What RVR accomplished in 2008...

Let's start with the top 2008 accomplishments for each of Rogue Valley Runners' employees:


Ixel Sanchez, 22
3/1/08 3000 meters @ the Artie Sullivan Invite, Southern Oregon University, 1st overall in 10:56.7
3/16/08 Shamrock'n Half Marathon, Sacramento, CA, 1:29:10.3, that time qualified her for the NAIA Championships
9/28/08 XTERRA National Trail Running Championships, 21K, Bend, OR, 1:33:31, 1st in 20-24 age division


Chris Rennaker, 32
1/19/08 Southern Oregon Fat Ass (SOFA) 50K, Galice, OR, 4:56, 1st Ultra finish
9/6/08 McKenzie River 50K, McKenzie Bridge, OR, 4:08:50, 11th, 50K personal record
10/11/08 Dick Collins Fire Trails 50 Mile, Oakland, CA, 7:39:33, 6th overall, 1st 50 miler


Darcy Kleiman, 31
Take It Outside Fitness Instructor
7/12/08 Siskiyou Outback 50K, Ashland, OR, 6:02:12, her 2nd Ultra finish
11/8/08 Lithia Loop Trail Marathon, Ashland, OR, 3:53:26, marathon personal record


Kyle Skaggs, 23
5/17/08 Jemez Mountain 50 Mile Trail Race, Los Alamos, NM, 8:08:15, 1st overall
7/11/08 Hardrock 100 Mile Endurance Run, Silverton, CO, 23:23:30, 1st, course record. See the infamous finish here.
12/6/08 The North Face Challenge 50 Mile Run, San Francisco, CA, 7:02:39, 4th overall


Erik Skaggs, 26
8/7/08 Ashland Hill Climb, Ashland, OR, 1:53:01, 1st overall
7/12/08 Siskiyou Outback 50K, Ashland, OR, 2nd
11/ /08 Quad Dipsea 27 Mile Trail Race, San Francisco, CA, 3:52:16, 1st, course record. See Erik dance on the Dipsea stairs here.


Ian Torrence, 36
7/18/08 Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run, Spooner Lake, NV, 21:53:10, 4th overall
9/6/08 McKenzie River 50K, McKenzie Bridge, OR, 3:44:48, 2nd overall
11/18/08 JFK 50 Mile Run, Boonsboro, MD, 6:34:57, 8th overall


Hal Koerner, 32
1/13/08 Redding Marathon, Redding, CA, 2:35:51, 1st overall, course record
9/13/08 Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run, Wrightwood, CA, 18:29:26, 1st overall
10/11/08 Dick Collins Fire Trails 50 Mile Run, Oakland, CA, 6:43:42, 1st overall

RVR also worked together as a Team at times. Team Rogue Valley Runners had several successful apperances in 2008.


8/27/08-9/3/08 Gortex Transrockies Run, a six stage race across Colorado, Max King and Erik Skaggs put together a victory as Team Nike/Rogue Valley Runners.


9/21/08 Northwest Mountain Running Championships, a steep, six-mile course on the slopes of Mt. Hood, OR, Team RVR won the team scored event. (Kyle and Erik Skaggs, Max King, Joe Gray, Ian Torrence)


11/15/08 Rogue Valley Relay Challenge, a 100 kilometer relay race across southern Oregon, Team RVR won in 5:42:51 and set a new course record. (Erik and Kyle Skaggs, Trevor Palmer, John Leuthold, Hal Koerner)

And, yes, even we went head to head, mano y mano, and more accurately, brother against brother...check that out here.

We hope your 2008 was as fruitful as ours. Here's looking forward to 2009! Happy Holidays everyone!

Rennaker's on the Cover!

Congratulations to Rogue Valley Runners' store employee Chris Rennaker for making it onto the cover of the 2009 TrailRunner Magazine's Race Issue. The photo was taken during 2008's running of the Dick Collins' Fire Trails 50 Mile Run. Chris finished the ultra in 7:39:33 in sixth place. Inside the issue is a follow-up story on the Fire Trails race with more pictures of the race's eventual winner, Rogue Valley Runners' store owner, Hal Koerner. Pick up this issue at RVR now!

A Huge Racing Weekend

Let's start on the Northern California coast. A week after Erik Skaggs blistered the course at the Quad Dipsea, several Rogue Valley Runners returned to the scene of the crime to attack yet another course run in the same area. The North Face Challenge is a 50-mile trail race that criss-crosses the steep hills and coastline just north of San Francisco. The race sold out as the best trail/ultra runners in the world converged on the race in hopes of winning part of the $30,000 prize purse, the largest ever in US ultrarunning history.

Kyle Skaggs dances through the rocks at The North Face Challenge. (photo by Jean Pommier)

RVR owner Hal Koerner and RVR employee Kyle Skaggs, battled up front all day long. In the end Kyle would finish fourth, about a minute behind third place (just missing prize money) and thirteen minutes off the leader, Matt Carpenter of Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon fame. Kyle finished in 7:02:39, eight minutes faster than Carpenter's time last year on the same course. Hal pushed hard early and came into issues late in the race, but still finished in 7:51:44, a respectable eleventh place finish.

Ashlander Jenn Shelton paced her good friend Susannah Beck (from Eugene) for the last twenty miles of the race. Beck finished second in the women's race.

In the 50 Kilometer edition, Ashland's Carly Varner would finish a strong 33rd out of 131 finishers in 6 hours and 38 minutes.

Full North Face race results can be found here.

Just to the east of the business in Marin County another big northern California event was happening. The California International Marathon was taking place. Phoenix's John Leuthold decided to throw his hat back into the marathon arena. He did so with bravado. Clocking a 2:42:15 John ran his fastest marathon ever and came away with second in his age group.

John Leuthold,with obvious post-marathon residual suffering, poses after his marathon finish.

Full CIM results can be found here.

Across the big Pacific Ocean, Bend's Max King, who won the recent Southern Oregon Runners Turkey Trot, was also battling for prestige and prize money. Hawaii was the setting for the inaugural XTERRA Trail Running World Championships. Having won the XTERRA Trail Running National Championships earlier this year in Bend, Oregon, Max was obliged to give the world championships a shot. The 21-kilometer course climbed 3,000 feet; not a fast course. Max was able to hold a six-minute per mile pace on the rugged trails, out distance second place by three minutes and win in a time of 1:18:23. Max collected $2,000 for his efforts and a great Hawaiian vacation.

Photos and results from the XTERRA event can be found here.

It's Official!

We found out this morning that Ashland, Oregon and the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon has become the setting for the 2009 and 2010 USA Track and Field National Trail Marathon Championships!

Mark your calendars now! On November 7th, 2009 we'll all be running with the best in the sport for bragging rights, a gold medal and a chance for prize money. Stay tuned for more information on the entry process and race details.