USATF Southern California

News

The Coaster Run 5K Launches 2009 SCA Road Running Championship Series

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BUENA PARK, CA—Southern California USATF is pleased to announce its 2009 Road Running Championship Series will kick-off with The Coaster Run 5K on Sunday, March 15, in Buena Park.


The popular 5K also hosted the first Southern California USATF Road Championship in more than 20-years last April, which attracted some of the area’s top runners. The 2008 winner of the Elite Women’s 5K race was Midori Sperandeo, who also ran in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston, MA. The 2008 Elite Men’s 5K winner was Christian Hesch, a versatile runner who also took top honors at the 2008 Southern California Half-Marathon Championships held in conjunction with the Long Beach International City Bank Half Marathon in October.

For 2009, the Coaster 5K race date has been moved one month earlier to Sunday, March 15, promising ideal, cool racing conditions. The flat USATF-certified 5K course is perfect for runners striving to run personal bests. Produced by Renegade Racing, the race is a fund-raiser for the Speech & Language Development Center and also includes a 10K (which is not a USATF Championship) and a 1K Kids Walk/Run.

Race day registration, the start & finish, and post-race Expo are all located at Buena Park’s famous Knott’s Berry Farm at 8039 Beach Boulevard. Entry standards are 17:00 for men and 20:00 for women for the Elite 5K Race, which features cash prizes for the top-5 male and female finishers.

PRIZE MONEY: 2009 coaster run elite 5K: (Men and Women)
1st Place $400, 2nd $250, 3rd $150, 4th $100, 5th $50, USATF Championship Medals to places 1-10

In the Open 5K race, the top-3 USATF member finishers in the traditional men’s and women’s 5-year age groups will receive gold-silver-bronze USATF Championship Medals. What’s more, all 5K/10K participants will receive 1/2 price entry to Knotts Berry Farm. Those raising $100 or more in donations for the Speech & Language Development Center will earn free entry to the park.

SCHEDULE OF RACES
7:30 am Elite 5K Race
7:45 am Open 5K Run/Charity Walk
8:00 am Open 10K Race
9:00 am Camp Snoopy Kids Run/Walk
9:30 am Awards Ceremony

The Coaster Run 5K Information and Registration:
http://www.coasterrun.com/

5K Elite Race Contact:
Wayne Joness
Chair, Open Athletics Long Distance Running Committee
Southern California Association/ USA Track & Field
Cell (310) 600-5332 Email: [email protected]
SCA Road Running Championships

SCA 10K Championships Results

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Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K
Thu: November 27, 2008

Trafeh and Berg Hydro-Plane Their Way to So Cal 10K Titles

DANA POINT, CA–The inaugural 2008 Southern California Road Championship Series concluded on November 27 with the 31st running of the Dana Point 10K Turkey Trot—America’s largest Thanksgiving Day road race. With rain threatening during the early morning hours, it was not until just after the 7:00am 10K start that that the skies unleashed a torrential downpour that turned the technically challenging course into a series of intertwining rivers. Within minutes, the driving rain had more than 3,200 runners in ankle-deep in water, barely able to see, as they negotiated the twists and turns that make the Dana Point course so unique.

Mohamed Trafeh (Photo: Brightroom)

Incredibly, front runners Mohamed Trafeh, (29:22), Ben Bruce, (29:23) and Brandon Bethke (29:27) came within seconds of setting a new course record despite the conditions. Trafeh had just returned from training in Morocco, but showed no signs of jet lag en route to winning the So Cal USATF 10K Road Crown.

Tove Berg (Photo: Alan Wickstrom)

Unlike the close finish in the men’s division, in the women’s division the winning time of 35:49 by Tove Berg was well over a minute faster than 2nd and 3rd place finishers Adrienne Schumm (37:06) and Emily Mitchell (37:17).

In the Masters age-groups, the most competitive men’s division was M50-54, lead by local runner John Loftus who won in 35:55. The field in the women’s master division was also deep, with Rosalva Bonilla winning in 40:21. 12-days earlier, Bonilla had won the Southern California USATF Masters Women’s 6K Cross Country title at Kenneth Hahn Park in West Los Angeles.

Overall, there was an enthusiastic turnout by USATF runners in all age-groups despite the forecast for rain, as more than forty Southern California Association members won USATF Championship Medals in age-groups ranging from 15-19 to 55-59. As predicted, the 10K race sold out this year and, in total, a record-breaking 10,000+ runners participated in the Dana Point 5K, 10K and kiddie run Turkey Trots.

For 2008, participation in the Southern California USATF Road Championship Series increased with every race, beginning with the 5K Road Championship at the Coaster Run in Buena Park. 2009 promises to be even more popular with the addition of the first SCA Marathon Championship at the Orange County Marathon on May 3, 2009.

The 2009 Road Championship Series kicks-off on March 15 with the Southern California 5K Championship at the flat-and-fast Coaster 5K in Buena Park, CA.

Videos


Interview – Mohamed Trafeh – Winner Male Overall
(Video: Wayne Joness)


Interview – Tove Berg – Winner Female Overall
(Video: Wayne Joness)

Tribute to Al Minturn – USATF Official

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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of the best officials and human beings that our sport has ever known.

Al Minturn died peacefully in his sleep during the last night of the USATF Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada on December 7, 2008 doing one of the things he loved—working to enhance and expand the officiating that makes participation in our sport possible for hundreds of thousands of track & field athletes.

Visit our tribute page, and post your own tribute or comment: http://alminturntribute.blogspot.com