Sacramento Running News

Charlie Brenneman (left) and the author show off their Urban Cow trophies. (SRN photo)

If races have seasons, then we’re definitely in the middle of road half marathon season. October has already seen the Urban Cow, Humboldt Redwoods (part of the PAUSATF Road Grand Prix), and Folsom Blues Breakout.

Next weekend, you have a choice between the Clarksburg Country Run, or the new Run the Parkway Half, hosted by the Sacramento Running Association.

It’s hard to imagine that SRA isn’t directly targeting the Clarksburg events since they are offering similar 20 mile and 5 km distances alongside a more competitive half marathon.

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John Blue will be leading the 1:30 pace group at Urban Cow this year.

I’m excited to announce I’ll be back pacing at the Urban Cow Half Marathon this Sunday, October 6.

If you are looking to run a 1:30 race, I’ll be your guide.

Race Director Rich Hanna says it’ll be the fifth time I’ve paced this event (including a time or two when this race had a full marathon), and I have a history of hitting my goal times quite accurately.

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I couldn’t help myself.

It looks a lot easier with a groovy sound track. I hope you enjoy it.

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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Whoops!

When I took up the challenge of this website, one of my early decisions was that it wasn’t going to be about me.

However, since I did promise you all that I’d be pacing the 1:40 group at this Sunday’s Urban Cow Half Marathon, I figured I owe it to you to let you know I’ve had to back out of that commitment.

I seem to have injured myself pretty seriously last week and will probably not be running for several weeks–much less by next weekend. (In case you are curious, it looks like a ruptured tendon in my foot.)

I’ve enjoyed being a pacer and helping other runners achieve their goals at this event and feel bad about leaving them and Urban Cow race management in a lurch. Race management is scrambling to find someone to fill this role and I have no doubt they will find someone by race day. I just won’t be me.

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John Blue will be leading the 1:40 pace group at Urban Cow this year.

The pace leaders for the Urban Cow Half Marathon have been posted! Once again, I’ll be setting the pace for the 1:40 group so be sure to say “Hello” if you’re out there.

I’ll be the one holding a big sign that says “1:40.” It’s hard to miss.

In case you’re wondering, last year, leading this same pace group, I finished in 1:39:48.

So if you are planning to run 1:40 at Urban Cow, or maybe 1:39:48, then I’m your guy. It’ll be great.

This past Sunday,  Paul Ngeny of Auburn (by way of Kenya) came to town and ran away with a commanding win of the now officially huge Urban Cow Half-Marathon.

Ngeny’s time of 1:07:51 was announced as a new course record, leaving this reporter confused as the race’s website lists Dennis Rinde’s 1982 course record as 1:05:38. (We promise to post an update when we figure this out.)

UPDATE: Race Director Rich Hanna explains that Dennis Rinde’s record is the “Race Record” set on the old Sacramento marathon course, but Ngeny’s time is the new course record for the Cowtown/Urban Cow course.

Following up in second and third were Chad Worthen of Sacramento and Ben Deland of Pleasanton, who finished in 1:13:17 and 1:14:35, respectively.

In the women’s race, masters runners dominated with Midori Sperandeo, of Folsom, picking up the win in 1:20:17, and Jenny Hitchings, of Sacramento, coming in second with 1:23:34.

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John Blue finishing up his pacing of the 2008 Cowtown Marathon

If you are planning to run the Urban Cow Half Marathon this year, you should know the fees go up on September 27th.

In case you’ve been living under a rock or somewhere far outside the Sacramento Metroplex, Urban Cow is the new name for the race that had been known as the Cowtown Half.

The owners of the other Cowtown Marathon got pissy with our race just being generally better, if for no other reason than our race is in Sacramento and not Fort Worth.

Lawyers, or the threat of lawyers, got involved and suddenly it is the Urban Cow Half Marathon. You can read the story behind all the name changes right here on the event’s history page.

If you were maybe sitting on the fence, and were trying to decide whether or not you had the fortitude to run this thing somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:40, you can join me, John Blue, as I lead this epic pace group.

There will be other pacers there, and maybe their pace is more what you were looking for, but I guarantee you that I will make many dumb jokes and do my best to get you in by 1:40.