Sacramento Running News

Mason Myers deserved a fist bump for his masters win in 2:41:26.

Local Men Dominate

By Mark Winitz

NAPA, Calif. — Two-time Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon winners Chris Mocko and Devon Yanko ascended the winners platform yet again at today’s 37th Annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon.

Mocko, age 28, of Folsom, who previously won the race in 2011 and 2012, emerged victorious in the men’s race with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 6 seconds.

Yanko (née Crosby-Helms), 32, of San Anselmo, dominated the women’s field after previously emerging victorious at the Napa Valley Marathon (NVM) in 2007 and 2012. The winners headed a sold-out field of 3,000 entrants who were greeted by blue skies, little wind, and ideal temperatures in the low-40s rising to around 60 degrees by the 6-hour finish cut-off time.

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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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Your author feeling a little worked after passing the “baton.” (Photo by Abe Underwood)

Each summer, about the time it gets really, really hot in Sacramento, I start to wonder where all these crazy bicyclists on the Parkway have come from. Then someone usually reminds me that Eppies Great Race is around the corner.

Eppies bills itself as “the worlds oldest triathlon.” I can’t tell you if this is true, but I can tell you it is easily the oldest in the area. Non-swimmers love it and traditionalists loathe it because instead of swimming, contestants must paddle a kayak (or some other boat) down the American River from Sunrise to River Bend Park (6.35 miles).

You can do the race as a relay team or “ironperson” style and competitors range from elite to “just off the sofa.” Some individuals and teams come back year after year, for decades on end.

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On Sunday morning, under perfect running conditions, more than 6,000 runners lined up at Raley’s Field in West Sacramento for the start of the 9th Annual Blue Diamond Shamrock’n Half Marathon.

Fresh off his win at the Napa Marathon, Kevin Pool, 30, of Folsom, bested all comers to win in a solid 1:08:23.

Coming in second was Ryan Delgado, 26, of San Francisco, with a time of 1:10:05, and Wesley Szehner, 25, of Sacramento, was third in 1:10:29.

The first woman was a speedy Chantelle Wilder, 27, of Los Gatos, who took it home in 1:17:15.

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Lindsay Tolefson on her way to the win. (Photo credit: Camron Shahmirzadi)

The Rebels XC Challenge kicked off the local adult cross country season yesterday in Granite Park, and competitors enjoyed picture-perfect weather and a challenging course.

The winding trails through Granite Park do not yield a particularly speedy course, but as typical for a PAUSATF cross country race the times were fast and the competition fierce.

The event stuck with the usual PA cross country format, with separate races for women, masters men, and open men, with the women running 5K and the men 7K.

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Barbara Miller shows winning form at last month's Zoo Zoom. (SRN Photo)

Each Memorial Day, Land Park is abuzz with with runners for the popular, age-graded, No Excuses 5Km. There are the usual suspects up at the front of the pack (Styczynski, Schenck, Fadling, Myers, Cruz, etc.), but the real stars of this race are a few minutes back.

The age grading format gives those runners who are precocious or durable a chance to shine.

A couple of years ago, the official race shirt had a list of popular excuses on its back. One of those excuses was “I’m not Barbara Miller.”

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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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Austin Weaver with a comfortable lead before the levee road (SRN photo)

Around 5,000 runners converged on Land Park this morning for the 7th annual running of the Urban Cow Half Marathon and 5Km.

Sacramento’s Austin Weaver took advantage of the cooler weather to put the hurt on all comers, getting the win and a course record with a 1:07:47 finish.

Chad Worthen, also of Sacramento, was the next in at 1:14:37, followed by Carmichael’s Mason Myers in 1:15:24.

Myers was the top masters runner for the men.

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Austin Weaver on his way to the win at Sunday's Buffalo Stampede. (SRN Photo)

Since the dawn of time*, runners have gathered on the 1st Sunday after Labor Day to run the Buffalo Stampede. The race has grown and shrunk again over the years but it remains a “must do race” for the Sacramento running community.

Many locals think of it as the kick-off race for the build up to the California International Marathon, and the weather for this year’s event could hardly have been more perfect.

Several years ago, the Buffalo Chips added a second, non-competitive race for slower runners–now known as the Parrott Migration.

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