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| Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET. |
A drizzly Day 7 of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon ended with Californians Allyson Felix shattering the women’s 200m Olympic Trials record and Carmelita Jeter taking the runner-up slot.
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| Morgan Uceny – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET |
California will be well represented in the women’s 1500m final that will take place on Sunday. Golden Stater Morgan Uceny was the fastest qualifier so, in anticipation of what we expect will be an excellent race, we thought we’d post Mark Winitz’s Q&A with Morgan that ran in our June-July issue.
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| Kim Conley – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET. |
Few might have given 26-year-old Kim Conley (West Sacramento, Calif.) a chance at gaining an Olympic team spot in the women’s 5000m race at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
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| Trevor Barron – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET |
On a muggy morning at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, the men’s 20K race walk featured several new American records and a number of California connections among the top placers.
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| Alysia Montano – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET. |
The 800m finals at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials featured strong performances by Golden State athletes as three Californians plus one athlete with strong California ties earned spots on the U.S. team headed for the London Olympic Games.
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| Stephanie Brown Trafton – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET. |
Even a reigning Olympic gold medalist and American record holder who has enjoyed a ranking as #1 in the world in her event can have doubts when the big meets come along. Only three weeks before the 2012 U.S.
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| USATF Southern California 2011 Marathon Champion Amy Hastings wins 10,000m trials – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET. |
Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) says that one of the best pieces of advice that Deena Kastor, her Mammoth Track Club teammate, has given her is to keep fighting; never give up. In running, just as in the rest of life, there are good miles and bad miles, good times and bad times. The good times are easy.
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| Jeneba Tarmoh – Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.NET. |
If you were watching the Olympic Trials yesterday, you no doubt know the story regarding the women’s 100m finals. Carmelita Jeter (CA) won in 10.92 and Tianna Madison was second in 10.96. But the real story was all about third place, where Californians Allyson Felix and Jeneba (JEN-eba) Tarmoh raced to a dead-heat for the third spot on the team.
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| Bert Whitson and John Burgos race to the finish at the Pasadena Half/Full/Relay Marathon |
While only a few years old, the Kaiser Permanente Pasadena Marathon has created a formula for success in the crowded Southern California road running circuit, selling out all of its events for 2012. Runners who know Pasadena trained for a course that presented some hills, but were also rewarded with a scenic course that includes the Rose Bowl and a route that parallels the beautiful Arroyo Seco River.
7000 runners took to the streets of Pasadena on Sunday, May 20 to race a full marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K, or a kid’s run 1K. In addition, race director Israel Estrada worked closely with USATF and Pasadena-based Gritty City Track Club to organize an invitational relay marathon event, the first relay marathon in the Los Angeles area since the demise of the fabled Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon in 2006.
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| USATF LDR Chair Wayne Joness, ARC Runners Sergio Arias, Brian Ramos, and team captain Gerard Deegan, and USATF member/volunteer Rebecca Trahan |
In the full marathon competition, Alexander Garabedian (M20) of the Santa Monica Track Club led the way for USATF runners with a time of 2:58:26. Finishing right behind Garabedian was three-time defending Pasadena Marathon Champion, and 2012 Olympic Trials qualifier Mandy Grantz (F25) representing the home-town favorites Gritty City Track Club. The USATF masters competition was won by the ubiquitous long distance running machine, Joe Ogata (M63), with a time of 3:48:30. In the last ten years, Ogata has run more than 100 marathons, consistently qualifying for the Boston Marathon in his age-group. And rounding out the masters competition was Cheri Rich (F50) with a time of 4:05:09.
In the half marathon, 2012 USATF Southern California Marathon Champion Mark Batres (M27) of Run With Us had a comfortable finish of 1:11:50. Underlining the depth and talent of the Gritty City Track Club was team member Nicole Luque (F32) finishing in 1:31:17. In addition to her athletic abilities, Luque is well-known as a reliable volunteer for various races, and scores the Road Running Grand Prix as well.
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| Gritty City Track Club runners at the finish line. |
While most of the Cal Coast Track Club raced the previous day at the Magic Shoe 5K, distance specialists Matt Ebiner (M51) and Linda Hodgson (F57) represented their team well in Pasadena with first-place masters times of 1:15:57 for Ebiner and 1:44:42 for Hodgson. There can be no doubt that the Cal Coast Track Club is determined to dominate road racing in the Southern California Association: they were the only club to field teams at both the Magic Shoe 5K and the Pasadena Marathon, and Cal Coast won both days, taking a record-breaking 4623 points at the Magic Shoe 5K, and 3593 points at the Pasadena Half/Full Marathon, edging out the Gritty City Track Club with 3593 points.
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| Relay Marathon runners at the first (10K) handoff point. |
Flying under the radar was the Pasadena Relay Marathon, a joint effort of the Pasadena Marathon and USATF Southern California to explore developing a new relay marathon event. Participation was limited to six local teams, with A Runner’s Circle fielding three teams of runners, the Gritty City Track Club contributing two teams, and the Pasadena Pacers with one team. A Runner’s Circle pushed the pace, finishing in 2:35:25, with “True Grit” (Gritty City Track Club) second with a time of 2:42:47. The five person relay marathon was formatted according to national rules, with legs of 10 km, 5 km, 10 km, 5 km and a stretch of 12.2 km to the finish line. Special thanks to Gritty City member Alex Bruno who did much of the organizing to make this event possible, and even drove one of the transport vans used to ferry runners around the course on race day
SCA Grand Prix Standings: www.scagrandprix.org
Results
2012 Pasadena Half/Full/Relay Marathon Results
Open 1st: Alexander Garabedian, M-20, 2:58:26
Open 1st: Mandy Grantz, F-25, 2:58:44
Open 2nd: Roberto Chavez, M-39, 3:29:22
Open 2nd: Andrea Kooiman, F-37, 4:23:03
Open 3rd: Daniel Guzman, M-30, 3:39:43
Masters 1st: Joe Ogata, M-63, 3:48:30
Masters 1st: Cheri Rich, F-50, 4:05:09
Masters 2nd: Andrew Calasanz, M-41, 4:15:46
Masters 2nd: Lisa Wikert, F-48, 4:54:47
Masters 3rd: Deo Javarta, M-47, 4:16:17
Masters 3rd: Sue Davis, F-49, 5:30:29
Open 1st: Mark Batres, M-27, 1:11:17
Open 1st: Nicole Luque, F-34, 1:31:17
Open 2nd: Wendy Roy, F-34, 2:09:27
Open 3rd: Janet Gutierrez, F-31, 2:33:25
Masters 1st: Matt Ebiner, M-51, 1:15:57
Masters 1st: Linda Hodgson, F-57, 1:44:42
Masters 2nd: Oliver Gallego, M-50, 1:24:11
Masters 2nd: Dona McBride, F-61, 2:11:40
Masters 3rd: Miguel Magana, M-44, 1:24:18
Masters 3rd: Gail Hubbard, F-46, 2:19:31
A Runner’s Circle, Team, 2:35:25
True Grit, Team, 2:42:46
2 Legrit 2 Quit, Team, 3:22:45
Arc Run Club 3, Team, 3:44:43
Arc Run Club 2, Team, 4:25:39
Pasadena Pacers, Team, 5:12:09
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| Magic Shoe 5K Start |
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| USATF Members Peter Magill (left) and Yermie Cohen (right). Magill is on his way to setting a new mens 50-54 5K record: 15:05. |
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| Magic Shoe 5K Competitors |
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| Team Domination: Cal Coast Track Club |
Competing in the Youth Road Running Grand Prix, the Equalizers continued their domination with 4347 points, a score which would put them among the top Open- Masters teams. With many teams approaching 5 races, lower race scores will be dropped and we should see all of the team jockeying for position as the Grand Prix will move to Santa Barbara and the Semana-Nautica 15K on the Fourth of July.
SCA Grand Prix Standings: www.scagrandprix.org
Open 1st: Roosevelt Cook, M-32, 14:55.3
Open 1st: Erika Aklufi, F-35, 16:43.1
Open 2nd: Jorge Jabaz, M-25, 15:03.1
Open 2nd: Jenni Johnson, F-32, 17:02.5
Open 3rd: Sydney Gidabuday, M-15, 15:33.5
Open 3rd: Sara Raschiatore, F-31, 17:22.1
Masters 1st: Peter Magill, M-50, 15:05.0
Masters 1st: Nathalie Higley, F-42, 17:02.2
Masters 2nd: Ken Ernst, M-50, 15:52.4
Masters 2nd: Ingrid Walters, F-40, 19:06.3
Masters 3rd: Jeff Ambos, M-50, 15:55.2
Masters 3rd: Rosalva Bonilla, F-49, 19:10.1
1st: Jackson Coney, M-10, 19:19.5
1st: Ashiling Carr, F-10, 19:25.3
2nd: Kylen Patel, M-10, 21:00.5
2nd: Rebecca Cushing-Murray, F-10, 19:47.3
3rd: Jonathan Manara, M-9, 21:31.2
3rd: Autumn Clarke, F-10, 20:44.2
4th: Nicholas Allred, M-8, 23:03.1
4th: Aleksandra Crampton, F-10, 21:31.1
5th: Alex Florman, M-10, 23:07.5
5th: Anisha Fenske, F-10, 22:10.2
1st: Addison Schwarz, M-12, 19:09.3
1st: Olivia Gleason, F-12, 18:54.1
2nd: Daniel Bautista, M-11, 19:16.1
2nd: Hannah Hall, F-12, 19:13.1
3rd: Jack Mahony, M-11, 19:19.1
3rd: Anna Goeller, F-11, 20:03.4
4th: Jacob Aspling, M-12, 20:23.3
4th: Ariel Van Riper, F-11, 20:08.1
5th: Logan Eldridge, M-12, 20:31.1
5th: Reagan Peterson, F-11, 20:15.4
