Sacramento Running News

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.

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A couple of hapless victims.

In case you’ve been sorta thinkin’ about running that crazy 100 mile race from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California, the day to actually “step up” and enter the lottery is upon you.

Is this the year you put your life on hold, alienate your family and your normal friends, tempt injury and snake bites, and spend all your weekends grubbing along the trails around Foresthill? Of course it is.

Sign-up here and wait anxiously until the names pop out of the computer on December 4th.

The “Lake Loop” will be considerably longer than 11-miles if you run it this weekend, as the Hazel Bridge will be closed.

You should still be able to cross Hazel on the South side of the river. Check here (PDF) for more information and plan accordingly!

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:

1. If you buy a $9,000 bike, write down the serial number. You’ll be wanting that when the bike gets stolen.
2. If you steal a bike, don’t steal a $9,000 (or$15,000) bike. People will notice you if you don’t look like the kind of person that should be riding a $9,000 bike, and yet, are. And finally,
3. Cops use Google, too!

Sheriff deputies have been busy and caught the suspect in a recent string of auto burglaries along the parkway.

Numerous vehicle burglaries recently occurred at William B. Pond in the Arden /Carmichael area. Sheriff Detectives tracked and located and arrested a suspect in a local hotel. Detectives have identified the suspect as being responsible for more than 50 vehicle burglaries. The suspect has a long history of theft and narcotic usage. Detectives have recovered a lot of stolen property including purses, guns, credit cards, driver’s licenses and checks.  Detectives will be working with victims early this week.

A good reminder: Deputies were able to connect the numerous thefts and establish a pattern aiding in the capture of the suspect because the victims reported the crimes. Even if you doubt you’ll ever recover anything you’ve lost, it is a good idea to report the theft.

And don’t leave your wallet or purse in your car!

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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

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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.

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Ben Rapoport figures it all out.

NPR has a story today about rocket scientist, secret agent, neurosurgeon, and rock star Ben Rapoport figuring out exactly how to calculate your carbohydrate needs and how crazy-fast a marathon you should be able to run if only you had enough “grits.” Or something.

There is a calculator, if you are into that sort of thing.

Each fall, I make an enjoyable visit to the Humboldt Redwoods for another go at one of my all time favorite half marathons.

This past Sunday’s aptly named Humboldt Redwoods Marathon and Half Marathon is the nearly identical twin (the stereoisomer really) of the Avenue of the Giants Marathon (AKA “The Ave”) with one major difference. The Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon is part of the PAUSATF Grand Prix and therefore draws a very fast crowd. (Also, The Ave is run in April.)

This is how a small race that starts in a little turn-off of Highway 101 has 33 finishers under 1:20 and a woman running 1:18:19 comes in 2^nd.

The weather was perfect. The race was well organized. And this year, they replaced the usual terrible cotton shirts with pretty nice technical ones.

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