Sacramento Running News

It’s unseasonably cold outside and you’re looking for motivation to go for a run.

You could bust out that Sweatin’ to the Oldies DVD. Or, you could entertain yourself by watching cats run on a treadmill.

Suit yourself!

Last weekend, at the 2011 Payton Jordan Invitational, the Hornets’ Lea Wallace ran the second fastest collegiate 1500 meters of the season in 4:11.31.

You can go watch Wallace as she runs the 800 and 1500 meters at this weekend’s Big Sky Conference Championships. (You really should.)

In the meantime, you can check out this Flowtrack Workout Wednesday video of one of Wallace’s last training sessions before Payton Jordan, and see a little of Hornets’ coach Scott Abbott, too!

Watch more videos on Flotrack

About a month ago, when talking about the Hornets prospects for the rest of the season, distance coach Scott Abbott promised big things for 800 meter runner Lea Wallace. He noted that at the time, “Lea Wallace was the number one ranked half-miler in the nation at 2:03.07.”

Well, Wallace has since improved on that time with a 2:02.95 at the Mondo Mid-Major Challenge, setting a school record in the process. Wallace’s time also maintains her standing the nation’s fastest in the 800, and sets her up as the one to beat at this year’s NCAA Champs.

We’ll be looking forward to seeing what she can do at the NCAA Div I Championships in June.

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Every once in a while you stumble on something so sublime that it seems to make the world a just a little bit better.

I have watched this video at least ten times, and each time I find it puts me in a good mood. I’m not certain why, but maybe it’s because this hits that sweet-spot of being ridiculous and beautiful all at the same time. It is comedy without cruelty.

The woman runner, Veronica Torr, is clearly a gifted athlete, and clearly a great sport.

Enjoy!

On Friday at the Standford Invitational, Sac State Hornet freshman Reesey Byers, of Santa Rosa, ran his first collegiate 5000 meters, and broke a long-standing school record in the process.

In an early heat, Byers ran comfortably in the middle of the chase pack for much of the race, breaking away late to chase down the leaders and the school record.

“Reesey ran a very smart race, running with control early on, and then really being aggressive in the latter stages, which is the proper way to run high level races like Stanford Invitational,” said Hornets Coach Scott Abbott.  “What most impressed me was how he handled himself in the final 400 meters.  He made a strong move with about a mile to go to catch the leaders, and then ended up backsliding a little in the final kilometer and looked like he may have been dead in the water heading into the final lap. But, he dug deep and ran with a lot of heart over the last lap and competed very hard, and that ended up being the difference between a good race and what turned out to be a great race.”

Byers’ 14:19.o1 finish time eclipsed Noel Hitchcock’s record 14:22.90 set in 1971. Byers is the first Sacramento State runner to break 4:30 on the 5K since Darrin Slade ran a 14:28.00 in 1989.

It looks like the Hornet men are gearing up for a good track season, as sophomore Daniel Mitchell, of Carmichael, ran a 31-second personal best 14:41.79 in the same meet.

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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.

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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Planning to get married during your next marathon? Check this out!

It was a glorious time for the sport, and for American running, as Joan Benoit ran away with a dominating win at the first women’s Olympic marathon. Her race that day in Los Angeles remains a thing of beauty and inspiration.

In case you don’t know, Joan Benoit Samuelson ran in the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials as a 50-year-old and finished in 2:49:08. (Coincidentally, she finished a few seconds behind local runner Midori Sperandeo, which gave Midori a lot of t.v. time.)

Enjoy!

Some of you seem a little too attached to your Garmin. This is a must see video!

Thanks to Sam for the tip!