Notes from Long Distance Running Chair

March 2010

NOTES FROM USATF-OREGON

 

OREGON RUNNERS AT USATF

NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

I had the privilege of helping at the USATF National Cross Country Championships on February 13 at Plantes Ferry Park in Spokane, Washington. Thanks to meet director Marla Emde and the rest of the Spokane Sports Commission, the championship was a perfectly flawless event with great weather and even greater performances. On the Open Mens side, Dathan Ritzenhein broke open the 12 km race and proceeded to another impressive USATF National Championship. Dathan is coached by Alberto Salazar and is part of the Portland based Oregon Project/NIKE Elite group. Ben Bruce, also sporting an Oregon Track Club Elite singlet, raced to a fourth place finish, and former Oregon high school runner Ryan Vail finished sixth. The top six runners qualified for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on March 28 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Max King finished in 11th place leading a group of Bowerman AC runners which included Jonathon Marcus. Other prominent Oregon runners included Billy Nelson (OTC) and brothers Carlos and Esteban Trujillo. Shalane Flanagan, also wearing OTC Elite colors, captured her second national championship for 2010. In January, Shalane won the USATF half-marathon championship in Houston.  She duplicated her runaway victory as she did two years ago in San Diego. In the Junior Men's 8 km race, Trevor Dunbar, a freshman at the University of Portland, was the individual winner. It was a great day for Oregon based athletes!

ROADRUNNERSPORTS/USATF-OREGON

GRAND PRIX UNDERWAY

 

Our initial race on the 2010 Grand Prix series was the Red Lizard 5 Miler on Sunday, March 7. The race took place at George Rogers Park in Lake Oswego and benefitted local high school track and cross country programs. Results can be located at www.teamredlizard.com. Thanks to Torrey Lindbo and the Red Lizard for including this race on the 2010 Grand Prix.

 

The next Grand Prix Oregon event will be the legendary Pearblossom 10 Miler in Medford on April 10th. This race supports local running scholarship programs as well as USATF youth programs. Race directors Zellah and Jerry Swartsley have done a great job of perpetuating this Southern Oregon classic. Results can be found at www.pearblossomrun.com or in the following issue of RaceCenter Northwest.

 

An incredible addition to the 2010 Grand Prix series will occur on May 2 in Track Town USA. The Eugene Half-Marathon will take place on a flat, fast, and scenic USATF certified course and will finish on the track at historic Hayward Field. This is the longest of our Grand Prix events for 2010. For online registration and event information visit www.eugenemarathon.com. With this event you will truly be "Running in the Footsteps of Legends".

 

Two great sources of information regarding the RoadRunnerSports/USATF-Oregon Grand Prix Series are www.usatf-oregon.org or www.runnerspace.com.

 

USATF-OREGON MOUNTAIN, ULTRA, TRAIL

 

The 2010 La Sportiva/USATF-Oregon Mountain Running Series returns for the third consecutive year with five great races located throughout the state. The mountain running series is designed to promote competition in the Oregon mountain running community. All of the races in the series are well established and represent some of the very best mountain races in Oregon. New to the 2010 is that you can win cash prizes as well as free trail running shoes!  The "Fab Five" for 2010 include the following:

      ---May 8-Larison Rock Hill Climb (6 miles) in Oakridge. This will be an up/down format race on trails near the town of Oakridge. The Oakridge Mountain Race is organized by the same crack team that hosts the famed Where's Waldo 100 km just up the road at Willamette Pass Ski Area.

      ---July 17-Granite Man Mountain Run (10 miles) in Applegate Lake. This is a fantastic up/down race along the shores of Applegate Lake and up onto the ridge 2000 feet above. In addition to the 10 mile event there are longer running races consisting of an off road duathlon and triathlon.

      ---July 25-Great NW Mountain Run (7 miles) at Mt. Hood. The inaugural 2008 version of this race featured a head to head battle between Joe Gray (US Mountain Running Team) and Max King (US Olympic Trials-steeplechase) making it the fastest race in the Oregon Mountain Series. The seven mile course runs both up and down the slopes of Mt. Hood from historic Timberline Lodge.

      ---August 7-Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run (13 miles) in Ashland. Now in its 33rd year, the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run is the oldest continuously run mountain race in Oregon. Starting in Lithia Park in downtown Ashland, this race climbs 5600 feet to finish on the summit of scenic Mt. Ashland. The course record was set in 1986 by Los Angeles Marathon winner Ric Sayre (1:42). Dolores Bergman set the women's record in 2004 with a time of 2:13:39.

      ---September 4-Sunrise to Summit Race (3 miles) at Mt. Bachelor (Bend). Organized by the Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation, the Sunrise to Summit may be the shortest race in the series, but it is the steepest! The uphill only course climbs 2600 feet under ski lifts, through volcanic rock strewn slopes to finally finish on the barren summit of Mt. Bachelor. The course records are held by Max King (35:32) and Jennifer Sventek (43:45).

 

In addition to these five USATF sanctioned mountain races there are also three USATF National Trail Championship races held in Oregon in 2010. On June 12, the Footzone Dirty Half/USATF Half-Marathon Trail Championship will be held in Bend. The best trail runners in the country will compete for $3,000 in cash prizes. On September 25 the Footzone/USATF 50k Trail Championship will also take place in Bend. This is another great ultra/trail race with $3,000 in prize money. On November 6, the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon will again serve as the USATF Trail Marathon National Championship in Ashland. Max King broke the course record at last year's National Championship race.

 

Find up to date information about these and other mountain, ultra, and trail races in Oregon at www.usatf-oregon.org/MUT.

 

Reminder:

Remember, you cannot participate in the Grand Prix scoring and prize money portions of the Grand Prix and MUT events unless you are a USATF-Oregon Association member. Over $8,000 in Prize money will be awarded for this year's races. Support the races in our series through your participation.

 

Celebrate running!

 

Bob Latham

USATF-Oregon

Long Distance Running Chairman 

November 5, 2009

 

 

NOTES from USATF-Oregon

Updates/Planning Ahead

            Inthe last issue of RaceCenter NW, I mentioned that four NW ultrarunners weregoing to compete in the World 100k Championships in Torhout, Belgium. KamiSemick (Bend) won the individual World Championship in 7:37:20, and MeghanArbogast (Corvallis) placed fifth in 8:04:24 allowing the United States womento win the team championship for only the second time ever! Congratulations,ladies!

            Competing in the USATF Bix7 NationalChampionships in Davenport, Iowa, Northwest athletes performed quite well. BretSchoolmeester placed seventh in 33:41, and Olympian Dan Browne finished eighthin 33:44. On the women's side, Sally Meyerhoff placed fifth in 38:04, MeghanArmstrong was ninth in 39:06, and Kelly Jaske finished tenth in 39:17 at theJuly 25th championships.

            On July 4th, the longest events forthe Oregon Grand Prix took place on Sauvie Island in Portland. The Foot TrafficFlat Marathon and Half-Marathon scored double points for each race towards thefinal standings at the end of the series. The 2009 version of the Foot Trafficraces was the largest (2,600) and most successful in the history of the event.Race Director Dave Pietka with great assistance from Sean Rivers and all of theFoot Traffic volunteers made this a memorable year for the Grand Prix. The eventsbenefit the Sauvie Island firefighters as well as the USATF-Oregon youthprograms. At the conclusion of the event, all of the participants listened tolive music, ate strawberry shortcake, had massages, and celebrated America'sbirthday at the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island.

Results

FootTraffic Flat Marathon:

 

Top Men's Finishers:       1. Jesse McChesney (21) 2:32:02   2. Ryan Thompson (27) 2:33:42   3. Matthew Urbanski (28) 2:35:52   4. Chuck Engle ((38) 2:49:40   5. Oscar Bauman (36) 2:51:12   6. Steve Chu (27) 2:52:29   7. Joe Adams (29) 2:52:52   8. Benjamin Gherardi (31) 2:53:51   9. Tom Moritz (39) 2:58:12   10. Erik Kaitala (37) 2:58:30 Top Women's Finishers:     1. Wendy Terris (40) 2:52:23   2. Annie Thiessen (38) 2:57:54   3. Christine Rockey (39) 3:05:51   4. Jennifer Geiger Sims (33) 3:11:52   5. Natalie Ramsland (33) 3:24:27   6. Kelly Murphy (46) 3:26:27   7. Susan Bauman (50) 3:27:11   8. Tara Rethwill 27) 3:28:18   9. Janis Brown 51) 3:35:01   10. Bekki Manville (35) 3:35:51 Foot Traffic Flat Half-Marathon:   Top Men's Finishers:       1. Greg Mitchell (35) 1:06:35   2. Jonathon Marcus (25) 1:09:45   3. Philip McCartney (34) 1:09:50   4. Kalpanatit Broderick (28) 1:10:03   5. Ian Nurse (31) 1:10:19   6. Stuart Burton (37) 1:10:49   7. Jason Effmann (33) 1:11:31   8. Brett Holts (27) 1:11:58   9. Daniel Bartosz (32) 1:12:23   10. Richie Ledonne (20) 1:13:06 Top Women's Finishers:     1. Carre Joyce Heineck (27) 1:19:45   2. Elizabeth Carey (25) 1:21:12   3. Jessica Dobek (30) 1:22:46   4. Erin Skourtes (29) 1:23:20   5. Abigail Stiles(29) 1:24:13   6. Nikki Rafie (47) 1:25:05   7. Keegan Rice (25) 1:27:15   8. Nikki Jensen (23) 1:28:07   9. Brieanna Carroll (22) 1:28:07   10. Leeann Rice (37) 1:28:32

 

 Based upon the current race results,here are the Grand Prix Oregon standings with three races remaining:

  

Open Men:       1. Greg Mitchell 40 points   2. Jason Effmann 30 points   3. Dan Bartosz 24 points   4. Chad Killian 20 points   4. Max King 20 points   6. Joe English 18 points   7. Craig Rice 16 points   8. Trevor Palmer 15 points   9. Alex McGladrey 14 points   10. Brandon Lemerande 12 points   10. Erik Skaggs 12 points   12. Hal Koerner 10 points   13. Trevor Coolidge   9 points   14. Ian Torrance   8 points   15. Ryan Hess   7 points Open Women:       1. Carre Joyce Heineck 40 points   2. Elizabeth Carey 30 points   3. Erin Skourtes 24 points   4. Sierra Brown 20 points   4. Alexa Kearns 20 points   6. Daelyn Richards 18 points   7. Leah Ball 15 points Masters Men:       1. Eric Holstrom 40 points   1. Mark Rich 40 points   3. Bret Kimple 30 points   4. Tim Johnson 24 points   5. Dave Harrison 20 points   5. Leonard Hill 20 points   7. Dave Harding 18 points   8. Brent Halse 17 points   9. Chuck Coats 15 points   10. Matt Cowen 14 points   11. Greg Christiansen 12 points   12. Tim Vandervlugt 10 points   13. Tom Kreuzpeintner   9 points   14. Craig Thornley   8 points   15. Neil Olson   7 points   16. Steve Siders   6 points   17. Randy Lytle   5 points   18. Mike Davis   4 points   19. Bob Julian   3 points   20. Larry Tergesen   2 points   21. McCoy Smith   1 point   21. Chuck Whiteley   1 point Masters Women:       1. Suzanne Ray 60 points   2. Trisha Kluge 42 points   3. Wendy Terris 40 points   4. Eileen Holzman 29 points   5. Beth Armstrong 24 points   6. Christina Rich 18 points   7. Jeanette Groesz 15 points   8. Joanna Harper 10 points