Buffalo Stampede on American River Drive
Laura Matz hams it up for the camera. (Photo by Abe Underwood)
Braving unseasonably warm weather–some might even say it was hot–several hundred runners gathered for the 39th annual Buffalo Stampede and the 18th annual Parrott Migration, this past Sunday.
The Stampede is the race and the Migration is a fun-run, which starts an hour earlier to give the slower runners more time to finish the course.
Starting and finishing at Rio American High School, the flat, ten-mile course winds through one of the region’s better neighborhoods, and includes some short out-and-back sections where you can see who’s in front and who’s behind you.
This year’s big winner was a speedy Brad Poore, 35, from Auburn, who finished the course in 52:56.
Of the women, the top finisher was Midori Sperandeo, 46, of Folsom, who wrapped it up in 1:02:02.
Rounding out the top-three men, Brandon Reiff, 31, of Reno, was second overall in 55:19. Reiff was followed in by Lee Piercy, 40, of El Dorado Hills, in 55:57.
The second woman overall was Jaymee Marty, 46, of Sacramento, who finished in 1:03:06, and she was followed up by Marrie Argentine Chen, 35, of Davis, who got back to the high school in 1:05:56.
Winners Midori Sperandeo and Brad Poore proudly display their buffalo chip plaques. (Photo and awards by Abe Underwood)
The top masters men included Lee Piercy, who was first master and also third overall, as well as Mason Myers, 44, of Carmichael, who was second masters with a 59:21, and Jacob Nur, 55, of Elk Grove, who earned third place masters honors with a 1:00:25 finish.
The top masters women were largely also the top women overall. Midori Sperandeo and Jaymee Marty were first and second overall, and first and second masters.
The third place masters woman was Jenny Hitchings, 50, of Sacramento, who brought it home in 1:07:19.
This year there were two wheelchair athletes competing in the Stampede. The overall winner, in a speedy 52:03, was Chris Houde, 53, of Carmichael. The runner-up was Sacramento’s Kent Gillis, 46, who completed the course in 1:16:33.
Complete results: Stampede overall, Stampede age groups, Wheelchair results, Parrott Migration.