Sacramento Running News

Parkway at Watt (SRN photo)

Due to a levee improvement project, runners, walkers and bicyclists wishing to access the American River Parkway from Watt Avenue and American River Drive will find the way obstructed nightly after 6 PM beginning Monday, July 8th through Friday, July 12th, and again Monday, July 22 through Thursday, August 8th.

Additionally, there will be full day closures will beginning Friday, August 9th and continuing for five weeks through Wednesday, September 11.

Ramp closures will also affect access for those wishing to cross the Watt Bridge from the south side–to get to the north bank of the Parkway trail–using the pedestrian/bicycle bridge lanes.

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Cross some more off the list.

US sprinter Tyson Gay tested positive for a banned substance and is withdrawing from the World Championships.

His tearful non-apology (“Someone let me down.”) is starting to sound familiar.

More info here.

Meanwhile, Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson have each tested positive for banned stimulants.

More on that here.

After placing 2nd behind Shalane Flanagan in the 10,000 meters at the USA National Championships, the only thing standing between Jordan Hasay and the World Championships in Moscow was a qualifying time.

Running on a high school track in Portland this evening, Hasay earned the “B” standard and came within one tantalizing second of the “A” with a 31:46.

Read more about it here.

Runners finishing five miles in the heat. (SRN photo)

One of the longest-running traditions in the Sacramento running community is the Free Fourth of July 5 Miler. The race through River Park, hosted by the Buffalo Chips, has been celebrating America’s freedom with free running for the past 37 years.

This year, despite the heat, nearly 1,000 hardy souls showed up to take part–including representatives of most of the area’s running clubs and training groups.

This is a low-budget affair so there is no chip timing–just good old fashion stop watches. Here are the top finishers:

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Like most runners, Brian Miller gets sponged down at Michigan Bluff (SRN Photo)

The Western States Endurance Run was last weekend (June 29-30), and if I was a lazy reporter (and I often am)  the race could be generally summed up like this:

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Kim Conley at the SacTown 10 (Photo by Sean Dulany/Freeplay Magazine)

By John Schumacher

Olympian Kim Conley, a former UC Davis standout who competes for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, finished fourth Sunday in the women’s 5,000 meters at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines.

Conley’s 15 minute, 37.80-second effort left her just behind winner Jenny Simpson (15:33.77), runner-up Molly Huddle (15:35.45) and third-place finisher Shannon Rowbury (15:37.27). Former Davis High School standout Chelsea Reilly finished fifth in 15:38.50.

A top-three finish would have earned Conley an automatic berth in the World Championships on Aug. 10-18 in Moscow. But Conley, who owns a 15:09.57 best, would still make the World team if Simpson sticks to her plan of skipping the 5,000 and defending her world title in the 1,500.

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This is worth protecting. (SRN photo)

If you read the Sacramento Bee, you’ve probably noticed the spate of articles on the Sacramento County Park Rangers’ plans to crack down on speeding cyclists.

There was the original article, which has over 470 comments, (450 of them by idiots), which I responded to here, and the Bee’s follow-up Can’t We All Just Get Along? editorial  from yesterday—plus many, many letters to the editor.

The comments and letters have centered on the visceral “cyclists are jerks vs. runners are idiots” and vice versa.

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Be careful out there!

In 2010, a man trying to achieve King of the Mountain (or KOM) status on Strava, died in a bike crash while racing down a steep descent in Berkeley’s Tilden Park.

The family of cyclist William “Kim” Flint II sued Strava for encouraging his dangerous riding.

On June 3, San Francisco Superior Court judge Marla Miller granted a motion for summary judgment, stating that Mr. Flint had “assumed the risks of bicycling.”

According to a press release by Strava: (more…)

Huh?

A Duluth woman gave birth while training for Grandma’s Marathon.

She claims to not have known she was pregnant.

Really?

“It was like a dream,” the new father said of the odyssey he and his wife have experienced in the past two days. “I wanted to make sure it was real.”

Read the “complete story” in the Duluth News Tribune!

Watch out for rangers with radar!

Today’s Bee includes an article about how Sacramento County Parks Rangers are saying they are going to start cracking down on cyclists who break the posted 15 mph speed limit on the American River Parkway.

I was asked to provide comments for the story and I prefaced them with my usual “There is room for everyone,” which naturally didn’t make the story.

There is room for everyone. We all just need to behave ourselves. All of us.

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