2004

12/21/04 - Strider Masters Champions* of 2004
Season Consistency Gets Us There....Victory at Relay Saves the Day!

In a surprisingly surprising season-ending of surprise finishes, the Strider Masters ended up WINNING the year-end Grand Prix.  The Striders edged the faltering Asics Aggies by a mere 2 points after trailing late in the season by as many as 22 points.  The Striders finished the season with 194 points, two points ahead of the Ags and 3.5 up on Excelsior.  Nine races into the 15-race season the top three places in the masters division looked pretty well set, with the Aggies out front with a perfect 115 points, while the Striders were pulling away from a struggling Excelsior squad 102.5 to 88.5. Tamalpa was a distant, but hopeful, 4th with 76 points. That is when Excelsior made their big move.

With super-master Dan Nelson turning 40, and the addition of Tim Wallen and Craig Steinmaus, the Boys of Yellow (or is that dark blue now?) grabbed the Grand Prix by the neck and shook it. They reeled of four straight wins in the double and triple point races, turning the Strider's 14 point cushion into a mere 1.5 point throw pillow. The Aggie's lead was also shrinking as they performed their usual late-season, hate-that-long-stuff coast to the finish.

After the 30K, with just CIM and the relay remaining, the Aggies still had a double-digit margin over the Striders, with Excelsior right on our heels. The Striders needed to defeat Excelsior at CIM just to hang onto second place. Fortunately, the Striders came out on top of an ugly team race at CIM (see story below) putting 2 points on Excelsior and 18 big points on the teamless Aggies.

It would appear that the Striders had command of the Grand Prix going into the relay - 2.5 pts up on Excelsior and 4 pts up on the Aggies - but that is BEFORE dropping the lowest score. The Ags lowest score was zero, while Excelsior dropped a 7 and the consistent Striders had to drop an 8 pointer (we never finished lower than 3rd). This made the REAL score before the relay Ags 188, Striders 184 and Excelsior 182.5 - a real barn burner!

The Striders, mistakenly thinking they just needed a top-3 finish at the Christmas Relays, got very lucky - it was the Aggies, who just needed a top 4 finish to win it all. Excelsior could also pass the Striders by placing two spots ahead of them. As it turned out, the Striders pulled out a convincing relay win (see story below) to hold off Excelsior, while the Aggies struggled in as 11th masters team (7th PA team).

Masters Grand Prix Team Standings
Meanwhile the Strider Open team had their best season finish in years, scoring in 12 of the 15 races, moving into 4th place after the relay. The open relay team scraped up just enough points to sneak by the idle Aggies. The Senior men struggled through the late long races and settled for third , unable to hold off the three-race winning streak by Tamalpa. Both the masters and senior men scored in all 15 GP races this year.
 
* The Strider masters were initially TIED with the Aggies for the season title, but two team protests registered at the Cal 10 PAUSATF meeting regarding the scoring of the Christmas Relay, resulted in WVTC and the River City Rebels being scored ahead of the Aggies masters team. This bumped the Ags two places and two points, giving the year-end title to the Striders.

Alan hands off to John (leg 2)


Jim tags Bill into Senior's Leg 3

12/12/04 - Christmas Relay
Master Close Out Season with Win, Seniors Second

A dozen Striders showed up at the final race of the 2004 PAUSATF Grand Prix, along with a few non-racing teammates. By the end of the cold blustery day all of them would be the proud owner of limited-edition Christmas Relay mug, not to mention a team title.

The masters team needed just a top-3 finished to lock up the season Grand Prix title, but they would not settle for the bronze on this day. With a solid team effort by members Alan Dehlinger, John Lehman, Damien Curry and Chatham Ross, the team would destroy the masters' field and win by nearly 5 minutes in a time of 1:40:19. Averaging just over 5:30 pace the team held the lead from the opening gun and easily outdistanced runner-up WVJS. Excelsior hung on for third just ahead of Tamalpa. The win earned the team a much-needed 10 GP points and an even more appreciated $225 first prize. The team's time of 1:40:17 was a mere 3 seconds slower than their 2003 time, and 5 seconds off their 2001 time. Strider Christmas Relay Records can be found at http://www.pacificstriders.org/data/records/recordslist.html

The seniors team of Doug Butt, Jim Granahan, Bill Brusher and Phil Murphy outran all in their division except for Tamalpa, in taking second place. Team captain Len Goldman ran for his other favorite club that day - LMJS. The second place finish kept the seniors in 3rd place in the PA Grand Prix.

The open team needed a few points to jump past the Aggies into 4th place for the year-end standings. It appears they did just that with a top five PA placing. The team consisted of Mike Singleton and Thom Trimble fresh off the CIM marathon last week, Chris Becker and new member Steve Whitelam.

192 teams competed.

 

>> Relay photo album <<

 


Steve tags Open Anchor Chris Becker

The Victorious Striders - with their mugs!

Thom - 2:49


Craig - 2:57


Jeff - 2:58


Mike- 3:00

 

 

 12/5/04 - Masters and Seniors Second at CIM

Excellent weather greeted the nine Striders who toed the line at the California International Marathon, the last of the PAUSATF Grand Prix races. The rain and wind forecasted for the area decided to head south and make miserable the runners of the Orange County Marathon, leaving the CIMers with nearly perfect weather, 32 F and barely a breeze.

Both the Strider masters and seniors teams had their work cut out for them at this race. The masters, up on Excelsior by only a 1/2 point for second, needed a win over them to hold onto a season second. The seniors were 1.5 points down on Tamalpa for second with only a glimmer of hope in beating them. The Aggies (masters) and Excelsior (seniors) held big leads in their respective divisions.

Thom Trimble and Jeff Teeters led the way for the team, clicking of 6:06 miles for the first third of the course, trying to keep pace with Excelsior's top two men.  Craig Whichard, the teams #3 master worked with Joe Schieffer early running just under 3 hour pace. Meanwhile Mike Singleton and Marty Beene rode along with the 3 hour pace team, which had gone out a bit too fast. Christine Chapone, the lone female Strider, Julios Rattin and Jim Flanigan were back a bit at about 3:30 pace.

Thom, Jeff and Craig were all on solid pace through the halfway point, and their hopes of winning the masters title rose sharply as Excelsior's #2 man (30K champion) was struggling badly. Thom overtook him at 15 miles while Jeff and Craig passed him a few miles later. This was the good news. The bad news was that Excelsior's #1 man was leading the race and would run to win the masters title in 2:38.

By 20 miles things looked great for the masters as all three men were on their goal pace and putting distance on the 2nd and 3rd Excelsior rivals. That is when things started getting ugly. Jeff continued to struggle and had to make a pit stop. Thom, who was still averaging 6:10 pace, was hampered by a side stitch at 21. Craig, running right at 2:50 effort, found his legs turning to stone at 22. All three would meet the less-happy side of 7 minute pace for their final miles and lose a good 5 minutes off their goal pace.

Joe Sheiffer, who trailed Tamalpa's Ken Grebenstien in the long GP by a few points, was hoping he might overtake him and steal the Long GP title (after already securing the Short GP crown). Joe cruised the race at about 7 minute pace as Grebenstein went on to blaze the course in 2:51 and win the 50+ division.  Joe still hung onto 2nd in the Long GP.

Julios Ratti and Jim Flanigan finished as the seniors teams 2nd and 3rd members, only 3 minutes apart in 3:35 adn 3:38 respectively. Unofficially the team placed second behind Tamalpa.

While the masters team would easily defeat Excelsior, they would later discover that an upstart team from Wednesday Night Laundry would steal the division title by about 3 minutes. Despite this letdown, some unexpected prizes presented themselves to the masters team. To start with, Thom's GP standing jumped from 10th place to 3rd ($100) with his 5th place marathon finish. Likewise Jeff would jump from 7th up to 4th ($50) in the GP. Tim Keenan, who sat out the race in 8th position, hung on to 10th and his comp entries for 2005.  Craig came up just short despite a late-season run, in 11th place for the season.

The biggest news however was that the Striders masters overtook the Aggies for first place in the GP with only the relay remaining. The Aggies led the Striders by an insurmountable 14 pts going into the double-point CIM. However, they were unable to field a complete team and the Striders 18 points for 2nd place moved them into the lead by 4 points. Excelsior also surpassed them into second, 2.5 points behind the Striders.

Joe - 3:03


Marty - 3:12

 


Christine - 3:24


Julios - 3:25

 

 

11/14/04 - Clarksburg 30K


Marty Beene

 

An even 400 runners toed the line for the annual 30K through the delta 30K, otherwise known as Clarksburg. The Striders brought a dozen guys, many using this race as a tune up for the December 5 Cal International marathon. As is usually the case, a few rabbits bolted to the front and the rest of the field took it slow and easy.

The Striders had a deep and fairly solid masters team, a full 4-man senior team, and just enough left over to make a decent open squad. Jeff Teeters, Thom Trimble and Tim Keenan ran stride for stride for most of the race in 4-5-6 placed. Jeff would make a late charge over the last 4 miles to catch 3rd place master Jose Aispuro but would come up just short. His time of 1:53:16 4th place finish, while not good for any cash, did earn him a whopping 146 GP points.  The master's team would have to settle for second behind the 1-2 punch of Excelsiors top men.

Craig Whichard, acting as back-up for the top 3 masters, PRed with a 1:57::56 in leading the Open team. Michael Singleton and Michael Plummer completed that team which took about 4th place. Joe Schieffer clocked a 2:01 in placing 3rd in the 50-59 division. Julios Ratti was second man on the Strider Seniors, a day after helping the XC team win at Crystal Springs. Jim Granahan, just back from the Chicago Marathon and Jim Flanigan finished together to complete the team.
 

 


Tim -6th Master


Thom - 7th Master


Jeff - 8th Master

10/17/04 - Striders Take 2nd at Humboldt
Under rainy skys the Strider Masters' team sloshed to a second place finish in this annual romp through the redwoods. Despite heavy rains the day before, the start and early miles of this years out-and-back course were relatively dry. The rain hit about 20 minutes into the run and then on-and-off the rest of the way. Temperatures were unseasonably warm and muggy due to the rain

Despite going 6-7-8 in the master division, the team was outpointed by Excelsiors 3-4-5 places. Both of our 4th and 5th men were also in the top 15. Tim Keenan led the team with a 1:16:45 running most of the race alone. Thom Trimble and Jeff Teeters worked together for the first 8-9 miles and grabbed the 2nd and 3rd team spots in 1:17:36 and 1:18:48. Craig Whichard was another minute behind in 1:20, while Fletcher Lesley, who surprised eveyone with his appearance, was 5th man in 1:21.

The Seniors were able to score a full 4-man team which placed about 4th or so. Joe Schieffer took 3rd in that division with a 1:21:46. Julios Ratti (1:35) and Brendan O'Neill (1:44) were the 2-3 men while 65-year-old Ross Franco ensured a full scoring team as the 4th man.

The Open team was a couple men short this time and included Mike Singleton (1:21) and Chris Becker (1:23).

 

Craig Whichard


Julios Ratti


Brendan O'Neill

 

09/26/04 - Heritage Bank 10K - Masters National Champs

Lynn Mentzer
 The Striders once again participated in the Masters National 10K Champs at Paso Robles which was held under near-perfect weather conditions. While both the Masters and Seniors teams had to settle for no better than 3rd place, there were some fast times recorded.

Joe Schieffer broke the 10-year-old club seniors record by 10 seconds with a 35:44. That was good for 2nd in the PA and 5th in the Nationals. Fred Martin was the club's second senior and first Super-senior in the PA and 2nd nationally with a 39:33, only 7 seconds off his club record. Bill Brusher, Super-senior Phil Murphy and Julios Ratti completed the 5-man national team.

For the masters it was Lynn Mentzer leading the way with his best 10K in a long time and masters PR - 33:50. Lynn placed 14th overall in the masters race. Alan Dehlinger was not far behind in 20th with a 34:12; then came Tim Keenan with a 34:25, tying his masters PR. Jeff Teeters and Fletcher Lesley filled out the scoring team. Karin Kuffel was the lone female Strider to compete, as she finished in 44:01.

In the earlier Open Race Chris Becker (36:14) placed 48th and Michael Singleton was 53rd (36:54). They were joined by masters drop downs Michael Plummer, Mark Tipton and Julios Ratti to score an Open Team for the PA.

Striders Take Firsts at Alameda 10K

Ten Pacific Striders took on the City of Alameda’s Run for the Parks 10Kon the gray and misty morning of August 1, coming home with three firsts. Rob Elia was the first master, 8th overall, with a fine 34:30. 59-year-old Len Goldman, as he often does, had the distinction of being the first senior, with a 38:41. And Karin Kuffel led all master women, and was the 10th woman overall, with a 44:14. Between Rob and Len, in 18th place overall, was Mike Singleton, turning in a 36:06. No longer injured masters Mark Tipton (40:30, 9th master) and Marty Beene (41:31) ran at or near their goal times, and preceded the other 59-year-old Strider, Doug Butt, who ran 42:23, good enough for 8th in the 50-59 crowd. Although Mike Rossi had to drop out due to a hamstring strain, his wife, Jessica Lilie, finished in 52:23, followed by Malcolm Scotchler at 55:15.

07/24/04 - Seniors Team Sets Club Record in 4 x 1 Mile Relay


Steve Lyons

A Pacific Striders team consisting of Joe Schieffer, Bill Brusher, Len Goldman, and Brendan O'Neil set a club record of 22:40 in the Senior's age group in the rarely contested 4 by 1 mile relay. The team competed in the first annual "Steve Lyons Festival of Miles" on July 24 at the College of Marin. The purpose of the meet was to raise money in honor of Steve Lyons, a champion age group runner, who has been stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). All proceeds for the race will be directed to fight this terrible disease, which at this time has no cure. Steve made an emotional appearance at the race and made a short speech. All of us were touched by his comments and wished him well in his battle with this illness.

The Senior's Team competed against several Tamalpa senior teams, the most competitive being one led by Ken Grebenstein and Mike Lotter. Joe led off our team and after leading most of the first mile was passed on the last lap as we trailed Tamalpa by about 5 yards. Next up was Bill Brusher, who slowly closed the gap on his competitor. In the last lap, he passed the Tamalpa runner and opened up a short lead. Len Goldman was next up for the Striders and maintained first place for the first two laps but was passed on Lap 3 as Mile Lotter running for Tamalpa eventually opened up a 10 yard lead. Our final runner was Brendan O'Neil, who was up against Tamalpa's best runner, Ken Grebenstein. Tamalpa continued to widen their lead during the last lap and eventually won by about 30 seconds over the Strider team. It was a spirited race and the Strider seniors averaged 5:40 per mile pace. Now that a standard has been set by a Strider senior's team in this distance, we hope future teams will attempt to better it.

07/11/04 - Striders Blaze Some Miles
Fleet Feet Mile at Davis Story....coming soon.

06/19/04 - Striders Medal at 8K; Seniors Win One!

Despite having one of the lowest club turnouts for any race this year, the club registered four top-3 age group placings. Also, with three Strider DNFers, only the masters and seniors men were able to scrape together teams.

The old point-to-point course from Raley Field to the Shriners Hospital was changed at the last minute, due to trolley conflicts, to a new double keyhole loop. The new course proved to be just as flat, completely shaded and very viewer-friendly. It also aided in provoking a few extra DNFs. This course also lends itself to legitimate age-group records, unlike the old course.

The Seniors team finally had their streak of SIX 2nd place finishes broken by taking a much-deserved victory. Joe Schieffer led the squad with a second place finish. He also crushed the club senior 8K record by a whopping 35 seconds with a 28:37. The old record, set by Frank Krebs at the Fifty-Plus 8K, lasted an amazing 10 years! Joe received great team backup from the likes of 59-year-old Len Goldman (30:47) who took 3rd in the 55-59 division, Steve Freitas (30:54) and Super-Senior champ Fred Martin. Fred's time of 31:34 was a new club super-senior record.

The Masters Men were led by Alan Dehlinger who placed 5th after duking it out most of the race with the 3rd and 4th place finishers. Another Reno member, Fred Zalokar, who has not been seen since the 12K, pulled away from Chatham Ross (2nd 45-49) and Tim Keenan to grab the second team spot. Fletcher Lesley provided solid 5th-man support after both Jeff Teeters and Thom Trimble dropped out due to injury. Lynn Mentzer proved the toughness of the Reno boys as he finished his first PA race in over a year as the 6th man. The masters once again nipped a strong Excelsior team for second by a mere 15 seconds.

The masters women were a runner short as Karin Kuffel (33:10, 10M) and Malia Dinell represented the team.

05/31/04 - Pacific Sun 10K - More Seconds!

Chatham Sprints to the Finish

Once again the Striders came away with a lot of silver medals, and one gold. Both the Masters Men and Senior Men took second by the narrowest of margins, and Joe Schieffer grabbed the #2 spot in the 50-59 with a fine 36:10. For the women's masters team, Kris Luckin set a new club record for the 40+ division by a mere 6 seconds with a 41:13, eclipsing Christine Chapone's time from 2001. Fred Martin once again won the Super Seniors division by a wide margin, extending his GP lead even further over his closest rival.

The fastest Strider time of the day was a close battle between Jeff Townsend (33:33) and top team master Alen Dehlinger (33:38). Times for all 24 Striders can be found on the RACING page.

Race Photos From ActivePics.com

Kris Luckin Sets New Club Masters Record - 41:13

05/09/04 - Zippy 5K: Mother of All Races

Some of the fastest 5K times ever for the club were turned in this year on a revised Zippy course. The usual JFK - Stowe Lake- MLK course was rerouted to an out-and-back keyhole course around scenic Stowe Lake. While no slower than the old course, the mile-long straight-away to the finish was a bit more challenging than the old left-right-left finish of previous years.

Jeff Townsend briefly became the first Strider in years to crack the 16 mijnute barrier with a 15:59, but the finishline gods added their mandatory second (or two) to leave him with a mortal, yet impressive 16:01 to lead the team. Alan Dehlinger was right on his heels to head up the 40+ gang with a 16:03. This was just 8 seconds off the club masters record.

The next six Striders were all masters, with the entire scoring team sneaking under 17 minutes. Rob Elia held off a late-charging Tim Keenan 16:25 to 16:26 to place 12th and 13th in the division. Thom Trimble (16:43) and Jeff Teeters (16:53) made impressive 32 and 40-second improvements over their Big Sur times to fill out the 2nd-place scoring team. Chatham Ross ran his fastest 5K since the 2000 Zippy race with a 17:01 to assist the Open team. Fletcher Lesley (17:03) and Michael Singleton (17:05) were place 3rd and 4th on the team, while John Lehman assured a top-5 team placing as the solid 5th man.

The Senior men ran their streak of second place finishes to FIVE. Joe Schieffer ran his best 5K as a senior and placed only 7 seconds behind the winner, and the club senior record, in 17:27. Fred Martin continued to dominate the super-senior division in winning his third straight race in a club-record time of 18:44. Steve Freitas held off Brendan O'Neill 19:02 to 19:10 to complete the 4-man team.

The masters women fielded a respectable team for the 3rd race in a row, and placed 5th unofficially. Karen Kuffel led the squad with a 20:40, good for 13th master. Malia Dinell knocked 8 seconds of her masters PR with a 21:11, and BZ Churchman completed the team with a 22:25.


Mike Rossi


Julios Ratti

 

 

04/25/04 - Striders Surcle the Surf at Big Sir (okay News Channel 46) 5K

Team Picture
The Surf was up and the Striders were riding some fast waves at the News Channel 46 5K (always to be known simply as BIG SUR). The masters men were surtainly lucky to nip the Excelsior squad by 4 seconds to take the #2 team spot. Alan Dehlinger ran the fastest surcuit for the club placing 22nd overall and 7th master (16:28). Tim Keenan assurted himself early with a 5:18 first mile and hung on to place 2nd for the team with a 16:50. John Lehman (17:03) surged late to pull away from teammate Thom Trimble (17:13) to secure the 3rd spot, while Fletcher Lesley surpassed Jeff Teeters on the surcuitous course to complete the scoring team.

The Senior men surtainly surprized everyone by again taking second place even without the survices of Joe Schieffer and Steve Freitas. Leading the surly 50+ squad was Super-senior winner Fred Martin in 19:16 which was a new club record for a surtified 5K. Bill Brusher held off Brendan O'Neill 20:04 to 20:12, while Julios Ratti batted cleanup in 20:57.

The Master Women took third place in their division with help from the survices of Kris Luckin who placed as 2nd master and ran the second fastest time ever for a club master - 19:36. Karin Kuffel earned 6th place in the masters division with a 20:36 (5th on Strider List) and team captain Malia Dinell surmounted a 7 minute pace (6:52) with a 21:19 to surface as the final scorer.

The Open Men continued their assualt on the Open Standings with a 4th place finish. Mike Singleton led the squad with a 17:23, followed closely by the first surplus master, Jeff Teeters, in 17:31. Gerry Valverdi made a strong improvement over last week with a 17:37 as 3rd man while Chris Becker was two more seconds back in 17:42. Craig Wichard rounded out the open team with a 17:54. Resurves included Mark Tipton who surpassed his goal time of 20 minutes with a 19:51 and Mike Plummer who surcumnavigated the course in 20:36.

The Open Pig team did not score, as our only competitor was road kill at 1/2 mile....:(


Thom and John
(sureptitiously altered)

 

Fred Martin

Tim Keenan

Mark Tipton

Brendan O'Neill

Bill Brusher

 

04/18/04 - Striders Second, Second,Third and Fourth at HP 10K


Alan Hammers a 33:04 as the top Strider


Rob PRs with a 33:35

 

 

 Nearly two dozen Striders ran the flat-and-fast HP 10K in Cupertino, and every one of them scored on a team. Four of our five teams walked away with a little cash for their efforts too. The masters women scored in two races in a row, after being absent for years. They were fortunate enough to place 3rd ($50) with a team comprised of Karin Kuffel, Malia Dinell and Christine Chapone who is on the comeback trail from an injury.

The masters men made it three seconds in a row good for a cool $100. Alan Dehlinger recorded his best race of the year and #3 time on the Strider 10K masters list with an amazing 33:04, good for 4th in the division. Rob Elia recorded a PR (33:35) in placing second for the team and 8th master. Tim Keenan, Jeff Teeters and Thom Trimble placed as the 3-4-5 men. John Lehman was 6th master with his masters PR of 35:17.

The Senior men snagged their 2nd number two team finish, good for $50, and behind only Excelsior. Joe Shieffer's streak of 3 straight wins was snapped with the return of Don Paul and a healthy Jim Gorman. Joe did grab 3rd (PA) with a fine time of 36:11. Steve Freitas was again 2nd senior for the team with a 39:07. Fred Martin made it two super-senior wins in a row with his 39:26. His time was 35 seconds up on the next closest 60+ man and 2nd best ever for the club. Bill Brusher outlegged Julios Ratti for the final scoring place - 41:02 to 41:15. The 18 points earned by the seniors moved them up from 4th to 3rd in the standings passing the WVJS who placed 4th in the race.

The Open mens team had another fine outing and nearly snuck away with a 3rd place finish, except for the last minute addition of an Aggie open runner to their squad. They were still able to scavange 4th place money of $50 to maintain their 4th place in the standings. Top dog for the youngsters was Jeff Townsend with his best 10K in years - 33:39 - good for 33rd overall. Michael Singleton crushed his 10K PR in placing 2nd on the team with a 34:56. Masters John Lehman and Fletcher Lesley (35:36) provided 3-4 man support, and Chris Becker grabbed the final scoring spot in 37:16.

A solid masters "B" team was also scored with the following members - Craig Whichard, Gerry Valverdi, Mike Rossi, Julios Ratti and Mike Plummer. Ross Franco was also scored on that team with a 6th place finish in the 65-69 division.

 

 


Jeff Townsend Sprints to Finish

 


Top Strider Woman - Karin Kuffel

03/21/04 - Fred and Joe Go Nuts Across the Bay.....Grab Titles at 12K
27 Striders Compete ....many will enter, few will win.
It was two firsts and two seconds for the Striders at the Emerald Nuts Across the Bay 12K. Joe Schieffer extended his win streak to four with another close win over rival Ken Grebenstein of Tamalpa. Joe has now won both 10 Milers and the 12K this year, along with the 30K in 2003. Joe's time of 44:48 was also a club seniors record and helped the club place second in that category, less than a minute down on the first-place Tamalpa Runners.

Not be be outdone, Fred Martin finally shook off early season injuries and illness to capture the super-senior crown in a time of 48:51.  Fred was over a minute up on the next 60+ runner - Robert Gormley, who usually dominates that division. Fred was the 4th man on the seniors team behind Len Goldman and Steve Freitas. The Striders were deep enough to score a "B" team too with the efforts of Jim Granahan, Julios Ratti and Brendan O'Neil.


Tim, John, Craig, Thom, Joe  and Rob after the race....
looking much happier than they did an hour ago!
 The Strider Masters Men also had a pretty fabulous day in recording their second #2 finish in two weeks. The addition of new-member Rob Elia from Moraga gave the 40-plussers much-needed new blood, as Rob was able to grab the first scoring spot on the team in a terrific time of 41:38, good enough for 5th in the division and #5 on the Strider Masters All Time List, and if this isn't a run-on sentence I don't know what is!

Alan Dehlinger was not far behind in 42:02 in placing 10th in the 40+ division. Fred Zalokar outlegged Tim Keenan, Thom Trimble and Jeff Teeters over the last mile to claim the 3rd team spot in 43:09.

The Master's Women team made their first road appearance ever and did it in strong fashion. Karin Kuffel led the Strider threesome in a time of 52:36 - the fastest time by a Strider master since 1996. Malia Dinell was not far behind in 53:39, good enough for 21st in the 40+ division. BZ Churchman completed the team in 56 flat. In a very deep masters women's field the Striders pulled out a 4th place team finish.

The Strider Open team was even stronger than the Cal 10 team which placed 4th, but had to settle for 6th place in the super deep field. Jeff Townsend ran the fastest time of the day for the club in 41:30, good for 29th overall and 19th on the Strider Alltime list. Jeff Teeters took time off from the masters team to provided #2 runner support for the spring chickens. True open runners Michael Singleton (44:07) and Chris Becker (44:43) nabbed Bay to Breakers qualifiers, as did the #5 man John Lehman in 44:44.

Every single Strider was given a team to call there own, as we were also able to score a Master "B" team. Club VP Fletcher Lesley and Craig Whichard, who narrowly missed being Open team scorers, recorded "Nuts! I just missed the Bay to Breakers qualifier" times to lead the B's to a 6th place finish over a couple of "A" teams. Marty Beene and Mark Tipton made appearances after long injury-related absences to place as the 3 and 5 men, while Mike Plummer held down the #4 spot.

03/06/04 - Masters Grab Second at NorCal 10 Miler
Shieffer Extends Win Streak!


Under absolutely gorgeous weather (a warm 70F at the start) thirteen Striders competed on one of the more beautiful courses in California. The rolling bikepath course provided a view of the Sacramento River for over 8 of the 10 miles. With six aid stations and well-marked accurate miles there was little to complain about for this race (aside from maybe the 3+ hour drive and 10 AM start time). The PA competition was cranked up a notch over last year, partly due to the 1.5 point rating.

The Strider Masters team came away with a very solid showing; with four men under 59 minutes they were able to hold off Excelsior for second place. Alan Dehlinger and Thom Trimble made up for their dismal showing at Cal 10 (10th and 9th fastest club masters) with a 1-2 finish here, in times of 57:44 and 57:54 respectively. Tim Keenan (58:40) and Jeff Teeters (58:45) hung with Thom for about 6 miles to claim the team's 3 and 4 spots. Fletcher Lesley outlegged Craig Whichard for the final scoring position. Kevin Brunson was the 7th and final master for the Striders.

Joe Schieffer showed that his Cal 10 victory was no fluke in winning this 10 miler in similar fashion, by outdualing Tamalpa's Ken Grebenstein by 10 seconds. Julios Ratti would have earned a sub-70 shirt if they were giving them out with a 69:53. His time was only 11 seconds slower then the much-faster Cal 10 course. Brendan O'Neill grabbed the 3rd team spot, and Fred Martin, competing in his first race as a super-senior (abeit sick) completed the senior team. Ross Franco also competed for the seniors, while Michael Singleton represented the under-represented Open team. Results on RACING page.

01/11/04 - CAL 10: Nineteen Striders Win Their Shirts On Their Backs!

A record 22 Striders participated in the kickoff PAUSATF race of 2004 and 19 of them came away with a sub-60 (open/masters) or sub-70 (seniors) T-shirt. An amazing 15 Striders cracked the one hour mark.  Unofficially the teams placed 3rd (masters and seniors) and 5th (open). This was likely our fastest open men's team in several years, and actually comprised of 4 guys under 40! ...(Pictures below taken at 9.25 miles).


JOE WINS!
Joe (279) outdual's Tamalpa's Ken Grebenstein (far background) for Seniors Title and new club senior record - 59:24. Alan and Thom (back of pack) escort Joe to the line.

JOHN BUSTS A GOOD ONE!
John Lehman (L - 58:24) and Gerry Valverde (58:38) duke it out for the final scoring spot on the Masters team.

JEFFS TOP THE TEAMS!
Jeff Teeters (L) and Jeff Townsend (R) led the Master and Open teams with times of 56:20 and 56:14 respectively.

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