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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Tim and Lindsay Tollefson before the 2012 Trials (Photo courtesy Tim Tollefson)

By John Schumacher

Tim and Lindsay Tollefson headed into the 2013 California International Marathon hoping to record qualifying times for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.

The couple might have achieved something else last December during the 26.2-mile race from Folsom to the state Capitol: a Guinness World Record.

The Tollefsons’ combined time of 5 hours – he ran 2:18:29, she finished in 2:41:31 — appears to be the fastest marathon run by a married couple in the same event. Guinness lists Kenta and Norika Soto of Japan as the current record holders for fastest married couple, aggregate time, with a 5:28:23 mark.

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Kirsten Schneider on the way to a 50K win. (Photo courtesy of Gold Rush 100K)

McDonald, Schneider earn Gold Rush 50k victories

By John Schumacher

Paulo Medina and Jen Pfeifer took the long way home to individual titles and Mike McDonald and Kirsten Schneider ran point-to-point for their victories on a pleasant, picturesque Saturday in the second annual Gold Rush 100k/50k.

Orangevale’s Medina won the men’s 100k, completing the course that began and ended in historic Folsom in 10 hours, 6 minutes and 2 seconds. He ran conservatively for most of the course that followed the American River and Folsom Lake into the foothills before catching leader Brian Miller of El Dorado Hills with 12 miles to go and pulling away.

Miller finished second for the second consecutive year, this time in 10:22:56.

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You still have a chance to get in!

By John Schumacher

A two-week registration window for the California International Marathon opens Tuesday for a select group of runners.

Those with times within five minutes of Boston Marathon qualifying standards are guaranteed entry from Oct. 1-Oct. 15. The entry fee is $130.

The race, founded by the Sacramento Running Association and set for December 8th, reached its 8,000-runner cap last month and has closed general registration.

A handful of charity entries are still available for $250 each, with 100 percent of the money going to the SRA’s youth fitness programs. Part of the entry fee may be tax deductible. (Editor’s note: As always, consult with your tax adviser regarding the deductablity of anything.)

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Hold on to your hats and bust out your favorite running shorts because next Wednesday (June 5th) is National Running Day!

I know. I know. Every day is ‘Running Day,’ but next week is ‘National Running Day’ so the entire country is required to run a little bit.

This even includes that neighbor of yours who always yells “Run Forest!” out the window of his Expedition as you pass each other during your morning run. Don’t be surprised to hear him ask you if he can borrow some Body Glide, but you are permitted to politely decline his request.

If you want to join a bunch of your fellow Sacramento runners, you can celebrate the day with the Sacramento Running Association by running a five mile, scenic loop along the American River. (This is coincidentally the same loop used for the Jed Smith Ultra Classic.)

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Kim Conley leading the field. at this year’s XC Nationals (Photo by Clay Shaw)

By John Schumacher

Olympian Kim Conley, who runs for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, earned a spot in the World Cross Country Championships with a second-place finish Saturday in the U.S. Cross Country Championships in St. Louis.

Conley, a former UC Davis standout, ran with winner Shalane Flanagan for six kilometers in the 8k race before Flanagan pulled ahead in the final 2,000 meters. Flanagan finished in 25 minutes and 49 seconds, with Conley crossing the line in 26:06 and Deena Kastor grabbing third in 26:41.

“It was very fun to race Shalane for as long as I did as she is someone I have looked up to for many years,” said Conley, who joins the U.S. team heading to Bydgoszcz, Poland for the world championships on March 24.

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Kim Conley (Photo courtesy of the SRA)

Former UC Davis standout Kim Conley, who now runs for the Sacramento Running Association’s Elite Team, ran a personal best Tuesday in the first round of the women’s 5,000 meters at this year’s Olympic Games, but failed to advance to the final.

Conley finished 12^th in the second heat with a time of 15: 14.48–well ahead of her 15:19.79 previous best set six weeks ago at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene.

Conley’s teammates Julie Culley and Molly Huddle both advanced to the final, which will be run on Friday and shown at some completely random time on NBC.

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World Masters Athletics Championships, 2011 (SRN photo)

Wouldn’t it be fun to put on a pair of track spikes? Why not try something a little different this summer?

If you are not running for a school, it can sometimes be hard to find a track meet in the area. Fortunately for us, there are at least a couple of options in the Sacramento region.

If you are at least 35 years old, you should check out the Western States International Invitational. It’s held in Davis and runs from June 29th through July 1st.

If you are looking for something a little more low-key, the Sacramento Running Association is hosting a series of All-Comers meets starting on June 14th.

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Registration closes at midnight tonight!

This past spring, I was visiting Washington D.C. and asked the hotel concierge for suggestions on where to run the next morning.

“Well,” she said. “A lot of people run around the Mall, but the Cherry Blossom Run is tomorrow and it might be crowded.”

“Oh!” I said. “A race! Maybe I could run that.”

I could see the smirk form on her face before she looked up from the map she was doodling on.

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