Sacramento Running News

A mob of the usual suspects at the Kaleo 5K. (photo courtesy Capital Road Race Management)

On Saturday morning, a couple hundred of the usual suspects showed up at the Sacramento Sheriff’s Training Academy for the Kaleo 5K.

Sacramento speedster Mike Styczynski made a rare appearance in a local race and ran away with the win in 16:40. The second man in was Folsom’s Daniel Kinsella, who finished in 17:06. The third man in was Sacramento’s Geoff Butler, who finished a couple minutes back in 19:51.

The winning woman in the 5K was 16-year-old Jillian Brown, of Sacramento, who finished in 20:37. Next in was Sacramento’s Christi Cantle, with a 21:45. Rounding out the top-three was Wendy Schmitt, also of Sacramento, who finished in 21:57.

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Happy finishers (Photo by Matthew Perry)

There was hard work and there were challenging trails, but the weather was fine at Sunday’s Blood, Sweat and Beers Trail Run.

There is a long course (10.5 miles) or a short course (5.9 miles) and the race directors promise “a challenging mix of single track mountainous trail, a totally cool canal system, unimproved dirt roads with just a hint of paved roads to keep things interesting.”

Sounds like a good time!

In the long course, Chris Vargo led the way to win in 1:07:24. He was followed in by Matthew Twietmeyer , who ran 1:12:30. The 3rd place male was Eric Peterson, in 1:15:22. All were from Sacramento.

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Strictly speaking, the San Francisco Marathon isn’t a local race–but a lot of locals run it. For that reason, I’ll usually poke through the results to see if I recognize any local runners.

While I didn’t spot any familiar locals among the top finishers, I did notice something peculiar. There were a lot of ultrarunners in the top men and women.

The overall winner was Michael Wardian, who was only a few weeks off his 3rd place finish at Badwater.

Chris Knorzer, in 5th place, has also dabbled in ultrarunning and had run the Tahoe Rim Trail 50K on July 16th. (Actually, Knorzer can’t be a real ultrarunner because he doesn’t have a blog.)

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Workers repair the levee under the trail near the I Street Bridge (SRN Photo)

There are a couple of projects on the American and Sacramento River Parkway trails to keep an eye out for.

Just upstream from the I Street Bridge, where the Army Corps of Engineers had repaired a bit of erosion along the levee, contractors are scheduled to begin the installation some needed railing along the river side.

This should not result in a detour, but it will likely require one lane to be closed in this already congested, shoulderless stretch of trail.

In a few weeks, there should be a detour near Campus Commons Golf Course. From the Sacramento Regional Parks website: Read the rest of this entry →

An auspicious day passed by without fanfare recently and I wanted to call your attention to it: June 29, 2011, marked the one-year anniversary of the Sacramento Running News.

Over the course of those twelve months, I’ve written around 160 posts or articles of varying length and quality. In the process, I have learned many things and met many nice and interesting people.

I have learned that there are more races in the area than one person can write about. At the same time, I’ve learned that every race has a story (or two) worth telling.

Before starting this project, I had zero history with track. I didn’t run track in high school, and I didn’t know anything about it. I still don’t know much about it, but I have learned that I really do enjoy watching it.

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Like most people, I have thousands of songs on my iPod, but one of the things I enjoy the most about it is being able to save and listen to audio books and interesting podcasts.

Recently, a friend sent me a link to Wisconsin Public Radio’s To the Best of Our Knowledge interviews and stories about running.

They include Christopher McDougall talking about the Tarahumara, Gretchen Reynolds on running myths, Jason Robillard on barefoot running, and Jim Fleming reading from novelist Haruki Murakami’s “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.”

Tasty treats for your ears when you’re on long lonely runs, or on long airplane rides and would rather be running. Enjoy!

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This past week, South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius ran 45:07 for the 400, which was fast enough to make him the first amputee to run a qualifying time for the World Championships.

It was an inspirational feat, and the video is worth watching.

I have no doubt that he has worked very hard to achieve amazing things. But part of me wonders about the technology involved.

There are some pretty serious scientists who are quite confident that Pistorius has benefited unfairly by the use of these high-tech, carbon fiber wonders.

(Scientists) Weyand and Bundle said the lightweight blades allow Pistorius “to reposition his limbs 15.7 percent more rapidly” than five of the most recent world record-holders in the 100 meters.

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Every year, around late June, I begin noticing a special kind of cyclist on the American River Parkway. Their typical equipment is spotlessly new or, as often, coated with a year’s worth of garage dust.

These riders are strangely intense–hitting curves at speeds testing their abilities, their faces in full grimace. Runners, leisurely cyclists, and elderly bird watchers are often shouted off the pavement as these frenzied cyclists whoosh past.

Usually, after several encounters with these strangely intense riders, I slap my head in remembrance. Eppies! Of course.

And probably adding to their intensity is each day’s installment of Le Tour, waiting at home on the DVR.

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Grassroots Working Group representative Clyde McDonald explains the options to the County Board of Supervisors. (Photo by John Blue)

Tuesday evening, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted to keep their options open for possible funding of the regional parks system.

The Sacramento Bee reports:

The Board of Supervisors directed staff to draft state legislation to allow a November 2012 election for a 0.1 percent sales tax increase.

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Tomorrow, July 19th, at 3:15, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will be hearing recommendations from the Grass Roots Working Group regarding funding options for the regional park system.

If the parks are important to you, especially the American River Parkway, then you should attend this meeting or call your Supervisor and let them know what you think.

The meeting materials, including the Grass Roots Working Group recommendations, can be found here. It is Item 65, and scheduled to be heard at 3:15.

Your Supervisor can be found here. Give them a call. They’d love to hear from you!

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