caltrack & running news sept-oct 2012

Official Publication of theCalifornia/Northern Nevada

Associations of USATF

Includes the Runner’s Schedule Calendar!

www.caltrack.com

Vict

or S

aile

r/w

ww

.Pho

toRu

n.NE

T

OLYMPIC TRIALSWRAP UP

SHOE REVIEW

ASSOCIATION NEWS & SCHEDULES

CaliforniaTrack&RunningNews

Sept–Oct 2012

VOLUME 38NUMBER 4$3.95

With a huge personal best of 1:44.65, California’sDUANE SOLOMON finished 3rd in the 800m, got the

A standard, and won a spot on the U.S. Olympicteam at the Track & Field Trials in June.

See story on page 14.

PRST STDU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #50

Fort Atkinson, WI

01-32 CTRN-Sept-Oct_sept/oct 2008 8/30/12 11:22 AM

From the Publisher

Publisher recommends, as with all fitness andhealth issues, you consult with your physicianbefore instituting any changes in your fitnessprogram.

Let Us Hear From You!California Track & Running News welcomes your sug-gestions, comments, and questions. Direct them to:

Christine Johnson, Group EditorShooting Star Media, Inc./[email protected]

Address Changes/Missing IssuesThird class mail is not forwarded! Please inform yourlocal USATF association about address changes,duplicate mailings, or missing issues. See page 5 forhow to contact your association for help.

Member of:

CaliforniaTrack&RunningNewsPublisher’s InformationCalifornia Track & Running News (ISDN #1098-6472), incor-porating Pacific Athlete, is the official publication for theUSA Track & Field associations in California and NorthernNevada. It is produced, published, and owned by ShootingStar Me dia, Inc., P.O. Box 67, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538.Christine Johnson, President; Larry Eder, Vice President.

All ad materials and insertion orders should be sent toShooting Star Media, Inc., at the above address.

Publisher assumes no liability for matter printed.Publisher assumes no responsibility or liability for contentof paid advertising and reserves the right to reject paidadvertising. Publisher expects that all claims by advertiserscan be substantiated and that all guarantees will be hon-ored. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authorsand not necessarily those of the Publisher.

Copyright © 2012 by Shooting Star Media, Inc. AllRights Reserved. No part of this publication may be repro -duced in any form without prior written permission of thePublisher. California Track & Running News is solely ownedby Shooting Star Media, Inc.

And the rain came dow.... I loved the 2012 Olympic Trials. It was perhaps, the best one that Ihave every seen, with great, gutty performances like Ashton Eaton’s world record decathlon;Allyson Felix’s screaming 21.68 for 200m that made her the fourth-fastest woman ever at that

distance; and Galen Rupp’s win in the 5000m that showed Americans can run competitively at thedistances.

Then, one month later in London, the U.S. laid claim to 29 medals! Among them, 1–2 in thetriple jump by Christian Taylor and Will Claye; a WR in the 4x100m by the U.S. women; and Rupptaking silver in the 10,000m behind his training partner, Mo Farah, who also won the 5000m.

The U.S. men took 4th and 5th in the WR-setting 800m, silver and 4th in the 1500m, 6th inthe steeplechase, 4th and 7th in the 5000m, and silver in the 10,000m. All four relays medaled: twogolds and two silvers. The men’s 4x100m broke the AR twice, with a 37.38 in the heats, and a 37.04in the spine-tingling final.

U.S. women took silver in the 100m, gold in the 200m, gold and bronze in the 400m, silver inthe 400mH and the high jump, gold and bronze in the long jump, and gold in the pole vault. Of spe-cial note is Shannon Rowbury’s 6th in the 1500m, the best-ever finish by a U.S. woman in that race,and Michelle Carter’s 5th in the shot put, the best place by a U.S. woman since 1960!

The 2012 Olympics ended with Meb Keflezighi coming from 20th place to finish 4th in themarathon, eight years after his silver medal finish in Athens.

So, what do we learn from 70,000 fans in the mornings and 80,000 each evening? Track & Fieldis universal: it’s running, jumping, and throwing. Not only do I see many events live, I also watch theTV coverage. Most of the time, the Eurosport broadcast or BBC is much better than the U.S. broad-cast. Why? We don’t introduce the field, we don’t show splits, we don’t get inside the racing, jumping,or throwing.

But our problems in this sport are solvable. As Max Siegel, CEO of USATF, told me at theMarathon Majors reception for the men’s marathon: “Anytime one of us wins in this sport, we all win.Let’s focus on the good we are doing.”

For the latest news, “like” us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CaliforniaTrackRunningNews) andfollow us on Twitter (@caltrackrn). To see our event coverage, sign up on www.runblogrun.com for ourdaily newsletter. See you soon.

Regards,

Larry Eder

CaliforniaTrack&RunningNews

Volume 38, Number 4September–October 2012

Group PublisherLarry Eder

Group & Coordinating EditorChristine Johnson, [email protected]

Contributing EditorsCregg Weinmann Apparel, Footwear Reviews

Dave Shrock Community CollegesMark Winitz Northern CaliforniaKees & Sandy Tuinzing Calendar

PhotographersVictor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.net

Wayne JonessEric Barron

Irene Herman

Association ConsultantsJohn Mansoor Pacific

Lawrence Watson CentralWayne Joness Southern

Mike Rouse San Diego/Imperial

ProofreaderRed Ink Editorial Services, Madison, WI

Pre-Press/PrinterW. D. Hoard & Sons Co., Fort Atkinson, WI

WebsiteChuck Bartlett

[email protected]

ADVERTISINGPublisher

Larry Eder, Shooting Star Media, Inc.phone: 608.239.3785

fax: [email protected]

Publisher’s RepresentativeDavid Parham517.914.3181

[email protected]

Advertising Production ManagerAlex Larsen

CounselPhilip J. Bradbury

Melli Law, S.C.Madison, WI

w w w. c a l t r a c k . c o m

s e p t e m b e r – o c t o b e r 2 0 1 2 • c t & r n 3


KSW

ISS.

CO

M/B

LAD

ES

BLA

DE-

MA

X ST

AB

LE

Your

soc

ial l

ife w

ill b

e a

mes

s, b

irthd

ays

will

be

mis

sed

and

you

will

sto

p

bein

g in

vite

d ou

t. Its

pro

gres

sive

cus

hion

ing

adap

ts to

you

r run

, you

r spe

ed,

whi

le g

ivin

g yo

u a

grea

t rid

e. It

will

con

vinc

e yo

u to

car

e ab

out n

othi

ng

but r

unni

ng. T

his

shoe

is e

very

thin

g yo

u w

ant y

our d

aily

runn

ing

shoe

to b

e.


The Basics3 From the Publisher9 The Runner’s Schedule Calendar22 Running Network’s Shoe Review

Departments6 Regional USATF Association News11 Regional Association Event Schedules:

Grand Prix and Championships14 USA Olympic Trials Wrap-Up25 Long Distance Running30 Race Walking

Cal Track & Running News Sept–Oct 2012

At the U.S. Olympic Trials, California’s WILL CLAYEclaimed an Olympic team spot in both the long and

triple jumps. See story on page 14.

California Track & Running News is a magazine for members ofthe California and N. Nevada associa tions of USA Track & Field.Contact your region regarding changes of address and missingissues.

Central California Association: [email protected] Association: 916.983.4715 or [email protected] Diego/Imperial Association: 619.275.6542 or

[email protected] California: 562.941.2621 or [email protected]

tents

Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w.Ph

otoR

un.N

ET


CA

LIFO

RN

IAA

vaila

ble

at:


Association News

The Pacific Association is an awesome commu-nity. We awarded 27 elite training grants toLDR and track & field athletes in January andFebruary of this year. Some of the athletes haveparticipated in our board of athletics meetingsand communicated their thanks and apprecia-tion via email and cards. For the last two years,Rachel Longfors has sent lovely thank youcards. And when I bumped into YosefGhebray, a grant awardee, at the recentmileTrial USA in June, he said, “I love the PA.”

In 2012, we awarded approximately$20,000 in elite training grants timed with theOlympic Trials. These grants pay for travel,massages, coaches, transportation, etc. Weunderstand the dedication and sacrifices theseathletes make to achieve success, and thesegrants defray some of those expenses. Checkour website (www.PAUSATF.com) to learnabout all the other opportunities for grants.

The Association Athlete DevelopmentProgram (AADP) for LDR is also available eachyear. The chairs select the races in our LDR cir-cuit that qualify. If you’re interested, pleasecheck with one of our board of athletic con-tacts: Tyler Abbott, Ashley Grosse, or LloydStephenson.

Our new marketing chair, John Rembao,is busy working on two bids for national events.He will serve as meet director for our 2014

Cross Country ClubN a t i o n a lChampionship bid.Tim Wason will beour technical direc-tor. We hope thatthe Cross Countryselection committeewill agree that SanFrancisco is a desti-nation city. Rembaois also executivedirector of themileTrial, USA forCharity. The benefi-ciary of this event isWounded Warriors.

Another ofJohn’s positions isthe meet director ofour bid for the 2013–14 Paralympics. We’regoing to offer two venues for the Paralympiccommittee to consider: College of San Mateoand San Jose City College. This bid is in linewith the grant that our Association received lastyear from the national office giving the PA themarketing seed money to promote ourPhysically Challenged LDR circuit. 2012 is thesecond year of this circuit. Our CaliforniaInternational Marathon has a visually impairedcategory. Please let your friends in these sportcategories know that the PA has competitionopportunites for them. George Rehmet is theDisabled Athlete chair and Charlie Sheppard isour Disabled Athlete Youth chair. Their email

addresses are on the PA website.Our association cross country season

begins in August, so be sure your registration iscurrent! Remember that this year, the GoldenGate Park race has exchanged places withanother race on the schedule, so it’s always agood idea to double-check information onlineso that you’re aware of any last-minute changes.

September is the annual meeting for theBoard of Athletics. A major action item at thismeeting will be the selection of sport commit-tee representatives and delegates to the NationalConvention in Daytona Beach, Florida, wherewe’ll have the opportunity to meet Max Siegel,USATF’s new CEO.

President’sMessage

FROM IRENE [email protected]

Pacific

6 c t & r n • s e p t e m b e r – o c t o b e r 2 0 1 2

l–r Irene Herman,starter Gerald Collette,

and John Rembao atmileTrial USA

BY GINA MERCHANT

Summer Nights Series, Event 1Cathedral Catholic; June 6

For the third year in a row, the San Diego-Imperial USATF Association sponsored the SanDiego Summer Nights Track & Field Series.The four-event series features an abbreviatedline-up of hurdles, sprint, long sprint, mid-dis-tance, and distance running events, plus shotput, long jump, and high jump. These all-com-ers meets attract a range of abilities and ages—the only prerequisite being a love for all thingstrack & field. This passion was on display at thefirst meet of the series on June 6 at Cathedral

Catholic High School in Del Mar. Fathers wereoverheard encouraging their daughters in theirfirst-ever track meet, masters competed along-side high school athletes, and a number of kids’races displayed fantastic competition.Participants’ and fans’ experiences were alsoenriched by the presence and words of wisdomfrom San Diego Olympians such as Steve Scottand Tonie Campbell.

In the Steve Scott Mile, Torrey Pines HSathlete Tal Braude won easily in a time of4:21.9, followed by Yale Bulldog alum MuratKayali in 4:35.5. Prado Racing Team’s DanFarmer almost overtook Kayali, crossing theline in 4:35:9 for third. The women’s mileplayed out similarly, as Prado Racing Team’sGina Merchant finished in 5:15.2, followed byher teammate Hilary Corno (5:28.5) andCeleste Arambulo (5:28.8).

The finish of the Thom Hunt 5000 wasmore spread out, with Mesa College’s DylanMarx crossing the finish line far in front of hiscompetitors in 14:45. Second place went toUCLA alum Marco Anzures (15:17), andthird went to Cuyamaca College’s Ryan Lawler(16:08).

The Monique Henderson 400 had somefast running as well, with Granite Hills HSgraduate Taylor Schneider finishing in 48.46,followed by Scripps Ranch HS record holder(4x100) Kevin Ottwright (49.29) and ChasePeterson (50.77). Local standout DavidEdwards of BSK/Running Center won theMen’s 1500 in 3:46.28. Sean Brosnan(3:52.31) edged out Pete Hass of San DiegoTrack Club (3:52.92) at the line, to finish sec-ond and third, respectively.

San Diego/Imperial

Association News continues on page 8.

Cour

tesy

of I

rene

Her

man


10t- 2 Nao Ots 943tRp3__943/gp3 211: A/8/02 01M- e Pc CST9 e


SCA/USATF Jim Bush Championships & West Region ChampionshipsUCLA; June 2

At long last, the USATF Southern California JimBush Championships and West RegionChampionships came home to UCLA’s famedDrake Stadium. Former UCLA coach Jim Bush’scareer includes coaching 30 Olympians and 118NCAA medalists. Coaches and competitors alikelook forward to the annual meet, for the oppor-tunity to talk with inspirational living legendJim Bush.

In an Olympic Trials year, more than 450 athletes competed withan enthusiastic crowd cheering them on. Setting their goals on reachingLondon, there were 10 “A” qualifiers and 31 “B” qualifiers for the

USATF OutdoorChampionships, and JamieNieto set a new meet record inthe men’s high jump, 2.24meters. Masters runner PeterMagill (M50) continued hisstreak of setting new Americanrecords in the M50–54 agedivision, running the 5000 in15:06.83, well ahead of thecurrent record, 15:41.67, set byMike Heffernan in 1991.

2012 Team USA Track and Field Olympic RosterCalifornia Residents and Athletes with California TiesMembers of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field team (pending approval by theUSOC) with strong California roots and ties, defined as currently residing in Calif.,born in Calif., attended school in Calif., and/or trained in Calif. for a significantperiod, and/or hold current USATF membership in a Calif. USATF association.Bold = Athletes currently residing in California

MEN400m Bryshon Nellum (Los Angeles) – 3rd800m Khadevis Robinson (Las Vegas) – 2nd (former longtime LA-area resident)Duane Solomon (Los Angeles) – 3rd3000m Steeple Kyle Alcorn (Mesa, Ariz.) – 3rd (Buchanan H.S. /Clovis, Calif. '03)50K Race Walk John Nunn (San Diego) – 1stMarathon Meb Keflezighi (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) – 1stRyan Hall (Flagstaff, Ariz.) – (Big Bear H.S. ’01, Stanford Univ. ’06) – 2nd110m Hurdles Jason Richardson (Los Angeles) – 2nd400m Hurdles Kerron Clement (Los Angeles/Gainesville, Fla.) – 3rdHigh Jump Jamie Nieto (Chula Vista) – 1st; Jesse Williams (Eugene, Ore.) – 4th(b. Modesto, 1983) Note: Williams had Olympic ‘A’ standard. 3rd place did not.Pole Vault Brad Walker (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) – 1st (trained with Tri-ValleyAthletics in Stockton in ’08); Derek Miles (Tea, S.D.) – 4th (Sacramento native /Bella Vista HS, former Fair Oaks, Calif. resident) Note: Miles had Olympic ‘A’ stan-dard. 3rd place did not.Long Jump Will Claye (Imperial Beach) – 2ndTriple Jump Will Claye (Imperial Beach) – 2ndDiscus Throw Jarred Rome (Chula Vista) – 2ndJavelin Throw Sean Furey (San Diego) – 4th Note: Furey had Olympic ‘A’ stan-dard. 1st and 2nd places did not.Relay Pool Ronell Mance (Los Angeles, Calif.)

WOMEN100m Carmelita Jeter (Gardena) – 1st; Tianna Madison (Los Angeles) – 2nd;Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita) - 3rd (tie with Jeneba Tarmoh, Los Angeles/SanJose, who was selected for relay pool)200m Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita) – 1st; Carmelita Jeter (Gardena) – 2nd800m Alysia Montano (Canyon Country) – 1st; Alice Schmidt (Coronado) – 3rd1500m Morgan Uceny (Mammoth Lakes) – 1st; Shannon Rowbury (SanFrancisco) – 2nd5000m Kim Conley (West Sacramento) – 3rd10,000m Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes) – 1stMarathon Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.) – 2nd (b. Chula Vista, HilltopHS ’01)100m Hurdles Dawn Harper (Los Angeles) – 1st400m Hurdles Lashinda Demus (Palmdale) – 1stHigh Jump Chaunte Lowe (Loganville, Ga.) – 1st (J.W. North/Riverside H.S. '02);Amy Acuff (Isleton) – 3rdShot Put Jillian Camarena-Williams (Tucson, Ariz.) – 1st (Woodland H.S.,Stanford ’04)Discus Throw Stephanie Brown Trafton (Galt) – 1st Hammer Throw Jessica Cosby (Mission Hills) – 3rdJavelin Throw Kara Patterson (Chula Vista) – 2ndHeptathlon Hyleas Fountain (Daytona Beach, Fla.) – 1st (trained with Tri-ValleyAthletics in Stockton, in ‘08); Sharon Day (Costa Mesa) – 2ndRelay Pool Jeneba Tarmoh (Los Angeles/San Jose); Keshia Baker (LosAngeles)

—Compiled by Mark Winitz

Southern California

FROM ERIC BARRONVP, Open Athletics

Association News continued from page 6

Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w. P

hoto

Run.

NET

Bryshon Nellum

Peter Magill (#7, M50) andRobert Olivera (M26) battlingfor third in the 5000m. Magillclaimed it with a new AR forM50–54, 15:06.83.Co

urte

sy o

f Eric

Bar

ron


CaliforniaTrack&RunningNews presents the September–October 2012

Runner’s Schedule CalendarYOUR COMPLETEGUIDE TO RUNNING,WALKING, TRAIL &MULTI-SPORTS IN CALIFORNIAcontaining events through May 2013!

25,000 Copies Distributed!

Free!Vi

ctor

Sai

ler/

ww

w.P

hoto

Run.

NET

You can also find this calendar at www.caltrack.com.

AMY HASTINGS (Mammoth Lakes) says that one of the best pieces of advice that Deena Kastor, herMammoth Track Club teammate, has given her is to keep fighting; never give up. In running, just as in therest of life, there are good miles and bad miles, good times and bad times. The good times are easy. Gettingthrough the bad times is what makes the athlete. After a heartbreaking 4th place finish at the U.S. OlympicMarathon Trials, Amy regrouped and set herself a new goal: become an Olympian on the track. Our coverageof the 2012 U.S. Track & Field Trials (page 14) includes athletes and performances—of course, with aGolden State emphasis—that illustrate how elite athletes embrace qualities such as persistence, mentalfocus, overcoming doubt, and the pursuit of coaching excellence that allow them to soar and reach theupper echelons of their sport.

Check inside for information on:

• Event Listings

• USATF Association Events

• Californians at the U.S.Olympic Track & Field Trials

• Running Network Shoe Review



unique chance to bike across the floating bridge. Enviro-Sports, PO Box 1040, Stinson Beach, CA 94970; [email protected]; www.envirosports.com; 415/868-1829.

Sep 22, SAT Boston: BOSTON SHARKFEST® SWIM- Inaugural. Entryfees TBA. 1m swim. The swim will be 1 mile in Boston har-bor from Columbia Point (Kennedy Library) across OldHarbor to finish at Carson Beach by the Edward J.McCormack Bathhouse. Enviro-Sports, PO Box 1040,Stinson Beach, CA 94970; [email protected];www.sharkfestswim.com; 415/868-1829.

Sep 30, SUN Mt. View: Trailblazer, 10K, 5K, 3 Mile Trail Walk, Flat andscenic 10K USATF certified race from Microsoft Campus, upStevens Creek Trail, around Shoreline Park, and back.Includes event t-shirt and all activities. For further infowww.theschedule.com

Oct 06, SAT Napa: TRI, GIRL, TRI – ALL WOMEN’S SPRINTTRIATHLON™ - 9th annual. $90-Individual, $165-RelayTeam, w/t-s. 0.5m swim, 11m bike, 3.1m run. This all-women's triathlon has fast become a favorite for first-timersas well as seasoned triathletes looking for a fun, supportiveatmosphere! Enviro-Sports, PO Box 1040, Stinson Beach, CA94970; [email protected]; www.envirosports.com;415/868-1829.

Fort Bragg: Noyo Run 5K and 10K, 9am $25/$30 after9/22. Ages 19 and under $15-INCLUDING race day! This 5kRun, 10k run, 5k Competitive Walk & 5k Walk is held in theRedwoods region of Mendocino Coast near the City of FortBragg. Online www.theschedule.com

Aug 11, SAT Sausalito: GOLDEN GATE SHARKFEST SWIM® - 2ndAnnual. $125, Fees go up 1/1. 1.6mi swim. The swimcourse from the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge tothe north tower in the San Francisco Bay. Enviro-Sports,PO Box 1040, Stinson Beach, CA 94970; [email protected]; www.sharkfestswim.com; 415/868-1829.

Echo Summit: Echo Summit Trail Challenge 50M, 50K,20 & 10 Milers, 6:00am 50M, 50K, 8am 20/10M.Start/Finish Echo Summit (Lake Tahoe Winter Experience)(Adventure Mountain Lake Tahoe) . The course is on theHistoric Pony Express Trail, primarily single tract. AWE-SOME RACE. Please check out the website for moreinformation & other runs.www.tctruns.com

Twin Bridges: Echo Summit Challenge, For further infowww.theschedule.com

Aug 12, SUNPinecrest: 5 Mile Pinecrest Run, For further infowww.theschedule.com

Aug 14, TUESSan Mateo: EMEF 5K Run/Walk, 1 mile fun run. ThisFamily Fun Run is all about fitness, fun and supporting agreat scholarship foundation. A scenic 5K loop around thepark and marina, this event should be quick and comfort-able for all ages. Kids welcome. T-shirts and medals to allfinishers, snacks for everyone. 100% of proceeds go tofunding scholarships for local high school students head-ing to college. For further info www.theschedule.com

Aug 25, SAT Gilroy: Bill Flodberg Mt. Madonna Challenge (37th), TheMt. Madonna Challenge offers four race distances (6K,12K, 18K, 30K), with all courses following establishedtrails within Mt. Madonna County Park. Participants willrun through groves of Oak, Manzanita and Redwood trees,experiencing spectacular scenery and views. The 6K loopcourse has an elevation gain of 700 feet; the 12K loopcourse has an elevation gain of 1,200 feet; the 18K coursecombines the 6K and 12K loops, with an elevation gain of1,900 feet; and the 30K combines the 18K course and the

12K course, for a total elevation gain of 3,100 feet. 1stplace overall male and female winners in each distancewill receive a custom ceramic vase. For further infowww.theschedule.com

Aug 26, SUN Hayward: 10K Run, 5K Run/Walk on the Bay, 8:30am$30 until 8/23. (4902 Breakwater Ave). Run or walk alongthe Bay Trail and enjoy breathtaking views of the SanFrancisco Bay-Estuary. Participate in a 10K or 5K run/walk.Proceeds from this event help to maintain and enhancethe Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center's educationalprograms, exhibits, and facilities. Both races are on agravel/packed dirt trail and as flat as it gets along thebeautiful shoreline. There will be prizes for the first-placewinners (male and female) of each race and ribbons foreach age group winners. Walkers are welcomed (andencouraged to participate!) but unfortunately dogs cannotbe allowed. Online www.theschedule.com.

Sep 01, SAT Orinda: Golden Gate DU, The Golden Gate Duathlon will bea 3.6 Mile Run / 22 Mile Bike / 2.0 Mile Run.Plus 3.6 milerace.There are team ,mixed,men,women divisons.Race atthe beautiful San Pablo Dam Reservoir - Orinda Entrance.5 year age groups/awards 1st to 5th places in each agegroup and awards are plaques.For the Duathlon andMedals ,1 st to 3rd for the 3.6 mile runwww.WolfPackEvents.com

Sep 02, SUNShasta: Mt. Shasta Tinman Tri, (740yds-10mB-4.5mR),Fun, family event for novices and experienced alike. In theshadow of beautiful Mount Shasta at Lake Siskiyou CampResort. For further info www.theschedule.com

Sep 09, SUN Seattle: SEATTLE ‘ESCAPE FROM THE ROCK’TRIATHLON™ - 15th annual. Adult $70, Juniors (17 &Under) $40, Relay (per person) $40, w/t-s. Prices go up7/1. 0.5 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 14 mile run. MercerIsland sets the stage for this beautiful course. We shutdown the I-90 express lanes just to give athletes the

Calendar

Continued on page 12

September 16, 2012, San Francisco 5k, Your Next Step is Cure 5k, San Francisco, CA,www.yournextstepiscure.org, ad on page 21October 13, 2012, Kiss Me Dirty, San Jose, Ca,www.kissmedirty.com, ad on page 19October 13, 2012, Chili Pepper 10k and FunMile, Fayetteville, ARK, chilepepperfestival.org, ad on page 9October 14, 2012, City to the Sea, HalfMarathon, Pismo Beach, CA, citytothesea.org, ad on page 2October 27, 2012, Merrell's Down & Dirty MudRun, Sacramento, CA,www.facebook.com/downanddirtymudrun, ad on page 24October 27, 2012, Warrior Dash, Casa deFruta, Hollister, CA, www.warriordash.comNovember 10, 2012, Kiss Me Dirty, Temecula,CA, www.kissmedirty.com, ad on page 19November 22, 2012, Applied Materials SiliconValley Turkey Trot, San Jose, Ca,www.svTurkeyTrot.comDecember 2, 2012, Santa Hustle, your NextStep is Cure 5k, Irvine, CA,yournextstepiscure.org, ad on page 21May 11, 2013, Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge5k, San Diego, CA, www.ROCrace.com, ad on page 24.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS!



Pacific Associationwww.pausatf.org/data/2012/rwschedule2012.html

8/18 PA/USATF Grand Prix & West Region 3000m Championship, RenoHosted by the Pacific Race Walkers and Silver State Striders

10/7 PA/USATF Grand Prix 10K Championship, Sacramento Hosted by Sierra Race Walkers

11/18 PA/USATF Grand Prix 20K Championship, SacramentoHosted by Santa Cruz Track Club

Pacific Association Grand Prix www.pausatf.org/data/2012/RRSchedule2012.html

10/21 Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon, Weott (1.5, Long, $2,900)11/11 Clarksburg Country Run Half Marathon, Clarksburg

(1.5, Long, $2,900)11/22 Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5K, San Jose

(2.0, Open only/no teams, Short, $2,900, additional all-comers prize $ available)12/2 California International Marathon, Sacramento

(2.0, no Open, Long, $2,900)12/16 Christmas Relays, San Francisco (2.0, team only, None, $2,900)

Information on physically challenged divisions will be supplied when schedule is finalized

Pacific Association Grand Prix www.pausatf.org/data/2012/xcgp2012.html

8/18 12th Annual UC Santa Cruz XC Challenge, Santa Cruz8/25 20th Annual Phil Widener Empire Open, Santa Rosa9/1 2nd Annual Rebels XC Challenge, Sacramento9/9 8th Annual Garin Park XC Challenge, Hayward9/15 NorCal XC Challenge, Redding9/23 27th Annual Golden Gate Park Open, San Francisco9/29 14th Annual Presidio Challenge, San Francisco10/6 4th Annual Willow Hills XC Open, Folsom10/13 15th Annual Shoreline Open, Mountain View10/27 17th Annual John Lawson Tamalpa Challenge, Marin Headlands11/3 3rd Annual Ancil Hoffman Challenge, Sacramento11/18 27th Annual PA Cross Country Championships, San Francisco

Southern California Association—Youthwww.scausatf.org

9/15 Valley United Striders, Pierce College Ron McGee, [email protected], 818.833.9516

9/30 California Comets, Pierce CollegeBryan Riggs, [email protected], 805.578.2400

10/7 South Orange Co Wildcats, Laguna Niguel Regional ParkDarren Phelps, [email protected], 949.235.5968

10/14 Free Spirit, Mt SAC, Denise Smotherman, [email protected], 909.595.010310/21 Temecula Time Machine Grape Stomp, TBA10/28 Chino Hills Flash Halloween XC Festival, Prado Park

Ben Mejia, [email protected], 714.454.397711/11 SCA Youth JO Cross Country Championships, Mt SAC

Denise Smotherman, [email protected], 909.595.010311/18 USATF Region 15 JO XC Championships, Mt SAC

Denise Smotherman, [email protected], 909.595.0103

San Diego Association—Open/Masterswww.sdusatf.org

SD-I/USATF ASICS Dirt Dog Cross Country Series

8/25 Wild Duck 5K, Guajome Park, Joe Crosswhite 760.723.32579/1 Balboa 4-Miler, Balboa Park, Stephen Burch 619.562.80619/22 Bonita 8K Stampede, Sweetwater Regional Park, Antonio Melchor, 619.370.118410/13 Ursula Rains Balboa Boogie 5K, Morley Field, Nancy Morris, 858.874.878410/20 Cougar Challenge 5K/8K, Cal State San Marcos Track, Steve Scott, 760.750.710511/3 Cuyamaca College 6K, Lindo Lake, Patrick Thiss, 619.660.451811/10 USATF San Diego XC Championship 8K, Mission Bay, Paul Greer, 619.388.3704

Southern California Association Grand Prix www.scagrandprix.org

10/7 SCA USATF Road Mile Championships, El Toro Airfield, Irvine11/4 Dino Dash 5/10K, Tustin12/9 Holiday Half Marathon, Fairplex So Cal, Pomona

Southern California Association Grand Prix www.scausatf.org

9/15 Noble Canyon 50K, Pine Valley, Scott Mills, [email protected]/6 Cuyamaca 100K Endurance Run, Cuyamaca

Scott Crellin, [email protected]/3 Chino Hills Trail Run Half/Marathon/50K, Brea

Fred Pollard, [email protected], 213.422.644211/24 Santa Barbara Red Rock 50M, Los Padres National Forest

Luis Escobar, [email protected], 805.922.293212/02 High Desert 50K, Ridgecrest

Terry Mitchell, [email protected], 760-375-0168

Pacific Association Grand Prix www.pausatf.org

10/13 Dick Collins Firetrails 50M, Castro Valley, (trail, 1.6)Julie Fingar, 916.765.6021, [email protected], www.firetrails50.com

10/27 Whiskeytown 50K, Redding, (trail, 1)John Luaces, 530.246.8560, [email protected], www.sweatrc.com

11/10 To be renamed 50M/50K, Granite Bay, (road, 1.6/1.0) Julie Fingar, 916.765.6021, [email protected]

11/24 Quadruple Dipsea (28.4M), Mill Valley, (trail, 1)John Medinger, [email protected], www.run100s.com/qd.htm

Cross Country

Racewalking

Road Racing

Mountain/Ultra/Trail

Association Schedules



Stinson Beach. Enviro-Sports, PO Box 1040, Stinson Beach,CA 94970; [email protected]; www.envirosports.com;415/868-1829.

Nov 04, SUN Reno, NV: Anything is Possible 5K, 1:50 a.m.—yes, 1:50a.m. Run forward as the clock turns back during this uniqueand fun 5K on the University of Nevada campus. The racestarts at 1:50am, so bring your brightest and flashiest run-ning gear. Sign-up early to guarantee your pajama pants.www.renotahoeodyssey.com

Nov 22, THURSOceanside: Pacific Marine Credit Union O’side TurkeyTrot 5M/5K, Kids Races, 7am-5M, 8:30am-5K, 10am-Kid’sraces. 330 N Coast Hwy: Come "move your feet before youeat." Race course is a very fast downhill 5Mile/5K whichstarts at the Civic Center and finishes at the Pier area alongthe Beach. Kinanaeevents.com

Dec 01, SAT Death Valley: DEATH VALLEY TRAIL MARATHON & 30K™ -24th annual. $120-Mar/30K, $130 after 8/1; w/t-s. Trail run-ning doesn't get any better than this wide, jeep road twist-ing through the towering red rocks of Death Valley's TitusCanyon. Enviro-Sports, PO Box 1040, Stinson Beach, CA94970; [email protected]; www.envirosports.com;415/868-1829.

Dec 08, SAT Angel Island: HARK THE HERALD ANGELS 12K & 25K™ -25th annual. $50-12K/25K, $55 after 11/1. w/t-s. You'll fallin love with San Francisco all over again as you follow thishilly loop-trail circumnavigating Angel Island with panoramicvistas of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, AlcatrazIsland, the East Bay and Marin County. Enviro-Sports, PO Box1040, Stinson Beach, CA 94970; [email protected];www.envirosports.com; 415/868-1829.

Feb 03, SUN 2013 Huntington Beach: Surf City USA Marathon and HalfMarathon, 6:30am- Marathon, 7:45am Half Marathon.21100 PCH; This exclusive oceanfront course is a CaliforniaDream! Run on Pacific Coast Highway past the famousHuntington Beach pier and wind through the legendary surf-ing beaches of Southern California. Retro surf bands enter-tain along the way and the Finish Line Party includes abeach side beer garden in the California sun. Finishersreceive bodacious surfboard medals! Kinanaevents.com

May 31–June 1, FRI 2013 Reno, NV: Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay. The Reno-TahoeOdyssey Relay Run Adventure is ideally suited for teams of12 runners on a 178-mile course. Teams start in DowntownReno next to the Truckee River. Runners then travel throughthe Sierra Nevada mountains and along the shores of LakeTahoe. The course then circles through the hight desert ofNorthern Nevada before finishing back in Reno. A new addi-tion to the relay this year is the RTO One. The RTO One is aone day, 12-leg relay for teams of 4 and 6. It takes place onthe final portion of the full Odyssey course and ends at theFinish Line Festival in Reno. www.renotahoeodyssey.com

El Sobrante: Fall Showdown 5K/10K, Half Marathon, 8am$40/$45 after 10/5- half, $30/$35 5K/10K. All of the runswill be on what is called the Old San Pablo Dam road thatused to take horses, mules, and later automobiles from ElSobrante to Orinda, a stagecoach route. It runs parallelwith the entire Watershed area known as the San PabloReservoir. The Half Marathon is an out and back course.There will be 30 % pavement and the rest on trails, withloads of scenery. After mile 5 you will have the challenge ofrunning up to and across Briones Reservoir and then backhome to the park. www.wolfpackevents.com; Onlinewww.theschedule.com

Oct 07, SUN Pescadero: Pumpkin Classic 5K/10k, 1/4M Kid’s FreeRun, 10am $20/$25 after 10/6 w/Free pumpkin, medal andT-shirt to ALL 5K/10K finishers! Native Son’s Hall; flat, sce-nic course. Event numbers not mailed-you will pick themup on event day. Sky High Events, Online regwww.theschedule.com.

Oct 12, FRI Huntington Beach: Surf City Beach Derby 10 Miler, 10K,and 5K/2K Beach Obstacle Course, 6:45am- 10M,7:30am-10K, 7am- 5K/2K. PCH and Main St.; Enjoy a flatscenic course on Pacific Coast Highway along California'scoastline for a 10Miler or 10K run/walk. Try the zany 5K or2K beach obstacle course. www.kinaneevents.com

Oct 14, SUN San Diego: SAN DIEGO SHARKFEST® SWIM- 4th annual.Adult $60, Juniors (17 & Under) $35, Active Military $45;w/t-s. Prices go up 1/1. 1m swim. The swim will start at the5th Avenue Landing behind the San Diego Convention Centerand finish at the Tidelands Park beach at the foot of theCoronado Bridge on the Coronado side. Enviro-Sports, POBox 1040, Stinson Beach, CA 94970; [email protected];www.sharkfestswim.com; 415/868-1829.

Oct 20, SAT El Sobrante: Du the Bears-Duathlon, This is a 2/19/2Duathlon and a 5K Run/Walk. Held in the beautiful SanPablo/Orinda Reservoir on the Old San Pablo Dam Road, thestagecoach trail from the Bay to Orinda, it's a beautifulvenue. For further info www.theschedule.com

Oct 27, SAT Napa: NAPA WINE COUNTRY MARATHON, HALFMARATHON & 10K™ - 22nd annual. $70-Mar, $45-Half,$40-10K. Entry fees go up $10 after 8/1; w/t-s. Babblingstreams will be your soundtrack as you challenge yourselfon the lush single-track trail within Bothe-Napa Valley StatePark. Enviro-Sports, PO Box 1040, Stinson Beach, CA94970; [email protected]; www.envirosports.com;415/868-1829.

Nov 03, SAT Stinson Beach: STINSON BEACH MARATHON, 25K & 7MILE™ - 24th annual. $70-Mar, $50-Half, $40-10K. Entryfees go up $10 after 10/1; w/t-s. As you run this course,you will drink in the fresh smell of the towering redwoodsand oaks that surround you. Your summit will be rewardedwith panoramic vistas as you begin your descent back into

Continued from page 10

You can also find this calendar at

WWW.CALTRACK.COM


Who noticed the partial rainbow that brokethrough clearing skies over Eugene’s HaywardField last June on Day 8 of the 2012 U.S.Olympic Track & Field Trials? Relatively few,since it unfolded following the conclusion ofthe day’s competition. Yet the significance wasunmistakable, as the U.S. Olympic track &field team heads to London in pursuit of the

fabled pot of elusive Olympic Gold that, per-haps, lies at rainbow’s end.

Our coverage of the 2012 Trials includesathletes and performances—of course, with aGolden State emphasis—that illustrate how eliteathletes embrace qualities such as persistence,mental focus, overcoming doubt, and the pur-suit of coaching excellence that allow them tosoar and reach the upper echelons of their sport.

And if you’re not quite at that level? Well,any athlete can learn from these inspiring stories to chase their own personal arcs of light.

Day 1, June 22Hastings Realizes Olympic Dreams in Women’s Trials 10,000mAmy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) saysthat one of the best pieces of advice that DeenaKastor, her Mammoth Track Club teammate,has given her is to keep fighting; never give up.In running, just as in the rest of life, there aregood miles and bad miles, good times and badtimes. The good times are easy. Getting throughthe bad times is what makes the athlete.

Four years ago, following an All-Americancareer at Arizona State, Hastings, 28, was onthe verge of giving up the sport. Her runninghad no direction and her performances reflect-ed that fact. And last January, after finishing aheartbreaking fourth at the U.S. OlympicMarathon Trials, missing the U.S. Olympicmarathon team headed to London by one spot,she easily could have shelved her Olympicdreams. She didn’t.

Instead, in a dramatic women’s 10,000mon a rainy Friday evening at the 2012 U.S.Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene.Hastings demonstrated the resolve that Kastorencouraged in her. After winning the race—inwhich Kastor herself could not compete as shewas recovering from a back injury—Hastings isnow an Olympian.

“Coming across the finish line today, it’s anight-and-day difference,” Hastings said aboutthe roller coaster ride over the last six months.“It was heartbreaking in Houston [at theMarathon Trials], and I can’t really believe itright now. I’m completely overwhelmed. I can’treally believe that I’m an Olympian.”

The race was initially a conservative and

tactical one as University of California standoutDeborah Maier assumed the leader’s choresthrough the halfway point, maintaining a 15-to 20-meter gap over the packed field.

“I just wanted to go out at a good pace,”said Maier, who eventually finished ninth in32:25.82. “I figured that I don’t have theOlympic A standard and there’s no pacer, soeven if I don’t get the standard, maybe I’ll helpsomeone else by pulling them along. In thesechampionship races, you just might as well gofor it. I’m not a huge fan of it going out superslow.”

With 11 laps remaining, Hastings tookover the lead from Maier and never lookedback. “For the majority of the race [mythoughts were] just, ‘top three, top three, topthree,’” Hastings said. “Then, toward the veryend, everything just shut off and it was back toevery race I’ve ever run, trying to win it.”

Indeed, Hastings cranked up the wheelsand recorded a 65-second last lap en route to a31:58.36 winning time, holding off TexasA&M’s NCAA champion Natosha Rogers(2nd, 31:59.71 PR) and Olympic Trialsmarathon winner Shalane Flanagan (3rd,31:59.69).

“I’ve grown so much over the past fouryears. I’m a completely different runner, a com-pletely different competitor,” an elated Hastingsshared in a post-race press conference. “I owe somuch to [Mammoth Track Club coach]Terrence Mahon and my teammates. It’s justan incredible group. After the Marathon Trials,it was about refocusing and not dwelling on it.I just wanted to be on the team.”

Immediately after the Marathon Trialsrace, Hastings had returned to her hotel roomand told Mahon that she wanted to pointtoward a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic teamat 5000m or 10,000m.

“The reason that I’ve stayed in the sport isbecause there was just a little bit of hope whereI thought, ‘I think I can make this happen andbe an Olympian,’” said Hastings. “If that hopewas gone, I would have stopped running. Iguess I always thought that I could be anOlympian.”

Thanks to the sage advice of 2004Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena

Track & Fie ld Tria l s

Californians Shine

By Mark Winitz


Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w.Ph

otoR

un.N

ET


Kastor, a supportive coach and training group,and an resurgent belief in herself, Hastings’hard work has now reached fruition.

Day 3, June 24Stephanie Brown Trafton’s Mental Focus,Faith Produce U.S. Trials Discus VictoryEven a reigning Olympic gold medalist andAmerican record holder who has enjoyed aranking as #1 in the world in her event can havedoubts when the big meets come along. Onlythree weeks before the 2012 U.S. OlympicTrack & Field Trials, 2008 Olympic discus goldmedal winner Stephanie Brown Trafton(Gault) had a disastrous outing at thePrefontaine Classic. She committed fouls onevery throw at the important IAAF DiamondLeague meet, finishing at the bottom of a topinternational field.

There wasn’t much time to regroup beforeBrown Trafton would return to Hayward Fieldin Eugene to vie for her third Olympic teamberth. She knew that she was facing a formida-ble task to get back on track.

“This was probably the most complicatedand hardest meet of my lifetime. It was reallymy test of mental maturity,” Brown Trafton saidafter winning the women’s discus throw compe-tition at the Trials with a best throw of 65.18meters/213 feet, 10 inches. “Getting into thering, I really had to rely on my faith. It was hardto even step into the ring.”

Although two days earlier, the 6-4, 205-pound athlete placed first in the qualifyinground going into the final, she was far fromconfident. In her warm-ups for the preliminary,she fell down twice, and then fouled in the firstround, in jeopardy of falling into the samedownward spiral that she experienced at thePrefontaine meet.

“People might have seen me as fallingapart, mentally,” Brown Trafton related in apost-competition press conference. “But, inreality, I was being put through the fire andbeing redeemed, and I came out at the otherend a much stronger and thankful person.”

How did Brown Trafton get herself backon track when her Trials candle was burninglow? She maintains that her faith, as a religiousperson, and a mental focus on technique andperformance rather than on distractions, madethe difference.

“From a mental standpoint, everybody hastheir own way of refocusing,” the women’s dis-cus champion reflected. “Sometimes [as an ath-lete] our brain wants to focus on victory,money, fortune, or fame. But when you startdiverting your attention to those things, youtake your attention away from performance andwhat you can do to make the most of the giftthat you’ve been given.”

In an arena where distractions are numer-ous and emotions run high, Brown’s focus on

all the technical details that yield solid perform-ances in her event paid off. Now she heads tothe Games in London with renewed vigor.

“It’s really been a roller coaster, comingfrom the top of the top to hitting rock bot-tom—going from the top of the medal stand towhere I couldn’t compete to my standards,”Brown Trafton said. “Hopefully, I’ll rise up tothe top again. It’s going to be a hard competi-tion in London, but I’m very excited about it.”

Additional Day 3 Notes:Three-time Olympian Suzy Powell-Roos(Modesto) placed third in the women’s discusbehind Brown Trafton and Aretha Thurmond(Alabama). Powell-Roos, however, did notattain the Olympic A standard, so did not qual-ify for the U.S. team.

“I competed well compared to what otherpeople were doing today, but didn’t get that Astandard, which was extremely frustrating,”Powell-Roos said. “But that’s the way it goes. Tome, that’s the beauty of Olympic Trials andsports. It’s just the ultimate test of people andwhat you’re made of. I feel very honored andblessed to have had the opportunity to testmyself in this arena for many years. This is mylast Olympic Trials, no doubt.”

Will Claye (San Diego) finished second inthe men’s long jump and USC’s BryshonNellum (Los Angeles) rolled to a PR 44.80 toplace third in the men’s 400m. Both have Astandards, so they’re on the team for London.

Day 4, June 25Coaches Instrumental for California’s 800m Olympic Team MembersThe 800m finals at the 2012 U.S. OlympicTrack & Field Trials featured strong perform-ances by Golden State athletes as threeCalifornians and another with strong Californiaties earned spots on the U.S. team headed forthe London Olympic Games. California show-cased a strong middle distance contingent asthe state’s residents composed nearly 50% ofthe men’s and women’s 800m fields.

Before 21,626 fans at a soggy HaywardField, Alysia Montano (Canyon Country) ledthe women’s 800m wire to wire, holding off hercompetitors along the final straight to earn herfirst Olympic team berth. The formerUniversity of California, Berkeley star registeredthe victory in 1 minute, 59.08 seconds. AliceSchmidt’s (Coronado) third-place time of1:59.46, behind Johnson and Oregon’s GennaGall (1:59.24), earned her a spot on her secondOlympic team.

In the men’s 800m, former USC starDuane Solomon (Los Angeles) scored a hugepersonal best of 1:44.65 to claim third placeand a spot on the U.S. Olympic squad.Longtime Santa Monica resident KhadevisRobinson (who now lives in Las Vegas) also

made the team with a 1:44.64, behind NickSymmonds (Oregon) who captured the victoryin 1:43.92.

What do these athletes who made it to theTrials podium all have in common? They are allguided by vibrant, attentive coaches whom theycredit as essential factors in attaining their sta-tus as Olympians. At a post-race press confer-ence, California Track & Running Newsobtained the inside scoop on these strong ath-lete-coach relationships. Here’s what the ath-letes had to say:

Alysia Montano (guided by longtime UCBerkeley coach Tony Sandoval for the past eightyears. Editor’s Note: Not to be confused withTony Sandoval, the 1980 U.S. OlympicMarathon Trials winner, who is a different per-son.): “Tony’s had the opportunity to interactwith many world-class athletes and Olympiansand see how they tick. And he’s not afraid tolearn from his students. We make a dynamicduo, and I trust him. I think the most impor-tant part of being a world-class athlete is beingable to trust your coaches. In the last threerounds here at the Trials, where I’ve been run-ning hard for the first 600 meters—that’s allTony. At first, in the back of my mind, I wassaying ‘but why?’ But [I concluded] that he justknows and I trust his guidance.”

Alice Schmidt (coached by Joachim Cruz,the Brazilian 1984 Olympic Gold medalist at800m, for the past five years): “Coach Cruz


Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w.Ph

otoR

un.N

ET


inspires me every day. I started working withcoach Cruz because I wanted to work out at theU.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.I knew he would be my ticket to work out atthe center. The first day I talked to him on thetelephone, I knew it was going to be a reallygreat coach-athlete relationship. He speaks mylanguage and writes great, time-tested trainingprogram[s], since he was a phenomenal 800mrunner. He’s not afraid of hard work or speed.He also plays an important sports psychologistrole. He’s been there and knows what’s inside anathlete’s head. He reminds me to have couragein races [and provides] different ways for me toapproach the mental aspects of training.”

Duane Solomon (coached by American800m record holder Johnny Gray for the pastthree years): “I’m just now really learning every-thing that he’s taught me, and putting it towork. He really encourages me to believe inwhat I can do in the training. So I really cameinto the Trials with a lot of confidence. I didn’treally race a lot, but we knew what I could dofrom the training I’ve been doing. Johnny givesme the confidence in myself so I can run withanybody. Today, I ran a huge PR, got theOlympic A standard, and made the team, so itwas a great day.”

Johnny Gray (who also formerly coachedKhadevis Robinson) added this perspective:“First and foremost, I instill in my athletes thefive Ps—that Proper Preparation Prevents PoorPerformances. So hard work outdoes talent thatdoesn’t work hard. Once you getthe conditioning, you need theheart to execute it. So we’vebeen working on Duane’sconfidence in workouts. Forthe time today, he went outand executed the race like Iwanted him to.”

Additional Day 4Notes:The rainy condi-tions affectedthe men’s highjump final,where JamieN i e t o( C h u l aV i s t a )made hiss e c o n dOl y m p i cteam bywinning the competi-tion with a first-attemptclearance at 2.28m/7-5.75. University of Arizonajunior Nick Ross (Murrieta)also made that height on hisfirst try and finished third.But since Ross didn’t have

the Olympic ‘A’ standard, fourth-placer and2011 world champion Jesse Williams (USC’06, now lives in Oregon) will have a spot onthe team.

Day 5, June 28Kim Conley Captures Olympic Team Spot in Women’s 5000mFew might have given 26-year-old KimConley (West Sacramento) a chance at gain-ing an Olympic team spot in the women’s5000m race at the U.S. Olympic Track &Field Trials in Eugene. Coming into therace, the former University of California,Davis standout and current Aggies volunteerassistant coach had a 5000m PR of 15 min-utes, 24.89 seconds—over 4 seconds slowerthan the Olympic A standard for the 2012Olympic Games in London. Although theSanta Rosa native finished eighth overall atthe 2011 USA Cross CountryChampionships and 10th in the 5000 at the2011 USA Outdoor Track & FieldChampionships, she wasn’t on most people’sradar screens.

Now Conley is a 2012 Olympian afterscoring a dramatic third-place finish at theTrials with a time of 15:19.79, less than aquarter of a second faster than the 15:20:00A standard required to land her an automat-ic spot on the U.S. team headed to theGames.

“This is beyond a dream come true,”Conley told a packed room of reporters at apost-race press conference. “In 2008, I wassitting at home watching the Olympic Trialsthinking that it would be really cool to runat the Trials one day. Four years later, I’m anOlympian. I can’t even wrap my headaround it yet.”

Conley, who represents New Balanceand Sacramento Running Association Elite,

used her head to good advantage in therace, which she led

for almost 3000m tokeep the pace honestenough for a chanceat the Olympic stan-dard. American record

holder Molly Huddle(Rhode Island) took the

lead just before 3K, close-ly followed by Conley and

others, going through thesplit in 9:22.9. After seeing thesplit, Conley had doubts about get-ting the standard. But she used atechnique ingrained in her by UC

Davis sports psychologist PaulSalitsky to block negative

thoughts and turn theminto positive ones.

“I [started] think-

ing about place at that point,” Conley said. “Iwasn’t willing to give up on a top-3 spotwhether it meant having the standard or not.”

Julia Lucas (Oregon) had an almost two-second lead heading into the final lap, but overthe final circuit Julie Culley (15:13.77, NewJersey) and Huddle powered to the front andwent on to finish 1-2, respectively. Behindthem, the drama came as Conley sprinted downthe home stretch on her way to a 68-second lastlap. It wasn’t until the final 100 meters thatConley felt she had a good chance for the team.

“I could feel that I was reeling people inagain, and something clicked in my brain and Iwas not willing to give up on a top-3 spot. I justbuckled down and went for it,” an elatedConley said.

Indeed, Conley caught and narrowly out-leaned a fading Lucas, 15:19.79 to 15:19.83. It


Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w.Ph

otoR

un.N

ET


was a 5-second PR for Conley and met theOlympic A standard of 15:20, giving her a spoton the London team.

Conley credited her parents and her coach(UC Davis head coach Drew Wartenburg) forgetting her to the Olympic Trials podium.

“I’m not someone who had a ton of sup-port coming out of college to pursue running,so my parents have been very supportive of mestaying in the sport,” said Conley. “And mycoach has been a big factor to give me the con-sistency and really push me to go after this.”

2008 Olympic marathoner MagdalenaLewy Boulet (Oakland) placed 11th in15:34.31 after suffering a plantar fascia injurylast March from which she was slow to recover.

“Last Friday was the first day I was able todo a track workout,” Lewy Boulet said. “I wasafraid of coming in here and running, like, 18minutes. So this was the best thing to have hap-pened to me. It was awesome just to make thefinal.”

Additional Day 5 Notes:In the men’s discus throw final, Jarred Rome(Chula Vista) made his second Olympic teamwith a sixth-round blast of 63.35 meters/207feet, 10 inches. Lance Brooks (Colorado,65.15m/213-9) won his first national title andJason Young (Texas) took the third slot with afinal round toss of 62.15/203-11.

“I graduated college in 2000 and didn’tmake my first Olympic team until 2004. Sothere were three years where, if it wasn’t forfamily helping me, I wouldn’t have made the2004 team, the last four World Championshipteams, or this Olympic team,” Rome said. “Iwould have got a job and quit the sport. There’sno money coming out of college. I didn’t makeone cent in this sport until I made the Olympicteam. Nike, who I’ve been with since 2004,makes it possible for me to continue training.”

Variable winds and damp conditions ham-pered the men’s pole vault where Scott Roth(Granite Bay), a multiple NCAA titlist while atthe University of Washington, placed third at5.60m/8-4.25, but does not have the OlympicA standard.

“I was pretty disappointed not to get theOlympic standard and not make the team,” saidRoth. “But I’m very happy to be here and run avictory lap [with first- and second-placers BradWalker and Jeremy Scott] around HaywardField. It was a great experience.”

Day 7, June 30Olympic Trials 20K Race Walk Produces TopResults for CaliforniansOn a muggy morning at the 2012 U.S.Olympic Track & Field Trials, the men’s 20Krace walk featured several new American recordsand a number of California connections amongthe top placers. Trevor Barron’s (Pennsylvania)

win in 1 hour, 23 minutes, and 0.10 seconds(1:23:00.10) chopped almost 40 seconds off theprevious 20K race walk record set by TimSeaman (Chula Vista) in 2000. The 19-year-oldBarron also set a new U.S. 15K race walk record(1:02:06.57) en route to his victory and first-time berth on a U.S. Olympic team.

Seaman, a multiple U.S. record holder andtwo-time 20K race walk Olympian, placed sec-ond in 1:27:29.48, a new U.S. mastersM40–44 age-group record, despite incurringtwo infractions for “lifting” (the boundarybetween walking and running) during the race.Seaman also set three additional new U.S.M40–44 records (5K, 10K, and 15K) en routeto his runner-up finish.

Seaman coaches Barron and 20-year-oldNick Christie (El Cajon) who placed third in1:29:47.30. Only Barron, however, qualifiedfor a U.S. Olympic team berth since he was theonly finisher who has attained the Olympic20K race walk A standard of 1:22:30.

Christie commented: “I’ve only been par-ticipating in race walking for 13 months.Coach Tim [Seaman] said to me [at CuyamacaCollege in El Cajon], ‘If anyone starts racewalking, I’ll get them to the Olympic Trials in ayear.’ I finished up my track and cross countryseasons at Cuyamaca, said goodbye to it, andstarted race walking.”

Another Seaman-coached athlete, TylerSorensen, 18, of Lafayette (who recently movedto the San Diego area) was sixth in 1:34:24.52.Sorensen set a new U.S. Junior men’s 15K racewalk record (1:10:57.96) and a 20K personalrecord while competing in his first U.S.Olympic Trials. Sorensen will compete in theIAAF World Junior Track & FieldChampionships in Barcelona, Spain in mid-July before beginning studies at StanfordUniversity.

“The Trials has been very exciting andmotivational for me to keep going for the nextfour years and, hopefully, make my firstOlympic team in 2016. I’d like tomake the U.S. team for the[IAAF] World Cham-pionships in Moscownext year.”

2 0 0 4O l y m p i a nJohn Nunn( C h u l aVista) hadan off dayand did notfinish. LastJanuary, Nunnwon the U.S.Olympic Team 50KRace Walk Trials, andqualified for a berth on theLondon Olympic team in thatevent.

Day 7, June 30Californians Stand Out on Day 7 A drizzly Day 7 of the 2012 U.S. OlympicTrack & Field Trials at Hayward Field inEugene ended with Californians Allyson Felixshattering the women’s 200m Olympic Trialsrecord and Carmelita Jeter taking the runner-up slot. Californians Will Claye (triple jump),Sharon Day (heptathlon), and JasonRichardson (110m hurdles) also turned in solidperformances, earning slots on a U.S. Olympicteam packed with Golden Staters. Also, ’97UCLA graduate and longtime Californian AmyAcuff (high jump) made her fifth Olympicteam.

A crowd of 20,791 witnessed a much-anticipated women’s 200m final where Felix(Santa Clarita) ran away from one of the bestfields of American 200-meter women everassembled. Felix’s 21.69 victory took down the24-year-old meet record of 21.77 set byFlorence Griffith-Joyner as Felix became thefourth-fastest woman in history. In her wake,2011 World silver medalist Carmelita Jeter fin-ished second with a lifetime-best of 22.11.400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross (Texas)claimed her second spot on the London squadwith a third-place, 22.22 performance. Felixhad a margin of victory of 0.42 seconds, thelargest in the electronic-timing era at the Trials.Jeneba Tarmoh (Los Angeles), who tied withFelix for third in the women’s 100m final,placed fifth in 22.35.

Taking advantage of still winds early in themen’s triple jump, Will Claye’s (San Diego)17.55m/57-7 effort secured second placebehind Christian Taylor’s (Florida) world-lead-ing 17.63m/57-10.25. The pair earned the onlytwo berths on the London-bound team sincethird-placer Walter Davis (Louisiana) does nothave the Olympic A standard of 17.20m.


Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w.Ph

otoR

un.N

ET


Sharon Day (San Luis Obispo), the onlywoman coming into the heptathlon with theOlympic A standard, amassed a lifetime-bestscore of 6,343 points and placed second behind2008 Olympic silver medalist Hyleas Fountain’s(Florida) 6,419-point score. Day has previousOlympic experience as a 2008 U.S. Olympicteam member in the high jump.

In the 110m hurdles final, 2011 WorldOutdoor champion Jason Richardson(Inglewood) matched his PR 12.98-secondeffort from the semifinal to finish second andearned a slot on his first Olympic team. WinnerAries Merritt’s (Texas) 12.93 mark equaled fifthon the all-time U.S. list and eighth on the all-time world list.

Ageless Amy Acuff, who turns 37 in a cou-ple weeks, made her fifth Olympic team, placingthird in the women’s high jump final with a bestjump of 1.95/6-4.75. She’s only the fifthAmerican woman ever to make five Olympicteams.

Quotes:Allyson Felix (1st, women’s 200m): “It’s veryrare for me to be coming off any curve in thelead. I was just staying focused. I knew thatthere [were] so many strong people in the racethat you can never just relax or be contentwhere you are. So, I decided to keep diggingand kept it going.”

“I have a great relationship with JenebaTarmoh. I’m just so proud of her. I really[encouraged] her to come and train with us[coach Bob Kersee’s group]. What she has donethis year is really phenomenal. So many colle-giate athletes have a tough time transitioning,

and she’s done one of the best jobs of doing that.We do all of our training together, helping eachother reach our goals. As long as she stays dedi-cated, things will work out just fine for her.”

Carmelita Jeter (2nd, women’s 200m):“I’m so happy right now. It felt really good tocome out and execute, and make the team inthe 100m and 200m. I’m having such a suchgreat year right now going into London. I’mjust excited to be on this team with thesewomen. It’s my first Olympics and it’s one ofthe best feelings in the world.”

Sharon Day (2nd, heptathlon): “It feels sogood right now to go to London, representTeam USA, and do the best that I can. I’mlooking for a big PR score and looking to get onthe [medals] podium.”

Amy Acuff (3rd, high jump): About com-ing back after a brief retirement from the sport:“After Beijing [2008 Olympic Games], I reallylet myself down and was feeling really burntout. I continued another year, but I think deepdown I felt like I had unfinished business. I feltthat I had it within me to jump higher. I gotfourth place in Athens [2004 Olympic Games]and I just wanted another shot at it. Give meanother chance, and I’ll make it right.”

Will Claye (2nd, triple jump): “I movedout to the U.S. Olympic Training Center inChula Vista last January because Jeremy Fisher(the jumps coach at the training center) was mycoach during my freshman and sophomore yearat Oklahoma. I got there, I was wet behind theears, and I improved by four feet. I knew thatsomething he was teaching me was working. Ifelt it was time for me to go back to him.There’s still a lot of room to improve.”

Jason Richardson (2nd, 110m hurdles):“Coming off the semis, I definitely felt theeffort that I was putting in. I won’t say that I’mbionic and that I was 100%. What I will say isthat I’m capable of doing whatever it takeswhenever it counts. In the middle of the race Ihad a little problem. I don’t know if I hit a hur-dle, or if I came off of one wrong, but I defi-nitely fell back. It was at that moment that Idecided I wasn’t going to let this dream slip andI decided to battle back. I was confident and Iwas leaning. I ran my second sub-13, which Ididn’t think I was going to do for a while.”

Day 8, July 1Californians Uceny and Rowbury Make U.S. Olympic 1500m SquadMorgan Uceny had nothing to prove in thewomen’s 1500m final at the U.S. OlympicTrack & Field Trials. After all, in 2011, Uceny(Mammoth Lakes) was ranked #1 in the worldin the 1500m and dominated the IAAFDiamond League circuit.

On the other hand, Shannon Rowbury(San Francisco) did. She lost eight months oftraining and competition last year with anAchilles tendon injury and a femoral stressfracture. Despite the injuries, Rowbury puttogether what she considered “a pretty decentseason” in 2011, even though she failed toadvance beyond the semi-final at the IAAFWorld Outdoor Championships in Daegu. Yet,some critics wondered if Rowbury, who placed7th in the 1500m at the 2008 Olympic Gamesand was the 2009 World Champs bronzemedalist, had the wherewithal to come back.


Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w.Ph

otoR

un.N

ET


At times, Rowbury wondered that, too.“Last year, when I was injured, there were

times when I really didn’t want to run any more,”Rowbury admitted. “When you’re questioningyourself as an athlete, that’s the deepest, darkestplace you can go.”

How quickly deep darkness turns to radiantsunshine. As sun broke through the predomi-nantly rainy skies at the Trials, 22,497 fans atEugene’s Hayward Field witnessed Uceny andRowbury place 1–2 in a captivating women’s1500m. Both athletes, along with third-placerJenny Simpson (the 2011 WorldChampionships gold medalist from Colorado)proved that the U.S. will, indeed, field a medal-contending female metric mile contingent inLondon.

Both Uceny and Rowbury stayed closebehind early leaders Treniere Moser (11th,Texas) and Brenda Martinez (12th, RanchoCucamonga). Following an 800m split of2:14.1, Uceny took the lead and cruised a finallap of 60.14 seconds for the victory in 4:04.59.Rowbury finished with a 60.46 last lap for sec-ond place in 4:05.11. Simpson grabbed thethird London position at 4:05.17.

“I’m confident in my closing speed,” Ucenysaid. “I knew that if it came down to 200 metersI’d be okay. It was all about keeping my cool andknowing that I had an extra gear if I needed it. Ifelt that I was always able to respond. I just knewwith all the work I’d done, that—as long as I ransmart—there was no way I was going to lose thisrace. When the three of us broke away, I wantedthe win. I wanted it bad.

“For me, a lot of it’s all about runningsmart,” Uceny explained. “I tend to want to runhard until I die. Holding back is hard for me. Sothat’s something [Mammoth Track Club coach]

Terrence Mahon and I have been working on.”“She stuck to the race plan and wanted to

make a hard last lap,” Mahon commented. “Shemade everybody hurt and was training hard forit. There were some great women in there. Anyone of them could have won.”

Said Rowbury: “Despite my not makingthe World Championships final last year, I’veproven that I’m a championship racer. If there’sany sort of redemption [following the Trialsrace], it’s proving to myself that everything I’vebelieved—that the confidence that I tried tokeep even through my darkest times ofinjury—wasn’t a fantasy. I’m really capable ofthe things that I thought. Standing here now, Ifeel like [making my second Olympic team] issomething that I was meant to do.”

And for Uceny, a first-time Olympian, it’sa dream come true.

“It’s a big stepping stone,” Uceny said.“Lots of people go through their careers havingnot made an Olympic team. It’s tough whenyou can never say that you were an Olympian.But now I can always say ‘I’m an Olympian’and it’s something I’ll always cherish.”

Additional Final Day Trials Action:In the women’s 400m hurdles, American recordholder and reigning World champion LashindaDemus (Toluca Lake) reaffirmed her positionas a gold medal threat in London. Demusturned in the fastest time by an American thisyear, taking her fourth national title and the2012 Olympic Trials crown in 53.98.

“I’m still coming back from a [right ham-string] injury, so my race wasn’t as good as Iwanted it to be,” Demus admitted. “This is myfastest time of the year and I have a good monthof training [ahead]. I think I can get back down

there to be able to compete at the OlympicGames because my time has to come way downto be a contender. I’m happy with the time, butknow that I have a lot more work to do.”

American record holder Kara Patterson(Chula Vista) had the early lead in the women’sjavelin throw, but tripped and tweaked a kneeon her fourth-round throw. She elected to passon her final two throws and placed second at59.79 meters/196 feet, 2 inches to 2012 NCAAchampion [while at Oklahoma] BrittanyBorman (61.51m/201-9).

“I really wanted to keep my shoes on for[the entire competition], but my [U.S.Olympic Training Center] coach, Ty Sevin,and I decided that it was better to be careful forLondon than attempt my last two throws,”Patterson said.

In the men’s 1500m final, David Torrence(Oakland) finished sixth in 3:37.70. The for-mer University of California, Berkeley standoutand three-time USATF road mile championwas in contention on the last lap, but faded overthe final 150 meters behind winner LeonelManzano (Texas, 3:35.75).

“I was aggressive. I really wanted to makesure I was close to the front with a lap to go,”Torrence said. “I executed my plan almost per-fectly. I was trying to get into the lead over thelast lap, but I just didn’t have it in the last100m.

“I didn’t think I was going to fall apart thatbad. I thought I was [as] prepared as anyone inthe world for this race—my nutrition, work-outs, and timing were great. Now, the title ofOlympian means that much more. These[Olympic team members] are the real deal.”


Vict

or S

aile

r/ww

w.Ph

otoR

un.N

ET


Walk. Run.TM

lungcancerfoundation.org

BONNIE

J. ADDARIO

LUNG CANCER FOU

N

DATION

SIT. SPRINT. SPRAWL. CRAWL. DANCE. PRANCE.

STROLL. CAJOLE. SAUNTER. MEANDER.

HOP, SKIP or JUMP!

LUNG CANCER

MATTERS

Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF) is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit. Tax ID: 20-4417327

SAN FRANCISCO 5K SEPTEMBER 16BUBBLE FINISH LINE–Golden Gate Park/Band Shell

ORANGE COUNTY 5K DECEMBER 2SANTA HUSTLE–El Toro Field Great Park in Irvine

ALL SF RUNNERS RECEIVE: ALL OC RUNNERS RECEIVE:

LUNG CANCER

B O N N I E J . A D D A R I O

yournextstepisthecure.org

SANTA HATS

LUNG CANCERB O N N I E J . A D D A R I O


IN TWO GREAT SUNNY CALIFORNIA CITIES...FOR A GREAT CAUSE


alkW

alk

. Run.

. Run.

alkWFOR A GREA

O GREAWTIN

. Run.alkUSEAT CREAAT

ALIFORNIA CITIES...Y CT SUNNGREAAT

. Run.ALIFORNIA CITIES...

. Run.REERCCENACGNUL B

ALIFORNIA CITIES...

NOONIIOTTIADD

A

NN

DUU

N

OOU

FFOR

ORIIIORRIO

AARDDDD

AAD.J

EIIENNINNNOB

grrgoor.noitaddanuunooufforrf

ceeerccer

nncaan

ccagn

ul

SRRRS

EEERNTTE

ATTTAATMMA

LULU

RSER ERCCEN

ENCAT ANCCA

GG CNNG

UM UNLMLUM MUUMJroPKIIIPKKIP

SSK

P,P S

OOPHHO

EMME.REERTTENNT

UUNASSA.ELLE

OOLJJO

AAJCCA

.LLORTTRS

NAANDDA.LL.

WWLARRA

CCR.LL.WWL

AAWRRA

PPRSSP

T.T SNNTIINRRIPPRSSP.TT.IS

TM

!PP!MMP.RR.EERDDENNDAEEA .ECCENNCARRAPPR.EE.CCE

NNC

ALL SF R

UNNERS RECEIVE:ALL SF R

ERA D

g.oreepisthecur

tstxxtneexoury

A D D A R I O

G CB O N N I E J .B O N N I E J .

LUNG CANCER

UNNERS RECEIVE:ALL OC R

SANT

UNNERS RECEIVE:

A

CA A D D A R I O

g.oreepisthecur

tstxneexoury

A D D A R I OLUJ .

B O N N I E JLUNG CANCER

STHAATTTA

ourney

tstxourne

episthecurtst

eepisthecur

g.ore


Summer Shoes 2012The summer season is here, and so is our guide to more running shoes from which to choose.The selection is a nice cross-section of offerings: three Performance shoes, three Neutral shoes,and one shoe each from Motion Stabilizing and Hybrid Trail. Always make sure you knowwhat type of shoe works for you by knowing your foot shape, foot strike, and foot motion.Check the shoe widget at www.runningnetwork.com for updates and, for additional shoeinformation, click the banner for Running Product Reviews.

The Instinct is the first shoe of the 33 series designed for the trail. The upper, like its cousin the Speedstar, usesa no-sew TPU lattice that completely covers the upper and is light as well as supportive. It uses the same midsoleas the Speedstar, though here it’s just a bit livelier thanks to the 33 series’ Propulsion Trusstic, which offers energyreturn from the material’s recoil. The outersole effectively splits the difference between trail traction and roadperformance. The combination of characteristics makes a successful hybrid trail shoe that’s light enough for fasterrunning with plenty of cushioned protection.

HYBRID TRAIL Sizes Men 7–13,14,15; Women 5–12 Weight 11.7 oz. (men’s 11); 9.6 oz. (women’s 8)Shape semi-curved Construction Strobel slip-lasted, SpEVA (EVA) Strobel board Recommended formedium- to high-arched feet with neutral biomechanics

The Vomaro continues as the flagship of Nike’s neutral running line. Round 7 makes some changes whilemaintaining its most important strengths. The upper is still a closed mesh, but alterations have been made to themidfoot supports. The thermoplastic saddle has been replaced by straps reinforced with Flywire that overlap andattach directly to the lacing, effectively locking the foot over the midsole. The midsole has a firm and resilientride, just the type of shoe for high-mileage training. The encapsulated Zoom Air configuration offers a ride thatis both hard to beat and hard to match. The outersole is segmented to allow good flexion and reduce weight, andis much the same as previous versions of the Vomaro. You can expect the same kind of cushioning and performancethe Vomaro has been known for.

NEUTRAL Sizes Men 6–13,14,15; Women 5–12 Weight 12.4 oz. (men’s 11); 10.1 oz. (women’s 8) Shape semi-curved Construction Combination Strobel slip-lasted, EVA Strobel board (forefoot) Recommended for medium- to high-arched feet with neutral biomechanics

Karhu has evolved its Fulcrum technology several times since its introduction in 1985. The Forward3 introducesthe latest iteration. Previously constructed of molded foam, it’s now a Pebax device that provides both midfootsupport and the unique ride that the Fulcrum offers in forward motion. Now the midsole foam conforms aroundthe Fulcrum and offers a cushy ride in both the heel and the forefoot. The outersole is a thin layer of durablecarbon rubber in the heel with blown rubber up front for a bit more cushion. The upper is lined with moisture-wicking mesh. On the outside, an open mesh fabric wraps the foot comfortably and secures it with plenty oftoeroom. The performance is effective, representing the best execution yet of the Fulcrum concept.

PERFORMANCE Sizes Men 8–12,13,14; Women 6–11 Weight 11.2 oz. (men’s 11); 9.3 oz. (women’s 8)Shape semi-curved Construction Strobel slip-lasted, EVA Strobel board Recommended for medium- tohigh-arched feet with neutral biomechanics



On Running has consistently grown its line of uniquely cushioned shoes. The Cloudsurfer is the latest of itsupdated models, receiving adjustments all around. The upper has benefitted from refinements to the last that havebrought it more in line with accepted sizing standards. (Previously, they were a little short.) Retained is thebreathable open mesh and the secure wrap of the foot, though now with a bit more toeroom. The midsole remainspretty consistent—cushiony with good flexibility. The outersole lugs are a bit thicker and harder, so that whilestill providing a unique ride, they’re more durable. The resulting combination of foam and the compressable lugsprovide a ride that’s effective and certainly worth a serious look.

NEUTRAL Sizes Men 8–14; Women 6–10 Weight 12.9 oz. (men’s 11); 10.4 oz. (women’s 8) Shape semi-curved Construction Strobel slip-lasted, EVA Strobel board Recommended for medium- to high-arched feet with neutral biomechanics

Reebok updates its running focus for ZigTech with the ZigNano Fly II SE. The upper is more of a color-up, asthe fit and mesh are all but the same as the original: open mesh with minimal synthetic leather overlays. Themidsole offers the same offsets, flexibility, and ride featured in Round 1, with the exception of adjustments tothe segmentation in the heel plate between the midsole and upper. This improves the articulation in transition,which was a bit of a problem in earlier versions of ZigTech shoes, including the ZigNano Fly. The minimal carbonrubber has been retained largely intact, still aimed at balancing weight and durability. Fans can celebrate theimprovements, while those seeking a reliable neutral road shoe will find it in the ZigNano Fly II SE.

NEUTRAL Sizes Men 7–13; Women 5–11 Weight 11.7 oz. (men’s 11); 9.4 oz. (women’s 8) Shape semi-curved Construction Strobel slip-lasted, EVA Strobel board Recommended for medium- to high-arched feet with neutral biomechanics

Round 2 of the Mirage aims at continued performance while freshening the shoe overall. The upper switches fromits open two-layer mesh to a relatively closed, engineered mesh that breathes well, while adding a small measure ofprotection and support. It also makes the fit just a little closer. The midsole is much the same as before—a responsivelayer of cushioning with geometry that drops only 4 millimeters from heel to toe—so it encourages a midfootstrike. The outersole, also unchanged, sports just enough rubber in the highest wear portions of the sole to boostdurability. The sum of these parts is a light, well-cushioned shoe that’s great for a mix of faster running and regulartraining.

PERFORMANCE Sizes Men 7–13,14,15; Women 5–12 Weight 10.4 oz. (men’s 11); 8.3 oz. (women’s 8)Shape semi-curved Construction Strobel slip-lasted, EVA Strobel board Recommended for medium- to high-arched feet with neutral biomechanics

This version of the Genesis shows the real progress Spira has made in recent seasons. Its cushioning technology isprovided, in large part, by steel springs that are well incorporated in traditional foam. The upper is its best effortyet: Elasticized lace eyelets move with the foot and stretch mesh better hugs the midfoot, while allowing room inthe forefoot. The midsole has been shaped to allow the foot to flex, while providing cushioning and allowing thefunction of the spring as well. The outersole is a typical and effective carbon rubber heel with a blown rubberforefoot. Though just a bit on the heavy side, the stability and cushioned ride of the midsole compensate well forthe extra weight.

MOTION STABILIZING Sizes Men 7–13,14,15 (D,2E widths); Women 6–11,12 (B,D widths) Weight 15.3 oz.(men’s 11); 11.9 oz. (women’s 8) Shape semi-curved Construction Strobel slip-lasted, EVA Strobel boardRecommended for medium- to high-arched feet with mild to moderate overpronation

The TT 5.0 is the update to Zoot’s multipurpose trainer designed to handle both triathlon training as well as therunning duties in longer triathlons. The stretchy monosock upper fits closely, though it’s pretty roomy over thetoes. Elastic laces snug the midfoot, which is a nice blend of responsive EVA and Zoot’s Z-bound inserts. Theoutersole is a thin layer of carbon rubber in the heel, while the forefoot has fabric-backed TPU treads for grip anddurability. The success of the TT series is advanced by Round 5, producing a long racer that serves well for temporuns, speedwork, and even a little motivation on regular training runs.

PERFORMANCE Sizes Men 7–12,13,14; Women 6–11 Weight 9.8 oz. (men’s 11); 7.8 oz. (women’s 8) Shape semi-curved Construction Strobel slip-lasted Recommended for medium- to high-arched feet with neutral biomechanics

CREGG WEINMANN is footwear and running products reviewer for Running Network LLC. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected] © 2012 by Running Network LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be stored, copied, or reprinted without prior written permission of Running Network LLC. Reprinted here with permission.



Register Today For Sacramento, CAOctober 28, 2012 - 5k & 10k Races

Registration also includes a custom Merrell Down & Dirty technical tee, post race food,

military-style dog tag finisher medal and more.

TO REGISTER VISIT www.DownAndDirtyMudRun.com

PHOTO CREDIT: NATHAN BILOW

/ 2t- 1 Cao Nts 943tOp3__9430gp3 1/ / 8 : 0e021 2/ A- 1 MP c ST9 1e

Way

ne J

ones

s


LDR NewsSOUTHERNCALIFORNIA

FROM WAYNE JONESS

Magic Shoe 5KCorona Del Mar; May 19

By Contributing SCA/USATF Members

A festive atmosphere, great weather, a worthycause, and a fast course greeted over 900 regis-tered runners at the “Biggest little 5000 inOrange County.” The streets of Newport Beachwere host to over 170 SCA/USATF participantsfor the fifth race in the 2012 USATF Grand PrixRoad running series. Coach Sumner usuallyengineers a fast course and the competitors didnot disappoint, with 4 men running sub-15minutes and 20 men under 16 minutes.

On the men’s open side, Roosevelt Cook(M32), from Cal Coast Track Club, was the topUSATF finisher with a time of 14:55. CarlosCarballo (M29), running for adidas LegacyRun Racing, was second at 14:59, and JorgeJabaz (M25) finished third at 15:03. Just 8 sec-onds separated the top three USATF men in avery close competition.

The women’s open field was also competi-tive with The Janes Elite Racing runner ErikaAkulfi (F36) winning with a time of 16:43. Onthe strength of her four fantastic races this year,

Aklufi is positioned to move to the top of thewomen’s Grand Prix standings. Second placewent to Jenni Johnson (F32) at 17:01 and closebehind in third place was Brooks ID runnerand 2012 SCA/USATF marathon championSara Raschiatore (F31) with a time of 17:22.

In the men’s masters division, Peter Magill(M50), from Cal Coast Track Club, was firstwith a 15:05 finish, a new American record forthe 50–54 age division. Magill’s feat was amaz-ing in face of the fact that he had just brokenKen Ernst’s (M50) 5000m record on the trackat the Oxy Invitational on May 5 with a time of15:11. Magill’s time at the Magic Shoe 5K beathis pending American record of 15:24 from lastyear’s La Palma July 4 5K. And Magill went onto break his own record at the USATF WestRegion Jim Bush meet just two weeks later onJune 2, when he ran 15:06. Showing the talentof the Cal Coast Track Club in the masters divi-sion, Ken Ernst (M50) and Jeff Ambos (M50)completed the Cal Coast masters sweep, finish-ing second and third with times of 15:52 and15:55, respectively.

Club Ed Running standout runnerNathalie Higley (F42) at 17:02 was the topmasters woman and also moved up to challengefor a top spot in the women’s Grand Prix stand-ings. Ingrid Walters (F40), also from The JanesElite Racing, finished second at 19:06. CalCoast Track Club’s Rosalva Bonilla (F49) fin-ished third at 19:10 and will maintain her posi-tion as one of the top three women in the over-all Grand Prix standings.

Pasadena Half/Full/Relay MarathonPasadena; May 20

By Wayne Joness

While only a few years old, the KaiserPermanente Pasadena Marathon has created aformula for success in the crowded SouthernCalifornia road running circuit, selling out allof its events for 2012. Runners who knowPasadena trained for a course that presentedsome hills, but were also rewarded with a sceniccourse that included the Rose Bowl and a route

L–R New AR holder in the M50–54 5K (15:05) Peter Magill (M50), with previous track 5K recordholder and Cal Coast team member Ken Ernst (M50); Men’s open winner Roosevelt Cook (M32).

Above Three-time defending PasadenaMarathon champion Mandy Grantz

LDR News continues next page.

Way

ne J

ones

s



that parallelled the beautiful Arroyo Seco River.7,000 runners took to the streets of Pasadena on Sunday, May 20 to

race a full marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K, or a kid’s run 1K. In addi-tion, race director Israel Estrada worked closely with USATF andPasadena-based Gritty City Track Club to organize an invitational relaymarathon event, the first relay marathon in the Los Angeles area since thedemise of the fabled Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon in 2006.

In the full marathon competition, Alexander Garabedian (M20) ofthe Santa Monica Track Club led the way for USATF runners with a timeof 2:58:26. Finishing right behind Garabedian was three-time defendingPasadena Marathon champion and 2012 Olympic Trials qualifier MandyGrantz (F25) representing the hometown favorites, the Gritty City TrackClub. The USATF masters competition was won by the ubiquitous longdistance running machine, Joe Ogata (M63), with a time of 3:48:30. Inthe last 10 years, Ogata has run more than 100 marathons, consistentlyqualifying for the Boston Marathon in his age group. Rounding out themasters competition was Cheri Rich (F50) with a time of 4:05:09.

In the half marathon, 2012 SCA/USATF marathon championMark Batres (M27) of Run With Us had a comfortable finish of 1:11:50.Underlining the depth and talent of the Gritty City Track Club was teammember Nicole Luque (F32) finishing in 1:31:17. In addition to her ath-letic abilities, Luque is well known as a reliable volunteer for various racesand scores the Road Running Grand Prix, as well.

While most of the Cal Coast Track Club raced the previous day at

the Magic Shoe 5K, distance specialists Matt Ebiner (M51) and LindaHodgson (F57) represented their team well in Pasadena with first-placemasters times of 1:15:57 for Ebiner and 1:44:42 for Hodgson. There canbe no doubt that the Cal Coast Track Club is determined to dominateroad racing in the Southern California Association: It was the only clubto field teams at both the Magic Shoe 5K and the Pasadena Marathon.

Flying under the radar was the Pasadena Relay Marathon, a jointeffort of the Pasadena Marathon and Southern California USATF toexplore developing a new relay marathon event. Participation was limit-ed to six local teams, with A Runner’s Circle fielding three teams of run-ners, the Gritty City Track Club contributing two teams, and thePasadena Pacers with one team. A Runner’s Circle pushed the pace, fin-ishing in 2:35:25, with “True Grit” (Gritty City Track Club) second witha time of 2:42:47.

The five-person relay marathon was formatted according to nation-al rules, with legs of 10 km, 5 km, 10 km, 5 km and a stretch of 12.2 kmto the finish line. Special thanks to Gritty City member Alex Bruno, whodid much of the organizing to make this event possible, and even droveone of the transport vans used to ferry runners around the course on race day.

A Runner’s Circle Pasadena Relay team members L–R Sergio Arias, Brian Ramos, and team caption Gerard Deegan

Way

ne J

ones

s

LDR continued from page 25



Pacific THERx 5K4PlayPA/USATF ChampionshipPortola Valley; May 12

The inaugural Pacific THERx 5K4Play yieldedsome fine performances on a sunny morningthat was ideal for running. The field, com-posed of several hundred primarily PacificAssociation/USATF competitors, was eager totry out a newly USATF-certified 5K out-and-back course on shaded, semi-rural PortolaRoad. The route offered a gradual 128-footdrop over the “out” leg which, after the 180ºturnaround point, became a moderately chal-lenging uphill charge over the final 1.5 miles.

Among women, YiOu Wang (ASICSAggies) and Annie Bersagel (New BalanceSilicon Valley) took an early lead, followedclosely by Kate Niehaus (NBSV). At the 1-mile mark (5:08 split), Bersagel began to pullaway, hit the turnaround, and navigated theuphill second mile in 5:49 before proceedingto the finish line in 16:45 for the win. Niehaus(2nd, 17:00) passed Wang (3rd, 17:05) abouthalfway through the race and held on for therunner-up spot.

“My split times were very positive, whichI think was the case for just about everybody,”Bersagel joked about the rise back to the finishline. “But this is actually the fastest 5K I’ve runon a roads in a little while.”

Bersagel, the 2006 NCAA Woman of theYear (for academic and athletics excellencewhile at Wake Forest University), scored herroad PR of 16:24 at the 2006 Carlsbad 5000.As of this writing, her 5000m PR on the trackwas 15:50.59.

41-year-old Kris Paaso won the women’smasters title, garnering fourth place overall in17:22 and contributing to New BalanceSilicon Valley’s PA/USATF open women’s teamvictory.

Barbara Miller, 72, scored the women’sperformance of the day. The multiple age-group record holder easily won the PA/USATFwomen’s Super Senior (70–79) age division ina blistering 24:35 (a 94% age-graded score).

“I haven’t run a PA/USATF race for awhile so I really enjoyed seeing the old crowd,”Miller said. “My training and racing has beengoing well this year, but I’ve been racing most-ly close to home (Modesto-Sacramento area).Actually, I was hoping for a sub –24-minute5K. I ran 24:08 in Elk Grove a couple ofmonths ago so it seemed like a possible goal[before I experienced] the long, steady uphillhere and the slanted road. But it’s a beautiful

area and the race is a lot of fun. I would defi-nitely race here again.”

(Editor’s Note: Miller improved on hermark at two subsequent 5Ks within a fewweeks, bettering the currently ratified U.S.W70–74 5K record. (See Additional RoadRacing Notes below for more.)

In the men’s contest, a lead group of abouta half-dozen navigated the downhill first milein 4:42. By 2 miles, the group was down tofour. With about three-quarters of a mileremaining, Kota Reichert made a move,accompanied by his ASICS Aggie compatriotCarl Dargitz and Transports adidas competitorChris Chavez.

“At that point, I said, ‘Just hold on [tothem] through the hills,’” Chavez said. “‘Don’tdo anything stupid.’”

Over the final 600 meters, Chavez forgeda bit of a gap and expanded it for the victory in14:54. Dargitz (2nd, 15:01) and Reichert (3rd,15:03) followed, leading the Aggies to thePA/USATF open men’s team victory. Chavez,the 2011 PA/USATF short road Grand Prixopen men’s champion, garnered his secondconsecutive individual PA/USATF Grand Prix5K victory in 2012. Chavez also won theZippy 5K three weeks earlier in 14:42.

“I wasn’t worried about my time today,”said Chavez. “There was a good group outthere today, and I had a lot of fun.”

Richard Bolt, 41, scored a narrow, 2-sec-ond men’s masters victory over JaimeHeilpern in 16:08. Brian Pilcher’s 16:30 atage 55 (94% age-graded score) was mostnotable among men.

Thanks to race director Dena Evans andNew Balance Silicon Valley for hosting asuperb first-year event that benefits PlayworksSilicon Valley. Playworks is a national nonprof-it organization that supports learning by pro-viding safe, healthy, and inclusive play andphysical activity to low-income schools atrecess and throughout the school day.

Marin Memorial Day 10KPA/USATF ChampionshipKentfield; May 28

Contested in the shadow of Marin’s MountTamalpais, through the nearly flat, manicuredneighborhoods of Kentfield, Larkspur, andRoss, invariably in bright, sunny-but-comfort-able running conditions, this race is one of thegems of Northern California road running.And the devotees who return here year afteryear are never disappointed. In this year’sMarin Memorial Day (MMD) 10K, ClaraPeterson registered the second fastest femaletime in the history of the 31-year-old event.Plus, Hans Schmid set a possible new U.S.10K record (pending ratification by USATF)in the men’s 70–74 age-group ranks.

Peterson won the women’s contest in

33:33. Only April Powers, Marin County’sfemale running standout in the 1980s, has runfaster (33:26 in 1988) on this USATF-certifiedloop course that finishes on the College ofMarin track. That says a lot, as a plethora offemale Olympians and luminaries have ascend-ed the winner’s platform at the MMD 10K,including Lynn Nelson, Maria Trujillo, RuthWysocki, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, and KateO’Neill.

Now Peterson, who lives in San Anselmo,can be added to the list of local, Marin Countyresidents who have grabbed a PA/USATF openwomen’s title at this event.

“I was nervous before the race because I’dheard about a girl name Malika [Mejdoub]who was flying in from Morocco to try andbreak the race record,” Peterson said. “It turnsout that it was perfect that she was therebecause it helped me run faster than I probablywould have. I let her take out the race just toget a feel for what she was capable of.”

In fact, Mejdoub, who scored a 2:39:31win at the Pittsburgh Marathon earlier in themonth, went through the first mile in whatPeterson, who was right on her heels, called a“comfortable” 5:17. At the 5K split (16:45),Peterson felt confident enough to take the lead.Mejdoub hung onto the former DukeUniversity standout for 2 more miles beforePeterson dropped her and stretched a 7-secondgap over her rival by the finish line. Mejdoub(2nd, 33:40) was followed by YiOu Wang(3rd, 34:42).

“I felt fantastic and was so happy to getthe win,” Peterson related. “My house is lessthan a half-mile from parts of the course, so Irun it all the time. I would have been devastat-ed if I got beat in my own backyard.

“But the most exciting part of the day waswhen my 3-year-old son, Ramsey, won his 50-meter toddler division race. I’m crossing myfingers that he can keep up his winning streakthrough high school and college,” Petersonlaughed.

Four years ago, Chris Chavez (see sidebar)ran the MMD 10K as his first race as a post-collegian after completing his track & field andcross country eligibility at UC-Berkeley.

“It was the race where I fell in love withthe Pacific Association/USATF road circuit,”Chavez said.

Now, after two fourth- and two third-places here since 2008, Chavez is the MMD10K men’s champion as he defends his 2011PA/USATF short Road Grand Prix open men’sdivision overall title.

A lead pack composed of Kota Reichert,who set the early pace, Crosby Freeman, KevinPool, and Chavez worked together through thefirst 5K at 4:55/mile pace. After moving to thefront, Chavez made a concerted move at 3.5miles, lowering the pace to 4:45.

PACIFIC ASSOCIATION

BY MARK WINITZ

LDR News continues next page.



LDR continued from page 27

“I felt I’d waited long enough,” Chavezrecounted. “I had an idea of Kota’s and Crosby’sfitness from recent races, but Kevin was a wildcard so I wanted to put myself in control.”

Over the Corte Madera Creek pedestri-an/bike path, Chavez’ competitors dropped offone by one, and by mile 5, the eventual winnerwas in the clear as he motored on to a 30:15win. Pool (2nd, 30:28), Reichert (3rd, 30:41),and Freeman (4th, 30:50) followed.

Chavez registered his third consecutivewin on the 2012 PA/USATF short Grand Prixroad circuit.

The masters titles went to Valerie Young,age 48, in a superb 36:12 and senior extraordi-naire Brian Pilcher, age 55. Pilcher’s 32:57translates to a 97% age-graded score—one ofthe highest ever recorded in PA/USATF RoadGrand Prix competition since 2003, the firstyear age-graded scores on the circuit weretracked.

“I always enjoy Marin Memorial Day sinceit’s my local race,” said Pilcher, who lives inRoss. “At this race, I like to go out fast, findpeople to run with, and hang on. This was an[all-time] 10K PR for me today. It’s reallyimportant for me to say that I ran sub-33.”

PA/USATF age-group standout HansSchmid (age 72, Greenbrae) set a pending U.S.men’s 70–74 age-group record. Schmid’s timeof 40:45 bettered the listed U.S. record of41:09 set in 1984 by Alfred Funk.

“I had no idea what the record was and Ididn’t even think about it. I had hoped to runat least a time similar to last year,” Schmid said.“I’m not a technical runner, no Garmin, nostopwatch. My body usually tells me how torun. Pacing is always a bit of a mystery for me.However, I have run a few PA/USATF racesand know who runs at a similar speed as I do. Itry not to go out too fast, and I keep a steadypace throughout the race. Somehow everythingcame together for me today. I still can’t believethat I established a [pending] U.S. record for usold-timers.”

There were 538 finishers in this year’s 10Kchampionship race, and 231 finishers in theaccompanying 5K. Thanks to the TamalpaRunners, the event’s organizers, for presentinganother superlative race.

Additional Road Racing NotesBarbara Miller (72, Modesto) was sidelined formuch of last year with a bone bruise followedby a string of family emergencies. That didn’tstop the longtime Buffalo Chips RunningClub standout, who holds eight U.S. age-group records and several more pendingrecords at distances from 10K through themarathon, from returning with a mission in2012. But, as a veteran competitor, she’s takingit a step at a time.

For the first half of this year, Miller has

concentrated on the 5K distance, turning instellar performances on several USATF-certi-fied “record quality” courses. Following a fast24:35 performance at the Pacific THERx5K4Play on May 12 (see race report in thisissue), she improved to 23:46 at the BuzzOakes No Excuses 5K (May 28, Sacramento).This mark bettered several pending U.S.W70–74 5K records on USATF’s record booksfor a mixed men’s/women’s race. Then, at theKaiser Permanente Women’s Fitness Festival5K (June 3, Sacramento), Miller recorded a23:50—12 seconds faster than the current U.S.W70–74 5K record in a women-only race.

“I really wanted to run somewherearound 23:30 at these races, but it didn’t hap-pen,” Miller said. “Hopefully, I can drop anadditional 5 seconds per mile off my times.I’m definitely working on it. I think I’ll workon my 5K time for another month before Imove on to longer races.”

Longtime running standout SharletGilbert (61, El Sobrante) is also enjoying a run-ning resurgence. In particular, over theMemorial Day weekend, the veteran of over 50

marathons who has a best of 2:38 at the 26.2-mile distance, scored a mind-boggling array ofage-group victories at shorter distances on boththe roads and track. First, at the PacificAssociation/USATF Open and Masters Track& Field Championships on Sunday, May 27, atthe College of San Mateo, Gilbert competed infour events, topping her age group in all: 100m(16.05 seconds), 200m (35.17), 800m(3:02.87, despite a shoelace that came untiedmid-race), and 5000m (22:43.27). The follow-ing day, she ran in the Marin Memorial Day10K, topping the W60–64 age division in46:24.

“Since there were few masters’ trackevents in Northern California this year, thePA/USATF championships were a priority forme,” Gilbert said. “And the Marin MemorialDay 10K is on the PA/USATF short roadGrand Prix, where I’ve been competing. Theonly solution was to prepare for both. Theweekend of racing was a blessing and a dreamcome true. My goals were achieved, and bothevents were tremendous. I’d better recover for awhile now, though. I’m not 20 anymore.”

Chavez Finds Enjoyment Key to Running Success

For Menlo Park’s Chris Chavez, running for fun has become a key ingredient to success in hissport. After all, the 26-year-old PA/USATF standout is studying full-time for his MBA at Cal-Berkeley while holding down a part-time job at a financial management firm. He needs time tochange focus, temporarily leave his commitments behind and just plain enjoy life. He’s foundthat in running.

Between train commutes back and forth to Berkeley, his studies, and work, Chavez spendshis precious personal time training up to 120 miles per week in the foothills near StanfordUniversity and on the Stanford track with members of the Bay Area Track Club. He chooses hisraces carefully and competes for the Berkeley-based Transports adidas Racing Team. Chavezconsiders himself fortunate to have Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy Boulet as a coach. Hiswife, Jordan, a social worker at Stanford Hospital, supports his endeavors.

After a personally disappointing performance at last January’s U.S. Olympic MarathonTrials, where he finished 53rd in 2:20:18, Chavez took some down-time, then discovered a newpleasure in his running this past spring when he cut his weekly mileage to 75–95 and decidedto focus on the 5K distance.

In doing so, here’s what Chavez discovered, in his own words:“With the Marathon Trials behind me, I thought about the things that I wanted to accom-

plish that were different than what I’d been focusing on. I’ve always felt my 5K PR was one ofmy weakest, so starting in late February my coach, Magda, and I started working on getting mein shape for a couple of track races.

“I ran 14:10 at the Stanford Invitational in early April, which was a PR. But it wasn’t thesub-14 I felt I had in me. I took another go at a PR on the track at the Payton Jordan Invitationalmeet at Stanford, but I had one of the worst races of my career that day.

“The benefit of the track work is that it got me fit for shorter road races. The Zippy andPortola Valley (Pacific THERX 5KRun4Play) 5Ks came at a good time for me. After the secondtrack race, I put in a couple of longer workouts in preparation for Bay to Breakers where I waspart of the LinkedIn centipede team that set a new course record and the Marin Memorial Day10K. Those races both worked out nicely, too.

“So I can really attribute these wins to wanting to chase a PR in a distance that I hadn’tseriously raced since college. Sometimes with running you just have to do what you want, andwhat you know you’ll have fun with. I needed a break from marathon training and this springwas a lot of fun, even if I didn’t get under 14 minutes for the 5K.”

—Mark Winitz



Race Walking

Olympic Fever Can Be Contagious There are many who think that the OlympicTrials are more exciting than the Games them-selves. This may be because we have been antic-ipating the contests so long that we ached tohave that release of emotion that comes fromseeing intense competition. Yes, we identifywith the U.S. athletes that we have seen andheard of time and again, some of them whomwe know personally.

In the months before the Trials, it seemedthat fever have spread so much that even thenot-as-well-known events (such as race walk-ing) were perking the interest of many. On oneof my regular walks, my training partner and Iwere confronted by a runner heading briskly inthe opposite direction. She called out that wewere showing good race walking form. Ithanked her and as we passed she asked if Iknew that race walking was an Olympic event.I remarked matter-of-factly as she ran out ofsight, “Yes, 20K for men and women and 50Kfor men.”

My friend, Bonnie Stein, M.Ed., CPTSalso felt the need to share that race walking wasan Olympic event. As a walk coach in Florida,she taught hundreds to walk well, some whohave embraced the rigors of the technique-driven event. Here are a few words from her lat-

est newsletter:Did you know that YOUR sport (race

walking) will be part of the 2012 SummerOlympics in London? The Men’s 20-kilometer(12.4 miles) Race Walk will be held on August4th at 5:00pm London time. The Men’s 50-kilometer (31 miles) Race Walk will be contest-ed August 11th at 9:00am London time, andthe Women’s 20-kilometer Race Walk will bethe same day at 5:00pm. The race walk eventsstart and finish at The Mall. Athletes race overa 2km loop, taking them up The Mall towardsBuckingham Palace, around the VictoriaMemorial and up Constitution Hill towardsHyde Park Corner before returning to completethe loop. The Men’s 50K Race Walk is thelongest road race in the Olympics.

The Men’s Olympic Race Walk was firstcontested in 1908 (104 years ago.) Various dis-tances have been used for the men since, the20K and 50K were finally settled upon in 1992,the same year that the women’s contest wasadded. This occurred at the Games inBarcelona, at a distance of 10K, It was 10Konce more for the women in Atlanta in 1996,and then changed to 20K in 2000, and remainsthat distance today. There is some talk aboutperhaps adding a Women’s 50K race walk, butso far that hasn’t happened.

PA/USATF 5000m ChampionshipsSan Mateo; May 27Historically, the PA Open Track & FieldChampionship has been used as a set ofpreparatory contests for college-age throughMasters (and a few youth) to sharpen their skills

at the beginning of the new year’s track & fieldseason. This year, it was decided by the PacificAssociation Board of Athletics to combine theMasters Track & Field Championship with theOpen Championship. The result was a highturnout with 500 athletes converging on theCollege of San Mateo campus.

The day started with a women’s worldmasters record in the 10,000m run by 70-year-old Marie-Louise Michelsohn, who ran 46minutes, 38.5 seconds. She bettered the previ-ous W70–74 world record of 47:09.94 by RitaRasimus of Finland set last year and theAmerican record of 48:11.29 by June Machalain 2003. This excited the crowd and primed thewalkers to put on a good performance.

In the 5000m race walk, elite athlete MarkGreen (age 56) took the lead with Alex Price(age 30) and Bobby Missirian (age 12) in toe.Three-time Junior Olympic gold medalistCaitlin Palacio (age 14) and top contender LilaHaba (age 16) led the women’s pack.

As can be seen in the results below, theseare fast times for the Youth and they drove someof the elder walkers to fine performances, aswell. Another special highlight was the 44:17performance by veteran walker RichardHansen, age 85. His age-graded performance of70.58% placed him 13th in the list of 21 fin-ishers.

The weather cooperated by being pleas-antly overcast and about 60 degrees with a lightbreeze for the whole race. Only one athlete wasdisqualified and one did not finish.

For complete results of the steeplechase,runs, throws, jumps and 5,000m race walk goto www.pausatf.org

PACIFIC ASSOCIATION

BY ART KLEINPA/USATF RW Chair

PA/USATF 5000m Championships

By Speed Name, Age Team Time Graded % A-G % Men1. Mark Green, 56 Pegasus 25:35.1 84.42% 1 2. Alex Price, 30 PRO 26:54.0 66.92% 18 3. Robert Missirian, 12 SCTC 27:34.0 75.36% 7 4. Kevin Killingsworth, 56 Marin 28:28.5 75.85% 5 5. Shoja Torabian, 63 Marin 29:45.0 77.75% 3 6. Joseph Berendt,56 Sierra 32:11.1 67.11% 17 7. Steven Popell, 73 Unattached 33:52.8 76.80% 4 8. Walter Stewart, 66 Marin 35:05.6 68.09% 16 9. Joseph Anderson, 72 SCTC 35:55.9 71.49% 9 10. Ronald Missirian, 61 SCTC 36:25.9 62.19% 21 11. Garland Murphy, 64 Marin 37:34.8 62.20% 20 12. Richard Hansen, 85 Unattached 44:17.1 70.58% 13

Women1. Caitlin Palacio, 14 LSI 27:50.1 75.70% 6 2. Lila Haba, 16 SCTC 28:47.8 71.27% 10 3. Diana Rossman, 45 SCTC 30:22.2 70.42% 14 4. Nicolle Goldman, 53 Sierra 32:23.0 70.87% 11

5. Susan Mears, 57 PRO 33:23.5 71.59% 8 6. Karen Stoyanowski, 57 Sierra 33:49.7 70.66% 12 7. Doris Cassels, 72 Marin 35:03.7 82.87% 2 8. Melissa Woodburn, 59 Marin 35:07.4 69.56% 15 9. Chris Everman, 59 Sierra 39:05.7 62.50% 19

Team ResultsTeam score is the average of the top 3 age-grade percentages Team Average (Top 3 Points) 1. Marin 78.82% 10 (2nd, 3rd, and 5th) 2. SCTC 72.70% 8 (7th, 9th, and 10th) 3. Sierra 69.55% 7 (11th, 12th, and 17th)

Judges: Beth Price (chief judge), Jon Price, Ann Gerhardt, and Helen Storrs

Team Name Glossary:LSI = LSI Sprint; Marin = Marin Race Walkers; Oak Hill = Oak Hill Racing; Pegasus = Pegasus Athletic Club; PRO = Pacific Racewalkers Organization; SCTC = Santa Cruz Track Club; Sierra = Sierra Race Walkers


ASICS.COM

GEL-NIMBUS® 14

MINIMIZE THE POUNDING,MAXIMIZE YOUR RUN.

ARMED WITH THE CUSHIONING POWER OF GEL®, THE GEL-NIMBUS® 14 DELIVERS A PLUSH YET STABLE RIDE SO YOU GET MORE OUT OF EVERY STEP.


caltrack & running news sept-oct 2012

Documents

toshooting star media

track field trials

ownedby shooting star

christine johnson

fort atkinson

address changes

rupptaking silver

vice president