Sacramento Running News

Plan ahead!

It may be hard to believe, but registration for the California International Marathon opens up on March 21st.

It seems awfully early, but the race does sell out and they are offering a significantly cheaper rate for those of you willing to commit to a marathon well before you start to train for it.

The $85 rate is good until June 1st, when it goes up to $105.

Last year’s race filled up in October and there is no reason this year will be much different. However, the CIM folks are hinting of some alternative entry process. A recent email from the race says, (more…)

I have to confess. I was too tired after yesterday’s Way Too Cool 50K to get up early, as I’d planned, and go to the Shamrock’n Half Marathon.

Apparently, however, thousands of you did. Results are posted here.

It was nice that the rain held off until late this afternoon!

The sun is out, the trees are blooming, the birds are chirping, and there is a buzz of excitement around here as 6,000 runners prepare to take on a couple of the area’s largest events.

Tony Lafferty and Rory Bosio take a break from volunteering at registration to check out a map of the new WTC course.

This year’s  Way Too Cool 50K will be run on what is anticipated to be a faster, new course featuring around 1,000 feet less climbing and no more two-way traffic.  (Sorry folks, it’s still 50Km.)

With nearly 700 registered runners, this will easily be one of the largest trail ultras in the country, and the

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Saturday morning’s early rain showers let up long enough for runners of Redding’s NorCal 1o-Mile race to enjoy fairly warm conditions on that beautiful, if hilly, course along the Sacramento River.

The NorCal 10 is the first race of the Pacific Association USA Track & Field 2011 Grand Prix, and typically sees a highly competitive field. This year was no exception. There were 37 runners finishing the ten mile course in under an hour, including women’s winner Jane Kibii, of Kenya/Auburn, who ran 57:15!

The men’s winner was Mario Mendoza of Bend, Oregon, who finished in 51:53. Tim Tollefson of Roseville, at 3rd overall in 52:24, was the top area man, and 50-year-old Iain Mickle, of Sacramento, was the top Masters finisher in 55:57.

Jenny Hitchings, of Sacramento, was 4th woman and 2nd master, with a 1:02:40.

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I couldn’t make the Valentine Run this past weekend, but watching this video is almost as good as being there!

The high point of the video is seeing Po Adams challenging folks to get out there and do it.

Results are here.

As we say goodbye to 2010 it’s time for those of us who care to look back and see which local runners ended up on top of the heap.

There is probably a way that some industrious person could analyze all the results of races run by local runners and come up with a ranking that no one could understand, kind of like NCAA football. Unfortunately for you, I am not this industrious. Fortunately for all of us, there are actual races with results and a few really competitive race series that you can test yourself in.

The big daddy of regional competition for  amateur athletes is the Pacific Association USA Track and Field Grand Prix. The PAUSATF region is much more than Sacramento–running north to the Oregon border down to San Luis Obispo, and from the coast to just beyond Reno, Nevada. There is a lot of talent in that pool (including Kevin). There are team and individual results and you can look up your favorite runners’ results here.

I am not going to break out the individual results because there are too darn many due to all the age, distance, and gender divisions. There are many local runners, from the big local teams, landing in the top-ten of their respective divisions.

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Last weekend, Dylan Wykes came down from Kingston, Ontario and won CIM, leading wire-to-wire. I know you are all wondering: “Who is that guy?”

Flotrack has a lengthy interview with Wykes.

It’s an interesting read, covering the race and what it takes to train for something like that. Turns out, Wykes is a Montreal Canadiens fan.

Dan Weintraub chases Marie Sample to the finish line.

It’s been a week since the marathon and it seems like a good time to  finally wrap up the news on the event. Hopefully it was worth the wait as we’ve got a bucket-full of fun facts for you!

The weather was close to perfect for this time of year. Although the streets were wet from the previous night’s deluge, the rain quit before the start and waited to resume until later in the afternoon.

Dylan Wykes, a Canadian, led wire-to-wire for the win in 2:12:39. Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba, the defending women’s champion, was first woman in 2:32:13.  Read what the Bee’s John Schumacher has to say about it.

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Hopefully it won't be too rainy for us!

Looks like it might rain.

The Sacramento Bee promises “start to finish” coverage of the event. Evidently, they are tired of getting scooped by the Sacramento Running News.

This year, the California International Marathon is offering “Live Results” and athlete tracking. If you are spectating or supporting  a loved one, you can use this feature to minimize the amount of time you’ll be spending in the rain.

The CIM has posted the list of runners, relay teams and race numbers here. If you are spectating, be sure print out the list so you can shout out the names of random runners as they come up the street. It confuses them. This is good. It can take their minds off the pain and get them wondering about something other than “What was I thinking?”

Also, be sure to check out CIM’s spectator information.

Whether you are running or not, be sure to check out the CIM Expo. They usually have some deals and fun merchandise to check out. As an added bonus, you can meet me at the Buffalo Chips booth this afternoon, where I’ll be weighing in the Clydesdale and Athena runners.

Good luck if you are running tomorrow! I look forward to seeing all of you on the starting line.

Kevin Pool wins at Run to Feed the Hungry (Photo by Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee)

On an icy Thanksgiving morning, thousands of runners who were not me lined up on J Street for Sacramento’s annual Run to Feed the Hungry.

While there is no longer big prize money drawing runners from across the country and around the world (especially Africa), there were some impressive times and this race easily remains Sacramento’s premier 10 Km road race. (In 2008, there were four finishers under 30-minutes.)

Kevin Pool, of Folsom, took the overall win with a spectacular 31:15. Brad Poore of Auburn and Alan Jackson of Sacramento finished 2nd and 3rd in 31:22 and 31:26.

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