12.31.06
Posted in The Colonel, Training at 2:30 pm by Administrator
what a nice day for a long run. today christopher and i went up to the circle k hills to run. it was super sunny and warm. plus you could see all the mountains.
i started running in the hills past highland back in 1979 and have been running in them ever since. of course, now a lot of the trails are fenced up or worse.
we run from the circle k on fairfax and hwy 178. i use to have a group of runners who meet there every sunday morning for years but that group fell apart. now it is just christopher.
today he ran about ten miles with some big hills thrown in. hopefully you did a long run too.
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Posted in Back in the Day at 11:04 am by Administrator
2006 California All-State Junior Boys Cross-Country Squad
three teams ten deep – listed alphabetically within those teams
Riley Sullivan (Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo-SS)
As a key “brother” part of Coach Liam Ryan’s State Division I Champion team this past November, Riley Sullivan helped lead his squad to the team win in Fresno with a 15:21 for seventh Division I. He put together a super local season in the Southern Section, with a 15:04 for fifth place in the very competitive Div I finals there. With three from Trabuco on the teams mentioned below we do not expect Riley or his squad to slow down much for 2007!!
The Group: A solid group from a number of good programs grace the rest of the junior level squad, with a great senior class leaving to open the gates for the next group of California stars! There are some big shoes to fill so it is hoped that the group below is interested in doing some serious work between now and next Fall’s harrier campaign.
(Teams are listed alphabetically)
First Team
Mohamed Abdalla (Willow Glen, San Jose-CCS)
Jeremy Acosta (Highland, Palmdale-SS)
Gambileg Bor (Jefferson, Daly City-CCS)
Scott Blair (Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo-SS)
Bret Hasvold (Fallbrook-SD)
German Fernandez (Riverbank-SJ)
Chris Romo (Woodcreek, Roseville-SJ)
Riley Sullivan (Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo-SS)
James Tracy (Del Campo, Fair Oaks-SJ)
Brett Walters (Sultana, Hesperia-SS)
Second Team
Jose Alcantar (Hueneme, Oxnard-SS)
Greg Drosky (Las Lomas, Walnut Creek-NCS)
Matt Duffy (St. Mary’s, Berkeley-NCS)
Diego Estrada (Alisal, Salinas-CCS)
Talal Khan (Valencia, Placentia-SS)
Alex Routh (Royal, Simi Valley-SS)
Alberto Solis (Big Bear-SS)
Javier Sanchez (Madera-CE)
Brad Surh (Carlmont, Belmont-CCS)
Aric Van Halen (Oakwood, North Hollywood-SS)
Third Team
Tyler Alvarez (Dana Hills, Dana Point-SS)
Mike Barnes (Ventura-SS)
Alex Bryant (Ventura-SS)
Kenny Durell (Davis-SJ)
James Hendra (Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo-SS)
Scott Landry (Santa Cruz-CCS)
Walter Mayeda (Aptos-CCS)
Jeremy Riley (San Luis Obispo-SS)
Anthony Solis (Barstow-SS)
Jared Threw (Vista-SD)
Choices for these teams were made with preferences to late-season championship efforts, with some listed above not participating in the state meet competition while performing super at their grade level along the way.
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12.30.06
Posted in Running 101 at 7:16 pm by Administrator
The 10 Best Moments for U.S. Distance Running in 2006
By Ryan Lamppa, Running USA wire
December 28, 2006
As 2006 closes, it is time to recognize and celebrate the “Best Moments” in U.S. distance running, and this year, there were plenty of exciting and historic individual and collective moments (and some disappointments). 2005 was a good year for the sport and 2006 was even better as the Top 10 moments below attest.
#10
U.S. Women Strike First Ever U.S. Gold at World Mountain Running Trophy
In Bursa, Turkey last September, the Teva U.S. Women’s Mountain Running Team won this country’s first gold medal in the 22-year history of the World Mountain Running Trophy. With 35 points, Team USA turned back challenges from the Czech Republic and Italy, 37 and 39 points respectively. First-time team members Nicole Hunt (9th) and Rachael Dobbs (10th) and Chris Lundy (16th) led the U.S. history-making contingent.
#9
Kastor’s Four U.S. Records at Berlin
At the Vattenfall Berlin Half-Marathon on April 2, Deena Kastor finished second in 1:07:34 to Edith Masai’s 1:07:16 and in the process, the Team Running USA athlete broke her U.S. record by 19 seconds. Additionally en route, the two-time Olympian set three more U.S. road records: 12K in 38:24, 10 miles in 51:31 and 20K in 64:07.
#8
Jurek Wins Spartathlon Ultra in Greece
At the end of September, Scott Jurek, 7-time winner of the Western States 100 Mile Mountain Race and two-time winner of the Badwater 136 mile race from Death Valley to the base of Mt. Whitney, became the first American man ever to win the Spartathlon Ultra from Athens to Sparta, a 245.3 kilometer trek or a bit over 150 miles. His time of 22 hours, 52 minutes, 18 seconds is now #2 behind only ultra great Yiannis Kouros on the all-time course performance list.
#7
Goucher 6th at World Cross
In the final edition of the World Cross Country 4K Championship, Adam Goucher worked his way thru the stellar short course field to finish 6th in Fukuoka, Japan last April. Goucher’s finish was the highest U.S. Senior men’s placing since Pat Porter took the same place in the 1986 long course (12K) race.
#6
U.S. Men’s Performances at The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon
Led by personal records from Abdi Abdirahman (2:08:56, 4th) and Brian Sell (2:10:47, 6th), at Chicago last October, U.S. men had their best sub-2:20 marathon mass finish (20) – excluding the Olympic Marathon Trials – in 15 years. Abdirahman, a two-time Olympian, became the fifth U.S. man under 2:09, while the Sell-fronted Hansons-Brooks Distance Project had 6 members under 2:16.
#5
Tegenkamp’s 13:04.90 5000 Meters in Europe
Matt Tegenkamp, 24, served notice that he is part of the American distance running resurgence with his stellar 2006 track season. At Stockholm on July 25, the Wisconsin grad became the fourth fastest American at 5000 meters with his 13:04.90 (only Olympians Bob Kennedy, Bernard Lagat and Sydney Maree are faster). He also set PRs this year at 1500m (3:35.96), 1 mile (3:56.38), 2 miles (8:16.50) and 3000m (7:34.98).
#4
U.S. Men 3-4-5 at Venerable Boston
Led by 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, U.S. men made a statement at the 110th Boston Marathon in April. In his Boston debut, Keflezighi, a Team Running USA athlete, went for the win and placed third in 2:09:56, followed by Brian Sell (2:10:55, PR) and Alan Culpepper (2:11:02). In addition, Peter Gilmore (2:12:45, PR) and Clint Verran (2:14:12, PR) also finished in the top 10, 7th and 10th respectively. The U.S. also put 11 men in the top 20 – its best Boston showing in the prize money era (first year 1986) and its best showing overall since 1983.
#3
New York City and Boston to Host 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials America’s two flagship marathons – ING New York City and BAA Boston – were selected by USA Track & Field to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Both events – New York (men) and Boston (women) – will be run on multi-loop courses in the heart of each city with $250,000 in prize money and trips to Beijing on the line. The men’s Trials will be Saturday, November 3, 2007 – the day before the 38th ING New York City Marathon and the women’s Trials Sunday, April 20, 2008 – the day before the 112th BAA Boston Marathon. Mark your calendars.
#2
Lincoln Breaks Long-Standing U.S. Steeplechase Record In a fine display of running, 2004 Olympian Daniel Lincoln broke the U.S. 3000 meter steeplechase record with his 8:08.82 on July 14 in Rome (the med student at Arkansas was 5th overall). In the 1990s, Mark Croghan took numerous shots at Henry Marsh’s mark (8:09.17 from August 1985) and just missed, but Lincoln, the doctor-to-be, had the right prescription.
#1
Deena Does It! Sub-2:20 Win at London
On April 23, Kastor impressively won the Flora London Marathon in a sterling 2:19:36, which broke her 2003 U.S. record (2:21:16) and made the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist the 4th fastest woman all-time and the 8th woman to break 2:20 (and first American woman). The Team Running USA athlete maintained a metronomic 5:20 pace throughout and split each half in 1:09:48. Brava, Deena.
Honorable mention:
Khalid Khannouchi’s 2:07:04 at London; Abdirahman’s 1:01:07 half-marathon (#2 U.S.) at Philadelphia and his 27:22.81 10,000m (#3 U.S) at Hengelo; Dathan Ritzenhein’s 1:01:25 half-marathon at the Great North Run; Ryan Hall’s U.S. 20K record (57:54) at the World Road Running Championships in Hungary; Jen Rhine’s 14:55.18 (#3 U.S.) at Van Damme 5000m; Kara Goucher’s 31:17.12 10,000m (#3 U.S.) at Helsinki; Webb (debut), Ritzenhein and Famiglietti (debut) sub-27:40 10,000m at Stanford; U.S. men’s repeat bronze medal at Chiba Ekiden road relay; Sara Slattery’s win at BolderBOULDER 10K and Ian Dobson’s Manchester Road Race victory.
Since the “dark age” of 2000, U.S. distance running has made great strides – from the 2004 Olympic medals by Keflezighi and Kastor to the achievements above. The credit for this improvement mainly goes to the dedicated athletes and coaches as well as the training groups such as Team Running USA, Team USA Minnesota, Hansons-Brooks Distance Project and Nike Oregon Project and those entities – New York Road Runners, Chevron Houston Marathon, Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, Atlanta Track Club, Town of Mammoth Lakes, Running USA and others – who directly support them.
This country does not yet have the relative distance depth of the 1980s, but the current crop of U.S. athletes is also competing against a deeper world scene, particularly with distance powers Kenya and Ethiopia, compared to the 70s and 80s, and moreover, this American distance running resurgence continues to raise the bar and to motivate and push the athletes to new heights. More success lies ahead, particularly if more funding and resources are secured.
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Posted in Back in the Day at 5:51 pm by Administrator
Foot Locker Retrospective
by Ceci Hopp St. Geme
1980 Foot Locker champion Ceci St. Geme is the mother of Anne and Christine St. Geme, who run on this year’s Corona del Mar CA team which won the California D3 state championship and was ranked US#1. Anne is a runner in this year’s Foot Locker finals.
A Connecticut girl showed the California girls her pushup routine and then became a California girl herself
“I am having the time of my life sharing my love of running with these young ladies, and hope they continue to dream big dreams. I still do.”
“I have had the most success when running has fit into my life, not when my life has revolved around running. Balance is key in everything you do.”
For the past three years I have driven our daughters Anne and Christine, as well as some of their teammates, down to Balboa Park from our home in Newport Beach to watch the Footlocker Cross Country Championships. I did this with the hope that they could learn something for their own local racing as well as be inspired to dream and work to reach the elite level of high school running. I wanted them to see that these athletes were just regular high school kids who put their spikes on the same way as they did, ran strides like they did, and were really tired at the end of their races too.
Well, I guess it worked because Anne and Christine are now members of the Corona del Mar Cross Country team coached by the amazing Bill Sumner, which is now one of the top cross country teams in the United States. Experts are saying CDM could possibly be one of the best teams of all time, breaking both the Woodward Park and Mount SAC team course records this season.
As I watch Annie prepare for the Nike Team Nationals with the hopes of qualifying for Footlocker, so many memories flood back to me from 1980. I was a senior at Greenwich High School coming off of stress fractures my junior year, and very hungry to run fast. I was a big fish in a small Connecticut pond, but had the goal of winning the national championship from the beginning of the season. I always dreamed big.
After winning the Connecticut State Cross Country Championships, then sliding down a snowy hillside on my rear end in Maine to win the TAC/AAU regionals, my high school coach Bill Mongovan encouraged me to run in the new Kinney Cross Country Regionals in Van Cortlandt Park (where I had watched my dad play his New York Rugby Club rugby matches). I was always a frontrunner, and ended up running away from Lynn Strauss of Pennsylvania.
Lynn and I became fast friends and lead the Eastern girls to sunny California with hopes of running fast and getting a sun tan. My roommate at the beautiful Hotel del Coronado was freshman Christa Curtin from New Jersey, future Footlocker Champion and my future teammate at Stanford University. The California girls were very intimidating to us – they had to have an advantage training in summer conditions year round, and beautiful, long legged Vicki Cook was the race favorite.
One memory I have told the CDM girls is of my pre-race push-up routine that I used to do on the starting line of my big races. After slipping at the start, I sprinted to the front and once again ran away from the field to win the Footlocker (Kinney) Cross Country Championships in 17:15 – Lynn was second and Vicki third. Vicki came up to me after the race and told me she thought I was crazy doing push ups right before the race, but now understood why.
After the race, we quickly changed into our bathing suits and hit the beach to tan- we didn’t care that it was partly cloudy and 60 degrees – it was balmy to us! I was very disappointed when a Kinney spokesperson came looking for me on the beach and I had to go in to meet with the press.
The Footlocker Cross Country Championships changed my life – I met the great Brooks Johnson after the race who convinced me to go to Stanford, bringing me to the West Coast where I eventually met my husband of 20 years, Ed St. Geme. How I love California!
It brought tears to my eyes as I watched my daughters and their teammates drop down together for twenty at the start of the Clovis Invitational in October. I am having the time of my life sharing my love of running with these young ladies, and hope they continue to dream big dreams. I still do.
Some last words of wisdom from someone who has enjoyed running as a lifelong sport and has won nationals on the high school, college, open, and now masters level: I have had the most success when running has fit into my life, not when my life has revolved around running. Balance is key in everything you do.
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Posted in Road Races, The Colonel, Training at 3:25 pm by Administrator
well today christopher did a solo time trial. we wanted to run on a track but i believe they are all locked up. so we ran to yokuts park instead.
if you run the small loop it is 0.8 miles and one bench to the other is 0.2 miles. there is some grass and a slight hill but it a pretty good time trail course (hopefully yokuts will be bhs’s home course next year).
well he ran a solo 5:46 mile, off of zero speed work. he has been following the Lydiard Program only. sure 5:46 isnt going to win any races but it is a start. this summer he barely broke 8 minutes the first couple times he did the distance.
i really think he has a shot at breaking 5 minutes in the mile this year if we follow da plan.
christopher’s next race is the fog run 10 km where i hope he can run sub seven minute pace. a 5:46 mile predicts out to a 41:14 10 km.
.
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Posted in Yada Yada at 12:22 pm by Administrator
Israeli soldiers fire artillery into Lebanon in support of ground operations hours before the Cabinet in Jerusalem voted to accept the United Nations resolution outlining a cease-fire.
(Damon Winter / LAT)
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Posted in Yada Yada at 12:20 pm by Administrator
A bodyboarder goes airborne Tuesday at the Wedge in Newport Beach, where surfers rode waves that reached as high as 20 feet. Other south-facing beaches in the area saw waves up to 12 feet.
(Allen J. Schaben / LAT)
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