Where's Waldo 100 Kilometer Ultramarathon - USA Track and Field's 100K National Trail Championships

Rogue Valley Runner Neil Olsen wins Waldo!

Last year he took a wrong turn. This year he didn't. Bound and determined to rectify last year's misfortune, Neil Olsen ran like the wind and captured both the overall and masters titles at the 2008 USA Track and Field 100 Kilometer National Trail Championships.

Runners line up for a dark start.

Set in the idyllic central Cascade mountains of central Oregon, the Where's Waldo 100 Kilometer Ultramarathon hosted the USATF Championships. More than 110 runners toed the line at the start/finish area at Willamette Pass. 83 would finish on a day that brought very warm, mid-80 degree temperatures. Over the course of those miles runners would gain a total of 11,000 feet.

The view from the start/finish line.

In dramatic fashion, with roughly two miles to go, Central Point's Neil Olsen passed then race leader Nate McDowell (from Los Alamos, NM). Olsen finished in a course record time of 10 hours, 6 minutes and 54 seconds; roughly four minutes ahead of McDowell. He was a man full of emotion at the finish line; he won a difficult, but well deserved National Championship. Congratulations Neil!

Bend's Prudence L'Heureux won the women's title in a time of 11:12:36, 11th overall.

Runners were racing for not only the title of "National Champion" but for a pot of prize money that stood at $3,000.
The loot.

A week after her Crater Lake Marathon win, Jenn Shelton travelled to Waldo to pace and not race. She helped her good friend Tonya Olson (Bend, OR) to the finish line by keeping her company over the last 31 miles of the race.


Ashland's Rob Cain not only finished 33rd in 13:35:46, but he also took home the coveted "Show Us Your Waldo Award" for his perfect Waldo impersonation.


Rogue Valley Runner Ian Torrence finished 8th overall in a time of 10:51:30.

Full race results can be found here.

Special thanks to Richard Bolt, Oregon's USATF Mountain, Ultra and Trail Coordinator, for providing the photography.

Crater Lake Marathon

She's been recently quoted as saying something along these lines, "I'm outta shape. I'm not as fast as I used to be." Though these self-proclaimed accusations may be true to some degree in her own mind; she's still got spunk, talent, speed and desire. This past weekend Ashland, Oregon's Jenn Shelton rocked the Crater Lake Marathon. She won the woman's race, placed 6th overall and set a new ladies course record. She blazed the course in 3:15:01, more than three minutes faster than any other woman has before. Not too shabby for an "outta shape and slow" runner. Congratulations on some awesome running Jenn! Want to know more about Jenn? Pick up the September 2008 issue of Runner's World. She's featured in a short profile along with a couple of good pictures.

In the men's race Talent, Oregon's Todd Ragsdale (2006's Crater Lake Marathon winner and 2007's runner-up) was the bride's maid for the second year in a row. Running a 2:57:06, faster than any of his pervious years, Todd placed second to Bend's Sean Meissner. Meissner won the race in 2:55:47.

A full article and results can be found here at the Mailtribune.

The racers with smiles. (left to right) Todd Ragsdale, Jenn Shelton, Sean Meissner

Introducing the New Ladies Group Run

Hey Ladies,

This is the real deal! This THURSDAY will be the first ever women's only group run!

Meet at Rogue Valley Runners in Downtown Ashland, Thursday August 14th at 5:30pm.

Plan for a one hour run at a fairly relaxed pace (about 10 minutes per mile) on some of Ashland's finest trails and back roads. No need to RSVP, but feel free to bring other lady friends (or at least tell them about it). Our hope is to make this an on-going affair.

Ladies attending this first ever event will receive a 15% discount on any merchandise purchased at the store on this special evening.

If you have any questions, call Maria at (928) 380-2615 or email her at mariarclementi@aol.com. Or call the store at (541) 201-0014.

Hope we see you here!

Mt. Ashland Hill Climb-Oh, the glorious pain!

Relentless. A great one-word description for the Mount Ashland Hill Climb (AHC). Start in downtown Ashland at 1,900 feet. End atop Mt. Ashland 13.3 miles later at 7,533 feet. 5,600 vertical feet, more than a mile. Making the AHC one of the toughest hill climbs in the country. 250 folks registered and 147 runners made it to the summit marking the 32nd year of the event. Erik Skaggs, from Ashland, OR wins the men's race in 1:53:01, the second fastest time ever run on the course. Evelyn Dong, from Bend, OR, sets a new women's course record in 2:08:40.

Congratulations to the Rogue Valley Runners crew! Erik Skaggs (1st), John Leuthold (5th), Hal Koerner (6th), Ian Torrence (8th), Todd Ragsdale (14th), Chris Rennaker (20th), Jenn Shelton (2nd woman), Ixel Sanchez (4th woman), Aria Hemphill (5th woman), and Katy Stienmetz (who vows to enter the competitive division next year).

Also, congratulations and a hearty "nice work" goes out to all of our Rogue Valley fellow runners and volunteers! Full results can be found here.

Let's look at some photos!!! Thanks to Aaron Brian (from Bull Gap) and Carly Varner (from the Lodge and the finish line) for their photos.

Without all the volunteers this awesome event would never happen! Here Eric Poole helps a runner at the Bull Gap Aid Station.

Erik Skaggs blazes through Bull Gap (mile 11.3) on his way to the win in 1:53:01! The second fastest time ever run!

Bridge the Gap race director, Chuck Whitely, speeds through Bull Gap.

Ixel Sanchez gets help from Poole at the Bull Gap Aid Station.

Jenn Shelton, the second women's finisher, works hard to catch early starter Bob Holtel.

Chris Rennaker puts his side stitch to rest and runs through Bull Gap.

Hal Koerner, 2006's AHC winner and 2007's runner-up, looks up from "The Lodge" to see how far ahead his Pear Blossom rival, John Leuthold, is.

Knocking six minutes off last year's time, Ian Torrence moves past the last aid station enroute to the summit and finish circle.

A good idea of what it looks like as you leave the last aid station and begin the final grueling ascent of the Mt. Ashland summit cone. Here, Torrence watches as Koerner slips away.

The crazy lot of 'em. (l to r) Aaron Reed, Erik Skaggs, Jenn Shelton, Hal Koerner, Todd Ragsdale, Ian Torrence, and Joe Griffin enjoy post race festivities.

Lithia Loop Marathon Application, Course Map and Elevation Profile

Here it is folks! What you've all been waiting for; the entry application for the Lithia Loop Trail Marathon! Print it off and send it in. Here's another view of the course and a good look at the course's elevation profile; 4,300 feet of gain.

Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Needs Volunteers

The Mt. Ashland Hillclimb is set for Saturday August 2nd. It is Ashland Woodlands and Trails Association's main fundraiser for the year and is a major reason why they are able to function without collecting dues. Last year they received over $2,000 from this event.

Every year since AWTA's involvement the Hillclimb has grown in size. Starting this year they've capped attendance at 250, a doubling of entries in two years. Although they're needs for volunteers hasn't doubled it has certainly grown. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

They're main needs are at the start (near the Plaza in Lithia Park) at 6:00 am, at the finish (top of Mt. Ashland!) at 9:00 am and at Mt. Ashland Lodge at 9:00 am. They also desperately need a couple of drivers with large capacity cars/mini vans,etc. that could shuttle runners down to the Lodge from the top of MT. Ashland. (They'd provide some funds for gas!) In total they need between 15 and 20 people.

If you could help out please email Rob Cain at robrcain@yahoo.com with any specific requests and questions.

Records Tumble at Siskiyou OutBack

SOB's Start/Finish Line

Skaggs leads King early in the race.

A week out from the Olympic Trials held in Eugene, Oregon, Max King traveled south for some long distance training, or, ah, er, um, racing. But he wasn't alone. In the wind tunnel he formed high along the Pacific Crest Trail near the Oregon/California border, several other runners took advantage of a fast field to post some of the most spectacular racing S.O.B. has ever seen.
King pauses for refreshments.

King, 28, set a new course record in 3:42:36. King ran the first half of the race with Ashlander, Erik Skaggs, who also bettered the old course record, set by Erik Solof in 2005, by posting a 3:47:23. Hal Koerner, also of Ashland and the owner of Rogue Valley Runners, turned in a fantastic third place finish, also under the old course record, by crossing the finishing tape below Mount Ashland's summit in 3:58:46.
Erik Skaggs, "Where's the ice!"

Women's winner Kami Semick.

In the women's race, Kami Semik,42, of Bend, Oregon, lopped a huge chunk of time off (almost 13 minutes) Meghan Arbogast's course record by finishing sixth overall in 4:11:53. Darla Brader, also of Bend, and Jenn Shelton, of Ashland battled it out for second. Brader out distanced Shelton by six minutes by the end.
Jenn Shelton leads Brian McGuire.

In the 15K, Chris McIssac, from Olympia, WA, finished first in under an hour in 59:42. Laura Raber, from Eagle Point, OR finished first in the ladies race and 11th overall in 1:14:10.

Todd Ragsdale follows Eric Poole en route to strong 50K finishes.

Though the smoke from the California fires produced a red-orange sunrise and temperatures in the Rogue Valley reached 100 degrees: runners, race staff and volunteers kept their cool. 116 runners finished the 50K and 149 finished the 15K edition. Congratulations to all!
Follow the Train!
"Too Fast" Aria Hemphill in the 15K.

An excellent write up of the event can be found at this Mail Tribune website.

Full results for both the 50K and 15K can be found at the SOB website.

Thanks to Chris Rennaker for the photos.

Siskiyou OutBack 15 Kilometer and 50 Kilometer Trail Run

Eric Poole runs along the SOB course. Photo taken by Denise Barata.

Rogue Valley Runners wants to wish all those running in and volunteering at the Siskiyou OutBack 15K and 50K this weekend a hearty good luck! Have fun on those trails!

Take a look at this excellent pre-race write-up (with photos) in this morning's Mail Tribune.

TITUS VAN RIJN INVITATIONAL ONE-HOUR DISTANCE CLASSIC AND OTHER NEWS

What kind of invitational is it? Just an informal one-hour track run held at your local track during the month of June. How far can you run in one hour? Here's a list of records (World, American and Titus Van Rijn Invite):

ONE-HOUR TRACK RECORDS
World, women: 18,517 meters (~11.5 miles)
Dire Tune (Eth), Ostrava, Czeh Republic 6/11/08
World, men: 21,285m (~13.2 miles)
Haile Gebrselassie (Eth), Ostrava, Czech Republic 6/27/07

U.S., women: 17,273m (~10.7 miles)
Nancy Conz, Amherst, MA 6/25/81
U.S., men: 20,547m (~12.8 miles)
Bill Rodgers (GBTC), Boston, MA 8/9/77

TVR, women: 12,800m (~7.96 miles)
Kate Jennings (WA), Winthrop, WA 6/2/2007
TVR, men: 18,115m (~11.25 miles)
Greg Crowther (WA), Seattle, WA 5/27/2006

More locally, here's how it panned out here in Ashland at the Southern Oregon University Stadium Track on 6/22/08:
Trevor Palmer, 24, Central Point, OR - 17,300 meters
JJ Moses, 25, Rogue River, OR - 16,495 meters
Bob Julian, 40, Medford, OR - 16,495 meters
John Leuthold, 40, Phoenix, OR - 15,800 meters
Neil Olsen, 40, Central Point - 15,036 meters
Ian Torrence, 35, Ashland, OR - 15,036 meters
Maria Clementi, 26, Ashland, OR - 10,460 meters

We'd be remiss if we didn't talk about some of the local races that have occurred in southern Oregon in the past few weeks. We'll work from most recent...

The Longest Day Run

An awesome, flat and fast run on the longest day (6/21/08) of the year along the Bear Creek Greenway. Held in the evening at Railroad Park in Medford, OR. Rogue River's JJ Moses started from the back of the chase pack and picked his way through the field to out-distance himself from some of the area's talented high school runners in 16:22. Phoenix's John Leuthold runs away with the master's race finishing 3rd overall in 16:48. Visitng from out of town, Danielle Jordan wins the women's race in 19:36. Susan Holt, like Leuthold, finishes third overall in 20:28 and wins the ladies' masters race. Go HERE for full results.

Evans Valley Duathlon

One June 14th, a group of southern Oregonians and RVR favorites took their running talents and added the bicycle for this event in individual and relay format. A great inspirational story and full results can be found HERE.

Granite Man Mountain Race

June 7th, 2008. Held at Applegate Lake (west of Ashland and Medford deep in the Siskiyou Mountains). Roughly 11.5 miles of single track running and racing. 1,500 feet of gain in the first two miles to the summit of Collins Mountain. Followed by a sweet ridge line run with views of Grayback Mountain (still snow covered) and the Carberry Valley. Then a knee jarring descent back to the lake. The last four miles sweep along the lake shore on the Da-Ku-Be-Te-De Trail. Being part of the new USATF Oregon Mountain Running Series brought out some deeper competition than last year's first running of the event.

Erik Skaggs, of Ashland, fought off surges from Portland's Richard Bolt to win in a new course record in 1:14:04. Jenn Shelton, also from Ashland, won the women's race handedly in 1:28:47 (also a new course record). A full race report can be found on La Sportiva's mountain running website, here. Full results can be found HERE. Photos of the race are HERE.

Good enough on race reports. How about what's coming up?

Five Rogue Valley Favorites are headed to northern California and theWestern States 100 Miler this weekend. Billed as the most prestigious 100 mile ultramarathon in the country, 400 runners will be pitted against altitude, snow, temperatures in the upper 90's, river crossings, sunburn, blisters, dehydration, cramps, spasms, the biggest "bonks" of their life and 100 miles of the roughest, rockiest and dustiest trails they've ever seen.

Let's give it up for Rogue Valley Runner's owner, Mr. Hal Koerner, last year's Western States winner and defending champion, Ashland's Jenn Shelton, who ran her last 100 mile race (Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler in TX) in 14:57, and Central Point's Neil Olsen, vying for the master's record at Western States this year. Rob Cain, has spent quality vacation time heat training in the Grand Canyon (AZ), Mt. Diablo (CA) and along the Rogue River Trail (OR) in preparation for the race. Tom Pelsor, from Yreka, CA, is merely using Western States as his first race of four in order to complete the Grand Slam of Ultramarathoning. Watch how they progress through the day(s) on the Western States Run Webcast, which will post up-to-the-hour updates on all of the runners. Follow them on race day, this Saturday, June 28th-29th, 2008. Good luck you all!

Phew! And now, like Jon Stewart says, for your "Moment of Zen"...
Mount McLoughlin from Howard Prairie Lake (photo taken by Ian Torrence).

Tar N' Trail T-Shirts

Okay, okay we know. It's June and the Tar N' Trail happened in March. But some of you never got a TNT shirt (our fault). Well, we finally have the remaining shirts here, logo'ed and ready for you. So, for those of you who didn't get shirts on race day, please stop by and pick yours up. Thanks everyone!

Lithia Loop Trail Marathon Announcement

Well folks, it's "a go!" With word from the US Forest Service and the City of Ashland, Rogue Valley Runners finds itself with another great course for the masses. Set for November 8th, 2008...A very challenging 26.2 mile (trail and fireroad) loop through the Ashland watershed. The course travels uphill on our infamous 2060 road from downtown Ashland to Horn Gap where it'll crest and roll on to Four Corners and back downhill to Ashland on the Caterpillar, Alice in Wonderland and BTI Trails. We'll be limited to the first 100 entrants. Stay tuned for more information and race applications. Meanwhile, here's a course map to whet your appetite:

RVR in the News and Forest Park 50K

Photo courtesy of the Ashland Daily Tidings.

A great write up about Hal Koerner and Rogue Valley Runners in today's Ashland Daily Tidings.

Check it out here!

This past weekend several RVR runners traveled north to Portland to run in the Forest Park 50 Kilometer Trail Run. So they did run...through rain, mud and misdirection (course markings were vandalized). Congratulations to both Chris Rennaker (who finished third overall in 4:29:28) and Carly Varner (finished 7th woman, 24th overall in 5:48:46).

Rennaker kicks it!

Flying Varner!

Photos courtesy of Glenn Tachiyama

Full Belly 5K

This past weekend 45 runners lined up to support Access, Inc., a organization that distributes food to those in need throughout the Rogue Valley. Fifteen more people ran the Full Belly this year than last. The course started and finished on the Southern Oregon University track, sped through the local neighborhoods and along the bike trail.

The top three (from left to right) John Leuthold, JJ Moses, Todd Ragsdale.

Finish line refreshments.

Many of the runners agreed that the five kilometer course was a touch short...maybe a quarter mile to 500 meters? But here are the results as they fell:

1. JJ Moses 14:14
2. John Leuthold 14:55
3. Todd Ragsdale 15:04
4. Ian Torrence 15:13
5. Max Hammer 15:31
6. Guy Hakanson 15:37
7. Tommy Hooper 15:39
8. Brian McGuire 15:52
9. Bryon DeVore 16:17
10. Aaron Brian 16:36
11. Ken Loftus 16:47
12. Jon Theiring 16:54
13. Freeborn Mondello 18:06
14. Becky Hacker 18:13
15. Sarah Wilson 18:21
16. Michael Sotos 18:30
17. Dolores Christenson 19:11
18. Tomas Rosa 19:33
19. Neil Buettner 19:54
20. Ben Schumacher 20:00
21. Joseph Nelson 20:15
22. Nina Rudd 20:27
23. Maria Clementi 20:28
24. Joe Vaile 20:40
25. Peter McCarville 21:47
26. Rachel Gussin 22:33
27. Emily Dezendorf 23:13
28. Ashley Nunes 23:14
29. Greg Smith 23:33
30. Ali Bickford 23:38
31. Marya Jansen-Gruber 24:04
32. Joelle Alderson 24:43
33. Shelley Calhoun 25:44
34. Joel Calhoun 25:44
35. Timothy Cartwright 26:02
36. Aaron Harleman 26:28
37. Lynn Sullivan 30:46
38. Melissa Merryman 34:46
39. Kaitlyn Bergantino 34:46
40. Jem Rojo 34:51
41. Stephanie Kramer 34:54
42. Kathleen McNeill 40:18
43. Victoria Nickles 40:18
44. Marlys Cartwright 42:44
45. Robert Jansen 42:44

Lots of Racing Going On! Let's Re-Cap...

The past couple of weeks have brought on an onslaught of race results. Lets try and catch-up with some of our local runners!

The start of Bridge the Gap 5K and 10K.

Bridge the Gap 5K and 10K. The race started at Railroad Park in Medford and ran an out and back course on the Bear Creek Bike Path. 115 runners finished the five kilometer race. Justin Loftus won the race in 17:35, while Todd Ragsdale and Brian Mcguire rounded out the top three. In the women's race, Lianna Jenkins crossed the line first in 20:11. She was followed closely by Laura Raber. Sera Judkins finished third.

In the ten kilometer race, Neil Olsen set a blistering early pace and held it to finish first in 34:39. John Leuthold finished second in 35:28. The ladies race was much tighter. Kierra Huggins won in 42:44, only 12 seconds ahead of a quick closing Susan Holt. 57 runners finished the 10K distance.

The Mail Tribune's Photo Gallery has some excellent photos of the race. You can find them here.

Eugene Marathon: A little farther from home and to the north, the second running of the Eugene Marathon was taking place. The Rogue Valley's top finishers were Adam Seibert in 2:51:00 and Dorsey Dobry in 3:17:08. We'd be remiss, however, not to mention a Rogue Valley Runners Wednesday night regular, Maria Clementi, who finished in 3:43:52, her first marathon...not a bad debut. Congratulations to all our Rogue Valley finishers!

Miwok 100 Kilometer Trail Race: Not to be outdone by the marathon distance, several locals traveled south to the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco to challenge themselves on 62 miles of trails and fire roads that weave along the coast. Rob Cain, from Ashland, finished in 10:56:54, first in the 50 and over age bracket. John Price was our second local in 11:04:15. Other Rogue Vallley favorites included Anne Crispino-Taylor, Erin Keller and Tom Pelsor.

Miwok's course profile.

This past weekend race results continued to flow in.

MacDonald Forest 50K. Neil Olsen, from Central Point, finished fourth overall in 4:16:47. Here's what he had to say about the competition and his race.

"The course was dry, and the weather was mild and perfect. But Todd wasn't very tired, Dan looked great, and I either haven't been training enough, or too much.

I didn't want them to gap me too badly, hoping to catch them if they slowed, so I went out significantly faster than usual. I covered the first 8 miles in under 7 min pace, and that was even with the first good hill climb. My GPS watch showed 5:30/mi pace for some of the down-hill sections. There were more steep uphill sections in the "maze" single-track than I remember. So I was ~8 min behind them at 16.5 miles when I left the maze and hit the gravel road up dimple hill. I ran that well, but at the aid station at the top they told me I was now 12 min behind Dan and ~5 behind Todd. I was getting hot-spots on my insteps, so I duct-taped, changed shoes, and refueled. Even including all that, my split over that mile was 7:48. I later found out Scott was 2 min behind me at that point. I tried to bomb the down-hill, but my stomach was complaining about getting 2 s-caps at once. My brother and sister were at the aid station at mile 23, which was a boost, but Scott caught me at about mile 25, 2/3 the way up the "horse trail" which is the last steep climb. I tried to stick with him for awhile, but my hamstrings were doing the thing where they hint at cramping with each step, threatening to cramp more. I caught him back on the gravel road, but shortly after the last aid station on the last gradual uphill he left me behind for good and finished almost 4 min ahead of me. After I threw-up I felt better, and I cruised in about 18 min ahead of the 5th place finisher.

Dan Olmstead finished about 3:56, which if you consider this year's course being 0.2 mi longer than last years, is about the same pace as Todd's record. With 6,700' elevation gain, I'm going to have to learn how to levitate up hills to go faster than that. Todd was about 4:01. Scott was about 4:13. I didn't ask him whether he had run hard the day before, which he has done some years. I was 4:16, which was 11 min slower than last year :-( . Now I wish I started keeping a training log sooner so I could go back and check for differences. William Emerson's masters record may have been in a year when the course was muddier or harder, but I was 7 min faster than it this year."

Neil Olsen smiles at the MacDonald Forest 50K. photo courtesy of Jasmine Nahorniak

Other locals included: Aaron Brian, from Ashland, who finished his first ultramarathon in 5:59:43. Congrats Aaron! Ben Benjamin and Jinny Brown also finished MacDonald Forest.

Tough As Nails: More locally, over on Roxy Anne Peak, 66 runners tackled either the 5K or 10 mile trail races. Lots of new course records were set. Erik Skaggs won and broke the one hour barrier in the ten mile race, the first person to ever do so. His time, 56:21. John Leuthold, Todd Ragsdale, Chris Rennaker and Jeremy Eisen provided an ample chase pack. Maggie Donovan set a new course record in winning the women's race in 1:15:51. In the 5K race Joe Griffin won and set a new 5K record in 18:19. Laura Raber won the women's race in 19:53, also a new course record.

Tough as Nails photos by Andy Atkinson can be found on the Mail Tribune Photo Gallery, by going here.

Quicksilver 50 Mile and 50 Kilometer Endurance Runs: Ashlanders, Eric Poole and Ian Torrence, traveled south of San Jose, CA for the Quicksilver, an ultramarathon race that's been around since 1984.

Looking across of some of the scenery on the Quicksilver course.

Eric Poole on his way to a strong finish at the Quicksilver 50K. photo courtesy of Chihping Fu

In the largest field ever assembled for Quicksilver, Eric placed fourth out of 96 runners in the 50 kilometer race in 4:17:31. Ian placed third out of 80 runners in the 50 mile race in 7:19:18.

Altitude profile of the Quicksilver course.

Races Waiting For You!!! The Siskiyou OutBack and The Full Belly

Just a note to those aspiring to challenge themselves in some quality races in the near future.

The Siskiyou OutBack 50 and 15 Kilometer Trail Runs are quickly sneaking up on us. The tenth anniversary of the race will be held on July 12th. That's really not that too long from now...especially with how fast these races are filling. The races start up on Mount Ashland and take an awesome stroll along the Pacific Crest Trail and back. The quota for the 50K race will probably meet it's limit in a week or so. BUT for those who are a little more sane, but still want to experience the fun, the 15K version of the race has plenty of room! The race web site is here. To register for the 15K you must do so on Active.com. The race directors can be contacted at: sob@siskiyououtback.com

Here's another great opportunity to head out and support something important while working up a sweat. The Full Belly 5K Run takes place on Saturday May 17th at 8:30am at the Southern Oregon University Raider Stadium. The race will benefit Access, Inc, an organization that feeds the hungry locally in Jackson County. Every dollar donated to Access can provide six pounds of food, helping local people in need. Entries can be found at Rogue Valley Runners or at the SOU Involvement Center on SOU's campus. For information contact: Cerissa at (541) 552-6454 or at vista@sou.edu

Now, let's get out there and support our local running scene!

Taking That Leap

Well we have some bad news and we have some good news.

I just hate saying that, but I couldn't find any better words to describe the departure of one of our longest standing employees. Darcy, whom many of you know, moved up here from the bay area in 2006 is moving back to her old stomping grounds later next week.
She let us know that she wanted to follow some of her lifelong goals and pick up on a lot of what she left off on when she came up here. Notablely, her passion for triathalons and personal training. Anyone who knows her knows that she loves both areas of fitness and the comereaderie that comes with it. She has been a wealth of knowledge for our customers and those she met in Ashland. She will undoubtably continue to inspire people wherever she goes.



We are sad to see her leaving, but we know she'll be back to visit the area this summer. So Please stop by this week to bid her a fond farewell, and to see what she'll be up to, or just to wish her luck at her next Ironman.

Thanks for everthing Darcy, we're gonna miss you!

Catching up!

Well I thought this was rather appropriate considering the time that has past since the Joe King post. And congratulations again Joe, there are a miniscule amount of folks that can claim to be a world record holder at anything.

We made it through pear "32" in one piece, placing 3 or was that 4 Rogue Valley Runners in the top ten. Eric Skaggs took home top honors as the 1st Rogue Valley resident in 55:36 good enough for 4th place overall while Neil Olsen just took it all in stride to capture 7th place with a smoking 56:08. Hal Koerner and John Leuthold dug deep to finish in 57:00 with Hal crossing the line just behind John but in front of the chip time. How does that work? We may never know. Everyone will be glad to know that it hasn't stopped John from trash talking or from filing an appeal with the race management. Sorry John, but we had to out you.



Store employees Chris Rennaker (102:24), Ixel Sanchez(1:10:32), Ian Torrence (59:26), and Carly Varner (1:24:55) also completed the ten mile run with some 990 other folks. I must give a shout out to Jerry and Zellah Swartsley for putting on a 1st rate event. It was amazing to see so many people running and walking as well as supporting those on the course. We should have more events like the pear in the valley. A testament to their legacy for sure.

I want to go on the record, for those who haven't made in to the store since the middle of March, by saying that we have not moved down the street. I have watched people walk right by our door and into our second entrance, 1 door down wondering what happened to all the shoes. Well people, we have expanded 1,800 square feet and now have our store primed for running season. With the addition of Nike as well as a number of other vendors we needed to have more room and better dressing rooms for all out running/walking guys and gals. Alas we also have more space for shoe fitting and treadmill acessments. So please drop by and check out the new digs.








There are a few over due posts for later in the week so check back soon and don't forget to keep those feet floating!!!!!!

Pear's Here!

Here's an article in this morning's Mail Tribune about the race and it's top competitors. Two RVR'ers get mentioned!

See the full article HERE.

Joe King Goes to Boston

Joe King at this weekend's USATF Master's Championships.

Central Point's very own Joe King traveled to Boston, Mass last weekend to compete in the USA Track and Field Master's Championships. He had two races on his plate: the one mile and the 800 meters.

Joe finished the mile run on Saturday in 6:56.28. On Sunday he came back stronger in the 800 meters by finishing in 3:07.66.

So what's amazing about that? Well, Joe's 81 years young folks, and his 800 meter time was not only an American Record, but it was also a World Record. Joe broke Rune Bergman's (of Sweden) 1995 time of 3:08.88.

Congratulations Joe! You are an inspiration to us all!