Sacramento Running News

Second woman finisher Tera Dube navigates the trails. (Photo by Sean Dulany/Freeplay Magazine)

As we crowded up on the levee near the start line for the 2013 running of the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run, two things were dominating conversations of the old timers: the temperature and the crowd.

It was warm, and it was also humid and still. I spotted a few trash-bag wearers, but most people were lightly dressed—at least for 6:00 AM on an early April morning. It always unnerves me when it’s unseasonably warm at the start of an ultra.

The crowd was huge. There were around 1,100 registered runners in the field, which is much larger than in previous years, and makes this race one of the country’s largest.

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On Sunday, Folsom’s Kevin Pool was supposed to just be running a “training run” in advance of April’s Boston Marathon.

I’m curious at what point he decided to go ahead and push for the win at the 35th Annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon, because at some point he had to have decided to pass and then stay in front of all those other people out there on the course.

On the other hand, San Francisco’s Michelle Meyer, 25, had reportedly set a goal of running a fast time, and possibly earning the women’s win.

At the end of the day, both of them emerged victorious and were crowned Road Runners Club of America National Marathon Champions because the race served as the Road Runners Club of America’s 2013 National Marathon Championship.

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Amy Halseth wins the 50 mile race. (SRN photo)

The green grass and warm sun of spring still seem far away on these cold and damp Valley mornings. But there are harbingers of happier times!

There are occasional, cheerful, sunny afternoons that remind me of how much easier it is on these old bones to run when it’s warmer, and how much easier it is to get out of bed when it’s daylight already when I wake up for work.

One such harbinger of spring is the Jed Smith Ultra Classic, put on by the Buffalo Chips Running Club each February since I was a wee lad in short trousers. (Actually, since 1979.) For as long as I can remember, it has been the first race in the Pacific Associations Ultra Grand Prix.

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Aaron Mulder and Quintin Barney work their way up to the Devil's Thumb aid station. (SRN photo)

With a race as long and challenging as the Western States Endurance Run, it is hard to strip it down to the essential kernel of a story that everyone should know.

Every single runner, finisher and non-finisher alike, has a compelling story to tell–about the race itself or the long journey that brought them to the starting line at Squaw Valley.

An astonishing field was assembled, the weather was perfect for running fast times, and records were destroyed.

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A mob of the usual suspects at the Kaleo 5K. (photo courtesy Capital Road Race Management)

On Saturday morning, a couple hundred of the usual suspects showed up at the Sacramento Sheriff’s Training Academy for the Kaleo 5K.

Sacramento speedster Mike Styczynski made a rare appearance in a local race and ran away with the win in 16:40. The second man in was Folsom’s Daniel Kinsella, who finished in 17:06. The third man in was Sacramento’s Geoff Butler, who finished a couple minutes back in 19:51.

The winning woman in the 5K was 16-year-old Jillian Brown, of Sacramento, who finished in 20:37. Next in was Sacramento’s Christi Cantle, with a 21:45. Rounding out the top-three was Wendy Schmitt, also of Sacramento, who finished in 21:57.

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The dust has finally settled on the Western States Trail. The runners are done with this race until the next time they are “lucky” enough to pin on a Western States 100 race number. The volunteers, many as tired as the runners, have packed up and gone home.

Three hundred and ten runners crossed the finish line at Auburn’s Placer High before the 30-hour time clock ran out. Some were elated. Some were satisfied. Some were disappointed. Another 65-runners called it a day somewhere before they made it to the end.

The reasons for dropping are endless, but doing so is always painful–sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, and usually both.

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