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EXCELSIOR Running Club Results - 2007 
Christmas Relays - 12/16/07
Well, as Chikara says below, no one got hurt at Sunday's Christmas Relays. After
a long year of racing, our teams were looking a little burned out, but this
didn't prevent some excellent performances, most notably George Torgun's 23:45
and newly-minted senior Tim O'Rourke's long-awaited comeback in 25:05.
And the good news is that the teams kept their positions. The masters men only
needed to finish third or better to clinch the grand prix, and they finished
second. The open women kept the second place GP position they labored to earn at
Seagate--the last time they finished second was 2003!
The open men kept their third place position. The big question mark is the
senior women. They did not field a team Sunday, but we haven't seen CIM
results up yet to see where they stand. They may very well also finish in second
on the year. The masters women generally sacrificed their scoring for the open
women this year, but with greater depth next year we're hoping to see them rise
to a top position.
Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine
Coming into the final PA race of the year, the open men's primary objective was
to field a team and not get hurt. However, that objective was not enough to
satisfy some relay runners who threw in solid performances.
Matt Patout, who ran his post surgery marathon PR at CIM 2 weeks prior to this
race, continued his momentum by taking the first leg in 25:49. Mark Janes not to
be outdone by Matt in setting PRs (Mark ran a 5K PR last weekend) ran the 2nd
leg in a strong 24:55. Jin "Sore from Squats" Daikoku
jogged the 3rd leg in 26:44, refraining from any effort that would cause
injuries. And finally, George Torgun showed that he recovered from his injury by
anchoring in a blazing 23:50. Overall, the open men's team took 8th place in a
time of 1:41:18.
Let's get ready for 2008!
Women
Byline Larissa Polischuk
On a crisp and bright Sunday morning, four of us headed out for a lap around
Lake Merced. Larissa Polischuk ran our first lap in just under 30 minutes,
followed by Helen, who victoriously saved us from having to forfeit by running a
leg despite being injured. Thankfully she took it easy and did not aggravate her
hamstring, still running a 33:10. Our new teammate, Sarah Jones, also nursing an
injury and coming off of a tough Chicago marathon, ran a swift 31:30 for our
third leg. And speedy anchor, Jen Major led the team with her 28:29 lap! Overall
the team scored 3rd in the sub-master category (does anyone know why we didn't
get a mug?).
And yes...sub-masters, we are all over 30!!!!!
Thanks to everyone who was out there cheering and volunteering. I know I saw
Char several times, as well as Brenda G.
They have not posted the scoring for CIM yet, but I believe even if the
Transports got the top honors there, we will still retain our 2nd place standing
due to them not having a team at Christmas Relays so a huge thank you to all of
those who came out for the race.
Happy Holidays to you all and looking forward to a swift and safe 2008!!!
Old'uns
JUST turned 50 (within the week) Tim O'Rourke led the masters in his first race
in two? years with a very strong 25:05 (our third fastest team split of the
day)--look for great things from Tim in 2008. Even with Tim's strong effort, we
went into the second leg as the fourth place masters team. Tim handed off to
returning member John Hale, who also just turned 50. John ran another strong
leg, 26:15, and more importantly passed two masters team to put us in second,
where we eventually ended up. Tim Wallen ran next in an off-season 25:30,
passing off to CIMer Vitas Ezerskis, who brought us home in 25:21, 1:42:11
overall, second master/9th overall place. Vitas also just held off the first
senior and first women's teams!
For our senior men, 2007 was a rough year (Bernhard being the very notable
exception), but they finished on an up note. The Rocket Darling led off in
29:45, followed by Jim Gorman (27:15), a returning and now 50 Tim Geraghty
(27:00), and an ailing but coming back Tom Bernhard (28:24). The new Tims, along
with John Hale and a recovering Lloyd Stephenson, should make our senior team
formidable in 2008.
BTW, all splits are approximate--I apologize to the degree I misrepresented any
of them.
CIM - 12/02/07
The masters men almost clinched the road grand prix with a convincing win at CIM
Sunday. Vitas Ezerskis finished second master in 2:39:55, with Iain Mickle and
Cliff Lentz finishing 3rd and 4th. This was not a grand prix race for the open
men, but Grant Johnson still went up and ran a fine 2:44
debut. The women sent the most runners as I believe eight of them toed the line,
including a couple blasts from the past, Christine Brighton and
Whitney Stephenson. Christine led us in a fine 3:03:48, just ahead of Tanja
Tamguney's 3:04:42. Details . . .
Women: Eight for Cal Marathon!
Byline Tanja Tamguney
On a pretty cold and very (head!) windy Sunday morning we had eight(!) women toe
the line for NBEx. Even though conditions were not ideal and
some were fighting injury and pain, all eight finished the 26.2 miles.
Returning team member Christine Brighton finished in stellar 3:03:44 (6th
F40-44). Next across the finish line was Tanja Tamguney (me), happy the
food stayed where it was supposed to this time, and happy with a [PR] time of
3:04:32 (14th F25-29). Just weeks after her great first half marathon
in Humboldt, Gerry Kim finished her marathon debut in an excellent 3:35:15 (43th
F25-29), Boston qualifier! Brenda Gee Deperalta ran a great race,
her third (or fourth?) marathon this year, and came to the Capitol after 3:51:56
(112th F40-44). She also seems to have spread the running virus
amongst several of her family members, who were also out running the marathon or
the 2.62 miles.
Heather Leutwyler was in a lot of pain
and stopped running after half of the race, but then decided to not wait for the
bus to Sacramento center, but to continue running and finish the course. So with
strong will she crossed the finish line after 3:54:36 (80th F25-29) elapsed
time, but only 3:35 actual running time. Nancy Wang, a day after her birthday
(Happy Belated Brithday!) ran a great 4:35:19 (81th F50-54). Charlene Bayles was
fighting severe achilles pain but clenched her teeth and with Nancy's help, who
kept her company for several miles, finished in 4:55:12 (38th F55-59). Returning
team member Whitney Stephenson helped score for the Masters team. Great work
everybody!
Also, Matt Patout ran the marathon in
2:53, for him a "post surgery PR off of half ironman training." Good job, Matt,
and sorry for missing you!
Old'uns
Vitas Ezerskis led the masters in a strong 2:39:55, to finish 2d PA master and
31st overall. Iain Mickle capped an injury-filled Fall with a fine 2:43:59
performance, passing a wall-embracing Cliff Lentz in the last mile. Cliff
finished his, yes, debut marathon the hard way, running 1:17:48-1:27:27-2:45:15,
but still finishing 4th PA master behind Iain's 3rd. John Spriggs rounded out
the team in 3:12:09. These performances should put Vitas in 2d in the year-end
long g.p. (and pretty high up in the open long g.p.), with Iain in 3rd and Cliff
rocketing from 13th well into the top 10. The seniors did not field a team, but
Kenny Warde still went up and ran 3:32:58. Congratulation and thanks all!
Congratulations also to the several PA women who qualified for the trials!
[Kao] Run Wild! - 11/25/07
From Helen Kao . . .
Several New Balance Excelsior women came out for
the Run Wild 5k and 10k (former Run to the Farside), the San Francisco annual
tradition. Apologies if I missed anyone. In the 10k:
Jen Major finished 2nd women overall, 1st AG
40:09. Julie McGee ran 4th women OA, 3d AG 40:27. Kim Fanady, our masters phenom,
placed 1st AG, 41:40. Jocelyn Friel ran this San Francisco race for the first
time, in 43:20, 4th AG. And team friend Chelsey Remington also ran the 10k in
40:44, 3rd AG.
In the 5k, our soon-to be-CIMers ran a final
tempo with Brenda DePeralta in a Thanksgiving weekend double-header, 26:03,
while Nancy Wang scooped up a 3d AG finish in 26:03.
Among men in the 5, Eric Knackmuhs finished 9th
in close to a PR 16:26, and Tim Wallen finished 1st master/13th overall in
17:11. Dan Ramos and Wayne Plymale finished 2d and 8th seniors in 19:45 and
22:52, respectively. In the 10, Peter Hsia ran 37:18 (12th), Adam Lucas 38:27
(19th), Brian Schultz 39:51 (35th), and David Moulton 40:43 (45th). Erstwhile
team member and recently-turned senior John Hale finished 9th in 36:59--maybe
John will help us rejuvenate our aging senior team. I should also mention that
the 10 featured an exceptionally close race for the win, with the Aggies' Sergio
Reyes edging out second place by a mere 4:17--less than a mile!
Seagate Elite 5K - 11/22/07
Having almost clinched third place, the open men
decided to take a bye here, though Yurik Riegel still showed up and ran 18:58,
good enough for 57th place.
Women: Gobbling It Up @ Seagate 5K
Byline Helen Kao
To sum it up, well. . . I hope the PA is smart
enough to cancel the T-day Seagate 5k on next year's grand prix. There were a
total of 25 women who showed up to run (the first 6 of whom were Kenyans and
other such elite racers). I am proud to say that NBExcelsior fielded 5 of those
women. With boundless gratitude to Sara Harris and Brenda Gee Deparalta for
toeing the line to help us score a team. Sara and Brenda were extreme troopers
to come down to run at the last minute--Sara since she's technically been taking
a break from racing due to her work, and Brenda since she's technically in
'taper' mode for CIM in one week! The 4-loop course was challending in terms of
trying to avoid being 'lapped' by the top Kenyans!!
Maria Fregoso blasted out from the start line
and finished a stellar 13th, 19:01 (a PR I think?).
Tracy Hogan took off at a 5:50 first mile and
settled in to a 19:55; ready and motivated to break 19 in 2008.
Helen Kao, medicated on acetaminophen and
decongestants, croaked through what felt like a miserable 5k for 20:08--not a
feeling I want to replicate any time soon.
Sara Harris braved the 'elite' field and ran
22:14. Thank you for running!
Brenda DePeralta, a true trooper!, played it
smart and kept her run from breaking her CIM taper with a 23:25.
New team friend Maureen Hogan was out running
the earlier Turkey Trot that morning.
The best news of all is that, true to our
strategy, our 5 women enabled NBEx to place 2nd in the race (earning the team
$350) and moved us into a solid **2ND PLACE** back in front of the Adidas
Transports. Congratulations!!
[Yes, congratulations and thanks to the women
who made the trek--that effort could very well end up giving the women second on
the year, a place the women haven't held since 2002-2003. -Ed.]
PA XC Championships - 11/18/07
The cross country grand prix concluded Sunday with the PA Cross Country Championships. Not our greatest moment, but we had three full teams! And no one got too badly hurt!
Women
Byline Patti Shore
In absolutely perfect conditions, the PA cross country season came to a close this Sunday in Golden Gate Park. This event is always highly competitive, with post-collegiate LA teams, collegiate teams from North Dakota and Santa Cruz, and all of the usual suspects from the Bay Area - with some VERY fast women in the field.
139 women went out hard, and since nobody fell, we were off. In first for New Balance was Jenny Wong, running a swift 24:48. Tracy Hogan was next, 51st place, with a quick 27:02. Patti Shore was 3rd for the team, 54th place (9th master), time of 27:13 (only a few seconds off my course PR, but alas, I did not catch Tracy!).
Helen Kao ignored a balky hamstring and ran a very nice 28:05, for 69th place. Jocelyn Friel had a great day, running 28:20 for 76th place. And that's it for XC! Thank you to everyone who came out to race or cheer, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Open Men
Mark Janes led the young'uns in 36:58, good enough for 67th place in this, usually the most competitive non-collegiate race of its kind in Northern California. Eric Knackmuhs started out uncharacteristically fast and
finished in 38:12 (72nd), followed by Matt Patout (38:35, 74th) and Dan Remember Me Rhodes (40:08, 83rd). Jason Reed fought off a debilitating stitch to finish in 40:26 (84th). Good job!
Old'uns
Byline Dan Mancini
The 3 yr. championship dynasty came to an end on Sunday, as the Masters Men's team - with their ranks depleted - were unable to defend their title.
With 6 of their top 8 runners from last year missing to due to injury, retirement or other commitments, the outcome was certain even before the starting gun fired. Fortunately however, several newly minted 40 yr. olds
as well as the seasoned veterans stepped in to fill the void in what we'll charitably call a "rebuilding year".
Leading the team and doing his best to have a team presence near the front was Dan Mancini matching last year's placing in 11th in 35:41. Next in was Pete Vicencio in 44th (37:59) gradually regaining form, Andy Apfelbaum in 61st (38:58) and John Spriggs in 63rd (39:00) both fine efforts. Adam Lucas, running with a steel pin in his
collarbone ran a brave 77th in 39:44. David Schmidt led our Seniors in 92nd (41:40), followed by 2 new Masters: Brian Schultz in 98th (42:24) and David Moulton in 100th (42:40), with Super Senior Tom Bennett in 151st (51:50)
rounding out the team effort.
Davis Turkey Trot - 11/17/07
Age Bracket Wins for Mickle, Gorman @ Davis Turkey Trot Iain Mickle ran 35:16 at this past weekend's Davis Turkey Trot 10K to finish first master, ninth overall. In the 5K, Jim Gorman ran a fine 18:02 to win the 55-59 division. Congratulations!
Clarksburg 30K - 11/11/07
Our men's masters seem to have gotten back on track with a convincing win at Sunday's Clarksburg 30K. Details . . .
Women
Byline Heather Leutwyler
We scored a team of 3 for the Clarksburg 30K yesterday. It was a
beautiful, sunny morning although a bit windy making parts of the course a little more challenging but we all had great runs. Helen K led us in with a time of 2:23:44 (13th age group). Next in was me (Heather L), with a time of 2:26:14 (4th age group). Rounding out the team, was Gerry K running in with all smiles and a time of 2:34:53 (6th age group). Great job ladies! [Good health willing, Heather and Gerry will team up with Tanja for a fabulous CIM in 3 weeks!]
Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine
The open team was represented by Chikara Omine in 1:55:36 (17th place) and new member Mike Molano in 2:21:08 (84th place). Welcome to the team Mike! With the help of a masters drop down, we should have scored as a team.
Old'uns
Vitas Ezerskis led the masters with a very strong 1:49:44 to take second place master, sixth overall. Cliff Lentz followed close behind in
1:51:32--third master, eighth overall. Iain Mickle faded some in the
second half but still finished in a fine 1:55:17, good enough for sixth
master and 15th overall. John Spriggs out on a CIM-training run (2:13:26, 18th master/60th overall), Kenny Warde (2:21:30, 8th senior, 86th overall), and Al Stanbridge (2:46:38, 12th super senior) rounded out the team. Good job gentlemen!
ANA Corporate Ekiden Relay - 11/10/07
Daikoku Wins Trip to Japan!
Forwarded from Dave Schmidt . . .
I just wanted to let the team know that two Excelsior runners ran in the ANA Corporate Ekiden Relay on Nov. 10 and one was on the grand prize-winning team! That wasn't me, it was Jin Daikoku, running for a 4-person team he formed with fellow employees of the Department of Homeland Security office at 95 Hawthorne in San Francisco.
He and his three teammates won a free round trip to Japan on All Nippon Airways (ANA) in luxurious business class! The grand prize was chosen randomly, not given to the fastest open team or co-ed team (they all got round trip tickets in economy class).
New York City Marathon - 11/04/07
Congratulations to Larissa Polischuk for her (pr?) 3:12:38 (gun time?) performance at Sunday's New York City Marathon. Great job Larissa!
And let's not forget Saturday and our own Chris Lundstrom's 2:19:21 37th place finish in the Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park. Andy Chan forwards this article about Chris.
Fleet Feet Open - 11/03/07
Byline Dan Mancini
One member from each of the Master/Senior/Super Senior teams traveled to Sacramento on Saturday to test themselves on the new Granite Park course at the Fleet Feet XC race. For the 3rd time this season, Dan Mancini led the "team" with a solid 6th place effort in 28:26 on the 8km course. Next in was Senior Kim Lilot in a fine 34:23 (53rd), followed by Super Senior Tom Bennett in 42:05 (78th). Iain Mickle stopped by to cheer us on before darting off to watch his daughter qualify for the HS State Sectional XC meet.
Ultra Report
From our ultra team (sorry Chikara) Ron Gutierrez . . .
Just wanted to give you an update on the ultra front. Won my first ultra - Whiskeytown 50K in Redding, CA this Saturday, 10/27! 4th overall at the Dick Collins Fire Trails 50 Miler (my first 50 miler) on 10/13.
Tamalpa XC - 10/27/07
For one of the few times this year, we fielded teams in all our active
cross country divisions: open women, open men, and masters men. Details ...
Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine
Mark Janes, in his second race for the team, led the open men in 25:31
(26th place)--great job Mark! Following Mark were Chikara Omine in 25:55 (28th place), Matt Patout in 26:34 (31st place), Dan Lilot in 27:09 (35th place), and Jason Reed in 27:52 (40th place).
Women
Byline Jen Major
At China Camp last Saturday, the women were able to field six runners to compete in the Tamalpa Challenge. This is my favorite cross country
course, with its rolling, narrow trails, crisp weather (that always seems
to turn out sunny), and the great spread after the race. It's practically
a party!
Julie McGee led us in a speedy time of 28:00 over the 4.25 mile
(challenging) course, good fro 12th overall. Tracy Hogan was next, 23rd
overall, in 29:19. Following them, with aching hamstrings and quads from their half marathon (umm, really delayed onset muscle soreness?) were Jen M. (me), 32nd, 29:58; Larissa Polischuk, 30:40, and Jocelyn Friel 30:41, 43rd and 44th. And, testing out her healing ankle, Heather Leutweiler, in 31:57.
While we're on the subject of great races, I forgot to mention last week
that Jocelyn Friel ran a PR in the Humboldt Half Marathon last week as
well! Congratulations!
Old'uns
Byline Dan Mancini
At the Tamalpa Challenge on Saturday, the cobbled together Master/Senior squad managed to push 6 runners across the line - 3 Masters and 3 Seniors.
Despite the anemic team participation numbers (mainly on the Masters
side!), there were some robust performances. Dan Mancini, back from
injury, led the team with a 5th place finish in 25:07. A well-rested Tim
Wallen - last year's XC Runner of the Year - made his 2007 debut (not a
typo) in this, the 7th race in the series, running a fine 25:10 for 7th
place. Charles Griffin was next in, leading the Senior contingent in 54th
(28:22), followed by Master Brian Schultz in 63rd (29:04), Senior David
Schmidt in 64th (29:29), and Senior Kim Lilot in 76th (30:40).
Nike (Half) Marathon - 10/21/07
From masters stalwart Kim Fanady . . .
Here on the hilly home front, Donna Chan and I ran in the Nike Women's
Half Marathon. Donna posted a very fine 1:56:20, 8th age group, 660th
overall (out of approximately 12,000 runners), and 109th age-graded. I
came in at 1:38:00, 5th age group, 70th overall, 27th age-graded. First
in my age group was Joan Benoit Samuelson -- I was honored to finish
behind her . . . . waaaaaay behind her! It was a perfect, gorgeous
morning and a great event. Women run the world!
Sorry if I missed anyone else who ran!
And from Charlene Bayles . . .
There were a lot of NBExers out at the Nike on Sunday. It was a perfect day. I saw Joan Samuelson speaking - she has always been an inspiration to me! I do not have everyone's times, but a few more of us who joined the fray included: Brenda Gee and Nancy Wang who did the full marathon. More power to them. It is not an easy course.
Molly Newlon was supposed to be out there, but I am not sure - I did not see her. My daughter and I did it as an annual Mother/Daughter walk/run event. We had a lot of fun. Just doing it together is a treat for me!
Humboldt (Half) Marathon - 10/21/07
Tamguney Wins Marathon! The open men decided to take a bye at Sunday's Humboldt Half Marathon (though Ben Chaffee still went up and ran a fine 1:15:54, but the women and the masters men made the trek up to Humboldt for the Half Marathon . . . and congratulations to Tanja Tamguney for her marathon win!!!!!
Women
Byline Jen Major
Last weekend, we had seven women make the LONG drive up to Humboldt for a spectacular half marathon along the Avenue of the Giants! This is by far my favorite race (ever) because the tall redwoods make the rolling, out and back course feel practically all downhill, and you can pretty much count on crisp, cool conditions (unless you run the full marathon, in which case the sun comes out and really warms things up).
First of all, and most impressively, Tanja won the women's division in the
marathon! While she didn't feel so great in the second half, she had a
great finish and won the race!
Everyone who ran the half was very pleased with their race, and there were a few PR's, the biggest being Larissa Polischuk's 4 minute PR, finishing in just 1:32:57, and 3rd in her age group! She was followed closely by Jocelyn Friel, 1:33:54, and I think they spent much of the race working together.
Jenny Wong and I also worked nearly the whole way together, starting out maybe a bit fast, but happy with the effort, Jen M. in 1:27:36, and Jenny just behind, 1:28:17. In her first half-marathon ever, Gerry Kim ran really well, and was still smiling after the finish, running 1:38:50. Julie Huy made the journey too, and finished 2:01:56.
Great job everyone! Thank you for coming!
Old'uns
Vitas Ezerskis led the masters in 1:15:33 (4th master, 1st 45-49). Tim
Wallen and Pete Vicencio went up to do training runs and fill out the team and ran 1:19:38 (11th) and 1:28:18 (22nd). Kenny Warde (1:34:57, 3rd 55-59) and Allan Stanbridge (1:40:22, 3rd 60-64) made the trip for the team and dropped down to score to keep our masters in the running. Congratulations (and thanks!) all!
Strikes for Life/Get Your Rear in Gear 5K - 10/14/07
From Kim Fanady . . .
NBEx had a good showing yesterdayat the Strides for Life/Get Your Rear
in Gear 5K at Lake Merced (colon cancer research benefit). For the men, Andy Apfelbaum, first, Jin Daikoku, second; for the women, first, me. Don't remember the guys' times, both had 18 and change. Mine was 19:49.
Shoreline XC - 10/13/07
Women
Byline Julie McGee
This past Saturday 5 Excelsior women traveled down to the South Bay for the 10th Annual Shoreline Open. The field included some impressive local talent. The course consisted of rolling hills that were pretty muddy at certain points and littered with wayward snails from the previous day's rain.
First for Excelsior was Julie McGee in 18:59 (16th place), followed
by Jen Major 19:30 (21st place), next was Tracy Hogan in 20:06 (29th
place), then Heather Leutwyler in 22:13 (44th place), and Donna Chan in 22:31 (46th place, 3rd 50+).
Overall everyone was quite pleased with their respective races. Additionally while everyone's shoes were heavy with a layer of mud covering the bottoms, we all managed to stay on our feet during the race, and no one was grossed out by the squashed snails (o.k. maybe a little grossed out).
Men
Unfortunately the men failed to field a full team. Matt Patout led our
small contingent in 26:56 (48th place), followed by masters Brian Schultz (28:32, 66th overall) and Peter Delahunt (28:42, 67th). Thanks to at least you three! Where is everyone?????
CoreLogic COWTOWN Marathon, Half Marathon, & 5k - 10/07/07
From Brenda Gee DePeralta:
Charlene Bayles and I rode into Sacramento's William Land Park to run
the COWTOWN Half Marathon this past Sunday. The weather was a bit cool but clear as we mooooo-ved toward the start line and ran an udderwise uneventful 13.1 miles. Half marathon story short, Char finished strong and took 2nd in her AG.
PRESIDIO XC Challenge - 10/06/07
We put together another fine race (at least IMHO) Saturday at the 9th
Annual Presidio Cross Country Challenge. Team reports, pictures, and race day director report below . . .
Women
Byline Patti Shore
Tally ho! The Pacific Association cross-country grand prix continued this weekend at our own Presidio race. The course is easily one of the most difficult on the circuit - 3.55 painfully hilly miles.
That didn't stop five NB Excelsior women from toeing the (chilly) line at 8:30 AM on Saturday. After establishing that our collective goal was to finish before the men started, and to do so without injuring anything too badly, off we went.
Several tough climbs and jarring downhills later, the dust settled, and we'd done pretty well. Jenny Wong was in first for our club, 6th place overall with a fine time of 24:28. Tracy Hogan put her triathlon training to work, placing 13th with an excellent 25:20. Patti Shore ran her second-fastest time ever on the course for 19th place (4th master) in 26:05.
Jocelyn Friel ran a 12-mile warmup, and then hopped in the race for a speedy 28th place finish in 28:14. Heather Leutwyler wasn't planning to run, but came out anyway to help us field a full team, and ran a strong 29:38 for 34th place. As for our team goals, we did it! - everyone was in before the men, nobody got hurt, and we had fun. Next up: Shoreline!
Open Men
The open men put together a fine team, with almost the whole team
finishing in the 21s. New member Grant Johnson led the squad in 21:08
(12th). Ben Chaffee (21:31), Eric Knackmuhs (21:47), and new member Mark Janes (21:55) followed closely behind in 16th, 17th, and 19th places. Matt Patout rounded out the team in 23:26 (21st).
Old'uns
Cliff Lentz led the masters in a fine 21:22, good enough for 4th place--and would have been 3rd had he not taken a wrong turn in the woods! John Spriggs followed in 24:06 (31st), with Brian Schultz (24:59, 44th) and David Schmidt (26:07, 53rd) rounding out the team. Embarassingly enough, we did not field a full team at our own race--ouch!
Wayne Plymale forwards the following Presidio pix . . . http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=4824&id=538027434
Bridge to Bridge 12K - 09/30/07
Haven't seen results out, but Ben Chaffee and Jason Reed finished high up (both in top 10, I think) in Sunday's Bridge to Bridge 12K. Dan Ramos also finished 4th in his age division.
Good job--and I apologize for those I'm sure I missed.
Garin Park XC - 09/29/07
Garin Park Women
Byline Heather Leutwyler
We pulled together a full team for the Garin Park XC challenge! Tanja T lead the team with a time of 20:22 for a 10th place finish. She then propelled onward to complete a 20 mile training run! Julie M was right on Tanja's heels with a time of 20:28 for an 11th place finish. Julie also sees another finish line approaching-in about one month she will be a physical therapist. Go Julie!
Tracy H proves that her triathlon expertise also make her an excellent cross country runner finishing in 19th place with a time of 21:15. My first cross country race of the season proved to be a success for one reason-I didn't injure or re-injure anything finishing in 33rd place with a time of 23:48. Donna C gracefully took on the course and blazed to the finish in 36th place and 1st in her division with a time of 24:06!. All in all, a sunny beautiful morning for a hilly run. We definitely got in our training for the Presidio race!
Race for the Cure 5K - 09/23/07
Jen Major placed 4th woman (2nd AG) at last weekend's Race for the Cure in San Francisco, 19:06. Congratulations Jen!
Heritage Oaks Bank 10K - 09/23/07
Paso! Paso! Paso! The PA's seven year stint at the Heritage Oaks Bank 10K in Paso Robles came to a close Sunday with more of a whimper than the bang of some of those heady multi-point races of yesteryear, but there were some fine club performances, including another national championship for Tom Bernhard...
Women
Byline Kim Fanady
Helen Kao swooped into Paso for all of 14 hours, but made the most of her brief visit with a sharp 41:29 to finish 20th woman in the 50 Buck 10K. She stayed just long enough to cheer on Kim Fanady in the National Masters 10K Championships (cheering much appreciated!). Kim posted a 40:23 for 3rd AG, also 20th woman overall, then headed for Paso's terrific wine tasting. Good job ladies!
Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine
This race is one of the harder ones to field a team. Although the
original plan was to skip the race, there were enough people who expressed interest in making the trip to Paso Robles if there was a team.
Unfortunately, we were relying on drop downs and did not remember that the masters and open men race separately until we arrived at registration
(Ed.: The good news: this is ok in road races.). Still 3 open runners
toed the line and finishing within sight of each other - Chikara Omine
(35:59/22nd place), Oliver Chan (36:08/23rd place), and Thomas Jensen
(36:18/24th).
Old'uns
The masters decided to take a bye at Paso. Two of our members made the trek anyway, to preserve their standings in the long. Iain Mickle finished in 34:20 (18th, 5th? PA), followed closely by Vitas Ezerskis (34:38, 24th, 8th? PA).
And for the nth time this year, Tom Bernhard led the seniors, in 35:46 (3rd? PA, 1st 55-59). This earned Tom yet another national championship (is anyone keeping count?). Tom was followed by Jim Gorman (37:52, 4th 55-59) and Kenny Warde (43:31, 12th 55-59). Congratulations all!
Banana Chase - 09/16/07
We scored a rare six full teams at Sunday's Banana Chase 5K in San Francisco . . . something we hope to become commonplace. Details . . .
Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine
Although a local race, only four open men were able to make the race.
Fortunately it appears that there were enough masters for a drop down (?). Leading the way was Eric Knackmuhs in 16:31/41st place looking like he is coming back into form.
Next was Chikara Omine in 16:57/55th place (although likely a timing mess up since the clock showed 17:02~17:03), follwed by Oliver Chan in 17:11/60th place. Matt Patout came next 18:05/84th place happy that he did not aggrevate his injury.
Women
Byline Larissa Polischuk
It was perfect running weather at Kezar for a quick 5K (one of the few
times where the PA circuit race is the shorter distance available!). We
had a great turnout and scored teams for Open, Masters, and Seniors.
Allie led the charge with a speedy 18:40 (6th AG) followed very closely by Julie M in 18:42 (3rd AG) and Jen M in 18:51 (8th AG).
Patti had a stellar race finishing in 19:01 (5th AG; Patti, we're all going with your 18:58 by watch time!). Helen and Tracy were neck and neck coming into the finish line with Helen taking the lead on the track finishing in 19:31 (11th AG) and Tracey in 19:32 (4th AG and a new PR!!!!!!!!).
Larissa P finished in 21:51 (10th AG) and Sara H was not far behind in 22:34, in her first 5k. Kim Fanady continued her racing streak, 3rd in her age group, at 19:51, Brenda G and Kelly D rounded out the Masters team in 23:30 and 28:42 respectively.
Our Seniors team was led by Donna C, who is currently in 3rd in the PA standings (woo hoo!). She finished in 22:11, good for 2nd in her age group. Nancy Wang finished in 23:58 (6th AG) and Charlene Bayles in 26:02 (6th AG). It should not go unmentioned that Brenda, Nancy, and Charlene all had a good 15 miles to go after the race to get their long run in!
Thanks to Lee, Tanya, and Nancy V who all came out to cheer and to Julie M for hosting a fabulous brunch afterwards.
Old'uns
Vitas Ezerskis showed his usual Fall Fitness and led the masters in a fine
16:41 (7th, 44th overall). Tim Wallen, nursing achilles problems, still
showed up and ran 16:57 (11th), followed by Tim Not A Typo O'Rourke
(17:07, 12th), John Spriggs (18:16, 21st), Brian Schultz (19:07, 27th),
and Jim Not A Typo Either Misener (21:36, 38th).
We've had almost a three month break in the grand prix for men, but you wouldn't know it by looking at Tom Bernhard. Tom picked up right where he left off with a strong 17:08, 3rd senior/1st 55-59 performance, followed by Jim Gorman (18:22, 2d 55-59), Rocket Can't Make Me the Bowler Now Darling (20:27, 8th 55-59), and Tom Bennett (23:50, 10th 60-64).
Golden Gate Park Cross - 09/08/07
Women
Byline Gerry Kim
With the ever dependable SF cloud coverage and cool air, the Golden Gate Park Open was held under perfect race conditions this Saturday morning.
Five women raced this weekend in Lindley Meadows with Jen M, Jenny W and Lee D appearing to support NBEx.
Tanja Tamguney led the women's team with a blazing 27:01, placing in the top twenty. Patti Shore followed strong with a 28:16 finish. Jocelyn Friel ran a great 29:44 and was within minutes of crossing the finish planning a ten mile run with teammate Sara H. Gerry Kim made a start at the XC season with a 31:40. Sara Harris came to the rescue to make the women's team and ran a solid 32:23 in her XC debut [welcome!].
Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine
Last week at Santa Cruz, we managed to put together a team 2 minutes
before the start. At least this time, less stress was involved as we had
a team of 7 toe the line for this local race in Golden Gate Park.
Chikara "Mountain Dew" Omine led the open men (23:09/35th place),
closely followed by Eric Knackmuhs (23:17/38th place). Next was Ben
Chaffee (23:36/42nd place) with Oliver Chan right on his heels (23:40/43rd place). Aaron "Snickers" Hill rounded out the scoring team (24:02/47th place). Rounding out the team were Dan Lilot (24:44/53rd place) and Jason Reed (25:39/56th place).
Old'uns
Byline Dan Mancini
Seven Masters/Senior/Super Senior men toed the line at the GGP XC race. Though not enjoying the depth of recent years due to injury and other race committments, the team nevertheless turned in some fine performances.
Leading the way was Cliff Lentz in 4th (22:53), followed by Dan Mancini in 10th (23:13), Pete Vicencio on the surgery comeback trail in 34th (24:55), John Spriggs in 49th (25:43), Brian Schultz in his Masters debut in 71st (26:54), Senior David Schmidt in 84th (28:40), and new Super-Senior Tom Bennett in 116th (34:18).
Santa Cruz: Open Men- 09/01/07
At Saturday's Santa Cruz cross country meet, our open men just scraped together a team at the last minute. . . .
Byline Brian Gilliss
It was a nice sunny day in Santa Cruz and 5 NEB Open men turned out to race. We had hoped that this event would provide us with a cherry-
picker opportunity since it coincided with the Labor Day long weekend,
but that was not the case. The Transports, West Valley, and Empire all
fielded strong teams (and I believe there were others as well).
Our boys were a bit banged up and I think we all agree that the results
were less than sterling. Chikara ran 23:25 coming back from the
headlands 50K last week. Brian Gilliss followed in 23:45 off of 3 runs
per week. Next up came Jason Reed and Chris Farady in 26:05 and 26:29
(Chris was cruising on a bad ankle - thanks to him for helping us to
fill out a scoring five). Finally, Brian Schultz came in at 27:19 (only
22s behind the studly Robert Pickens - nice!).
Headlands 50K - 08/26/07
National Champs!!!! (I think)
For the second time, we seem to have won the national 50K championship at Sunday's Headlands 50K National Championship. Official team results are not out yet, but it looks likely we've won again (last time 2003?).
From Chikara:
Headlands results are up. Here is what I got for our team. If I have the
top Tamalpa members we might have won as a team.
NB EX
6 4:15:15 Lentz Cliff* M40 8:12.9
8 4:16:48 Omine Chikara* M19 8:15.9
17 4:43:50 Gutierrez Ron* M40 9:08.1
29 5:13:11 Jason Reed M19 10:04.8
Empire Cross - 08/25/07
With some late week injuries we weren't able to put forth even a masters men team at Saturday's Empire Cross. Dan Mancini led the team in 19:26, good enough for 6th place master. Kim Lilot finished in 23:59 (18th senior), and new super seniorTom Bennett rounded out the team in 28:08 (14th AG).
Hood to Coast - 08/24/07-08/25/07
The Santini Extra Virgins (11th year in a row) and the Santini Popeyes and Olive Oils (3rd year in a row and 4th in 7) repeated as men's submaster and mixed open winners at Hood to Coast this past weekend.
Present and former club members running included Dan Rhodes, Thomas Jensen, Bret Kimple, and Dave Volk. The Extra Virgins ran 19:20:59 (5:54 pace) for 12th place overall, and the coed Santini Popeyes and Olive Oils ran just behind them in 19:25:53 (5:55 pace) for 13th. Detailed results may be found at:
Angel Island 25K - 08/18/07
Tanja Tamguney was the second women and the fifth runner overall in the Angel Island 25K with a time of 1:44:45.
Susan B Anthony 5K - 08/11/07
Byline Helen Kao
WOW - what an impressive turn out of women at a Sacramento race. I think we hit a record for best showing at an Away Race. ELEVEN WOMEN (and almost 13) raced the SBA 5k this past Saturday.
Final standing updates aren't up yet but I'm confident Open Women likely kept a hold of our 2nd place standings and the Senior women may have moved up. Unfortunately Molly N and Brenda couldn't join us due to family emergencies and our warmest wishes for respective speedy recoveries.
The weather and course were perfect this year and everyone who
road-tripped out to Sacramento enjoyed the great race schwag and post-race goodies--from snazzy T-shirts to unbelievable post-race food. The all-women's draw of the Susan B Anthony is what makes this race so special. There were many more runners than last year with a strong
turn-out of PA runners but also of community recreational runners. Many
supportive husbands, partners, kids lined the course to cheer for their
respective wives, daughters, mothers.
Donna Chan wow'ed even herself with a 1st place AG finish, 22:30, despite thinking she hadn't run well. Kim Fanady ran an amazing 19:14, 2nd AG--and I believe her fastest time in a few years, which helps fill out the Open Women's team. Allie Bigelow once again led the NBEx women in 18:34, and cracked top 20 overall. Julie McGee followed on her heels in 18:35 which Allie reports helped push her in to the finish.
Shelly Pierson shows she's back in gear with a sub-19 18:58. Jenny "I'm running slow" Wong grows a Pinocchio nose by running 19:08. Patti Shore is ready to hit XC season and raced to 20:16. Nancy Wang ran a fantastic 24:08, continuing her strong running. Charlene Bayle really loved the spirit of the women's only race, 25:59, 8th AG.
And lastly, running slow painful "oye--this 5k feels reallllly long" but
enjoying the opportunity to catch up with one another, Micha Lowe (so good to see you again!) and Helen Kao ran and huff-puffed there way through the finish in tandem 21:19, 21:20.
National Masters T&F Championships - 08/02/07
Byline Tom Bernhard
After suffering through two long races in the stifling heat of North
Carolina last August, I was hoping for (and expecting) cooler weather in
Orono Maine for this year's National Masters Track & Field Championships.
Unfortunately, I was to be a bit disappointed. For my first race (5000
meters), on Thursday, the temperature was about 90 degrees with the track about 10 degrees warmer. Fortunately, a thunderstorm came through Friday evening and cooled things off a bit for the 10,000 meters on Saturday. It also helped that the race was at 9:30 instead of later in the day.
Thursday's 5000 meters:
Because I still had not regained all the fitness I had lost due to 25,000
miles of business travel in June and with the weather so uncooperative, I gave up any idea of a fast time and just concentrated on winning my
division (M55). I think the 50-54 guys had the same idea because the initial pace was very pedestrian, after a 41sec first 200m the pace settled into the 87 sec range for the first 2 full laps. Because of the initial slow pace there was a rather tight pack of 8 runners which got winnowed down to 6 when the pace went into the 84 sec range in the 2nd k. The pace stayed in this range until about 2 ? laps to go. At that point I was in 5th place overall (1st M55) and about 5m behind the leaders who picked up the pace at that point.
I passed the 4th place runner but couldn't regain contact with the three
leaders. At the bell lap, I was 8 sec behind the leaders who then went into a furious kick. The first two M50-54 runners ran the last lap in a blazing 64.5 sec while I ran it in a much more mundane 83.5 sec. That was a bit humbling to someone who likes to think he has a good kick. Never-the-less, I still easily won my age group, by 27 sec (in 17:33:56; not a particularly competitive field). I picked up my medal and National Championship patch, drove my wife and my sweaty achy body back to the motel to rest up for my 10000m race on Saturday.
Saturday's 10,000 meters:
Even though running 10,000m on the track is usually quite tedious and
mentally challenging (how Tim O'Rourke twice ran 50K on the track is beyond me), the 10,000 meter race was actually more interesting than the 5000m, if not as competitive. I started this race in lane #2 and ended up taking the lead at about 150m. I really didn't want the lead badly, but I was running a comfortable pace so I decided to go with it.
[Now, of course, one of the benefits of leading a track race is that the
track announcer mentions your name a lot, at least once per lap. Since this meet was carried live on the Internet, archived at:
you also get lots of good camera time. In my case, the down-side was that the announcer kept mispronouncing my name. He pronounced it the way it is spelled "Bernhard" instead of the correct way (with a silent "h") Bernard. There is nothing like having your name mispronounced in public (and on the Internet) 30 times in a 37 min timeframe, but I digress.]
I ended up leading the race for about 8 ? laps before eventually letting
one of the 50-54 guys take over. I eventually settled into 3rd, but we were tightly grouped. For the first 13 laps we ran very consistently in the 87 sec range, which based on the conditions, was fine with me. Things started slowing down during the 14th lap and the next 6 laps were in the 89-90 sec range. After following a lapped runner through most of lap 19 (a 92 sec lap) things picked up and lap 20 was 85 sec.
It was during that lap the eventual M50-54 winner put a 20m gap on me and completely dropped the other M50-54 runner who was in our lead pack. During the next lap I completely closed the gap, but he surged in lap 22 and opened the gap to about 20m again. By the beginning of the bell lap (25), I was down by 11 sec on the M50-54 winner. He ran the last lap in 74 sec, I finished in 82 sec (36:22.70 total). To his credit, the
M50-54 winner, Dave Cannon, (who came in 2nd in the 5000m race) ran a 4:21 1500m the next day. So he obviously had a lot left in the tank.
As I mentioned earlier, I had no pretentions about running fast times, so I was content to go home with two victories.
Please note that Jim Gorman ran an excellent 4:45.24 for 4th place in the very competitive M55-59 1500 meter race the next day. (I try to avoid the competition and go for the low-hanging fruit, but Jim's an Ivy League man.)
Vineman Triathlon - 08/04/07
Ian Hersey and Gary MacPherson, from Vineman:
Ian: This past Sunday I did the Vineman 70.3 (a half Ironman up in
Guerneville/Windsor) in 5:05:04, a PR for the distance by over 21 minutes. That time included a late start (they started my swim wave 4 minutes earlier than on the program, and I didn't have my wetsuit fully on yet) and a long potty break in T2, so I might have just dipped under 5 hours otherwise.
The best part was that I had a decent run off the bike -- 1:30 and change on a rolling, hot course. I ended up 19th in M45-49 in a pretty competitive age group field, and I had to run down a lot of guys to
do that, including outkicking another 45+ guy in the last 200. Glad I
still go to the track occasionally!
Gary: Just wanted to report my results of the 70.3 Vineman Half-Ironman in Windsor a week ago Sunday, July 22, 2007. I was 22nd in my age group. I understand there were about 150 in our wave. My overall time was 6:39. I got off track on the swim and lost almost 7 minutes trying to get back to the pack. What a sick feeling that was . . . and that was the first event.
. . . Between that and some severe cramping during the run ( I have to
figure out what caused that), my goal time of 6 hrs kept slipping away
until it vanished completely.
Federal Escape Triathlon - 07/28/07
Tri Report from Tracy Hogan
I've been meaning to give you a race update on the Federal Escape
Triathlon I did on 7/28 in Seattle. The race was a regional qualifier for
the 2008 Worlds Team. It was my first race back from my calf injury so I was a little worried about how my calf would hold up but I wound up having a great day.
I placed 3rd overall and was only 8 seconds back from second place and less than a minute from the overall. My 6 week injury taper must have done the trick because I had the fastest female 10k run split of 39:09.
I'm pretty sure the course was short because that's a phenomenal
PR for me in a triathlon. I should get the 2008 Worlds Team slot so I'm
very excited. I'm off to Folsom Triathlon this weekend so I'll be sure to
get you a report next week
Eppie's GREAT RACE Triathlon - 07/21/07
Donna Chan reports from Eppie's:
Just a short note to let you know how the Eppie's Triathlon turned out
(July 21). We were so lucky that the weather was in the 80's not 107
degrees of 2 years ago or even in the 90's like last year.
I ran as part of a 3 women team in the 40-49 age group since my cousin is still 49. I ran 5.82 miles official distance (not including the transition distance to the cycling group). My cousin Nancy Lee biked 12.5 miles and Nancy Templeton kayaked 6.35 miles.
We finished with a total time of 2:02:52 bettering our time from last year by 5 minutes. I think I ran about 41 minutes, (opps forgot to turn off my watch and no clock at the end of the run.) I was very excited to keep a 7 minute pace and slightly faster.
We were pleased with a 3rd place AG finish. It is a great community event with a 35 year history with last years total contributions to the
Sacramento County Therapeutice Recreation services surpassing the $800,000 mark.
Mt. Tam Trophy Race - 07/15/07
The First Biannual Mt. Tam Trophy Race favored quality over quantity, with some of the top trail runners in the country. Our own Chikara Omine and Cliff Lentz had top finishes, with Chikara finishing 7th (56:07 in the
6.5-7.5 mile course with some 2200 vertical feet) and Cliff 8th (57:34
after taking a big header going down Ben Johnson).
Jenny Wong finished strong for the women in 1:08:10 (8th). Tyler Abbott rounded out the team in 1:13:54 (28th overall out of I can't remember how many). Brian Gilliss was a late drop due to injury, as was George Torgun (?; and Ben Chaffee?)--hopefully you can make it out next time.
Tying the Knot 7K - 07/14/07
From Helen: Congrats to Kim Fanady who ran a 7k two weekends ago in SF, placing 4th overall woman. Not sure what the name of the race means but, heck, it's not that often one gets to run a SEVEN km race and it certainly has been wedding season for many!
Angel Island 16K - 07/07/07
Helen Kao reports that Chikara Omine won the Angel Island 16K Saturday (again; as well as first at the 7/1 DSE Lake Merced Run). Congratulations Chikara, and thanks Helen!
Freedom Road Mile & 5K - 07/04/07
Congratulations to Kim Fanady on her double win at the Freedom races
earlier this month.
From Kim: I ran in the Freedom Road mile and 5k doubleheader in GG Park. It was lots of fun, really well organized especially for a small fun run event, beautiful weather, and they served ice cream at the end! I came in first woman, fifth overall in the mile (5:48) and first woman, 8th overall in the 5K (2Mo0:35) despite posting my slowest 5k time in five years -- but on the other hand, my PR for a 5K after a mile
Tri Age Group Nationals - 06/29-30/07
From our own Tracy Hogan . . .
It was a beautiful day at Haag Lake in Oregon for Tri Nationals this past
weekend. I had a string of misfortune including a pulled calf and a nasty
chest cold so I wasn't sure what the day would bring.
The swim proved to be tough because deep breaths caused coughing attacks so I was forced to take it out easy. On the bike I had a lot of fun on the rolling hills and tried to make up some lost time.
When I got to the run I didn't know what to expect since I hadn't been able to run for over 2 weeks. I felt great for the first 1 1/2 miles but then quickly realized that my calf was not yet healed enough to handle the stress of a hilly course.
In the end I finished 20th in my division (2:27.54). Not what I had hoped for but all my body could give me on that day. I am excited that I qualified for Worlds in Germany on Sept 1st. Hopefully I'll be running again in a week or two so I can redeem myself in Hamburg!!
P.S. Jen Major came up sick at the last minute and didn't make the trip.
Double Dipsea - 06/23/07
Byline Patti Shore
For at least three of our team, the single Dipsea was not enough. On
Saturday, Cliff Lentz, Patti Shore and Larissa Polischuk headed out for
the Double Dipsea. This is a much smaller event - about 400 runners - and much more low-key than the single Dipsea two weeks prior.
The conditions were pretty good - a fairly warm day that took a few people out, but none of the humidity we experienced at the single Dipsea. Despite making a wrong turn somewhere (I find this astonishing), Cliff was 5th overall, followed by Patti at 19th overall, and Larissa "somewhere in the 70's" (the results aren't out yet). Cliff finished the course in under 2 hours (I don't have his exact time), and Patti and Larissa both had actual times of under 2-1/2 hours. Most importantly, it appears that everyone had a lot of fun!
SHRINERS 8K - 06/23/07
Bigelow 8th, Mickle 3rd, Masters Win!
Allie Bigelow continued her torrid racing with a fine 30:19 6th place
finish, and Iain Mickle seems to have led the masters to their 6th win of
the year, finishing third in a three-way battle with Jeff Adkins (26:29)
and Jose Aispuro in 26:38. Details . . .
Women
Byline Helen Kao
Despite being short one woman in each division, in the end the NBEx women were able to pull together scoring teams in the Open and Masters divisions. Thanks to everyone who trekked out to Sac for the race.
Several Top 3 finishes were taken home by our ladies (in alpha order):
Allie continues her strong performaces with a 30:19 (3rd AG, 8th woman) and >1min faster than last year Brenda finished 37:47, improving her 2006 time by over 2 minutes! Char took home a 3rd AG finish with 43:43. Julie McGee also finished 3rd AG with a speedy 30:49
Kim Fanady helped the Open team score with her 32:27 (3rd AG).
Lee returns to racing this summer with 36:43 (6th AG). Nancy Wang represented the senior women well in 39:31, over 1 min faster than her 2006 time Shelly cranked in a 33:01 finish (5th AG) well over 3 min faster than her 2006 performance!
Amazing job and team work to all!
Open Men
Chikara Omine ran a fine 27:00.
Old'uns
Iain Mickle led the masters with a third place 26:38. Vitas Ezerskis
finished next in 27:59 (9th), followed by Andy Apfelbaum (29:51, 38th),
Tyler Abbott (30:06, 40th), and Jeff Dewey (31:00, 46th). The masters seem to have eked out a narrow victory, leading to a sweep of the spring schedule!
Among seniors, Tom Bernhard led the small group in 29:01 (5th, 1st 55-59). Les Ong was the only other senior, finishing in 32:21 (27th, 6th 55-59).
WOODMINSTER - 06/17/07
Lentz Second, Wong Ninth
Cliff Lentz followed up his fine Dipsea performance with a second place
finish at Sunday's Woodminster Cross Country Race (9 miles). Times are not released yet, but I believe Cliff ran 59:xx with a 4 minute handicap,
finishing second to Roy Rivers (8 minute handicap) and just ahead of a
scratch Mark McManus.
Jenny Wong finished next for the club in 1:09-1:10 (12 minutes), good enough for 9th place. Tyler Abbott (1:11:xx, 8 minutes, 33rd) and Gary MacPherson (didn't get time--sorry Gary!) rounded out the team performances.
Speedy recovery to Dipsea winner Jamie Berns, who collided with a mountain bike and was sent to the hospital to patch up her hand.
Presidio Relay - 06/17/07
Chikara Omine, Eric Knackmuhs, and Oliver Chan were joined by Cal
Berkeley's 800M specialist Francis Gadayan to win the Presidio 4x5K Relay by about a minute and a half.
From Chikara:
We ended up winning by over a minute in around 1:09:23. I believe that is the fastest relay time in the race's short history. Cal Berkeley's 800m
specialist Francis Gadayan led us off and took the lead (16:59). The rest
of us--Oliver (18:00), Eric (17:19), and myself (17:07)--never
relinquished that lead.
Tri One O One - 06/17/07
Ian Hersey forwards the following race report . . .
I did the inaugural Tri One O One in Clearlake on Sunday -- a 1.86M swim, 80+M bike, 18.6M run, which is about a 3/4 Ironman. The bike and run courses were each brutal in their own way -- the road surface made for a lot of bone and crotch rattling, and the run was a roller coaster of short, steep hills. Great organization and support, though. My time was 7:50:43, which was good enough to win my new M45-49 age group -- the benefit of a small field! I had the fastest swim and run splits in the AG, which is a first for me (especially the swim!), as is winning my AG in any tri.
DIPSEA - 06/10/07
Six Black Shirts! Lentz 4th/3rd Fastest Time, Gilliss 2d Fastest
Time, Omine Wins Runner Section, Shore's 2d!
A great day for the club at Sunday's Dipsea, punctuated by some great
performances as well as by some near misses. Among the highlights: Cliff
Lentz's 4th place finish, not far behind 3rd and even 2d; Brian Gilliss's
second fastest time; Chikara Omine's Runner Section win; and the Shore's second place family trophy finish. Details . . .
Women
Byline Patti Shore
For many of us, Dipsea is bigger than Christmas (and thanks to Jim Long
for providing that analogy). The 97th running of the 2nd oldest race in
America was Sunday in Marin. In a somewhat depleted field, we had a new winner - Jamie Berns - and a lot of new faces in the Black Shirts.
While a few folks staggered across the finish line, and most of us were witness to some spectacular meltdowns on the course, we only saw one helicopter which seems to indicate that nearly everyone finished in one piece - dirty and bloody perhaps, but one piece.
For the NB Excelsior women - a good day. In the Invitational Section,
Jenny Wong moved up from 29th last year to 28th this year with her solid 54:19 (adjusted times - actual running time less handicap). Jen Major also moved up several places to 72nd with her adjusted time of 58:16. Jen had said she'd just go easy, but the Dipsea Day competitive spirit got to her quickly and she blasted up to Cardiac in record time.
Patti Shore was not as fit as she'd hoped, running 1:00.27 adjusted time for 118th place. This is what happens when you eat for 70 miles a week but only run 50, thus trying to race with way too much junk in the trunk, and when you abandon your strength training program - beware! However, I did have a LOT of fun, and Dan and I were second by a nose in the family competition, just losing to the speedy Lopez team, but beating the Ripp, Fitzpatrick, and Pilcher families.
In the runner section, Stacey Schweighart finished an impressive 4th in
1:06:05. Larissa Polischuk easily qualified for next year's invitational
with an adjusted time of 1:31.56, for 650th place. Jocelyn Friel also got
back into the invitational with her adjusted time of 1:37.34 for 729th
place. After correcting for the handicaps, I believe our actual running
times are as follows: Wong - 62:19; Schweighart 66:05; Major - 66:16;
Shore - 69:27; Polischuk - 71:56; and Friel - 77:34. No PR's here except for first-timer Larissa who will go lots faster in the Invitational - but next year - we'll all kick butt!
Of special note is that we very much missed Carin's presence at the race and post-race festivities.
As Russ Kiernan says, training for the 2008 Dipsea begins on Monday, June 11th. Christmas - er, race day - is just 363 days away!
Men
Cliff Lentz led the way in 4th place in 52:24 (3 minute handicap), the
third fastest time overall, just four seconds behind 3rd, and but 39
seconds behind 2nd. Iain Mickle added a second top 10 finish for the club in 9th (55:55, 4 minutes).
In his Invitational debut, Brian Gilliss ran the second fastest time of the day (52:13, 0), just 19 seconds back of Mark McManus's fastest time. Brian finished in 11th place, one of the highest scratch finishes I can remember. Brian just edged out Dipsea newbie (and convert?) Tim Wallen, who finished 12th in 55:26 (3 minutes).
Four in the top twelve--not enough to beat Tamalpa, but a great showing nonetheless. Our two remaining black shirts came in 27th and 28th: Ben Chaffee, also running from the scratch section, in 53:59, and, mentioned in the women's report above, Jenny Wong (1:02:14, 8 minutes).
Four more club members finished in the top 100: Dan Shore (57:32, 2 minutes, 42nd, just 49 seconds away from a black shirt); Jen Major (1:06:15, 8 minutes, 72nd, mentioned above); Adam Hersh (58:27, 1 minute, 75th); and Tyler Abbott (1:02:54, 4 minutes, 84th). Rounding out the club's efforts were Dan Rhodes (1:02:10, 1 minute, 163rd), Jeff Dewey (1:07:02, 3 minutes, 215th), David Moulton (1:07:10, 2 minutes, 254th), and Michael Gama (1:22:41, 5 minutes, 565th).
Last but certainly not least, Chikara Omine won the coveted Runner's
Section trophy with a fine 54:58 effort, winning the Runner's Section by
over two minutes. Looks like another black shirt next year. I apologize to
anyone I missed!
Don Bowden Mile - 06/03/07
A short day was had by all, highlighted by Tom Bernhard capturing his
fourth in a row second place senior finish, and Allie Bigelow and Tim
Wallen both finishing 7th in their respective divisions.
It would also be remiss of me not to mention the exciting battle for the win in the open B heat between Jenny Premature Hammer Wong and Jen Major--Jenny came from way back to catch Jen, who'd led the whole way, but then Jen fought back to edge Jenny out in a photo finish.
Finally, also of great note is the continued strength of our senior women's team, who came into the race in second place (though it wasn't published yet), and certainly seem to have maintained that position--congratulations! Details . . .
Women
Byline Allie Bigelow
With mixed reviews, the Fleet Feet Mile relocated from downtown Davis to the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton this year. On
hand to christen the new course were 9 Excelsior women who braved a windy course and debuted our speedy new blue uniforms.
Of special mention is the fact that our masters and seniors women outnumbered our open women!
Although we were buffered by an increasingly stiff headwind, there were
many speedy times to be had. In the women's 40 - 49 race Brenda Gee blazed along in 6:48 with Kelly Daikoku (in her Excelsior debut) sprinting in with a time of 7:44.
The women's 50 - 59 race saw Donna Chan post a smoking time of 6:41 (2nd age group and PR), with Nancy Wang and Char Bayles hot on her heels in 7:01 (1 sec off Nancy's PR) and 7:29 respectively.
In the open women's race, 3 Excelsior women sandbagged the
"slower" heat (if you could call it that) with Jen "I am not in running
shape" Major winning by a hair in 5:26.8 over Jenny "I am just out for a
jog" Wong in 5:26.9.
Helen Kao ran a spectacular 5:37, bettering her previous PR by 12 seconds! Finally, all alone in the "faster" heat (also known as extremely painful) Allie Bigelow struggled to finish in 5:22 after going out a little too fast with a 72 second first quarter.
All in all a great day for the team. Thanks so much to everyone who
schlepped out to Stockton to race!
Open Men
For the first time this year, we struggled to fill a full team at Sunday's Mile, and ended up relying on drop downs. Jin Daikoku, still on the recovery trail, led the way in a fine 4:28.9, good enough for 12th place overall. New member Aaron Hill--welcome--finished next in 4:50.1, followed by Oliver Chan in 5:03.3.
Old'uns
Tim Wallen led our masters in 4:47.4 (7th), followed by Iain Mickle
(4:48.9, 9th), Vitas Ezerskis (4:57.0, 12th), and Tyler Abbott (5:26.4,
27th). Dropping Bernhard down seems to have given the masters the win--the masters have swept the grand prix so far.
For the seniors, Tom Bernhard led in 4:59.1, good enough for 2d senior and 1st 55-59, with Les Ong followed in 5:32 (3rd 55-59). Tom Mann was our only super senior, finishing in 8:30.4 (7th 65-69).
Ultra Update
Ron Gutierrez forwards this update on his races in the ultra/trail world .
. . great job Ron!
Shadow of the Giants 50K - 6/2/07 Fish Camp, CA (just outside the southern Yosemite boundary)
This was a make up race for me as I was not able to get into Ohlone 50K. The race boasted giant sequoias along the trail and there were a few along the trail with a small grove at about the 2 hour mark. Some nice singletrack w/ lots of fire road and moderate climbing (just under 4,000' of gain) Ran in second place for most of the run and got caught w/ about 9 miles to go. Finished 3rd in 4:44 on a well over 50K course.
Quicksilver 50K - 5/12/07 Santa Clara
Weather conditions were ideal for me 50-60s and overcast. Ran in 2nd for most of the day got caught at mile 23 or so but stayed close and regained 2nd w/ 4miles to go and felt pretty good at the 4 hr. mark. Finished comfortably in 2nd in 4:19 and knocked off over 6 mins.from last year; also my first sub 4:20 50K.
Tilden Tough 10 - 5/20/07
I think I got the last bib for this - sent in my reg after I got shutout
of Ohlone. Finished 10th in 67:53 - got passed by only one runner just
after the turn around. It was nice to see the strong women's presence
here.
Marin Memorial Day 10K - 05/28/07
Mickle, Bernhard Silver, Wallen Bronze, Bigelow Top 10
Iain Mickle and Tim Wallen led the masters to their fourth consecutive
victory of the year, finishing second-third themselves in 33:38 and 33:42. Tom Bernhard continued his torrid racing with a fine 35:33, getting nipped for the second time in four races this year by a Tamalpan racing as a 50 year old for the first time. Allie Bigelow also continued her excellent spring season with a big PR 37:49.
Women
Byline Helen Kao
There was once a time when our women's team had to scratch runners
together to fill PA races. While the Marin 10K has always been a popular
local race, we have never had such a BLOW OUT display of team spirit and stellar performances.
Thanks to all the pink ladies who came out. We scored two Open women's teams, a Master and a Senior team! In alpha order:
ALLIE BIGELOW ran a whoppingALLIE BIGELOWfastest time of the team at 37:49, 10th women overall, 4th AG.
BRENDA GEE, solid as ever with her tell-tale knee straps, finished 47:47.
CHAR BAYLES, having a lot of fun, scored for the senior team with her 56:28.
DONNA CHAN made sure Brenda didn't get too far ahead by finishing 47:49, good for 3rd AG.
HELEN KAO was pleased with a 2-min PR on this course (with PTSD of
throwing up on the track), 40:23 JEN MAJOR coming off a fab triathlon season and gearing up for Tri Nationals, fought stubborn legs, 40:44.
JOCELYN FRIEL recovers easily from Boston with a 45:42 JULIE McGEE ran an amazing 40:04 despite not running more than 6mi since her own Boston Marathon.
KIM FANADY sealed the Masters team with a 41:57, 3rd AG.
LARISSA POLISCHUK continues her post-injury comeback with a steady 45:26.
MOLLY NEWLON, senior scorer, said she was really happy to be out, 55:48 (and now aims for an 8min mile!).
NANCY VUONG, soon to be married!, ran a PR 41:15, NANCY WANG took advantage of her short-race comps to race to a 50:18, 5th AG.
PATTI SHORE looks trim and fit and ready to tackle Dipsea with her 40:21, 7th AG.
SARA HARRIS runs her inaugural Excelsior race in pink (soon to be royal
blue!) 46:50--welcome!!
SHELLY PIERSON returns to health by kicking Patti and Helen's butts into
final gear on the track 40:18.
TRACY HOGAN who along w Jen has had an amazing triathlon season, ran a fast 42:41.
Way to go team. I was so proud of our racing Monday!
Open Men
George Torgun led the men in 33:13 (19th), followed two places later by
Chikara Omine (33:31). Jin Daikoku finished next in 34:26 (32d), followed
by a Dipsea-prepping Dan Shore in 35:17 (48th), Jason Reed (36:46, 70th), a returning Eric Knackmuhs (37:36, 91st), Brian Schultz (40:01, 147th), and Robin Hart (42:02, 192d).
Old'uns
Iain Mickle and Tim Wallen led the masters in fine 33:38 and 33:42 efforts (2d and 3rd). Cliff Lentz followed three places back in 34:15, followed by Dan Mancini in recover mode (35:38, 14th), new master Adam Lucas (37:05), Andy Apfelbaum (37:22), and Tyler Abbott (37:57).
Tom Bernhard placed second behind new senior Brian Pilcher in a quick
35:33, with Les Ong (42:01), David Schmidt (42:23), and Tom Bennett
(49:29) rounding out the team.
Finally, Helen Kao forwards this link to some MMD photos . . .
Tilden Tough Ten - 05/20/07
Byline Patti Shore
The alternative to the Bay to Breakers spectacle on the 3rd Sunday in May is the Tilden Tough Ten, a small ten-miler hosted by the Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders in Tilden Park.
Several New Balance Excelsior women participated this year. Christine Brighton and Jenny Wong duked it out most of the race, with Christine just edging Jenny for first - Christine ran 69:34, and Jenny 70:06. In 4th place was returning team member Katie
Litzenberger - Katie is just back from two years in New Zealand, and she ran a solid 70:51.
Several minutes later, Patti Shore finally came along, in 11th place with a time of 75:57. Patti got to watch 4 women pass her on the way in, including all 3 of the masters women that placed in front
of her. Couldn't do a thing about it. Up next was Larissa Polischuk, steadily improving as she regains fitness after a long injury layoff. Larissa was 17th, with a time of 77:34.
Ducking under 90 minutes was Brenda Gee Deperalta (88:39), who was pleased with her race. Nancy Wang wasn't far behind with a time of 92:16, and a big grin on her face as she finished.
Bay to Breakers - 05/20/07
Not quite like the old 25 out of the top 100 (or even top 50) days, but we still had a slew of club members out at Bay to Breakers this weekend.
Chikara Omine led our finishers in 41:02 (57th), followed by Iain Mickle
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