Sacramento Running News

By Ellen Moore

The seventh annual Super Sunday Run started with live music, footballs tossed around and a pair of kids’ races to set the tone for a fun, festive day.

More than 2,500 runners participated in the event, organized by the Sacramento Running Association (SRA) and presented by California Family Fitness. At the end of the event, participants celebrated with a tailgate party featuring free food and beer, yard games, a portable video game truck featuring Madden 2015 and a bounce house for the kids, before the Denver Broncos-Carolina Panthers showdown.

In between, athletes of all shapes, sizes and affiliations covered the 10k and 5k courses before descending on Sacramento State University’s Hornet Stadium for the end zone finish.

Chico’s Nicholas Spector and Rocklin’s Melissa Penwell captured 10k titles and Davis’ Chris Tyson and Oakland’s Tori Tyler took home 5k honors on a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning.

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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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The author running at wet Boston Marathon (Photo courtesy of Daniel Weintraub)

By Daniel Weintraub

Three days post-Boston, and my shoes are finally dry. I can walk down stairs without much trouble. I am feeling mostly recovered from the Marathon. But I am still not quite recovered  from the post-Marathon partying. I had not trained for that. I partied hard Monday night (i.e. four or five drinks — that’s hard for me) with Jenny Hitchings, Galen Farris, Abe Weintraub, Stephanie Ward, and Angel and Steve Simpson, friends of mine from Michigan.

Most of what happens in Boston stays in Boston, but I can say I enjoyed watching Galen announcing Jenny’s first place age group triumph to everyone we met in the bars and then seeing the normally modest Jenny take selfies with her new fans and tell her story over and over. She was doing everything but signing autographs on people’s calves. I was proud of her.

I had no such hopes for glory in Boston this year. But I was on a mission of my own. A year ago I ran my first Boston Marathon in 3:01:15, narrowly missing my goal of breaking three hours. I was on track to break three last year until my quads, thrashed by the course’s persistent but underrated down hills, locked up in the final few miles and my pace slowed to a relative crawl.

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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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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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Laura Matz hams it up for the camera. (Photo by Abe Underwood)

Braving unseasonably warm weather–some might even say it was hot–several hundred runners gathered for the 39th annual Buffalo Stampede and the 18th annual Parrott Migration, this past Sunday.

The Stampede is the race and the Migration is a fun-run, which starts an hour earlier to give the slower runners more time to finish the course.

Starting and finishing at Rio American High School, the flat, ten-mile course winds through one of the region’s better neighborhoods, and includes some short out-and-back sections where you can see who’s in front and who’s behind you.

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Ellie Greenwood is all smiles after 40 miles. (SRN photo)

This past Saturday, under ideal conditions, some of the best runners in the world gathered in Sacramento for one of North America’s largest ultras.

This was the first time in several years that the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run was not part of the Montrail Cup. As a result, the depth of talent at the front of the race was not quite as robust as we’ve come to expect and yet there were still some extraordinary times.

Although the race was won by New Zelander Vajin Armstrong in a respectable time of 5:53:32, the star of the show was the Scottish/Canadian Ellie Greenwood.

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Meghan Arbogast on her way to a new American age group record for 50 miles. (SRN Photo)

If you were looking for a top finish at this weekend’s Jed Smith Ultra Classic, you’d better have brought your “A game” because some of the country’s top talent was there throwing down.

There are many (many!) ultras in California and they are all, for the most part, pretty long. Some of them are known to be beautiful. Others are popular, mountainous, hot, sadistic, and sometimes famously hard to get into. Jed Smith has always been about speed.

The Jed Smith Ultra Classic, put on by the Buffalo Chips for the past 34 years, includes three events–a 30km, a 50km, and a 50 mile race. They are all run on an accurately measured, 4.85 mile loop course along the American River that is ideal for setting records and running 100k team qualifying times–as long as the weather on the first day in February is fine.

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Hitchings nearing the finish at the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville

This morning, Sacramento’s Jenny Hitchings won the Huntsville, Alabama Rocket City Marathon.

After a near miss earlier this year in Eugene (2:46:10), Hitchings was aiming for an Olympic Trials qualifying time at last weekend’s CIM.

Fairly early in the race, she was off pace and knew it was not going to happen, so she dropped at the half-marathon point. Later that day, she joked a bit with me about finding another marathon to run the following weekend, before the qualifying window closes.

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The place to be on the Friday afternoon before CIM is the Convention Center. There is something magical about being at the Expo when it is only filled with volunteers and vendors. It’s fun seeing the booths decorated, and bib numbers and goody bags  being set out in expectation of the crush of nervous runners that will begin pouring in when the doors open.

Good luck everyone! It looks like its going to be a perfect day.

Vendors get ready for the big rush.

A hardworking Expo staffer.

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