Silicon Valley Turkey Trot Elite/PA 5K - 11/26/09

Byline Chikara Omine

Jin Daikoku and Chikara Omine decided to not to fear the humbling experience of running with elites and made the Thanksgiving Day trip to San Jose for a chance to run fast times. Unfortunately both missed their respective goals, but had decent runs. The race went out fast and even Jin Daikoku's blazing first mile of around 4:40 put him closer to the back than the front. Chikara Omine started off with a relatively slow (for this field very slow) 4:54.  

Both struggled over the final mile with Jin finishing in 15:39 (40st place) and Chikara in 16:08 (43rd place). For Chikara, it was at least a good sign compared to Sunday as he has been feeling better on training runs each day since then.

[Phipps] Another Turkey Trot

39.95 year old Chris Phipps forwards along some results from the Crystal Springs Turkey Trot:

Here are some results:

1) Paul Wellman 16:01? [actually quite a bit faster?]

2) ? 16:03

3) Nate Bowen 16:05

4) Peter Gilmore 16:06 (jogging)

5)? 16:34

6) Parker Kelly 16:51

Huge gap

7) Phipps 17:21 (1:28 faster than last year)

[Gorman] And another . . .

Jim Gorman reports that "on November 21st I ran 18:28.6 for the Davis Turkey Trot 5K, first 60-64." Congratulations Jim!

PA XC Championships - 11/22/09

The masters men made their closest approach to the glory years of 2004-2006, but were still overwhelmed by a dominating Aggies squad. The open men had a fine showing, as did the masters woman.

Women

Lee d'Alessandro ran a fine 30:12 to finish 43rd 40+. Congratulations Lee!

Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine

Last week Tyler mentioned that the open men had a fine showing. Minus the "fine" and he pretty much summed it up. Not our best showing (Phipps was wondering if we won because it looked like we "scored a lot of points") but we at least put a team together and made our goal of improving our performance next year easier to achieve.

Jin Daikoku, preparing for the upcoming Turkey Trot 5K, took it easy and led the team in 33:54 for 48th place. Chikara Omine, who has been dealing with some achillies issues, was next in 35:27 (72nd place). George Torgun, who seemed to have an off day, followed in 37:21 (93rd place). Matt Patout was next in what he called a "slow" 38:30 (99th place). Closing out the scoring team was Jason Reed in 39:45 (107th place) for his second race of the day after winning the DSE Lake Merced race earlier in the morning.

Masters Men
Byline Dan Mancini

Fielding their best team of the season, the Masters men scored a strong 2nd place team finish at the PA Cross Country Champs, placing 3 runners in the top-10. It was their best showing since 2006, enabled in large part by the presence of 3 Masters PA Champs debutantes: Parker Kelly, Brian Richter and Dan Shore.

That trio combined with veterans Cliff Lentz, Pete Vicencio, Iain Mickle, Tyler Abbott and Dave Moulton to secure the runner-up position. Cliff Lentz led the team with a fine 6th place finish (35:17), followed closely by Parker Kelly with a sparkling performance in 7th (35:20), Pete Vicencio rebounding nicely from a recent marathon in 9th (35:31), Brian Richter in 16th (35:57), Iain Mickle recovering from a recent injury in 32nd (36:50), Dan Shore in 34th (37:00), Tyler Abbott (holding back [a very little -Ed.] in anticipation of doubling back to run the Open race) in 80th (40:41), and David Moulton in 82nd (40:47).

Big Sur Half Marathon - 11/15/09

Rigney 90.59% AG @ Big Sur Half!
Byline Kenny Warde
 
Although it was a little cool at the start, it quickly became a picture perfect day along the Monterey Peninsula after the gun went off. And the indefatigable Hansi Rigney ran 1:49:41 to win the 65-69 year age division. Her age graded performance was 90.59%! This placed her 3rd AG behind the first and second place men (Stephan Muangie = 1:03:37 = 93.13% and Ezkyas Sisay = 1:05:25 = 90.93%). Team friend Helen Kao was also out there, running 1:32:05 to win the 35-39 year age division.

 

Clarksburg 30K - 11/08/09

Lentz, Masters Win Clarksburg!

Cliff Lentz held off a hard-charging Tim Mr. Clarksburg O'Rourke at Sunday's Clarksburg 30K to finish in 1:48:59, win the masters title (12th overall), and lead the masters to the team title. Iain Mickle finished 5th master (1st 45-49) in 1:54:06, followed two overall and masters places later in his masters road debut by Brian Richter (1:54:35). Dan Shore ran 2:00:40 (15th master) and Kenny Warde 2:31:01 for 6th place 55-59 to round out the team. Great job! If we can keep the momentum into CIM, we should be able to win the grand prix. . . .

Women
Byline Heather Leutwyler

The good news is that we had open and masters men's teams. We also had 2 NBex ladies come out for the race. I had a great CIM training run and PR race finishing in 2:19:38 for 7th in my age group. Sarah J, the good Samaritan of the day when she stopped to help a bonking runner in the middle of the race, had an awesome race finishing in 2:30:12 for 10th in her age group. 

Men
Byline Chikara Omine

With CIM less than a month away, a few of us thought that Clarksburg would be a perfect tuneup. Chikara Omine, who went out at his ambitious goal marathon pace but ended up blowing up the last 5 miles, came crawling in at 1:52:41, 16th place (now reconsidering his goal marathon time). George Torgun took it easy with a goal keeping a 6:15/mile pace and finished 1:56:25, 27th place (6:15/mile). Matt Patout got DQ'ed for chucking his heart rate montior at aid station volunteers, but clocked himself in
2:02:58 (47th place?). Okay, just kidding about the heart rate monitor incident. But Matt's time did not get registered in the results so far. Luckily the masters can drop down a runner.

Btw - Congrats to the masters runners for a strong performance!

Helen Klein 50 Miler - 10/31/09

Byline by Chikara Omine

Three days before the Helen Klein race on Halloween, I realized that it's best to get new racing flats since his New Balance RC152s now have holes through them. Unfortunately it was tough to get a hold of any New Balance shoe under 6oz in 3 days (don't think there are any in the US). Desperate, I ended up getting the Nike Lunars which are slightly heavier than the RC152s, but that was the only immediately available shoe under 6 oz that I could find.

Jason and I made the trip to Rancho Cordova for the flat and fast Helen Klein 50 mile. Normally the race is almost entirely on asphalt, but due to closed levees the course was altered to take detour with a short trail section that added 1.25~1.3 mile in distance. Wasn't great news to hear but I still managed to get a 50 mile PR and the win in 5:45:41. Jason Reed who kept a 6 week streak of running an ultra every weekend finished in 9:22:15, 38th place. Jason mentioned that he would rest the following weekend by only running a 25K and a 10K.

I later found out that I missed the course record by 2 seconds (on the normal 50 mile course). Thinking back, I could've those shaved 2 seconds had I not tripped wearing my Nike Lunars or used my lighter New Balance flats. My feet also ended up being slashed up into a bloodier mess than usual. This is my punishment for angering the New Balance gods.  I learned my lesson and placed my order for my New Balance RC 130 racing flats.
 

Tamalpa XC Challenge - 10/31/09

The masters men fell just short of a full team, but had a decent showing nonetheless. Parker Kelly led the way in 24:13 on the 4.25 mile course, just breaking into the top 10. In his masters debut (Welcome! Your card's in the mail.), Brian Richter finished just behind Parker in 11th place (24:15, just five seconds behind 7th place).

Dan Shore attempted a return to 1996 glory (yes, the inaugural Tamalpa xc race, in 1996 on a similar though much harder course, marked the first victory of the modern open team with a scoring team of Conor Flynn, myself, Dan Shore, Tony Varnhagen, and Peter Hsia) and ran 24:48, good enough for 19th place. Tyler Abbott did not attempt a return to 1996 glory, finishing with Mr. Peabody in 28:00 (58th). Time to bring out the ringers for PA Champs!

In other races, Heather Women's Team Leutwyler finished in 25:28 (46th) on an accidentally shortened course, and Matt Men's Team Patout ran 26:15 for 61st place in a strong field.

New York Marathon - 11/01/09

Vicencio@NYC

Pete Vicencio forwards this report from the NYC Marathon . . .

It was a rough day - I had some major hassles to get to the front before the start, and I think I came in a little under-hydrated. I was pretty much on pace through 19 (about 6:10) although I knew I was in trouble as early as 16. By 19, my calves started tightening and cramping. Managed to keep running though as I watched Joan Benoit-Samuelsen pass me at 22 as well as scores of other people. 2:55:31.

Not nearly as bad as trying to get from the point in the park where they finally let you out of the finish area (about 85th St.) back to my hotel on 52nd. Shared a cab with some folks and got dropped off at 52nd & 9th Ave. - less than 5 blocks from my hotel. Had to get another cab since my calves were so cramped it would have taken me a half hour to get back! Fun experience though.

Big Kahuna Half Ironman - 10/25/09

From Heather Leutwyler . . .

Matt and I competed in the Big Kahuna half ironman in Santa Cruz today. Due to poor visibility, the race directors cancelled the swim turning the race into a duathlon. Dumping the swim out of the race led me into a PR bike/run combo. Matt was happy to just complete the race after getting his first race flat after 21 years of racing. I did out run my coach/husband Matt. Thanks Coach!

Whiskeytown Trail Run - 10/24/09

Jason Reed forwards this report from the Whiskeytown Trail Run 50K and 30K . . .

Ron Gutierrez and I (Jason Reed) went together to the Whiskeytown Trail Races this Saturday. The 50k is a good opportunity to pick up some PA points because not many competitive PA runners make the long trip up there. It was Ron's 3rd (consecutive) time there and my 2nd. Due to lingering illness from earlier in the week Ron made a very last minute change from the 50k to the 30k.

I believe he just used it as a long training run but still took 4th overall and 3rd in his age group with a time somewhere around 2:37. I ran the 50k and took the lead from the start. I almost got caught around 18 miles but pulled away again. I lost 3 minutes trying to find the trail at one of the 20 stream crossings (some of which were up to knee deep due to recent rain) and I fell down into the river once but avoided injury so I held on to 1st with a time of 4:43.

Humboldt Half Marathon - 10/18/09
 

Not our best turnout, but a rag tag team of 2 open men, 2 masters men, 2 senior men, 1 super senior man, and 1 open woman made the annual trek up to Humboldt for the Half Marathon. Once again Tom Bernhard won his age group. Details . . .
 

Open Men
Byline Matt Patout

George ran 1.22. I enjoyed my cold, flu induced anti pr of 1.27.

Woman
Byline Heather Leutwyler

I finished in 1:37:16 for 8th in my age group. It was a much slower pace than I planned to run due to an upper respiratory infection. Nevertheless, it was a good training run for Clarksburg and CIM.

Old'uns

The masters men have developed a Humboldt strategy over the last several years we call "Showup." The Pacific Striders bring the A squad, no one else comes, and we show up and collect 13 1/2 points. We executed the strategy to perfection at Humboldt Sunday (at least I don't think anyone else showed up). Dan Shore led all old'uns in 1:21:01 (5th 40-44), with Tom Bernhard winning 55-59 just seven seconds behind Dan (1:21:08). Tyler Abbott limped in next in 1:33:57, followed by Kenny Warde (1:38:11, 5th 55-59) and Al Stanbridge (1:46:09, 4th 60-64). The good news is that the masters may possibly be in first place--cross your fingers!

Nike Women's Half and Full Marathon - 10/18/09

. . . Donna Chan forwards this one from the Nike Women's Half and Full, . . .


Nike was harder than I thought and I think having some stomach issues don't help. Half way thru the run I had bad calf cramps in both my legs one at a time. Having cramps trying to run down the Cliff House hill is really interesting. So considering how much time I took walking I did pretty good. My watch time was 2:05 not sure what the official time is.

Char B. ran very very easy with 2 of our friends who just raced Chicago the week before.

Nancy W. ran/walked with her daughter for the 1/2.

Brenda P. decided to do the marathon on a whim and still did well.

I saw Lee in GGP which was a very pleasant surprise.

Primos 5K - 10/11/09

Bernhard 91.29% @ Primo's


Congratulations to Tom Bernhard on a fine 17:16, 91.29% AG performance yesterday at the Primo's 5K. Ever the perfectionist, it was "not as good as I hoped, but still my best road 5K of the year." Great job Tom! Results:

http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?orgID=218713

Dick Collins FireTrails 50 mile - 10/10/2009

. . . Chikara Omine forwards this from 10/10's Dick Collins Firetrails 50 miler, . . .


For the 2nd time this year, we were able to field a men's team for a PA ultra at the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 miler. The weather for the race were perfect. Chikara Omine decided to be one of the two people to aim for the course record but found out that the fitness was not there and settled for 2nd place in 6:47:01 (The winner, Tamalpa's new recruit Dave Mackey, just missed the record by 4 minutes in 6:30). Ron Gutierrez followed in 7:27:42 -- 6th place (1st master!). Completing the team was Jason Reed in 9:13:02 (started about 5 minutes late) -- 58th place. It appears that we took 2nd as a team, behind Tamalpa.

Special thanks to Erika for volunteering at the race. She dropped by post-race to beat Jason and me in a 30 meter walking race (and she was in a cast!). I think I should have stole her crutches (Jason ran a 10K the next day so he obviously didn't need them as much as me)...

Next up is for the ultra series is the Whiskytown 50K. We are sending the team of Ron Gutierrez, Jason Reed, and Grant Johnson. That's right, no typo, Grant Johnson.

Hawaii Ironman - 10/09/09

. . . and Ian Hersey reports back from the Hawaii Ironman. . . .


I brought a 4-year process to completion this past Saturday at the Hawaii Ironman. It took me 4 years to get a slot, but I did that this summer in Lake Placid, and this past Saturday I found out why Kona is the queen course for the Ironman -- ocean swells and currents in the swim, 95-degree heat and strong headwinds the last 30 miles of the bike, and a brutally hot and humid run.

I had a very slow swim (1:24) and a personal worst bike by a lot (6:20), but I sucked it up in the run and pulled off a slightly negative-split 3:56 to finish in 11:52. The thing that kept me going in the run was the fact that I had never gone over 12 hours yet, and I didn't want Kona to be the place that I did that. Running down the finish chute on Ali'i Drive was everything I dreamed it would be. The Kona monkey is now officially off my back!

Berlin and Chicago Marathons

[Warde] Rigney 4th @ Berlin, 2nd at Chicago

Kenny Warde reports on the latest triumphs of super senior runner extraordinaire Hansi Rigney . . .


On a warm day in Berlin and battling serious sciatic and hamstring troubles, Hansi ran 4:22:49 and placed 4th in her age group. And today, just 6 days shy of 68 years old, she ran 3:58:34 in Chicago; and placed 2nd in her age group. As I understand it, she plans to run the Big Sur Half Marathon and then run the California International Marathon. In my opinion, if there was a World Marathon Majors point system in various age groups, she would easily win because she runs most of them every year and places high or wins most of them. I can only dream about growing up to be just like Hansi.

Chikara also forwards congratulations to Ian Macnider on his first marathon, 3:04:54 @ Chicago

Palo Alto Moonlight Run - 10/2/2009

Chikara Omine forwards this report about Jason Reed and Erika Kikuchi . . .


As some of us know, Jason Reed and Erika Kikuchi have been doing more races than we can keep track. Recently I heard that both participated in the Palo Alto Moonlight Run.

Jason Reed ran the 10K in 38:07 for 8th place. Pretty impressive considering that on the prior weekend he ran a Double Marathon followed by a 5 mile race the next day. Jason ran the Moonlight race the day before he ran the Presidio XC challenge or 2 days before he ran the Skyline Ridge 50K. Last I heard, Jason was closing in on 100 races for the year.

That update made me feel like a race whimp but not as much as the following update...

Erika Kikuchi who has been in a cast and on cruches due to a broken foot since mid-September entered the accompanying 5K walk. She raced the entire 5K on crutches in about 58 minutes. Her complaints were that some people cheated and ran on the "walk".

Some years ago I remember seeing Tyler banditing a 1/2 mile kids race on crutches and then dropping out half way. I guess Erika crushed Tyler's record for furthest (or even fastest) race in crutches [Ed.: Ouch!].

Presidio XC Challenge - 10/03/09

The club (or a shockingly small subset thereof) put together another fine Presidio Cross Country Challenge Saturday, with Chikara Omine at the helm. And the open men continued to show life, fielding our only team for the second week in a row. Details . . . .


Open Men
Byline Matt Patout

The open men fielded the only NBEx team for our very own race this weekend at the Presidio.

Grant Johnson continues his surge back into form with 10th place and 20:10. Chikara Omine managed to direct the race, place 29th and run 21:21 with very fresh legs. Jason Reed showed up strong for his first XC race of the season in 46th and 23:12 Ð after a fun double marathon experience described as Òthe closest I've come to dying in a race. Matt Patout was the fastest 37-40 year old in the race (too bad that's not an age-group) with a tough 23:25 and 47th. Sina Aboutalebi ran some smoking downhill to come in 50th at 23:32.

Next week is Folsom. Let's continue the Open Men's streak of fielding teams. I hear that Chikara, Grant, Jin, and Sina are running. I'm out so we need a 5th men's open runner.


Women
Byline Heather Leutwyler

Donna C. and Charlene B. were the stars of the ladies' team for donating their valuable time to race registration. Thank you!

Jen M.W. was also out supporting our race. Thanks Jen!

I was the lone NBEx runner representing our ladies' team for the race. Nevertheless, I had a great race finishing in 26:41 for 35th place overall.


Old'uns

In a token showing for the masters, Tyler Abbott would have led the way in "26:17" if he hadn't been DQed for missing the start trying to hunt down the backup timer. Hard to believe (both the dq part and the led the way part). Newly minted senior Mike Gama finished next in 30:34, followed by Tom Bennett in 33:26.

Heritage Oaks 5K/10K - 9/27/09

Bernhard/Gorman Shine at Paso

Jim Gorman forwards this note about the Heritage Oaks Bank 10K in Paso Robles a week ago . . .

Tom Bernhard and I went down to Paso Robles this past weekend for old time's sake. Tom ran a very good 36:04.1 10K for first 50-59 and 5th age rated performance ($100). And I ran the 5K in 18:55.8 for 1st 60-69 and 5th overall.

Sierra Nevada Double Marathon - 9/26/09

Chikara Omine and Jason Reed went up to the Sierra Nevada Double Marathon Saturday, with Chikara pulling out yet another ultra win. From Chikara . . .

Jason and I ran the Sierra Nevada Double Marathon yesterday and my legs are still cramped up. The highest temperature reading I heard at the race was 104 degrees. Jason and I both thought it was the hardest race of our lives in terms of pain and suffering. The course itself wasn't too bad but the heat and long stretches exposed to the sun between aid stations were rough.

There were parts where we both thought we were going to die from heat stroke and wished we were running Garin Park instead. My legs kept cramping and locking up due to the loss of sodium but I still managed hold on to win by less than 2 minutes (although I did go 8 minutes off course earlier in the race). Jason finished a couple hours behind what he wanted but he still managed to take 8th. I decided that I won't be doing Badwater.

Garin XC Challenge - 9/26/09

Open Men Show Up!

Unlike the masters men and open women, the open men actually showed up at Saturday's Garin Park XC Challenge, and with a strong team at that. Details . . .


Open Men
Byline Matt Patout

Jin Daikoku used his "Sedona Bliss Jet Pack" to lead the way at 36th in 17:45. We welcome back Brian Gilliss from a heavy MD/PHD load. Brian posted a fine 18:29 and 57th place. The 40 yr old, and still spry, Parker Kelly dropped down to the open men in 61st and 18:39. George Torgun came in at 19:14 and 77th. Matt Patout suffered in at 82nd and 19:25 carrying a heavier load than usual. Sina A said he had fun with 22:09 and 145th. Interesting note, several cheerers of the women's race cleared a very large tarantula off of the 1/2 mile hill. No spiders or race supporters were injured.

Let's field another strong team next week. I hear Grant and Chikara will be out racing but we have not been able to entice Jason out to cross yet.


Women
Byline Heather Leutwyler

Two NBEx ladies made it out to Hayward for a hilly cross country race. I finished in 24th place overall with a time of 21:43 for 6th in my division. Lee D. had a fantastic race finishing in 23:53 for 49th overall and 12th in her division. We got a great training run in for our own Presidio Cross Country race next week.


Old'uns

Among masters men, Parker Mary Lou Kelly ran his belated masters cross debut with a fine 12th place, 18:39 finish. The only reason we can think of that noticeably unspry Tyler Abbott showed up to run 21:53 is that he thinks he can score x-points for being a displacer.

GGP XC Open - 9/12/09


Women
Byline Heather Leutwyler

Leading our ladies at the GGP XC open was Jenny W finishing in 26:53 for 39th place. I came in next on the team with a time of 28:14 for 68th place. The 3rd NB lady across the line was Jocelyn F. with a time of 29:07 for 81st place. New team mate, Denise Rummelhart, finished 4th on the team with a time of 30:19 and 95th overall. Rounding off the scoring team was also new team mate, Maile Thompson, with a time of 31:01 and 104th overall. Lee D was close behind with a time of 31:08 and 107th overall. Tehani Thompson, also a new team mate, finished in 31:34 for 113th place. Great job ladies!


Open Men
 

Still waiting . . .


Old'uns
Byline Dan Mancini

At the Golden Gate Park XC race, the Masters men scored a strong 2nd place team performance, thanks to the superb showing of Cliff Lentz whose 2nd place finish represented his best ever placing as a Master and whose time of 22:34 was his best ever as a Master on this course. A resurgent Pete Vicencio followed next for the team in HIS best ever performance on the GGP course, crossing the line in 5th in 23:14.

Dan Mancini was next in 15th (23:43), followed by Dan Shore in 21st (24:10), Tom Bernhard in 30th (and an excellent 6th place Senior) in 24:29, Brian Schultz in 99th (28:36), Kim Lilot in 101st (and 41st Senior) in 28:39, and Tom Bennett in 138th (and 22nd Super Senior) in 35:05.

Also of note, in the Open men's race, 39 yr. 11 month old Brian Richter clocked a noteworthy 23:25 time, just weeks away from joining the Masters ranks. His presence along with that of currently injured Iain Mickle will surely bolster the team's chances of recapturing the PA Champs title in November.

 

Empire Open - 8/29/09

We were able to gain some cross country momentum by at least fielding open and masters men's team at Saturday's warm Empire Open. The open men in particular had a strong showing, with Grant Johnson returning to the fray and leading the way in a fine 18:49 (13th place). Details . . .


Women
Byline Heather Leutwyler

Once again, I was the lone NBex woman at the second cross country race of the season. I was happy with my race finishing in 24:02 for 19th place. But, it would be so much more fun to toe the line with my fellow NBex ladies.

On the bright side, we had full open and masters men's teams for the Santa Rosa XC race.


Men
Byline Matt Patout

The open men fielded a team at 4 PM Friday afternoon. On a hot Sonoma day, DSE President Grant Johnson led the way donning racing flats for 18.49 and 13th in an unusually strong field. Chikara Omine, sped to 19th and 19.37 but did not eat any dumplings. George Torgun and Jin Daikoku came in at 32 and 33 for 20.19 and 20.25. Carlin Lee rounded out the scoring with 37th and 21.06. Matt Patout finished sixth on the team behind Carlin at 21.09.

We've got a couple of weeks to the next race. Let's keep this open run going.


Old'uns

Pete Vicencio and Dan Mancini led the masters in 20:28 and 20:30 (16th and 17th). Dan Shore followed in 21:32 (30th), with Tyler Abbott (23:28, 60th) and Greg King (25:49, 90th) rounding out the team.

 

Santa Cruz Cross - 8/22/09

When it looked like we weren't going to field any full teams, we had several drops, so ended up with a small handful of runners. Details, from Heather Leutwyler . . .


We had a team of 4 head out to Santa Cruz for the first XC race of the season. Unofficial results: Matt Patout led the team with a time of 25:05. Brian Schultz was next with a time of 27:10 proving that his Lake Merced tempo runs have prepared him well for a great XC season. Tom Bennett ran 34:22 to finish 17th super senior. I was the lone NBex woman running and finished with a 1 minute PR on the course coming in at 27:41. Next up, Santa Rosa on 8/29/09.

Folsom Olympic Distance Triathlon - 8/10/09

Byline Heather Leutwyler

New Balance Excelsior was well represented at the Folsom Olympic Distance triathlon today. Tracy Hogan had a great "taper" race finishing in 2:25:17 putting her at 8th overall female and 5th in her age group. Tracy is tapering for nationals in two weeks. Good luck in Alabama! I (Heather) had my fastest Olympic distance triathlon finishing in 2:28:59 for 11th overall female and 4th in my age group. Matt proved his excellent coaching skills also work on himself finishing 20th overall and 4th in his age group with a time of 2:09:01 after taking 3 weeks off of running.

Byline Chikara Omine

Team Two-Thirds made its appearance once again at the Skyline 50K. Well at least on the women's side for once. The women's team was represented by Erika Kikuchi, who was happy to run her best trail 50K time in 5:39:29 (60th O'all) and Brenda Gee DePeralta, who took a wrong turn and ran a 7:23:29 for a 53K (111th O'all).  Both women were wondering how they can convince Heather to race a 50K.

The men's side had its first scoring team in over a year. Chikara Omine, thinking he was out of shape, surprised himself by winning in 3:40:06 (Trail 50K PR) [This seems to be the fastest time on the course since 2000--yes, it's a full 10 minutes faster than Craig Steinmaus's 2001 winning time. -Ed.].Peter Hsia, feeling that the cool weather helped too much in achieving faster times was nextin 4:42:12 (14th place). Jason Reed completed the scoring team in 4:56:56 (27th place) even after giving us all a 17 and a half minute head start (4:39 running time).

All runners got to enjoy the post-race BBQ.

Western States Masters International Invitational - 8/02/09

Dan Mancini reports that on Sunday at the Western States Masters International Invitational held at the UC Davis campus, Lee smashed her Masters 2k steeplechase club record by 9 seconds, running 8:51.89 enroute to victory.

Lake Placid Ironman - 7/26/09

Greg King reports that Ian Hersey recently qualified for the Kona Ironman. From Greg . . .


Ian Hersey put it together a few weeks ago at the Lake Placid Iron Man and qualified in the corporate division for Kona this year! It was a tough day (aren't they all?), cramping but breaking 4hrs for the marathon and finishing in 11:26:55. About an hr off his PR, I think, but he's on his way!

San Francisco Marathon - 7/26/09

Byline Heather Leutwyler

In Sunday's San Francisco Marathon, Chikara Omine ran a speedy 2:43:21 for 9th overall and Jin Daikoku ran an impressive 2:55:33 for 37th place overall!

On the women's side, Nancy Wang ran the full marathon in 5:10:39 and Brenda Gee DePeralta ran the full marathon in 4:10:16.

In the half marathon, Julie McGee ran a strong 1:33:52, good enough for 30th female/13th age division. Kim Fanady ran a terrific race for a time of 1:39:40 putting her at 8th in her division and 55th female! Jocelyn Friel ran the second half in 1:46:46. Kelly Daikoku finished the second half marathon in 2:29:17.

I apologize if I missed anyone.

 

Los Gatos High School All Comers Meet

Tim Geraghty reports that last Thursday 7/16, at the Los Gatos High School All-Comers meet, "Jim Gorman ran an excellent 800 meters in 2:27.67, which I timed. His splits were slightly inverted at 74:00/73.67. I believe Jim's time may be a new club record for 60+." Great job, Jim, and thanks, Tim!

National Masters T&F Championships - 07/09/09

Double Gold for Bernhard!

Tom Bernhard did us all proud by winning both the 5 and the 10 in his 55-59 division at the National Masters Track & Field Championships this past weekend. Jim Gorman continued his recovery with a fine 3rd place finish in the 60-64 1500. Details . . .


First, Tom's story . . .

For the 3rd time in the last four years I made it to the National Masters T&F Champs to run the 5000m and 10000m. I made my travel arrangements back in April and decided at that time not to stay the extra day to try the 1500m instead of the 10000m. It turned out I probably made the right decision. A couple of weeks before the event, when my fitness for this year had probably hit a peak, I noticed that the great Nolan Shaheed had signed up for the 5000m and 10000m and only those two races. Normally, I would have been depressed by this news, but now I was welcoming the challenge. I figured if I ever had a chance to beat Nolan it would be in Oshkosh. When I arrived at the venue on Wed. to pickup my packet, I learned that Nolan would be a no-show. Believe it or not, I was really disappointed, especially since the M55-59 group would be running with the M60-64 group instead of the younger faster M50-54 group as is usually the case.

The conditions for the 5000m race on Thur. were much better than typical for this meet, i.e. the temperature was not above 90 degrees. The other benefit of running with the older group was an earlier start time, which meant even cooler temperatures and less wind. So at the start of the race, the temperature was mid 70s and the wind was 5-10mph. For a race in the Midwest in July, that is about as good as you are going to get.

Based upon my time from the Shriner's race, which was the best of my life, I hoped to run sub 16:50. However without Nolan, there was no one to run with and I was out front and by myself for the whole race. I hadn't been in a position where I leading a race since 2002, and then I was running scared because knew Don Paul was back there somewhere. I tried pushing myself as hard as I could, but for me at least, it is hard to run your fastest without real competition. I ended up finishing in 17:06.84 which was still a track 5000m PR for me. Even though I didn't run as fast as I hoped, the experience of being the overall winner in a track race and having the stadium announcer, Peter Taylor, say many nice things about me during the race is an experience I'll always treasure. Fortunately, they were selling DVDs of the races, so I'll be boring my family with the video for decades to come.

While the 5000m race was a real high, the 10000m event on Sat. was a real welcome back to Earth experience. In this race, the M55-59 group had to run with the M50-54 group and the race conditions were much different. While the temperature was only a couple of degrees warmer, the wind was blowing around 20mph and gusting to 30mph and, of course, the race was twice as long. 10000m on the track is a very different experience than a 10k road race and not in a good way. This is especially true when you have just run a hard 5000m race two days earlier and you are 58 (the 5000m race was on my birthday). Even though the circumstances where not ideal, I was, at least, hoping to run 85 sec laps. I was able to maintain that pace for 7 laps but then the effort of fighting the wind began to take its toll. (For some reason I always seem to be in no man's land in these races and had no one to tuck in behind. In fact, the eventual M50-54 winner was drafting off of me for the 1st half of the race which seems entirely unfair.) Over the next 8 laps my pace slowed to 90sec/lap and then to 92sec/lap. Fortunately I was able to pick things up the last 4 laps and finished at 36:39.60 good enough for 5th overall and 1st in the M55-59 group.

The end result of the whole experience, two more national championships and one reasonably fast race. I've certainly had worse weekends.

Jim Gorman also made it to Oshkosh and came back with a medal, but I'll let him tell his story.

Btw the M55-59 1500m was won by James Robinson from NY in 4:36.73 which I'm sure would have beaten me. He also won the steeplechase and 800m. Talk about a great weekend.

M55 5000 Meter Run

================================================================

Name Age Team Finals

================================================================

1 Bernhard, Tom M58 New Balance 17:06.84

2 *Lang, Dennis M58 unattached 17:50.98

3 Setnes, Kevin M55 unattached 18:17.24

4 Qualls, Robert M57 Golden West 18:48.35

5 Moser, Clyde M56 unattached 19:47.05



M55 10000 Meter Run

================================================================

Name Age Team Finals

================================================================

1 Bernhard, Tom M58 New Balance 36:39.60

2 Setnes, Kevin M55 unattached 38:29.58

3 Vandervlugt, Leo M56 Team RC 39:11.69

4 Qualls, Robert M57 Golden West 39:17.30

5 Zupanc, John M56 unattached 40:39.47

__

And now, Jim Gorman's story . . .

This time last year I wasn't sure I would ever race again due to various injuries. As late as February this year I was hobbled by a nagging solius injury. With three weeks of rest after my hernia surgery, I started to train again. I still feel I am on the way back.

I went to the National Master Championships hoping to win but knowing I was still not where I thought I could be. Tom Bernhard, Tim Geraghty, and I agree that taking the lead in the 1500 is usually the kiss of death, I followed the very slow leaders on this windy day. If I took the lead, I thought all I would be doing is allowing my competition to draft off me with me doing all the work.

Finally at 1000 meters I went from fifth to first in a few steps probably taking them by surprise. I ran hard in first place through the next 400. I was flying, but so were two others, both 800 meter medalists. In the last 100 meters I was barely passed: I was out kicked even though I ran the last 400 meters in 72 seconds. We finished within one second of each other, but I was the third guy. If I had to do over again.......The winning time was lower than the 65-69 group. I am embarrassed to say that I ran a 5:11.47. The winning time was 5:10.48. Next time.

Jim Gorman

Freedom Run - 7/04/09

Fanady 1-2 at Freedom Run

Congratulations to Kim Fanady on her 1-2 finish at Saturday's Freedom Run. From Kim . . .


I ran in the Freedom Run mile & 5K doubleheader in GG Park on the 4th of July. I was first woman, 7th overall in the mile, 6:03; and second woman, 10th overall, in the 5K, 20:21.Ê I note that the female winner of the 5K was under 40 and didn't run the mile (which is run 30 minutes before the 5K), so she gets an asterisk!

First Marathon!!!

Congratulations to Heather Leutwyler on completion of her first Ironman (not to mention Matt Patout, though it was far from his first). From Heather . . .


My first Ironman was a great experience. The swim off the coast of Nice was crowded with 2300 plus triathletes starting at the same time. The scenery on the bike course made the challenging 6,000 feet of climbing all the more enjoyable. The run was flat but so hot! Matt and I were relieved to finally catch sight of each other on the 4 loops of the run. Matt finished in 12:08 and I finished in 12:43. Not the fastest but we finished! And, I have a totally new perspective for running "just" a marathon!

Shriners 8K - 6/20/09

BERNHARD WINS SHRINER'S IN 92.44% A-G!

Pete Vicencio continued his torrid racing with a 27:06, good enough to edge out Jeff Hongo and finish 6th master in a stacked field (where top master--and near senior--Pete Magill ran 24:57, over 95% age-grade!). Iain Mickle followed in 27:46, but the show was stolen by Tom Bernhard, just behind Iain, and his senior-winning 27:47, which at 92.44% age grade is the first half favorite for club performance of the year. Tom was followed by recovering Dipseaers Cliff Lentz (29:04), Dan Shore (29:18), and Jeff Dewey (31:05). Al Stanbridge represented our super senior team in 36:24 (11th 60-64). Thanks everyone for making the trek up to Sacramento and keeping our masters in contention. Just four races left--the big three of Humboldt/Clarksburg/CIM, plus Christmas Relays. On to cross!

BTW, Tom Bernhard forwarded a write up from Pete Magill's blog:

http://petemagill.blogspot.com/2009/06/shriners-8k-boasts-90-age-grades-in-40s.html

DIPSEA - 6/14/09

Not our best Dipsea year, with just two black shirts, but some good stories nonetheless. Details from Patti Shore . . .


The 99th Dipsea is in the books. Good weather (a bit humid, but not too hot) and a lot of people highly motivated to hold their spots for next year's REALLY important 100th Dipsea made for some great racing. For those who don't know, Dipsea is a 7.5-ish mile race from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach that features 671 steps in the first 1/2 mile or so, followed by some serious climbing to the high point at Cardiac and then a crazy descent down to Stinson Beach. Shortcuts abound and are mostly perfectly legal, and the race is handicapped by age and gender, so the upshot is that you are basically trying to mow down a bunch of cranky senior citizens who fight hard for their spots while staying in front of some very fast high schoolers and middle schoolers .

Our team pulled down two of the coveted black shirts awarded to the Top 35 - Cliff Lentz was No. 16 and Iain Mickle snagged No. 18. Brian Gillis was in next at No. 40, followed quickly by Dan Shore at No. 56, George Torgun at No. 58, Ben Chaffee at No. 59, and Chikara Omine at No. 68. Up next was the first women's finisher on our team, Patti Shore at No. 77. All of these people in the top 100 will have the honor of wearing this year's place as next year's bib number. Holding their invitational spots for next year were Jenny Wong at No. 128, Hansi Rigby at No. 129, Jeff Dewey at No. 148, Tyler Abbott at No. 189, David Moulton at No. 198, Larissa Polischuk at No. 301, Jocelyn Friel at No. 310 and Brian Schultz at No. 378. Having a fine day but potentially on the bubble for Invitational status (gauranteed for the top 450) in next year's 100th was Erika Kikuchi at No. 511 - Erika, you're gonna need a convincing letter! Some of these placements may change slightly as the race officials sort out some chip problems and any disqualifications.

In former teammate and other Dipsea news, Stephen Donanue was 9th, Tim Wallen managed 24th place despite some nagging injuries, and having what I think was the performance of the day, Stacey Schweighart Armijo, 55th place only 3 months after giving birth. Wow. The Shores were once again 2nd in the family competition, with friends Greg and Julie Nacco placing 7th and 43rd respectively to lock up the Family Award this year. Team friend Chris Lundy started strong in her bid for setting the women's course record, but leg cramps ended her race at the top of Suicide.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank the cheering section - Pete Vicencio up at Cardiac was a welcome friendly face, and hearing the shouts of Adam and Aimee Hersh and Jen Wallen (sitting this year out while pregnant) at the stile and finishing turn were also very welcome.

I hope I didn't leave anyone out! Training for next year's 100th begins today!

Patti

Ed.: I badly sprained a toe on a root at Cardiac, but as luck would have it, my podiatrist finished just 12 seconds behind me, so at least I got a quick diagnosis and treatment--right before heading off on (a therefore running-free) vacation. -Tyler


 

Lake Chabeau Half Marathon - 6/07/09

Gary MacPherson reports that he ran the Lake Chabot Half and won his age division, in 1:56:17. Congratulations Gary!

Anchorman Triathlon - 6/07/09

Heather Leutwyler forward this report from the "Triathlon Division" of NBExcelsior . . .


Matt and I competed in the Anchorman Triathlon this weekend. We both won our age group and Matt finished 3rd overall! Not too shabby considering the hilly 112 mile bike ride we did on Saturday! Great confidence booster for IronMan France coming up at the end of June.

We also recruited a potential new male masters runner for our team.
 

Statuto 8K - 6/07/09

One of the oldest footraces in the country was held Sunday in North Beach, the 89th Annual Statuto 8K. Unfortunately it was very poorly attended, and with perennial favorite Danielle Manchini assente, the win was up for grabs. Unfortunately I haven't found results, but I saw Jeff Dewey and Peter Hsia out there (a little under 30:00, I believe).


 

Southern California Association Masters T&F Championships - 6/06/09

D'Alessandro Runs US Masters Leading Steeple!

Dan Mancini reports that Lee D'Alessandro ran a U.S. leading time for the Masters women 2k steeplechase at the SoCal Assoc. USATF Masters T&F Champs. on Saturday. Her time was 9:00.62, also a club record for Masters women, and her first steeple in 4 yrs.

DuskBuster 5K - 6/03/09

Dave Schmidt writes that he ran the DuskBuster 5K last Wednesday 6/3:

I finished in 20:42, which works out to a 6:40 pace -- and I was probably around 25th finisher, but nobody was counting. Peter Hsia ran as well, but I can't find his time.


 

Marin Memorial Day 10K - 5/25/09

Gorman First Super Senior, Bernhard First 55-59!

Jim Gorman racked up his first GP win as a super senior, and Tom Bernhard his 54th consecutive AG win at Monday's Marin Memorial Day 10K. The race was also notable for powerhouse performances by our masters teams--men, dropping down Bernhard, all between 34:00 and 35:30, and women all in about a one minute range just over 40:00--and the return of two club old-timers--Tim Geraghty and Brian Richter. Details . . .


Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine

Due to multiple people being MIA due to injuries, weekend trips, and other unknown reasons, the open men scrambled to scrounge up a team. On race day, 3 open men toed the line. Chikara Omine feeling not so speedy from the lack of speed workouts for the past few weeks finished in 33:44 (28th place). Brian Richter, making one of his rare appearances (and being very well--say, 5 years--rested -Ed.), beat his 37:xx expectations by finishing next in 35:23 (64th place), well ahead of Mr. Peabody. Brian was first seen in a deteriorating if stylish orange and black jersey before being helped into the new millenium. The ever dependable Matt Patout followed in 37:16 (96th). Note that Matt had been biking long the days before the race (w/ Heather) and had to leave the race right after the race to get in some swim(?) workout. Once again, it looks like we were barely able to field a team with some drop downs.


Women @ MMD
Byline Patti Shore

We had a beautiful day for racing in sunny Marin County on Memorial Day. 10 NB Ex women came out to test themselves on the flat and fast 10K course, and there were several excellent performances.

Starting from the top: Donna Chan represented the senior ladies in fine form, placing 11th senior in 47:30 despite being able to only run an injury-recovery pace. Nice work, Donna!

The masters girls kicked butt - there is no other way to describe it. Our scoring team were all in the top 10. In first was Patti Shore as 7th master, running her fastest 10k in 5 years at 40:09, thus proving there is life after both turning 40 (and 41, and 42) and delivering the two babies from which Dan Shore is apparently still recovering (according to Tyler). Shelly Pierson demonstrated the exact same thing - mother of two and newly minted Assistant Professor of Sports Medicine, Shelly was 9th master with an excellent 40:44, which she threw down on only 3 days a week of running. [Note that Shelly won this teaching position over 75 other applicants.] Close on Shelly's heels was busy lawyer and business owner Kim Fanady with a strong 41:06, good for 10th master. Jocelyn Friel continued the mom-of-two and busy professional kicks ass approach to the day, placing 22nd master with a solid 43:57.

Our Open ladies also did very well. Heather Leutwyler was in fine form, running 41:17 (I did not get the open placements - sorry!). A warm welcome to the returning Tracy Hogan who had a great run in 41:36. Nice to see you back, Tracy! Sarah Jones, suffering from a collegiate-quality hangover due to a bachelorette party held TWO nights before the race still managed to tie her 42:50 10K PR in what can only be described as a very gutty effort (in that she both ran fast and managed to not toss her cookies on the course). Gerry Kim did her best to chase Sarah down and came mighty close with an excellent 42:52. Erika Kikuchi closed out the open team with a fine effort at 47:08 - I believe this is Erika's first race for our team - nice job Erika and great to have you on board!

Last, but not least, it was also wonderful to see former teammate and always friend Allie Bigelow out racing. Allie had an excellent day - 38:47 - proving that a nice break from racing is sometimes the best training you can do.

Up next: Dipsea! Several of us will be out there - me (trying to stay in front of Larissa), Larissa (who will almost certainly catch me), Jenny Wong (who will probably pass me by the top of the stairs) and Jocelyn (who always brings her A-game). Also lots of the guys, so come out and watch us all stagger across the line as we chase Black Shirts on June 14th. On the PA - Shriner's, one painful week post-Dipsea! See you all on the roads & trails!
 

Old'uns

Always a consistent member of the A team, Pete Vicencio ran his best race since his collegiate 14:09 and led the team for the first time in a while, running 34:03 for 4th master. Iain Mickle finished close behind in 34:23 (6th master). Dan Shore continued his return to pre-baby shape in a fine 35:14 (13th master), followed by an ailing Cliff Lentz in 35:24 (15th master). Peter Hsia put in a strong effort in 37:45, and Tyler Abbott rounded out the team in 39:26. The masters seem to have won.

Among seniors, Tom Bernhard once again led the way, in 35:25 (1st 55-59, 4th senior). Tim Geraghty began his long-awaited comeback in a strong 38:15 (9th 50-54), and ever reliable Kenny Warde finished 15th 55-59 in 46:21.

Jim Gorman won the super senior title in 38:51. Gary MacPherson (45:07, 10th 60-64) and Al Stanbridge (46:41, 11th 60-64) rounded out our super senior team.

 

Now We Know Why He Wasn't at Marin

Chikara Omine forwards this:


Notice a close-up of someone familiar 20 seconds into the video

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/video/video/hot_dog_eating_contest_05_29_2009

(Nathan's Qualifier in Tempe, AZ)

The result I heard was 3rd place with 13 hot dogs.

Ultra Report: Team 1/3, to Team 2/3, and then finally a Team

Chikara Omine forwards this ultra report . . .

On 5/2/09, Jason Reed was the lone Excelsior representative for the Miwok 100K. Even though he had to endure wet, muddy, cold, and windy conditions Jason still set a course PR in 10:33:32. The time placed him 25th in a competitive field. Of course, the 100K didn't break him enough so Jason ended up running the DSE Stern Grove 4 miler the next day and placed 3rd.

On 5/9/09, Team 2/3 made its appearance for the Quicksilver 50 mile. Chikara Omine had a breakthrough race with a win in 6:15:41. Jason Reed, finally feeling the effects of running an 100K, toughed out a finish in 11:31:12 (62nd place). And no, this race is not harder than Miwok. In the accompanying Quicksilver 50K, Erika Kikuchi ran her first ultra as an Excelsior runner in 6:28:48 (31st place).

On 5/16/09, the Excelsior Mixed team made its ultra debut for the Silver State 50K (Reno, NV). The race had many elements that are great for Western States (WS) training such as hills, elevation, heat (although a breeze made too bearable), and course marking that got almost everybody lost (A WS runner commented on getting lost: "Oh well, the extra distance is more training). For the 50K event, Chikara Omine finished 2nd in 4:26:51. Jason Reed, still feeling some knee pains from Miwok, finished next in 6:15:25 (20th place). Erika Kikuchi, showing that she is more than capable of handling a busy race schedule, completed the team in 7:36:34 (30th place). Ron Gutierrez was also witnessed running the accompanying Silver State 50 mile event in 8:24:43 (8th place).

Bay to Breakers - 5/17/09

From the spectator's viewpoint, Sunday's Bay to Breakers seemed a little on the tame side, due to some tightening of rules or more likely the record heat. Still, we had some strong performances. Among club members I found under an hour (and feel free to write me if I missed you, for later inclusion) were Jason Lee 43:51, Chikara Omine, pizza box and all 44:44, John Hale 45:02, 1st 50-59, Ian MacNider 48:21, David Moulton 49:46, Jason Reed, presumably running from Redwood City and back 54:07, Kim Lilot 55:09, David Schmidt 55:32, Robert Darling 57:51, Al Stanbridge 58:24, and Kenny Warde 58:31.

Napa Half Ironman Triathlon - 5/02/09

Matt Patout forwards the following report for the "NBEx Unofficial Triathlon Team" . . .

5/2 in the driving rain, 12 days after the Boston Marathon, Matt Patout, eather Leutwyler, and Bee-Oh Kim raced the Napa Half Ironman Triathlon. Heather placed 11th female, Matt placed 13th male, and Bee-Oh raced his first half ironman.

Capitol Peak 50 Miler - 4/25/09

Gutierrez Wins Capitol Peak 50 Miler

Ron Gutierrez went up to Olympia Washington a couple weeks ago and won the Capitol Peak 50 Miler. From Ron . . .

Capitol Peak 50 Mile - Olympia, WA 4/25/09

Unfortunately I wasn't close to getting off the waitlist for the Miwok 100K so I settled for Capitol Peak a week earlier. The weather was perfect high 30s to low 40s and overcast with some sprinkles and light hail at times. The course was 95% single track, rolling climbs w/ one big climb and mostly forested except for 5-10 minute long swaths of clear cut - quite depressing. I found myself in the lead (of the 50 mile) at the top of the peak (at about the halfway point) and through a turnaround at mile 37.5. The 2nd through 4th place runners were about 5 minutes behind at the turnaround and I ran scared for the next hour and 40 minutes. I've never felt so good after 6 hours and finished in first by 10+ minutes @ 7:41.

Rigney Lauded in Magill's Blog

Tom Bernhard forwards this note from national masters standout Pete Magill's blog . . .

At the Big Sur Marathon (sibling for the Big Sur 5K), there was a truly impressive performance. As Tom Bernhard, Road Race Scorer for the Pacific Association/USATF, wrote to me, "The fact that Hansi Rigney, age 67, won her age group at the Big Sur Marathon in a time of 4:03:13 is not, in itself, a big story. The fact that she did it just six days after coming in 2nd in her age group at the Boston Marathon in a time of 3:57:00, is a jaw dropper. For anyone to run two marathons in six days and both with an AG of over 85% is an amazing accomplishment. My hat's off to Hansi." And if I had a hat, it'd be off too! Also worth mentioning are a couple other performances from the Big Sur 5K. Jeff Mann (age 45) was the masters men's winner in 16:33, and standout M50-54 performer Brian Pilcher (age 52) ran 16:57 to take his division.

http://petemagill.blogspot.com/2009/04/weekly-roundup-april-27-2009.html

Big Sur - 4/26/09

Bernhard AG Winner Again

Tom Bernhard once again won his 55-59 age group, and Cliff Lentz (40-44). On the women's side, we had but two participants: Donna Chan placed third in her 55-59 AG in 23:43, while Charlene Bayles ran 28:26 for 7th in her division. Among open men, Jin Daikoku and Chikara Omine both had fine races, finishing 11th and 13th in 16:05 and 16:15, respectively.

Old'uns

The old'uns split their runners evenly, with two masters, two seniors, and two super seniors. Cliff Lentz again led the masters in 17:09 (3rd 40-44). Next across was Tom Bernhard, once again winning the 55-59 AG, in 17:54. Tyler Abbott finished next in 19:48 (11th 45-49), followed closely by Jim Gorman (19:58, 4th 60-64). Following Jim was Al Stanbridge (21:44, 7th 60-64). Kenny Warde, fresh off a fine Boston effort six days before, rounded out the team in 22:41 (6th 55-59).


The Other Big Sur

And a few intrepid souls ventured down to Big Sur for the world famous marathon. From Heather Leutwyler:

Sarah J ran a fantastic 3:45:50 for 15th in her division. Brenda G ran 3:51:43 for 9th in her division

Hansi R ran an amazing 4:03:13 for 1st in her division! Simply incredible given she ran Boston less than a week ago!!

Hansi, what is your secret?


Finally, from Sarah Jones:

I didn't even know that's where I finished (3:45:50, 15th ag)!! Thanks...anyone who can guide me in the direction away from massive leg cramps will by hero. I was killing it until about mile 22 and then it was like someone took a 2 by 4 to my quads and left calf. But, it was a beautiful race and I would run it again. What an amazing location and so well organized. Brenda and Hansi, great job ladies, sorry I didn't find you at the start. Glad the wind didn't blow us all off the course.

Boston Marathon - 4/20/09

From Kenny Warde . . .

It appears that all 5 of the NB Excelsior runners ran well considering the chilly (44-50 degrees) and windy (15-25 mph) conditions. Two Boston locals informed me that they heard that the runners battled (at times) a 38 mph headwind after we crested Heartbreak Hill. I hope that each of the others share their personal stories about their race. But for the immediate record: Matt Patout 3:08:38, Heather Leutwyler 3:38:39, Erika Kikuchi 3:46:52, Hansi Rigney 3:57:00 (2nd in her age group), and me at 3:36:01.

We knew the day before the race that it was going to be cold and very windy. So, I was thinking that I would be lucky to duplicate my last years' time of 3:35:44. But I came pretty close. My 5K and mile splits looked pretty much like last year; and were rather even. My half was 1:46:18. I executed my race plan pretending like I knew what I was doing: draft as much as possible, shorten my stride and turn over my feet quickly on all down hills, hit the 10 mile mark in Natick feeling like I had only run 2 or 3 miles, hit the 1/2 feeling like I had run 5 miles, attack the 4 miles in the Heartbreak Hill series, and kick from Cleveland Circle (22 miles) to the finish. Although I drank at every aide station, I did have some leg cramps from 21 miles until the finish. Yes, I did pass a few thousand runners.

For me, by holding back in the first half and on all down hills, I can avoid being part of the carnage on the other side of Heartbreak Hill. Regarding my training this year: I moderated my high weekly mileage passion towards the end, seriously did hill repeats (both up and down), and started doing plyometrics three times a week over the last month.



Zippy 5K - 4/19/09

Another fine Zippy for the club. Tom Bernhard led our performers by winning the 55-59 division. Donna Chan finished 2d 55-59 and Cliff Lentz, Iain Mickle, Jim Gorman all finished third in their respective divisions. In addition, I've been told Shelly Pierson's 19:37 was a club masters course record.

And the race went extremely well on a spectacular albeit hot day. Look for race director Jin Daikoku's report in a future email. In the meantime, . . .

Open Men
Byline Chikara Omine

The open men managed to scrounge up a team at the last minute for our very own Zippy 5K. Jin Daikoku needing a stress reliever from his race directing duties lead the team in 15:52 (20th place). Chikara Omine, who forgot that a 5K is actually not a sprint, did his usual start fast and fade hard to finish in 16:09 (25th place). Next in for the team was Ian Macnider in a solid 17:31 (61st place). Eric Knackmuhs, still dealing with knee problems and also minor lacerations from playing with his new knife, followed in 18:02 (75th place). Closing out the open team was Robin Hart in 20:05 (131st place).


A big "Thank you" to Race Director Jin Daikoku for organizing the race and still kicking our butts.

Women

Report to come . . .

Old'uns

Cliff Lentz led the masters in a fine 16:33. This placed him 4th as a master--but only three seconds behind first. Iain Mickle followed close behind in 16:43 (7th). Pete Vicencio and Dan Shore finished close together in 17:05 and 17:07, respectively. Jeff Dewey (18:47), Peter Hsia (18:48), Tyler Abbott (19:32), and Brian Schultz (20:07) rounded out the team.

Tom Bernhard once again led the seniors in a 55-59 winning 17:20. Kim Lilot ran 20:38 for our other senior slot.

Among super seniors, Jim Gorman led the way in 19:56 (3rd). Al Stanbridge (21:50) and Gary MacPherson (22:47) completed the scoring team.

Brickyard 4 Miler - 4/05/09

Congratulations to Shelly Pierson on her 26:45 performance at the Brickyard (very hilly) 4 miler in Martinez 4/5. Shelly won the overall female title and is pretty sure she set a new masters female course record!



Carlsbad 5K - 4/05/09

And Al Stanbridge forwards this report from Carlsbad . . .

Al Stanbridge ventured to the Southland for the annual Carlsbad 5000 held on Sunday, April 5. The event is actually 9 separate races of 5000 meters. I ran the first race at 7:05 am for 40 years and over men. This year the field totaled almost 1400 masters and above. Needless to say, this is probably the deepest masters field in the country. The top four 40 year olds all ran under 15 minutes. The top 50 year olds ran in the 16:40's. I finished in 21:25 which was age- graded 76.2. I managed to finish 14th in my division.

Each separate race awards medals to the top 250 finishers, and I was fortunate to pick up one of the last ones given out. My wife Chris ran in the day's second race for 40 and over women. She finished in 28:41 - 69.4 age-grade which placed her 18 th in her division and 462nd place overall in a race field of 1357 finishers.


Presidio 10 Miler - 3/29/09

Jocelyn Friel reports that she ran 1:15 at the Presidio 10 miler 3/29. Congratulations Jocelyn!

Johnny Mathis Mile - 4/05/09

Bernhard Top AG @ Johnny Mathis Mile

Tom Bernhard easily won top AG honors at the mile at Saturday's Johnny Mathis Invitational, in a sizzling 4:57.65 (90.61%). Definitely the early season favorite for performance of the year. From Tom . . .

My mile race was, from an AG standpoint, the best of my life and the first 90+ (90.61) track race I've run. Fortunately, I resisted the urge to go too hard early on. Starting the 4th lap I was exactly on pace to run 5 minutes and had enough kick left to bring it in, in 72 secs plus. Btw- this is the 3rd straight year the best AG mark in the race has been by NBE senior member.

Great Job Tom!


American River 50 Miler - 4/04/09

Congratulations to Chikara Omine on his 3rd place finish at Saturday's American River 50 Miler (6:12:46). Jason Reed finished 31st (7;20:11). Of course, both doubled up at Sunday's DSE GGP 10K (at which Chikara ran almost exactly the same pace he ran for the first 26.7 miles of the AR 50).

Tama City 5K

Jin Daikoku reports that he "ran like a retard" at the Tama City 5K road race [details omitted]. Still ended up running 16:02 for 2nd place though.

Across The Bay 12K - 3/15/09

Hansi Rigney and Tom Bernhard both enjoyed age group victories at Sunday's Across the Bay 12K. So did Cliff Lentz, and he could have won the masters title as well were it not for some 52 year old baby boomer named Pilcher. Also, record maven Mancini reports that Hansi Rigney, Donna Chan, and Kim Fanady all set club records. Details . . .


Women
Byline Kim Fanady

Neither rain, nor wind, nor clouds, nor gloom of skies stopped the NBEx women from their appointed rounds on Sunday at the Emerald Nuts Across the Bay 12K. We had full teams of open and senior women, and two full masters teams. Every single person who said she would run showed up, and everyone ran great! We set three new club records! (pending approval by team scorer Dan Mancini).

The open onslaught was led by Jenny Wong in 49:36, followed by Heather Leutwyler, 50:51; Sarah Jones, 54:11, Gerry Kim, 54:26, and new teammate Erika Kikuchi, 59:19. Team best friend forever Helen Kao ran a sharp 52:45.

The masters magic was conjured up by Kim Fanady, 51:36 (a new club record); Patti Shore, 53:28, Shelly Pierson, 53:28 (exactly the same times? how did that happen? :)}, Jocelyn Friel, 54:04, Lee D'Alessandro, 57:16, and Kelly Daikoku, 1:21:15.

The seniors tsunami was led by Donna Chan in 56:34 (another new club record), Linda Northcott, 1:08:09, and Hansi Rigney, 1:01:26 (the third new club record). Way to run, everyone!

Next up: our own club race, the Zippy 5k on April 19. See everyone there!


Open Men

Report to come, but results were . . .

Chikara Omine 40:03, 23rd

George Torgun, 41:56, 38th

Jason Lee 41:58, 39th

Jason Reed 44:53, 80th

Eric Knackmuhs 46:42, 115th

Robin Hart 50:20, 208th

Matthew Patout 50:45, 223rd


Old'uns

Cliff Lentz led the masters in a quick 42:20 (1st 40-44). Cliff was followed by Iain Mickle 43:00, 2nd 45-49, Pete Vicencio 44:04, 3rd 40-44, and Don Hogue 45:05, 5th 40-44, with Dan Shore 45:09, 6th 40-44 closing out the scoring. The B team was led by Jeff Dewey in 47:19, 9th 40-44, followed by Tyler Abbott 49:52, 18th 45-49, and Brian Schultz 50:41, 27th 40-44.

Tom Bernhard once again led the seniors, in 45:08, 1st 55-59, followed by David Schmidt 55:17, 24th 50-54, Kenny Warde 55:50, 14th 55-59, Gary MacPherson 56:13, 6th 60-64, and Michael Gama 1:00:50, 40th 50-54

Aggie Open - 3/14/09

Jin Daikoku reports that he ran the 2 mile at the Aggie Open Saturday. From Jin . . .

Nothing heroic but I got a small PR and the win. I ran one of the more tactically smart races of my life. 7:16 with two laps to go and the club record was looking very, very safe. I passed the leader with 400m to go and gapped him by exactly 7.77s on the last lap by running about 61-62.

9:25.10 total.

And Hansi Rigney sent in some long overdue race reports. From Hansi . . .

Kenny said I should send you the following results: Together with Love 10K, Pacific Grove, on Feb.8, 09. Time: 49:48 First in F Div 60:69. I also ran a 1/2 marathon in Berlin on Jan 27, 2008 in 1:43:49 (the BSV Winterserie) First in Div.65-69.

I'm not sure if I was an official member of NBEx at that time. I'm a terrible record keeper!

John Frank NorCal 10 Miler - 3/07/09

At Saturday's 10 miler in Redding, we ended up with just an open men's team (so no more drops for any of the other divisions this year!). From Chikara Omine . . .


The 3+ hr drive was not enough to keep 4 open men from making the trip to Redding. Chikara Omine led the way in 55:39/16th place. Next, new member Ian Macnider ran a PR in 59:53/32nd place (only his second 10 miler in his life). Welcome to the club Ian! Jin "Daikeker" Daikoku, tapering for a track race, crossed the line in 1:01:37/43rd place, pulling Matt Patout who finished in 1:01:53/45th place. Jin never stopped at the finish chute and kept on going for his training run. With drop-downs, it looks like we were able to field an open team. A big thank you to the masters/seniors for always helping us out!

And among the old'uns, Iain Mickle started 2009 off strong in 57:22, 2nd master/1st 45-49. Not feeling too great, Tom Bernhard still ran a fine 1:03:13 to win his age group and finish 6th senior. Kenny Warde rounded out the group in 1:15:47 (6th 55-59). Great job and thanks for helping out the young'uns!

Chikara Wins Jed Smith 50K - 2/07/09

Jason Reed reports that he and Chikara Omine ran the Jed Smith 50K Saturday:

Chikara and I ran Jed Smith, forming 2/3 of a full team, yet again. He finished 1st (3:08), and I got 7th (a disappointing 3:59).

Congratulations!

Huntington Beach 1/2 Marathon - 2/01/09

Heather Leutwyler reports that Char Bayles and Brenda Gee Deperalta ran the Huntington Beach 1/2 Marathon (on 2/1/09). Running with a sore hip Char was not able to break her 2 hour goal, but still ran a fine 2:01:14 for the 1/2 and Brenda ran a great 1:47:02 then continued to add on more miles after that. Good job!

Kaiser San Francisco Half Marathon & 5K - 2/01/09

Heather Leutwyler forwards this report from Sunday's Kaiser San Francisco Half & 5K. . . .

Congrats to all the New Balance Excelsior runners who came out for the Kaiser Half and 5K. We had a lot of representation from both the men's and women's teams.

For the half marathon, Julie McGee was the first NBEx woman runner in with a time of 1:30:05 and 8th in her division. Kim Fanady was the second NBEx woman to cross the finish line coming in at 1:32:48 putting her at 7th in her division. I was trailing not too far behind with a time of 1:33:17, 14th in my age group, and received a lovely blister on the bottom of my foot that Nurse Matt cared for at the finish line. Lee D'Allessandro was the next NBEx lady in with an excellent time of 1:44:10 putting her at 37 in her division. Jocelyn Friel also had an excellent performance in the half with a time of 1:44:22 and 38th in her division.

For the 5K, we were well represented in this race as well. Helen Kao had a fabulous race coming in at 20:34, 3rd in her division, and the 5th female! Donna Chan, continuing to impress us all, came in at 22:21 for 4th in her division. Kelly Daikoku also had a great performance finishing in 29:40 for 40th in her division.

Editor: Among the men, Chikara Omine led the way in 1:17:03 (21st), followed by Pete Vicencio (1:19:16, 4th 40-44), Matt Patout (1:20:16, 4th 35-39), Don Hogue (1:23:42, 11th 40-44), Peter Hsia (1:23:48, 7th 45-49), ex-NB Exer Charlie Brenneman (1:25:42, 120th), Jason Reed (1:26:28, 133rd). I apologize to anyone I've missed.

Takatsuki City "International" Marathon - 1/18/09

Jin Does Japan

Jin Daikoku forwards the following race report . . .


Takatsuki City "International" Marathon, 1/18

I took most of the last week off to nurse some mild plantar and ankle pain. We went to Osaka and Kyoto on Friday and Saturday and stuffed our faces full of food. To add to the fun, two hours before the race, I went to Mister Donut and carbo-loaded. You might say I wasn't setting myself up for an ideal race, but I remembered seeing before that the winning time of this race in 2008 was somewhere around 1:13, so I figured why not try running with the leadersÉ

I hit the first kilometer split in 3:14, running in between the lead pack and chase pack. 5K came in 16:54 and I was feeling very good at that point. Then we made a turn and ran 5K straight into the wind. I hit the 10K point in 35:04 (18:10 2nd 5K) and wondered at that point if the course was short. I still felt okay but started to fear a very hard bonk. Running with the wind now and trying to stay with a small group of guys who began pouring it on at the turnaround, I managed 16K in 55:18, which is easily the fastest 10 miles I've ever run in my life.

Then the half marathon course merged with the 10K course and I found myself surrounded by 8-minute milers on narrow Japanese city streets. I let up a bit and caught my breath, but then an old man passed me and started yelling at the slow runners to stay to the left, so I drafted off of him until 1K to go (1:09:41). I gave it what I had left and finished the last km in 3:10, 1:12:52 total, which snagged 6th place and is about a 4 minute PR.

Rio Resolution Run - 1/01/09

Hansi Rigney reports that, on New Year's Day, she ran the 6.5 mile Rio Resolution Run. In a hot 60-69 division contest (7 seconds separating first and third), Hansi (51:26) finished first over Connie Street and 1984 Bolivian Olympic marathoner Nellie Wright. Congratulations Hansi!