisms that this record should have an asterisk next to it due to the modified “snow year” course being a bit faster than the standard course. But having personally slogged through the several miles of snow before and after the “easier” section, I’m not sure the overall course was appreciably faster. Also, if we’re going to go down that road, we need to consider the fact the old course record set by Scott Jurek in 2004 was set on a modified course that was created after the devastating Star Fire of 2001.

The race was impressive in that it was really a race. Roes won, but only by a few minutes over Anton “200 miles a week” Krupicka who ran 15:13.

The top two women were also only a few minutes apart, with Tracy Garneau besting Meghan Arbogast in 19:01 and 19:15, respectively.

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