As far as I can tell, there were about 10 races this past weekend and the Chips had excellent results at all of them. Here are a couple of highlights:
I spotted a few Chips in the Napa Marathon results. On this windy day, the top Chip appears to be Mary Coordt who ran 2:46:30, which gives her another shot at the Olympic trials! (Rumor has it she's going to be rooming in Boston with Joan Benoit.) Next in was Mark Lantz running 2:47:55 (PR!). Other Chips finishers (quick scan) included Ray Sanchez (3:15), Rena Schumann (3:28), Grant Carboni (3:34) and Jeff Barbier (3:36). Great job all!
NorCal 10 Miler
A hearty few of us made the trek to Redding for this beautiful and hilly race. Top Chip credit goes to Ed Randolph running 59:50. Chips High Dunger (John Blue) was next in 1:02, followed by Dan Weintraub at a personal best 1:03. Jenny Hitchings took top masters honors in a personal best 1:03. Carol Parise ran 1:10 and Christine Iwahashi turned in a solid 1:15.
Bidwell Classic Half-Marathon
The top and only Chip appears to be Bob Fredenburg who drove all the way to Chico to win first senior in 1:41. Sacramento phenom and friend of the Chips Rich Hanna ran the rest of the field to the ground for 1st overall in a respectable 1:12.
Natomas Founder's Day 10K
This week's "Cherry Picker" award goes to Eric Johnson for his 2nd place finish at the Natomas Founder's Day 10K. (Also known as the "Run Across the Strip Malls 10K.") I'll let him tell the story:
The day dawned clear and cool, and there was the scent of victory in the air. I drove out to Natomas at about 8am, after having decided that a Chips jersey and shorts would be clothing enough for the light morning breeze. I exited the E-mobile in the parking lot of Qdoba in the Promenada at Natomas, and was promptly subjected to gale-force winds whipping across the vast expanses of asphalt and stubbly trees that were planted fewer than five years ago.
I ran into Clan Paddeck and chatted for a bit, and then headed out for my warm-up. I did the last two miles of the course, and was not at all surprised to find that the last 200 yards have you heading directly into the wind pounding out of the north. There were a grand total of four Porta-Potties, so I frantically stripped off my sweats as I ran over to the starting line after hearing the final strains of the National Anthem while surrounded by beige plastic.
The field quickly disintegrated into two guys about ten yards ahead, and a pack of three of us. Nathan P. tucked in behind me for the first mile (a ripping 6:01), and the third guy was juuuust a bit slower (and shorter) so I couldn't find my stride behind him. Nathan and the guy in white peeled off for the 5k, and the three remaining folks turned north.
Ugh. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I cannot recall a less-pleasant mile of any race. After expending most of my energy simply trying to stay upright, I had lost at least 75 yards on green jersey and run the second mile 26 seconds *slower* than my already-modest first. A PR was obviously not in the cards. Miles three through the end were just boring. Not only was it the windiest race I can recall, it was the least visually pleasant. After the start in the parking lot, we wound through some business parks, and then along a frontage road to I-80. We took a random detour down a side street, and U-turned in the middle just to get in the extra distance. The last half mile took us over a non-ramped curb, through a bike path entrance with all the bollards still vertical, and then across parking lots of Target, Big Lots!, Center Court and other monstrosities. I also got to dodge through hordes of walking 5k-ers. I contemplated using one of the jogging strollers as a windbreak, but what remained of my pride put the kibosh on that.
All this time I'd been losing ground to green jersey, and I came in second at just over 38 minutes. The winner, Brian Janes of Yreka (ringer!), had finished in 36:44, forty seconds slower than I'd run my previous 10k. Disheartening, but not so surprising. The vendor concourse was pretty hilarious also. In addition to the standard bagels and oranges, Qdoba was giving out chips and salsa. BJ's Brewery was giving out beer, unfortunately of the root variety. And some Whoever's Roadhouse passed out pork ribs for those who had gone into protein debt.
I did not stick around for the awards ceremony, although it would have been a cavalcade of Chips domination. In addition to my second place in the 10k, Nathan Paddeck won the 5k outright in 18:44, and Merie Paddeck was second woman in the 5k. I did get a cool little silver medal for my trouble though, in addition to an incredibly unattractive t-shirt and a Frisbee from Gold's Gym. It felt like it could have been a fast (albeit ugly) course. The Exurb Wind was just too much to deal with. Eric's grade: C-.
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