Sacramento Running News

Chris Knorzer is the Masters Men’s Champion (SRN photo)

On a lonely stretch of the Avenue of the Giants, in Humboldt County, hundreds of Northern California’s fastest runners met up for the Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon, a PAUSATF grand prix event and the PAUSATF Half Marathon Championship.

For a half marathon run through the scenic but empty redwood forest, the times are typically remarkably fast, and this year was no exception.

Largely running alone, San Luis Obispo’s Sean Davidson, 23, outran the field with a 1:05:21 performance.

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Ashley Carroll powers to the win at the Willow Hills XC Open (SRN photo)

Did you run cross country in high school and now miss the sport? Or did you never run cross country but wonder what it would be like?

Even if the rosy glow of youth is long behind you, you can still get in on the fun at some fast, local races. Prices are low, so don’t expect bands or swag bags, just good times and fierce competition.

Folsom was the place for the 5th Annual Willow Hill Cross Country Open, this past Saturday. This race is ably hosted by the Buffalo Chips Running Club and is part of the PAUSATF Cross Country Grand Prix, so top runners throughout Northern California were out in force and winning times on the hilly 5 Km were fast.

The women’s race was first to run, and the Impalas’ Ashley Carroll, 32, ran away from SRA’s Lea Wallace, 26, in the last mile to win in a time of 18:09. Wallace finished second in 18:19. Ibet Allan, 38, running for West Valley Track Club, was third with an 18:40 finish.

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For as long as most of us can remember, you could count on a couple of things for about this time of year: the first of the Tule Fog and a long road race in Clarksburg.

The distances have changed a bit over the years (20 mile, 30 Km, etc.) but the Clarksburg Country Run has remained a Valley fixture.

Over those years, race distances have been added and there are now 5K, 10K, half marathon, and 20-mile races. Currently, the most competitive race is the half marathon. It is one of the Pacific Association USATF grand prix events and draws fast runners from throughout Northern California.

Winning the half marathon in a pretty speedy 1:05:40 was Daniel Tapia, 26, who is running for the SRA Elite. About 90-seconds back, also running for SRA Elite, was Kevin Pool, 29, who finished in 1:07:14. Miguel Nuci, 33, finished third in 1:07:31, making it a clean sweep for the SRA Elite men.

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You are probably by now aware that the Olympic Marathon trials were held in Houston this past Saturday.

During your long run this morning, you may have asked your running buddies something like, “I wonder how that woman from our club did? I think her name is Susan. Or maybe it’s Suzanne. I’m not quite sure but, you know, she’s has kind of brown hair and is kind of skinny? You know who I’m talking about?”

No. I don’t know, but I did look through the results and tried to pick out as many locals as I could find and collected their results here.

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The leaders of the open men's race at around 1.6 miles. (Photo by Craig Newport)

In Folsom last Saturday, the hills were alive with the sound of running. The weather was ideal for a day outside, so why not a little cross country?

The 3rd Annual Buffalo Chips’ Willow Hills XC Open saw runners from all over northern California join local racers for this Pacific Association of the USA Track and Field Grand Prix event.

There were three 5K races making up the event: Women (for open and masters women), Masters Men, and Open Men.

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Kevin Pool gets the win. (SRN Photo)

It always seems like summer is finally winding down when cross country races pop up on the calendar.

This year, for your running pleasure, there are three PAUSATF Grand Prix cross country races in the Sacramento area. These races are quite competitive as they draw talented runners from across Northern California.

It was a little hot, but there was a good crowd on hand as The River City Rebels hosted the first of these races today in Granite Regional Park: the First Annual Rebels XC Challenge

Today’s race followed the usual format, with separate races for women, masters men, and open men. For this race, the women ran 5K and the men ran 7K.

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