Sacramento Running News

Enjoying the cooler weather afforded by Rio Del Lago’s new November date, Christopher Wehan and Erika Lindland, 31, of Fairfax, turned in fast times to win the long-running, but newly revamped 100 mile race.

Wehan, 31, of Arcata, was the overall winner, rushing back to the finish at Beals Point in 16:56:46.

Lindland, also 31, of Fairfax, was the women’s champion and 5th overall in 19:04:27.

Kelly Lance, 45, of Pocatello, Idaho, and Ray Sanchez, 46, of Sacramento, were the second and third men with times of 18:30:24 and 18:32:18, respectively.

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Jenny Capel

Special report by Gordon Ainsleigh

Monday, July 29, 2013

WHILE WE WERE SLEEPING… sweet Jenny Capel was running, and running, and running.

Starting at Tahoe Rim Trail Echo Summit trailhead on US 50 at first light on Saturday, she started the weekend off by getting lost for an hour or so in Desolation Valley Wilderness.

Jenny called out “Hi Gordy,” to me as she ran through Tahoe City at about 2 PM, looking like she had run about 10 miles (as I was airing up some tubes to float the Truckee River).

So all Saturday, and Saturday night, and Sunday, and Sunday night, and all of this morning, Jenny and her pacers were running, and running and running.

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It looks like the Rio Del Lago 100 is under new management!

Word is out that the more low-key (as compared to the Western States Endurance Run), local 100-mile race is now being directed by Julie Fingar and the NorCal Ultras team.

Fingar is better known for directing the American River 50 and Way Too Cool 50K, so she should be up to the task.

One of the more intriguing aspects of this management change is a date change. Historically, the run was held in early to mid September, where the temps could be iffy but somehow seemed to land on “hot” or “very hot.”.

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Galen Farris looking smooth at mile 45. (Photo by Sean Dulany/Freeplay Magazine)

By John Schumacher

Galen Farris and Jen Pfeifer decided to start slowly, respect the heat and try to make up ground in the second half of the inaugural Gold Rush 100k on Saturday.

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Second woman finisher Tera Dube navigates the trails. (Photo by Sean Dulany/Freeplay Magazine)

As we crowded up on the levee near the start line for the 2013 running of the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run, two things were dominating conversations of the old timers: the temperature and the crowd.

It was warm, and it was also humid and still. I spotted a few trash-bag wearers, but most people were lightly dressed—at least for 6:00 AM on an early April morning. It always unnerves me when it’s unseasonably warm at the start of an ultra.

The crowd was huge. There were around 1,100 registered runners in the field, which is much larger than in previous years, and makes this race one of the country’s largest.

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Locally, most of us are fixated on tomorrow’s weather and the California International Marathon. Meanwhile, many locals are already racing over on the coast in the North Face Endurance Challenge San Francisco Championship.

Due to the rain, the State Parks Department has mandated a course change so now it will be totally easy. (Serious about the course change. Just kidding about it being easy. Those trails–Marin Headlands–are intense!)

This is one of the most competitive ultras in the United States, and it offers $10,000 to the top male and female finishers in the 50 mile race.

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After a few run-ins with way too much litter on the trail, I was inspired to write an essay about it for Ultrarunning Magazine.

You can read it in the September issue, which should be in your mailbox by now.

You’ve got a few hours to kill so you find your way to a favorite trail. You lace up your shoes, grab a water bottle, and disappear down the single track. Fir needles and dirt crunch under your feet as the troubles you took home from work slip your mind. You relax into the run and your breaths come easier.

Then you round a bend and see something crumpled on the ground next to the trail: the spent wrapper of an energy gel. Instinctively, you touch the pocket in your shorts and feel for the gels you’ve packed along for the run. You no longer feel so much a part of nature as you feel a part of a dysfunctional family.

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Aaron Mulder and Quintin Barney work their way up to the Devil's Thumb aid station. (SRN photo)

With a race as long and challenging as the Western States Endurance Run, it is hard to strip it down to the essential kernel of a story that everyone should know.

Every single runner, finisher and non-finisher alike, has a compelling story to tell–about the race itself or the long journey that brought them to the starting line at Squaw Valley.

An astonishing field was assembled, the weather was perfect for running fast times, and records were destroyed.

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If you are pacing someone this weekend, you might want to check out this great write-up by Tim Long on the rules of pacing. Not really rules, per se, but more like guidelines.

One of the most selfless acts a human can perform is pacing another person in an ultrarunning event. Mother Teresa never paced, nor did any of the popes.

Good stuff! Read it (parts I and part II) and you’ll be ready to tackle this challenge!

The Countdown: (L-R) Luis Alvarez, R.D. Greg Soderlund, Assistant R.D. Craig Thornley, and Mike Saling are getting ready for the big day. (From the WS Facebook page)

Of all the many races in the region, there is only one of international importance: The Western States Endurance Run.

Even though there are bigger races, and faster courses, the Western States 100 has history and prestige by the bucket-full.

The race gets more media coverage than any other in the region.

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