Sacramento Running News

Once again the streets of River Park were filled Saturday with a happy mix of fitness enthusiasts and some of Sacramento’s fastest women at the Susan B. Anthony 5K. And just like last year, top local speedsters Midori Sperandeo and Mary Coordt battled it out and finished 1, 2 with only few seconds between them.   Although if you were looking for them to slow down you’d be disappointed as this year they shaved a dozen seconds off last year’s winning time, coming in at an eye-popping 17:33 and 17:36!

This being one of very few women-only races in the region, it attracts some of the top local talent.  There were 20 women running under seven-minute miles!

With seven finishers in the 70+ age bracket (including the always amazing Barbara Miller who finished in 23:51) you can guess the race caters to all participants and this year’s race was bigger than ever, with over 450 finishers. Complete results are here.

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Day two, and the world records continue to fall like rain.  This time, it was the steeplechase.  The USATF  reports:

Lisa Valle set the W40 world masters 2,000m steeplechase record when she crossed the finish line in 6:51.92, after setting the previous world record two weeks ago of 6:52.6. “I had it stuck in my head that I wanted to break my record, so I guess I barely made it,” she said. “I just tried to stick to my pace and it worked out. I thought I could’ve broken 6:50, but I’m happy with it here in the heat. It was a good run.”

And it was also the 400 meters!  Again, from USATF:

In women’s 400m finals action, Suzy MacLeod won the W75 age group with her world record time of 1:25.40, which is faster than the previous listed world record of 1:27.17 set last year by Margaret Peters of New Zealand. Her time also bested the previous W75 American record of 1:27.41 set by Audrey Lary at the 2009 USA Masters Outdoor Championships in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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The USA Track & Field 2010 Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships kicked off this morning and already we have a new world record!  Oneithea “Neni” Lewis set a new world age-group record in the women’s hammer throw, getting 55.46 meters (181′ 11″) on her final throw to win the competition easily.  Amazingly, after fouling the first throw, her next five all bested the existing American Record and her final throw sailed well beyond the eight-year old world record of 51.73 meters (169′ 8″)!

In the 5,000 meters, Rick Blecker of Club Northwest set a new American record with his win in the M55 age group with his time of 16:14.55, and Mary Harada of West Newbury, Massachusetts, set the American W75 age-group record when she finished first in 26:55.11. Her performance bettered the previous American Record of 27:10.76 set by Algene Williams in 1991.  Look for more, because Harada, who lowered the W75 mile American Record twice last month, is also entered in the 800m and 1,500m!

While no locals set any records, many did earn bragging rights.

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Women line up for the start of the mile at the Western States Masters International Invitational. Photo by Abe Underwood

Don’t forget the USA Track & Field 2010 Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships start tomorrow morning at Sacramento State’s A.G. Spanos Sports Complex at 7:00 AM.

The day kicks off with one of my favorite track events: the 5,000 meters.   The women’s (age 30 to 49) 5,000 meters in particular will showcase some of the area’s top women road racers.

The photo (right), taken at the Western States Masters International Invitational track meet in Davis two weeks ago, shows some of these women testing and honing their track skills in the lead-up to the Masters Championships.  Tomorrow’s 5000 meters includes locals: Mike Gottardi, Michael Fadling, Mason Myers, Randy Anderson, Iain Mickle, John Nichols, James Young, and Jeffrey Adkins for the men; and Jaymee Marty, Midori Sperandeo, Kirsten Schneider, Rae Whitten, Jenny Hitchings, and Desiree Love for the women.  Who will come out on top?   Be sure to check it out!

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