Sacramento Running News

Registration closes at midnight tonight!

This past spring, I was visiting Washington D.C. and asked the hotel concierge for suggestions on where to run the next morning.

“Well,” she said. “A lot of people run around the Mall, but the Cherry Blossom Run is tomorrow and it might be crowded.”

“Oh!” I said. “A race! Maybe I could run that.”

I could see the smirk form on her face before she looked up from the map she was doodling on.

“It’s a really big race,” she said. “And it filled up a long time ago.”

She then explained to me that the race was the largest in the area and a big draw for locals and professionals competing for the prize money.

The next morning, I ran down and through the Mall from my hotel and got a sense of just how large an event this race is. (Very. Think of Bay to Breakers with less nudity.)

Now, The Sacramento Running Association is trying to replicate some of that magic here with their newly named Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run and 3-Person Relay.

Sacramento has a lot of nice races. We even have some nice, big races—if that’s your thing. As of 2010, we had the 14^th largest marathon in America (California International Marathon).

What we haven’t had here, are any races with fast, national-class, elite fields. It is, of course, all about prize money.

For this, the SRA persuaded the Credit Union Association, the same sponsor as the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Run, to be a naming sponsor for the event, and dialed up the prize purse to a hefty $15,000.

As a result, the elite field announced for this year’s event actually looks pretty elite.

But can the course handle a large and fast field? There were some complaints about last year’s course, so I put this question to race director Michelle LaSala.

“Our course is new and improved over last year and will be a loop showcasing some of the best neighborhoods in Sacramento. The Credit Union, our title sponsor, is also happy with the course, as it will be able to hold thousands of runners, which we hope to achieve in the coming year!”

I wish them well. Sacramento deserves a big, fast, marquee race to showcase our fine city and great running community.

I’m also looking forward to the show!

When: Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8:00 a.m.

Where: 9th/10th Street and Capitol Mall, Sacramento

Beneficiary: Children’s Miracle Network