Joe Schieffer Third Senior

BZ Churchman, the sole Strider woman, eclipsed her own masters 5K best (#4 Alltime) with a 21:11, good enough for 8th in th 40-44 category. Joe Schieffer led a strong seniors team to a second place finish with a blazing 17:37, which was just 14 seconds behind the winner, and the third fastest club senior time ever. Len Goldman (18:27) and Fred Martin (18:49) placed 6th and 13th in the division, while the final team scorer, Bill Brusher, recorded a 19:40. The second place finish behind Hoys bolsters the Seniors team with 18 big points and moves them ahead of WVJS (10 pts for 6th) into second place in the Grand Prix (after dropping low score). The Men's Open team was one of the strongest of the year and put up a good showing, with THREE actual open runners. Jeff Townsend elbowed his way onto the EBS Alltime list (#26) with a 16:25 which placed him 42nd overall. A trio of members came in about a minute later - Michael Singleton (17:31), Craig Whichard (17:32) and John Lehman (17:32) - while Mike Machiorlatti rounded out the scoring team with a sub-18 time.

7/13/03 - Fleet Feet Mile Davis - Masters and Seniors Place Second

The Team! BZ at the 1/2 Mile Mark (lap 1) VIDEO: See BZ Finish (327K mpeg) Masters "A" Heat Lines up for Start

Whether you ran fast or not, it was a great event; much improved over the old Sacramento event. The shaded double-loop course was not only more enjoyable to run, but made spectating much more comfortable -plenty of shaded sidewalks with nearby coffee and food. One could also see the racers go by 4-5 times by jogging the block between the front and back stretch. Races went off about every 10 minutes for nearly 3 hours. Despite the festive environment, the Striders only had a bare-bones team in just the Men's masters and seniors divisions.  BZ Churchman got the club off on the right foot with a new club masters mile record - 5:57.68 - shattering the 9-year old record of 6:21 held by Kazuko Aoyagi. The Seniors heat included four Striders with Fred Martin (59) cranking out a very impressive 5:12.29 for 7th; only a second slower than his senior best, and a full 20 seconds faster than the 60-69 winner (which Fred will race in next year). Brendan O'Neill was right on his tail with a 5:18.19 for 9th place. Bill Brusher (5:32) and Julios Ratti (6:14) completed the team, which finished behind Hoys for second. The Masters team had one more than the required 5-man team. New-member Alan Dehlinger hung with the leaders for about half the race before dropping back a bit. He finished in 6th place with a 4:44.51. Thom Trimble was close behind in 8th with a 4:46.85. Tim Keenan, who had planned to just watch this race less than 3-weeks ago, regained his fitness (plantar fascia injury) and scored a satifying 4:55.35 to place 13th. Fletcher Lesley who also plannned to "jog the B heat" scored a solid 5:02 as our 4th man, while Jeff Teeters rounded out the team, and kept himself in the thick of the Short GP with a 5:06 time (22nd). Mark Piccillo showed that even out of shape he can crank out a 5:13 mile, almost making the "A" team The RACE ... of the DAY had to go to new member Jeff Townsend, who cranked out an amazing 4:40.02 in the Open "B" heat. Jeff hung tight to a small but fast pack through the entire race, recording even 2:20 splits en route! This earns Jeff a spot on the Strider All-Time Mile List (15th).

6/14/03 - A Relay to Remember - Tahoe Relay

On June 14, a group of (mostly) Pacific Striders joined about 85 other teams to take on the tough but beautiful Lake Tahoe Relay, a 72-mile road race around the lake. The team competed in the mixed open division, which requires three women and four men, or vice versa, and runners can be of any age.

Honorary Strider and master David Sloane started off the team at 7 AM from the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe, California, running the 9.6 miles to Zephyr Cove, Nevada, in well under 70 minutes. He came flying into the first checkpoint as his teammates were enjoying a leisurely breakfast at the lodge's restaurant but, fortunately, master Christine Chapon was outside in time to take the "handoff" (a touch of the hand) and begin the tough leg 2, 8.2 miles that includes about 1000 feet of climbing to reach Spooner Summit at over 7000 feet elevation.

After Dave joined his other teammates for a sausage or two, he climbed on his bike and proceeded to ride the remaining 62 miles around the lake, acting as part of the support team with water and mileage readings for the succeeding runners. Christine, who would have to run two legs of the race because of an injury sustained by one of the other Striders who was set to compete, ran up the little "bumps" she didn't consider hard at all, and came into the checkpoint with a good time to handoff to senior Brendan O'Neill. Brendan, who also likes to race bicycles and ride his motorcycle at high rates of speed, zipped through the 10.3 mostly downhill miles of leg 3 like a man on a mission, looking strong at every point. As Brendan finished at the outskirts of Incline Village, the team's youngest member, Jessica Rider, took over and took on leg 4, a grueling 12.3 miles of rolling hills, leading back into California.

By this time it was hot, but Jessica ran a consistent pace, and finished strong with the help of hydration and nutrition supplements delivered en route by Brendan. (We now know what good senior runners have in their bag of tricks.) Jessica handed off outside of Cedar Flat to Christine, for her second stint. Leg 5 was 10.6 miles through Tahoe City, with more rolling hills, giving Christine a total of over 30K for the day. Our lady of iron (she doesn't claim to be a saint) gritted out the final miles after being given misleading and optimistic estimates of the remaining distance by well-meaning onlookers (including, unfortunately, her team captain). Christine finished strong and, while exchanging a few words in French, set loose Bernard Demai, one of the Striders' trail-loving and ultra-running seniors, on a rare jaunt on pavement.

Bernard moved briskly through the 10.5 miles of leg 6, which has some bumps then a mean climb of about almost 600 feet in the last mile and a half. Bringing the team into the last exchange point with a small lead over the Lake Merritt club's senior men's team, our rivals for the day, Bernard handed off to Mark Tipton. Mark chugged around Emerald Bay, climbing up to Eagle Point, then down the switchbacks, avoiding the sideview mirrors of passing Winnebagos. After a hot but mostly downhill 10.5 miles, he brought it home with a kick for a team time of just under 10 hours (9:49), good enough for 26th overall and 6th in the division, just beating out the Lake Merritt ducks. After a short break to erase the memory of how hard they had just run, the team agreed, "Let's do it again next year."

6/8/03 - Dipsea 7.1 Mile
Four Striders, one junior Strider and a gaggle of former EBSers gathered
for the running of the 93rd Dipsea. Perfect weather, cool and overcast,
greeted the runners as they trudged on the treacherous 7.1 mile course
from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach. Because of the weather, times were
extraordinarily fast this year.

Leading the Strider pack this year was Jeff Teeters, who because of an
ankle injury earlier in the year, was not able to replicate his
black-shirt winning performance of 2002. Still, Jeff managed to run
58:02, so with a 3-minute handicap was able to place a very respectable
60th.

Next up, and in fine form was Bernard Demai. Bernard has also been
battling injury the past several months, but some dedicated hill
training in the spring got him through. Bernard scored a top-100 finish
at 98th and ran 64:49. He had an 8-minute handicap.

Eric Ellisen followed, in his twelfth Dipsea effort. Eric tried an
alternate route this year that potentially cost him several seconds and
a few places, but still ran 60:00 with a 2 minute handicap for 126th
place. (Eric notes that next year, he gets an extra minute, so watch
out!)

Following Eric at #538, was Dat-Fay Lok, who turned in an 84:39 with 5
handicap minutes.

Perhaps the strongest showing of the day came from Ryan Lok, who we hope
is able to join the Striders one day. Ryan, at age 12, ran a lightning
fast 64:22 so with 3 handicap minutes he was able to cruise to a 111th
place finish in his second tour of the course.

It is worth mentioning that three former Striders also turned in stellar
performances in the race. Kate Van Fossen, in her first invitational
Dipsea, just missed out on a black shirt and finished 36th in a time of
60:40. Right behind her in 37th was perennial black shirt winner Amber
Randall, who just missed the black this year, but still ran a very fast
60:43. George Forman also ran well on Sunday and maintained his
invitational status by running a 73:24 to finish 271st.

Congratulations to all the Strider finishers and see you out on the
course again next spring.

6/1/03 - Pacific Striders Division Winners at Lake Chabot.

This year's Lake Chabot Trail Challenge had a good turnout of Pacific Striders with wins in the masters and seniors events. Jeff Teeters placed third overall and first master in the challenging half marathon in 1:26:33. Fred Martin handily won the seniors division in 1:37:26 while Bz Churchman was second woman overall and first master in the 5k with (21:56).

The temperature was somewhat hotter than previous years making times slower this year. Jeff was lucky to win the masters because Aaron Pierson (who ran a 33:24 10k last week and recently turned 40) was also in the race. Fortunately for Jeff, Aaron was using most of the race as a training run in preparation for a marathon in Hawaii later in the month. Aaron, finished only 30 seconds behind Jeff and was closing in the final miles. Fred Martin, ran 1:37:26 to win the 55-59 division. Fred's race was especially impressive because he is only one birthday shy of 60, yet finished ahead of everyone over 50 (and all but one 45-49er), including Dan Anderson (51) - another top runner - whom Fred passed in final part of the race. Joe Schieffer (1:40:33) was second 50-54. New Pacific Striders member, Chris Beker ran 1:31:35 for second in the Male 30-34. Chris could be a big help for the open team. Ultra runner Miles Welze turned in a respectable 1:40:42 and Mark Tipton set a new PR on the course in 1:42:50. Michael Plummer ran 1:48:07 (4th M 45-49), just ahead of Jeff Greve (1:50:48) Julios Ratti 1:57:33, Clem Choy (1:59:38) Malcom Scotchler 2:23:40 rounded out the Strider contingent.

In the 5K, Strider veteran Marty Beene is back from a near-2-year layoff due to injury with a very satisfying 21:34.0 to place 5th in his first masters effort.

05/26/03 - Pacific Sun 10K

In the largest club turnout since the1993 (Houlihans 12K -31 Striders), the Pacific Striders (PS) were able to flood the field with over two-dozen spiffily-attired racers.  These new singlets, which had arrived only days before were handed out by club Prez Thom Trimble as though they were free. Most of the members present were able to snap up these designer-coveted tops for a mere $20.

Leading the charge for the 2nd place masters team was Nestor Ayala in 33:17. This was Nestor's first racefor PS since injuring himself shortly after Cal 10. A dozen other Strider masters battled for the remaining four "A" team spots. Thom Trimble, Jeff Teeters, John Lehman and Craig Whichard were the winners of this battle. John Lehman surprized everone but himself in knock off 2 1/2 minutes from his HP 10K time (35:31 vs 38:00 !) Craig continued his streak of scoring on every masters "A team this year.

The seniors team was again very strong, with the top three guys in the low-38s. Len Goldman (38:01) led the charge, with Joe Shieffer and Fred Martin just behind.  Jim Granahan held down the fourth-man duties by holding off Doug Butt. Doug led the "B" team along with Bill Brusher, Brendan O'Neill and Julios Ratti.

The Open "A" team was likely the best we have had in years. Chris Becker, the only under-40 man on that squad recorded a 36:13 to lead the young-uns. New-member Joseph Angula was inches behind in the same time, while injured-reserve Gerry Valverde was only another 5-seconds back New Daddy Chatham Ross ran on little sleep to take the #4 spot, while Mike Maguire recovered from a late start (forgot his bib!) to sneak under 37 minutes also.

The Open "B" team was lead by another recently injured masters star - Fletcher Lesley in 37:19. Ultraman Alain Boutefeu and PR-man Mark Tipton grabbed the 2 and 3 spots while the other true open runner, Tom Emerick, and Mike Plummer completed the team.

05/18 - Striders Tackle Tilden Tough Ten
Members of the Pacific Striders found a beautiful morning as they arrived in Tilden Park in Berkeley with almost 300 other runners for the Tilden Tough Ten on May 18. The ten-mile race is sponsored by Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders and directed by our very own Len Goldman. This year’s edition saw mild, sunny weather, a change from last year’s rain and the scorching temperatures of the 2001 running. A three-time overall winner of this race, Jeff Teeters is recovering from injury this year, but still managed to finish 10th overall (3rd master) with a time of 1:02:52. Two of our most versatile Strider masters, Alain Boutefeu and Eric Ellisen, had strong races, finishing 20th and 22nd respectively. Both of these guys have run everything from 5K to 50K in the last year, so this race was on the short end for them. They were followed closely by Fred Martin, one of our speediest seniors, who was the second finisher over 50 (the first over 55). Fred ran sub-seven-minute miles over the hilly course to make it into the top 25 and get the coveted sub-70 t-shirt. Other Strider finishers included Mark Tipton, who sliced over four minutes from his previous best on the course, Julios Ratti, Jeff Greve, and Caryne Mount. In addition, Christine Chapon, giving her feet a break for a change after the Miwok 100K, did a fine job of handing out t-shirts.

4/27/03........BIG SUR! Surfs Up for Pacific Striders! Stopping midway through the amazingly scenic News Channel 46 5K the amazingly attractive and talented, yet modest, Pacific Strider team posed for a delightful photo shoot while trampling the endangered, yet amazingly-weed-like, Big Sur ice plant.

Despite giving up valuable time to accommodate this shoot (except for Bill "8 AM Start" Brusher) the masters team was still able to oust the evil yellow-clad Hoy's masters. We will not discuss what their seniors team did to us however.   As we watched the Aggie masters run away from us like it really mattered, we discussed the absurdity of the fact that no one has actually ever called this race the "NEWS CHANNEL 46" 5K....ever! Thom Trimble, decked out in the bourgeois pink bib number (which is actually never worn as a bib...ever!) third from the right, was the top Strider dog of the day, placing 4th in the masters category. Fletcher Lesley, sporting the proletariat white bib in the center, held off Craig "I wish I had a pink number" Whichard for the #2 team spot. Jeff Teeters, who is suspiciously absent in this picture, was last seen holding off the top woman's finisher in taking the fourth scoring spot. Mike Maguire (overdressed in the dark gloves) smiles happily at being the last scoring team member despite consuming mass quantities of cheap red wine and overpriced cannoli the night before. Tim Keenan stands in deference behind Mike, grimacing in pain due to his bum foot and muttering that he will take Mike D..O..W..N...by Pac Sun. Tim has recently been slowed by his other arch-nemesis, plantar fasciaitus (pun intended). Mark Tipton, the tallest of the Striders (not counting Jeff Teeters, who is still not here), stands in the back center enjoying his second PR effort of the month and his total domination of Mike Plummer (not shown, along with Jeff Teeters). Mike was still cursing the fact he didn't order the creme brulee' for desert the night before. Jeff Greve standing on the far left, who helped support the undermanned yet proud Open team, tries hard not to break out in a smile at the fact he is in such cool company as these Pacific Strider studs. The Senior scoring foursome was led by Brendan O'Neill, who has yet to summon the courage to be seen with his new team. Julios Ratti, disguised in the Cal-Trans-fashion-statement alert orange cap and white opera gloves (with pinkies extended you will note!), was the #2 guy ahead of John Monteverdi, who is actually cut and pasted into this picture on the far right. John has dropped Julios as his top team nemesis and signed on Mary Lothrop who he crushed by a full four seconds despite having drank most of the Cabernet the night before! Bill Brusher cowers in the way-back (admiring Julios' cap), hoping no one will chastise him for starting the race over 6 minutes late and finishing behind the first 70-year-old woman - Myra Rhodes. Bill vowed to destroy her at the upcoming Zippy's race, if she dares show for the rematch!

4/13/03 - HP 10K Rains on Striders

Jeff Fletcher John

The rain let up just in time for the start of the HP 10K in Cupertino. The newly renamed Pacific Striders were hoping to take advantage of both the weather and the fast course. Fifteen members started, but unfortunately, only thirteen finished. Chatham Ross (back strain) and Gerry Valverdi (hamstring) both pulled out midway through the two-loop course. Fortunately, we had a few reserves to count on to fill out the masters team. The 40+ squad was led by new Pacific Striders' President Thom Trimble in 34:24, followed by the club VP, Fletcher Lesley, in 35:12. Thom's time, although 40 seconds slower than last year, was good enough to earn 7th in the masters category. Fletcher picked up some hardware for 3rd in the 45-49 division. The team was completed by still-injuured Jeff Teeters' solid 35:49. Craig Whichard continued his 4-race string of placing on the team (the only member to do so!) by shadowing Jeff into the chute with a 35:52. John Lehman provided the much-needed 5th man support with a 38 flat. No one was too happy with the slow times, which seem to plague most of the field for some reason. No one, that is, except Mark Tipton who recorded his 10K PR of 39:39 as the teams 6th man. Mike Plummer was close behind in 39:52. The Seniors were once again led by Joe Schieffer, who placed 5th in that division, with a 37:30.   Len Goldman outlegged teammate Fred Martin, 39:01 to 39:33 to grab 4th and 5th in the 55-59 division. Fred, who turns 60 later this year, would have easily won the super-seniors division. Julios Ratti (43:08)outran David Weamer (43:57) to earn the 4th and final scoring spot on the team, which was unofficially 3rd behind Hoys and WVJS. David placed 6th in the 60+ division. Thom Trimble 7th Master Joe Schieffer 5th Senior David Weamer 6th Super Senior Julios Ratti

3/8/03 - NorCal 10 Mile - BAMMERS Limp to Second

It was the antithesis of Cal 10. Despite being nearly 200 miles from home, the NorCal 10 Mile was clearly one of the most scenic courses on the Grand Prix. The riverside biketrials proved to be not only infinitely more beautiful than the Cal 10 plowed fields, but the rolling and curving course never let one see more than a few hundred meters ahead at one time. Perfect partly cloudy weather in the 50s also added to the enjoyment of the race.

Most teams found it hard to bring all of their horses, or at least healthy ones, and EBS/WVTC was no exception. With Nestor Ayala and Tim Keenan sidelined with injury, the burden of scoring a full masters team lay with injured Jeff Teeters (sore ankle), and under-the-weather Mauricio Maia (bad cold). Thom Trimble, Craig Whichard and Gerry Valverdi were surprised to find a healthy Chatham Ross at the start. The Seniors team also fell together more by fate than planning as Jim Granahan and Julios Ratti were joined by super-senior Dave Weamer to form a 3-man team.

The 300-person race started westbound on the south side of the river, down a somewhat narrow biketrail (15' wide). The first 3 miles were relatively flat with a few mild rolls. The course then crossed to the north side of the river over a beautiful bridge and headed back east. This is where things got tougher. Not only did the course begin to wind back and forth, but roller-coaster-like hills were thrown in through miles 4 and 5. One good hill around the 4 mile mark dashed most runners hopes of matching their Cal 10 time. A flat mile through a residential area gave the field a breather before it headed back on the same course to the finish.

Thom Trimble led the masters team with a 57:10 time, good enough for 6th in that division. Gerry Valverdi ran stride for stride with Thom through about 4 miles before dropping back. He was later joined by Craig Whichard and Chatham Ross as they finished in a pack around 59:10. The hobbled duo of Mauricio Maia and Jeff Teeters worked together to ensure a decent 5th-man time as they both finished in just over an hour. The team settled for second after Hoys dropped down their top two seniors. The Ags finished 3rd with River City and Fleet Feet in 4th and 5th.

The seniors team included Jim Granahan who took 12th in his division with a 67 minute effort. Julios Ratti was less than a minute behind and actually improved on his Cal 10 performance by over a minute with a 68:12. Dave Weamer placed 8th in the 60+ division with a 79 minute time, rounding out the 3-man team. The Chips won the division by simply having 4 men finish. Hoys was second, with EBS/VTC third.

3/2/03 - Napa Valley Marathon
Steve Freitas and Lion Caldwell were at it again; trying to rewrite the senior marathon recordbook. Back in October 2002 both Steve and Lion cracked the existing senior record held by George Forman at 3:08. Steve running 3:07:32 at Silicon Valley and Lion recording a 3:07:47 at the Dublin Marathon.

This time they were facing off head to head at 25th Annual Napa Valley Marathon, and it went down to the wire. Steve "outsprinted" Lion to the line by a mere 39 seconds in a new club record of 3:03:52, good enough for 3rd in the 50-54 division. Lion again grabbed the #2 EBS time and 4th in that division with a 3:04:31. full results

12/8/02 - California International Marathon

Tim Keenan Miles Welze Steve Freitas Julios Ratti

Under near-perfect weather conditions the EBS/WVTC trio of Jeff Teeters, Thom Trimble and Tim Keenan did what they needed to grab the PAUSATF marathon team title. By about five minutes they were able to defeat the Hoys-Excelesior team, which never seems to give up easily. With the 30K team champion Aggies taking this race off in preparation for the XC Nationals the title was up for grabs between Hoys and us. Thom and Jeff took it out hard early, hanging with not only the lead women, but the top two Hoys masters - Tim O'Rourke and Lloyd Stephenson. Each mile was hit in exactly 5:48 through 8 miles. The headwind of 2001 was clearly taking the year off as we passed 10 miles in 58:20 and the half marathon in 1:17 flat. We found ourselves nearly alone at that point, and just a bit worried about the fast pace. Tim Keenan took a more cautious approach hanging back with 6:10 miles. Unlike his teammates, Tim found company hard to come buy as he ran much of the race by himself. Tim clocked a well-paced 1:20 for the half marathon, and aside from a blister on his toe was in good shape. Further back were three other BAMMERS who would make up our Open team: Steve Freitas, who was just off a 3:07 senior club record at Silicon Valley and looking to top that time. Miles Welze, an ultra guy out for a short run on unusually flat terrain, was clicking off 7-minute miles for the first half; and Julios Ratti looking to improve upon his painful 30K effort (4:06) a few weeks ago with a more respectable time. Around 18 miles the wheels on the Thom & Jeff express started to come off. Despite hitting the last few miles around 6-flat pace, Jeff excused himself around 18 miles and proceeded to "eliminate his stomach problems". Thom struggled ahead slowing every mile. His 20-mile split of 1:58:50 was the last of the sub-6's as his quads slowly turned to stone. 6:30....7:00..and slower. Jeff caught and passed the laboring Trimble with a friendly "I'm baack". Tim faired a little better on the second half and closed the gap on his teammates considerably as he continued to click of 6:15s for the late miles. Steve saw his sub-3 hr hopes fade away as he began to fade late, while Miles pulled back on the reigns from his 1:33 half time to avoid any late-race crashing. Jeff took one more late-race heave before crossing the line in 2:40 as Thom struggled in at near 8-munte pace for the final two miles (2:43). Tim was right behind with a solid final team time of 2:45. Miles recorded a 3:13 just ahead of Steve's 3:15. Julios knocked 20 minutes off his 30K time with a 3:45. The Hoys team kept things close with a 2:37, 2:47 and 2:50 to fall only 5 minutes short of catching us. No other masters team was close. The EBS/WVTC "open" team appear to finish about 6th or 7th place.

The cool, breezy and somewhat rainy day was conducive to some fast times, especially those who worked in packs on the outbound-headwind portion of the course. Heavy rains pelted the field around the halfway point but the return tailwind more than made up for the early punishment.

Thom Trimble led the 40's team with an evenly paced 1:49:45 (55:00 out and 54:45 back). This was good enough to earn 4th master and 14th overall. Jeff Teeters hung close for most of the race and placed 6th in a time of 1:51:32. Mauricio Maia and Tim Keenan worked together for most of the race to ensure a quality #3 time. Mauricio stepping across the line just ahead of Tim - 1:54:03 to 1:54:04. With only three required for a team, Tim led the "Open" (masters "B"?) team with support from Mark Tipton and Mike Plummer.

The Seniors team was essentially ultra guys looking for some speed. The team was led by 4th place finisher Joe Schieffer in a time of 2:03:20. Lion Caldwell was close behind in 8th place in 2:010:01. Clem Choy was the final scoring member in a time of 2:22:57. Julios Ratti finished as the fourth club senior. Unofficially the seniors appear to finish in 2nd place, less than a minute up on the Chips, but behind Hoys. This puts EBS/WVTC 1 point ahead of the Chips for 3rd in the Grand Prix (112 to 111), with CIM to go!

After defeating the rival Hoys-Excelsior team at Paso Robles by a mere one second, the Men of BAM found destiny smiling on the Hoy's side of the Bay at the Humboldt Half Marathon. After grabbing 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th in the masters division, all the team needed was for their fifth man to come in under 90 minutes to claim victory. On most any day, this would be a literal walk in the park for Fletcher Lesley, the #5 guy for EBS/WVTC at the turnaround.