The World Comes to Sacramento
Alberto Zanelli of Italy running the 3rd leg of the 4x100 relay.
After a 10-day run, the curtain has come down on the 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships.
Was it worth the hype? Was Sacramento a worthy host? Was it fun?
Yes, yes, and yes!
What About the Weather?
When Sacramento was chosen as the venue for this year’s World Masters Athletic Championships, there was a fair bit of grumbling from the masters running community.
“It’s going to be hot! Can you imagine running a marathon in Sacramento in July!?”
As luck would have it, it would have been difficult to find a more comfortable July 17th anywhere else in the USA. At the start time of 5:00 AM, it was only 59° F (15° C), and by the time most runners were finished it was only a few degrees warmer.
The only complaint I heard from a runner was that the early start time (5:00) made it difficult to see well enough to navigate the early aid stations.
Some of the earlier distance events (notably the 5000 meters on Friday, July 8th) were affected by the heat, but everyone seemed to manage well and the race organizers actually put a water station on the track.
All in all, weather did not seem to be an issue.
How Were the Venues?
Sacramento has fine venues for hosting an event of this size. It was unfortunate that Sac City was in the middle of renovating its stadium seating, but there were plenty of seats for the spectators. The marathon course got high marks and the loop course made it fun for spectators. The cross country course was well received. All in all, nice.
Housing and Transportation?
Chad Worthen finished 2nd overall in the marathon. (photo by John Blue)
Sacramento public transit sucks. Fortunately, there is affordable housing close to Sac State. I spoke to one athlete who said he got a decent motel room only one mile from the Sac State track, for $40 per night. Try doing that in most any other major US city.
I did notice the local cab companies figured out there would be a demand for their service. There were always a few cabbies waiting for fares in front of Hornet Stadium.
Did Locals Run?
It was surprising to me how many local runners took part in these events. I don’t have statistic on Northern California participants, but I recognized people in many of the events. All in all, nearly 2,000 American athletes registered for the event.
Did Foreign Athletes Come?
New Zealand’s Sally Gibbs won the marathon, the 5,000 meters, and the 10,000 meters. (photo by John Blue)
According to the WMA, there were approximately 3,000 foreign athletes (and their families) here for the event, bringing untold dollars into the Sacramento economy. It was fun spotting the foreign athletes around town and meeting people while I was out for my morning or lunch-time runs.
Who Were the Standout Locals?
I could spend all day poking through the results to find age group winners and certainly miss some important age-group results. I’ll reveal my long-distance bias and note a couple of runners.
In the 5,000 meters, Mary Coordt ran in a rather tactical first couple of miles before getting tired of the pushing and shoving. She stepped up the pace and broke free of the pack for a commanding win in 18:02.
Later, her age division win in the 10,000 secured her position as “local masters track star.”
Again in the 5,000 meters, the town was abuzz over 52 year old Sergey Polikarpov’s (Kazakhstan), winning time of 15:39. That was fast, and kind of freakishly so, but 50-year-old Iain Mickle’s 3rd place 16:21 was pretty impressive, too.
In the marathon, Chad Worthen’s 2:35:54 was worth 2nd overall and 1st in his age group. Coming in 9th overall and 4th in his age group, Ed Randolph was the second local finisher, with a time of 2:42:00.
I don’t know everyone and I especially don’t know the sprinters. If I’ve missed someone’s outstanding performance, please note it in the comments.
Where Can I Find the Results?
The complete results are here.
The marathon results are here.
New York’s Jay Satenstein won the mustache division of the marathon (M60).
Navigating the water during the steeplechase. (photo by John Blue)
Craig Newport barrels toward the finish line. (photo by John Blue)
Ed Randolph was the 2nd local finisher in the marathon. (photo by John Blue)
- Lisa Balestrini makes the marathon look easy. (photo by John Blue)
I hate it when people twice my age can finish in half the time.
1Thanks John. You mentioned the darkness of the Marathon. The eventually winner had to drop in behind me on the beginning of the first loop after he almost ran right off the trail because he couldn’t see. I of course have it all memorized, ha.
2Nice recap. I spent many hours on most days capturing HD video clips and a few interviews. This library is hosted on youtube with commentary at barenakedfeet.com Glad I found your site – lots of great info for a newcomer to Sac like me.
Thanks,
Kevin
3I was with some foreign athletes after the marathon and they were grumbling about how “hilly” the course was.
4Really? Really?
Unfortunately, Sac media was dreadful, turnout was shameful, but I had a fantastic time watching the events. On to Brazil!
Wait people were coplaining about how hilly the marathon course was? Wow.
The marathon was a great course and both the marathan and the cross country races were well organized. Shameless plug: the marathon course is basicly the same course as the Jed Smith 30k, 50k and 50 miler in Feb.
I had a blast watching 70 plus year olds pole vault.
5My take on the marathon complaints is that the entry booklet describes it as “flat.” Big Sur it is not, but “flat” might be a stretch.
I tend to cut some slack for the international folks. They came a long way and spent a lot of cash.
The official book also says that the race would start and finish in the primary stadium, which some of the locals were disappointed about.
All in all, that grey 60° sky was what I will remember in connection with this race.
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