Sacramento Running News

Iain Mickle named Athlete of the Year.

Iain Mickle Earns Athlete of the Year Honors

By John Schumacher

Sally Edwards, co-founder of the California International Marathon and Fleet Feet Sports, headlined a group of six inductees joining the Sacramento Running Association’s Hall of Fame Saturday night.

Edwards, talented ultramarathoner Bill Finkbeiner, legendary Jesuit High School coach Walt Lange, Jesuit distance aces Eric and Mark Mastalir and former Masters running standout Jim O’Neil were honored at the SRA’s third annual Hall of Fame and Annual Achievement Awards dinner at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento.

Standout Masters runner Iain Mickle was honored as the SRA’s Athlete of the Year.

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Tim Tollefson powers up the hill for the win. (Photo by www.painani.org)

The Pacific Association’s cross country series started last weekend in Santa Cruz, but the first local race of the season was at Ancil Hoffman on Saturday.

Runners at the 4th Annual Rebels XC Challenge–hosted by the River City Rebels–enjoyed picture-perfect weather and a classic turf and trail course through the rolling hills around Ancil Hoffman Park.

As usual, the PA series event included three races: women, masters men (40+), and open men.

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I don’t know about you, but I was pretty happy to see Meb Keflezighi win at Boston–running out in front for miles and miles before anyone, finally (too late) took him seriously.

It was also thrilling to see Shalane Flanagan pulling the women out to a record pace, forcing the top women to pay dearly if they wanted to go along for the ride. I was sorry she faded, but super impressed at her run, just the same.

Here is a great analysis of the race, putting the women’s record setting race and the men’s upset into perspective.

The news that the top-American runners worked together to help another American win (and many earn personal bests for themselves) was also pretty sweet and a sign that American distance running is maturing.

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There is a magic place, up on the top of California, where majestic giant redwoods tip-toe down the hillsides to peek at the Eel River as she lifts her skirts and dances out to the Pacific Ocean.

And every year, Northern California’s finest runners, and a bunch of the rest of us, line up there under the canopy of redwoods for the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon and Half Marathon.

The half marathon is part of the PAUSATF road grand prix, so many of Northern California’s top road racers make the long trek up to the great green north for this out-of-the-way event.

If you make the drive to the Humboldt Marathon and Half Marathon, or its spring-time sister race, the Avenue of the Giants, don’t expect cheering crowds or convenient lodging. But you can expect a fast and scenic run through one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

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Iain Mickle (#241) leads the Masters Men’s race. (Photo courtesy of Sean Dulany/Freeplay Magazine)

In Saturday’s first Pacific Association race–the women’s 5K–Lindsay Tollefson made it three years in a row with her win at Rebel’s XC Challenge, at Granite Park.

Tollefson, 28, of Roseville, took first with a 17:34 over Tanya Ferreira, 24, of Watsonville, who finished second in 17:58.

The third woman finisher was Madeline Kramer, 26, of Oakland, who brought it home in 18:00.

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The Rebels’ Marcelo Lerda works for the Masters win. (Photo by Sean Dulany)

The first race of the Pacific Association USATF Road Race Grand Prix took place this past Saturday in Redding, with the running of the  John Frank Memorial NorCal 10 Mile.

The race is a hilly and scenic out-and-back along the Sacramento River, finishing at Lake Redding Park. (If you ever figure out where the lake is at Lake Redding Park, let me know.)

The overall winner was the Aggies’ Phillip Reid, of San Luis Obisbo, who clocked an impressive 50:18 on this challenging course.  Finishing second was West Valley Track Club’s Alex Varner, of San Francisco, with a 50:28. Varner’s WVTC teammate, Malcolm Richards, also of San Francisco, finished third in 50:47.

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Masters men lead pack at Willow Hills XC (Photo by Craig Newport)

While you are no doubt aware there are thousands of dedicated road racers in the area, you may not realize there is also a smaller group of dedicated cross country runners churning up the turf at local and regional cross-country races.

For adults in Northern California, the major cross country grand prix is organized by the Pacific Association of the USA Track and Field. These are extremely competitive races–particularly in the open divisions.

In the 2011 Pacific Association’s Cross Country Grand Prix, the River City Rebels men remained a force in the region with many in the top ten.

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The end of 2011 is upon us so it’s time to check out the results of the major road race series/grand prix that local runners compete in.

Local

We’ll start with Sacramento’s own Buzz Oates RunSac Race Series. This year-long series of local races is a points competition with over $7,000 in prize money and bonuses. Points are earned based on age-graded performances in more than a dozen top Sacramento-area road races. There are awards for team and individual competition, and in 2011, there were several hundred individuals and eight local teams vying for the prize money.

The top placing individuals for 2011 were Janice Kesterson, 57, running for the Buffalo Chips, and Terry Baucom, 54, running for Fleet Feet Racing.

Second and third individual women were Karen Jeffers, 48, with the River City Rebels, and Stacey Worthen, 38, running for Fleet Feet Racing.

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Runners are off at the Run to Break the Silence (Photo by Randy Wehner)

This last couple of weekends have been crowded with races!

The biggest (and most competitive) local event this past weekend was easily Saturday evening’s Run to Break the Silence 5K.

Folsom’s Camron Shahmirzadi was the big winner there, in 16:30. He was followed in by Chad Worthen, of Sacrmento, in 16:43, and Jason Harne, of Folsom, in 16:45.

The first woman was Gina Dayton, of Sacramento, in 20:11. Hot on her heels was Karen Jeffers, of Wheatland, in 20:17, and finishing up in a close race for third was Kelly Wisnicky, of Fair Oaks, in 20:37.

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Kirsten Schneider finishes 3rd at the Women's Fitness 5K. Photo courtesy of Randy Wehner.

There has been a lot of racing going on around here! With all the rain and mud we’ve been slogging through, it’s hard to believe that this is the beginning of the summer, short-distance race season–but it is.

At Sunday’s Kaiser Permanente Women’s Fitness Festival 5K, Caroline Kirui, of Auburn (by way of Kenya), smoked all comers with a 16:26. This was surely one of the fastest women’s 5K times we’ve seen in town lately.

Rounding out the rest of the top-three were two of Sacramento’s top masters talents–Mary Coordt, of Elk Grove, was the second finisher in 17:45, and Kirsten Schneider, of Sacramento, was third in 18:24.

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