Sacramento Running News

This weekend, Mary Coordt of Elk Grove, known to many local runners as “that woman in front of me” finished 2nd place in Sunday’s IAU World 50Km championships.

The race, held in Galway City, Ireland, included a deep field of the world’s best ultra distance runners.

In the process of her silver finish, Coordt, 41, has tentatively set a new American masters record of 3:28:30, besting Oregonian Kami Semick’s time of 3:29:47 from last year’s championship on the island of Gibraltar.

The weather was fine up until race day which brought wind and rain, says Coordt. “But the worst was the cars and exhaust…and I got almost hit twice, had to stop. And no one to run with for the entire 50k!”

The top woman was Susan Harrison of Great Britain, who finished in a rather brisk 3:15:42.

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Over the years, many of us wanting to start our runs along the river at Hazel Avenue have been migrating from the parking lot at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery to the parking lot at the CSUS Aquatic Center. 

Even though I’ve never seen the lot full except for during boat races (when they charge), it looks like that will no longer be an option as the Aquatic Center staff will begin restricting parking to their clients and staff. 

According to the Aquatic Center website:

General Public that wishes to recreate i.e.; swim, paddle their own boats, picnic, should do so at the Nimbus Flats State Park. The Aquatic Center parking lot (inner & outer lot) is reserved for Aquatic Center Patrons.

They are in the process of installing signs indicating this policy and staff at the Aquatic Center stated they would have employees posted at the entrance of their parking area directing folks away to the Fish Hatchery or Nimbus Flats–probably starting September 1st.

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The County will begin repairs to the American River Parkway trail between Howe and Watt Avenue beginning August 30th.

It appears the levee top road will be available for running and biking.  You can get more information, including detour maps, from the County’s website.

Thanks to Carol and Phil for the tip!

Once again the streets of River Park were filled Saturday with a happy mix of fitness enthusiasts and some of Sacramento’s fastest women at the Susan B. Anthony 5K. And just like last year, top local speedsters Midori Sperandeo and Mary Coordt battled it out and finished 1, 2 with only few seconds between them.   Although if you were looking for them to slow down you’d be disappointed as this year they shaved a dozen seconds off last year’s winning time, coming in at an eye-popping 17:33 and 17:36!

This being one of very few women-only races in the region, it attracts some of the top local talent.  There were 20 women running under seven-minute miles!

With seven finishers in the 70+ age bracket (including the always amazing Barbara Miller who finished in 23:51) you can guess the race caters to all participants and this year’s race was bigger than ever, with over 450 finishers. Complete results are here.

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You may have heard the old (and by old I mean ancient) expression: A sound mind in a sound body.  Or, as the Romans said, way back in Roman times, Mens sana in corpore sano. Well, according to some recent research findings, it turns out the two really are linked.  An article in Health Day states:

People with the highest cardiac output for their body size (cardiac index), meaning those with the greatest blood flow from their heart, tended to have more brain volume, which generally indicates a healthier brain.

In fact, the researchers said that people with the lowest cardiac output showed nearly two more years of brain aging than did those with the highest cardiac output.

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This is not a running story, per se, but it’s a great story about a local runner doing a good deed, for a, er, steed.

Jack Meyer, an ultra-marathon runner from Foresthill, Calif., went beyond the call of duty, when the Tevis volunteer rescued a black Anglo-Arab mare that had fallen into a ravine. Christoph Schork’s 9-year-old Castle Country Karahty (“Kat”), ridden by David Shefrin, slid from the Western States Trail July 24 during the horse and rider’s attempt to complete the 100-mile Tevis Cup ride.

Read the whole story in, where else, The Horse.com.  I’m proud to know you, Jack!

It’s not even August and now you need to make that critical decision: Register for the marathon now (before August 1st) and Pay $80, or wait until you’re sure you’ll be running and pay $100.  Relay team prices go up from $100 to $160.  You may as well bite the bullet and register now since registration closes for sure by November 1st, and they are on track to sell out in advance of that date.

It seems like just a couple of years ago, registering at the Expo was still an option!  Get the details at the California International Marathon website.

Masters Winners Ed Randolph and Mary Coordt

The past couple of years, I’ve used this race as my “kick-off” 5K to start the fall road racing season.  It’s local, well-run, and well attended.  The course is reasonably fast, and good for figuring out my fitness and dialing in my training.  This year there was a new angle:  I’m not sure what governing body designated this race the “City of Sacramento 5K Championship” but that’s what the medal says.

Here are your City of Sacramento 5K Champions:

Women
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Is there a footwear fad that American can’t get behind?  A couple of months ago, I started seeing them everywhere: those funny sneakers with the rounded bottoms.  They were otherwise normal looking people wearing some really odd looking shoes. Even Chuck Norris was getting into the act, hawking these shoes on television. (Okay.  Maybe Chuck’s not the best example of “normal” but bear with me here.)

Like so many fitness fads that have come before, the reports of danger come following after.  The Boston Globe reports:

Women line up for the start of the mile at the Western States Masters International Invitational. Photo by Abe Underwood

Don’t forget the USA Track & Field 2010 Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships start tomorrow morning at Sacramento State’s A.G. Spanos Sports Complex at 7:00 AM.

The day kicks off with one of my favorite track events: the 5,000 meters.   The women’s (age 30 to 49) 5,000 meters in particular will showcase some of the area’s top women road racers.

The photo (right), taken at the Western States Masters International Invitational track meet in Davis two weeks ago, shows some of these women testing and honing their track skills in the lead-up to the Masters Championships.  Tomorrow’s 5000 meters includes locals: Mike Gottardi, Michael Fadling, Mason Myers, Randy Anderson, Iain Mickle, John Nichols, James Young, and Jeffrey Adkins for the men; and Jaymee Marty, Midori Sperandeo, Kirsten Schneider, Rae Whitten, Jenny Hitchings, and Desiree Love for the women.  Who will come out on top?   Be sure to check it out!

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