Sacramento Running News

By John Schumacher

Amid the sounds of Johnny Cash, Turlock’s Miguel Nuci and Auburn’s Jane Kibii earned individual honors Saturday in the inaugural Folsom Blues Breakout Half Marathon.

The race, sponsored by the Sacramento Running Association and presented by the city of Folsom, attracted 3,000 runners on a mild, pleasant fall morning.

Cash’s presence was everywhere, from the view of Folsom Prison and the recording of him talking about the grand old flag at the start on Folsom Lake Crossing Bridge to the bands playing his music along the course to the James Garner Johnny Cash cover band at the finish.

Nuci, who runs for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, took the lead five miles into the 13.1-mile race and pulled away to win the men’s title in 1 hour, 9 minutes and 42 seconds. Auburn’s Brad Poore finished second in 1:09:59 and Rocklin’s Charlie Brenneman, another SRA Elite Team member, grabbed third in 1:10:48.

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In a move guaranteed to anger some and thrill others, the board of directors for the Western States Endurance Run has just announced new, more stringent qualifying standards for the 2015 race.

Noting the exponential growth in applicants (583 in 2000 and 2,295 in 2013) and the fixed number of entries available (270 lottery slots), they have set the qualifying standard to: 100 Km in 16 hours, or an official finish in a 100 mile race.

As before, not just any race will get you in. You need to run one of their selected qualifying races.

For years now, I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that the qualifying standards were too generous. Many locals had become convinced that this local race was essentially out of reach. So I applaud this move by the WSER board to attempt to improve a difficult situation.

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There is a magic place, up on the top of California, where majestic giant redwoods tip-toe down the hillsides to peek at the Eel River as she lifts her skirts and dances out to the Pacific Ocean.

And every year, Northern California’s finest runners, and a bunch of the rest of us, line up there under the canopy of redwoods for the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon and Half Marathon.

The half marathon is part of the PAUSATF road grand prix, so many of Northern California’s top road racers make the long trek up to the great green north for this out-of-the-way event.

If you make the drive to the Humboldt Marathon and Half Marathon, or its spring-time sister race, the Avenue of the Giants, don’t expect cheering crowds or convenient lodging. But you can expect a fast and scenic run through one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

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