Sacramento Running News

It is one of my core beliefs that very few runners ever achieve all they are capable of.

There are many reasons for this, but often it’s simply that people don’t realize that they are capable of doing more and going faster.

Running is one of the few things in life that consistently and generously rewards you for diligent, and intelligent effort.

Of course, no matter how hard you train, to be an elite runner you need to have some talent. But how will you know whether you have the talent unless you push yourself a bit?

There are many exciting stories coming out of the Olympic Trials Marathon, but this has to be one of my favorites.

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500 channels and no live coverage

This year, for the first time in US history, the Olympic Trials Marathon, for both men and women, will be held at the same time and at the same venue. This is a terrific opportunity to showcase our sport!

Sadly, Unless you’ve got a ticket to Houston, or are unlucky enough to live there, the only television coverage you’ll get to see of the Olympic Trials marathon will be a two-hour, tape delayed version at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on NBC.

Take out the 30 minutes of commercials, and that leaves about 90-minutes to cover a nearly three hour event. Take out the required 20-minutes of athlete interviews and jibber-jabber, and that leaves maybe 70-minutes of actual running.

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Rick Perry: The pro-marathon candidate.

While the GOP presidential primary is far from settled, Texas Governor Rick Perry has definitively settled the age-old dispute over whether men should wear their shorts over or under their tights.

He is also now on the record as “pro-marathon.”

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Lloyd Levine

By Lloyd Levine, Special to the SRN

Quick! Name the second fastest (ever) female U.S. Marathon runner.  The answer will probably surprise you.

Recently, I wrote about Ryan Hall and the state of men’s marathon running in the United States.  Given that, it seems only fair to look at the status of women’s marathon running in the U.S. as well.  The women don’t have a Ryan Hall type figure (i.e. fast times but no wins) who draws praise, and scorn in equal measures, but the status of women’s marathon running in the U.S. is not much different from that of the men. There are a few women marathon runners who draw praise and generate excitement but, except for Deena Kastor, have little to show in the way of meaningful results or times. Additionally, like the men, there is really very little depth in the talent pool.

Most serious marathon runners in the United States probably know that Deena Kastor holds the American Record, but do you know who the second and third fastest are?  After analyzing the 1,875 (which is how many times the 2:30 mark has been broken) fastest women’s marathon times of all time it appears that the United States has only had two, legitimate, top-level marathon runners, Deena Kastor and Joan Benoit–who is still the second fastest U.S. woman of all time, despite having run her best time 1985. (Editor’s Note: The list, updated today, now includes 1,917 names but the analysis of the standing of the US women has not changed materially.)

Deena Kastor and Joan Benoit are the only U.S. women to have won major marathons, posted times competitive with the best in the world, and won Olympic medals.  Deena Kastor has a PR of 2:19:36, good for 11^th place on the all time list (and fifth on the all time list of women not named Paula Radcliffe). Deena won the bronze medal in the Athens Olympics, and has won London and Chicago (as well as many other top finishes).  Joan Benoit has a PR of 2:21:21, won the Olympic Gold medal, held the world record, and won numerous marathons.

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The Mathis were the force behind the Sierra Nevada Trail Runs.

According to a report in the Reno Gazette Journal, around 8:00 PM Friday night, Robert and Linda Mathis were struck and killed while crossing Highway 28, in a painted crosswalk, in Incline Village.

Although they haven’t released details, the Nevada Highway Patrol suspect drug use was involved in the accident. The driver, Christopher Smith,  was arrested and booked into Washoe County Jail on two counts of DUI causing death and failure to yield to a pedestrian.

The Mathis are widely known in the road and ultrarunning community, and Robert Mathis is the race director behind a large number of races, including the River City Marathon and Rock’n River 50.

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Rae Clark pacing at CIM

If you are a local runner, the odds are good you’ve met Rae Clark at a race or expo. You can’t miss the mustache, and his easy-going nature seems like it would make him great company on a run. Not surprisingly, he’s been a pacer for CIM for years.

If you look at his bio, you’ll see it modestly includes these nuggets:

Marathon PR of 2:28

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Masters men lead pack at Willow Hills XC (Photo by Craig Newport)

While you are no doubt aware there are thousands of dedicated road racers in the area, you may not realize there is also a smaller group of dedicated cross country runners churning up the turf at local and regional cross-country races.

For adults in Northern California, the major cross country grand prix is organized by the Pacific Association of the USA Track and Field. These are extremely competitive races–particularly in the open divisions.

In the 2011 Pacific Association’s Cross Country Grand Prix, the River City Rebels men remained a force in the region with many in the top ten.

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The end of 2011 is upon us so it’s time to check out the results of the major road race series/grand prix that local runners compete in.

Local

We’ll start with Sacramento’s own Buzz Oates RunSac Race Series. This year-long series of local races is a points competition with over $7,000 in prize money and bonuses. Points are earned based on age-graded performances in more than a dozen top Sacramento-area road races. There are awards for team and individual competition, and in 2011, there were several hundred individuals and eight local teams vying for the prize money.

The top placing individuals for 2011 were Janice Kesterson, 57, running for the Buffalo Chips, and Terry Baucom, 54, running for Fleet Feet Racing.

Second and third individual women were Karen Jeffers, 48, with the River City Rebels, and Stacey Worthen, 38, running for Fleet Feet Racing.

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Your GPS isn't always right.

Your friend has  just run the Shamrock’n Half Marathon and you ask her how it went.  “I was a few minutes slower than I was hoping,” she says. “But the course was a little long. My Garmin shows 13.3 miles so if I take off that extra two-tenths of a mile, I’m exactly where I should be.”

This, of course, is nonsense. Every race, and every race day, has its own idiosyncrasies. While your GPS watch may be a wonderful training tool, and amazingly accurate, what it shows during a race cannot be used to check the accuracy of the course measurement.

Although it will happen occasionally that a course is measured inaccurately, or marked incorrectly on race day, most are remarkably close to their specified distance.

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You’ve only got a couple days left to pick up that last gift for a running friend. Here’s a suggestion.