Don't call me a jogger!
On only his second day as “California Governor 2.0,” Jerry Brown does what many of you do: he went for a run. The Bee has the photos to prove it.
The writer (Hector Amezcua, I believe) does seem geographically challenged, since this appears to be near Old Sacramento along the Sacramento River but the photo caption says:
Gov. Jerry Brown jogs along the American River bike trail near the I Street Bridge
As we say goodbye to 2010 it’s time for those of us who care to look back and see which local runners ended up on top of the heap.
There is probably a way that some industrious person could analyze all the results of races run by local runners and come up with a ranking that no one could understand, kind of like NCAA football. Unfortunately for you, I am not this industrious. Fortunately for all of us, there are actual races with results and a few really competitive race series that you can test yourself in.
The big daddy of regional competition for amateur athletes is the Pacific Association USA Track and Field Grand Prix. The PAUSATF region is much more than Sacramento–running north to the Oregon border down to San Luis Obispo, and from the coast to just beyond Reno, Nevada. There is a lot of talent in that pool (including Kevin). There are team and individual results and you can look up your favorite runners’ results here.
I am not going to break out the individual results because there are too darn many due to all the age, distance, and gender divisions. There are many local runners, from the big local teams, landing in the top-ten of their respective divisions.
If you’ve been reading race reports here you’ve noticed I am constantly amazed by the racing dominance of a handful of local masters women.
Sam McManis profiles these local speedsters in today’s Sacramento Bee. The article is titled: 40-It’s the new fast. Be sure to check it out! Try not to be intimidated.
Yesterday, I stumbled on this rather startling interview of Marion Jones on the Daily Show.
You may remember Marion Jones from the 2000 Olympics, where she was an unstoppable and glamorous force for the US team, winning the hearts of Americans and five medals.
That summer, there was a whiff of scandal as we learned her shot-putter husband, C.J. Hunter, had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. (In his case, I think “doped to the gills” was the actual, scientific term used.)
By 2004, when Jones came to Sacramento for the Olympic trials, rumors related to the BALCO doping scandal were swirling and she was a pale imitation of the runner we’d seen in Sydney.
While it seemed everyone around her was tainted, it wouldn’t be until 2006 that Jones failed a doping test (for EPO). However, the “B” sample tested negative and Jones went back to competition.
During the federal investigation of BALCO, Jones was finally boxed into a corner and she admitted to perjuring herself, and to using steroids during training for the 2000 Olympics.
What can Plato do for American running?
There was much hope and expectation riding on Dathan Ritzenhein‘s run at the New York Marathon this past weekend.
While Ritz ran faster than anyone I know personally, after his American Record 5K last summer the expectation was something closer to the win, maybe something under 2:10.
Immediately after the race, armchair critics, of course, piled-on and ridiculed Ritz, Salazar, Nike, and anyone who was a) associated with the Nike Oregon Project, and b) not themselves.
Much of the hype was built around Nike’s investment in Ritz’s training and the famed Alberto Salazar’s remaking of Ritz’s running form. The New Yorker has a marathon-length article on Salazar, running form, and Ritz.
Several years ago, I ran in the Heritage Oaks Bank Paso Robles 10Km, which was at the time the US masters’ national championship. I was struggling after a season of trail ultras and barely kept it under 40-minutes.
In that same race, Eddy Hellebuyck was having the race of his life (as a masters runner) and set a new American Masters record for the road 10Km. Finishing in an astounding 29:05, Hellebuyck was so far ahead of the 2nd place runner, they had a separate lead motorcycle for him.
A short while later, I was not surprised to hear that Hellebuyck had failed a doping test for EPO. Disappointed, but not surprised.
The December Runners World has an excellent article by John Brant wherein Hellebuyck finally comes clean about the doping allegations and gives some insight into why he did it.
The story left me with an uneasy mix of feelings about this runner. He cheated and stole other runners’ prize money. He’s also coming clean without being compelled to do so. If confession truly is good for the soul, there are many other prominent athletes out there who would do well to follow his example.
A year ago, Pat Sweeney, the owner of Fleet Feet on J Street, had his very expensive bike stolen out of his SUV right before he was headed to Hawaii to compete in the Ironman.
Believe it or not, you may again see Pat tooling around in his Orbea tri-bike thanks to alert Sacramento County Sheriff’s detectives.
I’ve learned a few things from the Bee’s article about the recovery of Pat’s bike:
The Sacramento County Ranger has sent out the following:
A number of Cars were burglarized at William Pond Park this past Sunday. Some of the burglaries were inside the park and some were outside at McClaren Drive and Ivanhoe Way. The suspects are consistently breaking into the cars and using the trunk openers to get inside the trunk. The thieves got away with several thousands of dollars in property and cash along with credit cards, which they immediately went shopping with. Surveillance video from one of the local stores has provided us with a good description of the suspects and their vehicle.
We determined the van is an older Ford Aerostar, Dark in color. The van is very distinctive as it has running boards and a missing hub cap on its right front. If you see this van or persons lurking in the parks please contact us as soon as possible by calling 916-875-PARK (7275). If you have any information on the identity of these persons or the van, you can email me (John Havicon) or call me at 875-6961.
The suspects' van
Dubuque, Iowa writer Amy Gilligan asks:
What’s the deal with all these people running marathons all of a sudden? These are just regular people. Now they’re hopping up and running marathons.
Indeed! What is it with all you people? Like me, Gilligan notes:
Half the people I know on Facebook are posting about marathons these days. And I’m fairly sure they aren’t talking about drinking benders.
Registration for the Boston Marathon opens today. As with last year, it is likely that all the slots will be taken and registration closed long before this year’s CIM takes place, effectively making the Boston qualifying time you expect to earn this December to be moot.
Some of the demand for marathon entries is clearly “industry-wide.” For example, our own CIM will sell out very soon. (The website says 325 slots remain as of today.)
The Wall Street Journal has an article on this excess demand for the Boston Marathon, which dares to ask the question of whether the qualifying times for women are too soft.
The Boston Athletic Association pegs the women’s qualifying times at 30-minutes slower than the men’s times, something they established in 1977. More that 30-years have passed. Do women still need this kind of advantage?
What do you think?
