Sacramento Running News

Jane Kibii breaking the tape in here debut win in 2015. Sunday was her third consecutive win at SACTOWM (File Photo courtesy of SRA)

This past Sunday, American Aaron Braun, 29, and returning champion Jane Kibii, 32, bested a strong elite field to win the SACTOWN 10-mile race and claim the $2,000 first prizes.

The SACTOWN event, organized by the Sacramento Running Association and sponsored by credit unions from California and Nevada, raised more than $250,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which includes UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

The race, which emulates the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run held in Washington, D.C. on the same day, has raised more than $1.1 million in the last five years.

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Second place woman Sara Hall and Charlie Brenneman are nearly to the finish of the Sactown 10. (SRN photo)

By Ellen Moore

After setting event records for money raised and runners registered for Sunday’s Credit Union SACTOWN Run, past champions Jordan Chipangama and Jane Kibii kept the momentum going by besting strong elite fields to win 10-mile individual titles and claim the $2,000 first prizes.

As an added bonus, Kibii, a 31-year old Kenya native who has lived in Auburn, set the women’s course record by nearly a minute to take home an additional $500 course record reward.

The SACTOWN event, organized by the Sacramento Running Association and sponsored by credit unions from California and Nevada, raised more than $200,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which includes UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

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To the winners go the non-alcoholic beers. L-R Dereje Abera Ali, Julius Keter, Elisha Barno (Photo credit Alex Chiu)

By Ellen Moore

Kenya’s Elisha Barno made his move after the 20-mile mark, surging ahead of the lead pack at “The Wall” to win the 33rd annual California International Marathon in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 51 seconds on Sunday.

Serkalem Abrha of Ethiopia used a similar strategy, pushing ahead of the lead group and running alone for the last six miles to win the women’s race in 2:31:29.

Much of the drama happened behind the leaders, however, as the chase for the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying mark played out in the women’s race.

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Jane Kibii breaks the tape! (Photo courtesy of SRA)

By John Schumacher

After Timmy Brown and Angela House supplied the early energy for Sunday’s Credit Union SACTOWN Five- and Ten-Mile Run, Jordan Chipangama and Jane Kibii kept the momentum going by besting elite fields to win 10-mile individual titles.

Brown, a 5-year-old brain cancer survivor, ran in the Miracle Mile to start the festivities on a gorgeous day at the state Capitol.

House, a 13-year-old leukemia patient, sang the national anthem before the five-mile run.

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Jane Kibii takes 2nd! (Photo courtesy of Erik Aguilar/Painani.org)

By John Schumacher

Volha Mazuronak’s surge down the stretch produced a women’s course record and Jacob Chemtai’s late move delivered a personal best en route to individual titles on a cool, fast Sunday at the California International Marathon.

Mazuronak, from Belarus, pulled away from Colfax’s Jane Kibii in the final seven miles to win the women’s race in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 33 seconds, shattering the 15-year-old course record of 2:29:21 set by Australian Nickey Carroll.

Chemtai, a Kenyan living in Santa Fe, N.M., dropped Zambia’s Jordan Chipangama and Kenyan Kiplangat Terer in the closing miles to win the men’s race in 2:11:57, the eighth-fastest time in the race’s 32-year history.

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By John Schumacher

A strong group of international runners heads the men’s field while a talented American runner looks like the favorite on the women’s side for the 32^nd annual California International Marathon on Dec. 7.

Kenyans Julius Koskei, Eliud Ngetich and Jacob Chemtai, Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Alemayehu and Zambia’s Jordan Chipangama all appear capable of winning the men’s race and the $10,000 first prize on the 26.2-mile course from near Folsom Dam to the state Capitol.

Koskei, the 2013 CIM runnerup, owns a 2:10:14 personal best, the fastest time in the men’s field. Alemayehu, who lives in Antioch, has run 2:11:18, owns two top-three CIM finishes and is a two-time Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run champion.

Ngetich ran 2:11:59 in 2013 and Chemtai delivered a 2:12:39 performance earlier this year. Chipangama also stood out in 2014 with a 2:12:22 effort.

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Three of the region’s top masters runners (L to R): Terry Baucom, Midori Sperandeo, and a cheering Rich Hanna. (Photo courtesy of Randy Wehner Photography.)

If you had been at the first Run to Feed the Hungry, you’d hardly recognize the massive event it’s grown into during the last two decades.

Ballooning from several hundred to 27,000, it’s become one of the largest races in the country and probably the largest Thanksgiving race period.

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Bryan Hacker and Ronald Hess fly to the finish. (SRN photo)

By John Schumacher

Folsom’s Shadrack Biwott overcame two untied shoes and a short recovery time from a half marathon, pulling away from two-time defending champion Tesfaye Alemayehu in the final 100 yards Sunday to win the fourth annual Credit Union SACTOWN Ten-Mile Run.

West Sacramento’s Kim Conley, a 2012 Olympian, came down from high-altitude training with enough energy to pull away from Auburn’s Jane Kibii in the final three miles to win the women’s title on a pleasant, blue-sky morning in Sacramento.

Biwott and Conley, teammates on the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, each took home $2,400 for their victories in the event, which featured a $15,000 purse and served as USA Track & Field’s Pacific Association Ten-Mile Championship.

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Asics Aggies’ Reyes and SRA’s Kibii prevail at the NorCal 10

The PAUSATF Road Grand Prix kicked off with the NorCal John Frank Memorial 10-Mile today in Redding. For the men, Sergio Reyes, 32, from Los Osos, out-kicked the field to win in an impressive 48:51. Meanwhile, Auburn’s Jane Kibii, 28, won handily amongst the women with a 58:42 finish.

The top local man was Lincoln’s Tim Tollefson, 28, who finished 3rd overall in 51:21.

Full results are here. (more…)

By John Schumacher

Amid the sounds of Johnny Cash, Turlock’s Miguel Nuci and Auburn’s Jane Kibii earned individual honors Saturday in the inaugural Folsom Blues Breakout Half Marathon.

The race, sponsored by the Sacramento Running Association and presented by the city of Folsom, attracted 3,000 runners on a mild, pleasant fall morning.

Cash’s presence was everywhere, from the view of Folsom Prison and the recording of him talking about the grand old flag at the start on Folsom Lake Crossing Bridge to the bands playing his music along the course to the James Garner Johnny Cash cover band at the finish.

Nuci, who runs for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, took the lead five miles into the 13.1-mile race and pulled away to win the men’s title in 1 hour, 9 minutes and 42 seconds. Auburn’s Brad Poore finished second in 1:09:59 and Rocklin’s Charlie Brenneman, another SRA Elite Team member, grabbed third in 1:10:48.

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