Sacramento Running News

As we say goodbye to 2010 it’s time for those of us who care to look back and see which local runners ended up on top of the heap.

There is probably a way that some industrious person could analyze all the results of races run by local runners and come up with a ranking that no one could understand, kind of like NCAA football. Unfortunately for you, I am not this industrious. Fortunately for all of us, there are actual races with results and a few really competitive race series that you can test yourself in.

The big daddy of regional competition for  amateur athletes is the Pacific Association USA Track and Field Grand Prix. The PAUSATF region is much more than Sacramento–running north to the Oregon border down to San Luis Obispo, and from the coast to just beyond Reno, Nevada. There is a lot of talent in that pool (including Kevin). There are team and individual results and you can look up your favorite runners’ results here.

I am not going to break out the individual results because there are too darn many due to all the age, distance, and gender divisions. There are many local runners, from the big local teams, landing in the top-ten of their respective divisions.

In team results, the River City Rebels deserve a shout-out for finishing on top of the open men standings in road racing. This is a phenomenal result and we should all buy them drinks at the soonest opportunity.

There is also an ultra grand prix, and the Buffalo Chips women ran away with first place there. (Yes, I noticed that there were only two teams scoring in that division.) And there is a cross country grand prix, too. Sacramento is clearly not focused enough on cross country.

The big local race series is, of course, the Buzz Oates Run Sac Race Series. Rich Hanna (Rebels) and Barbara Miller (Chips) were top performers in this age-graded grand prix. Fleet Feet Racing won the men’s and women’s team divisions.

Great job everyone and good luck to all for a fast and healthy 2011!