In a show of sustained strength, flexibility, and depth, racers from Club Ed Running completed the 2011 USATF Gran Prix Road Racing Series at the top. For the second year in a row, our runners captured first place in the five-race series, over distances from one mile to marathon, from Brentwood to La Brea. Thirty-six teammates participated during the ten months of races, and when the final race finished at Dana Point on Thanksgiving Day, Club Ed remained the club champion, with 21592 points accrued over the races. (Points are awarded at each race on an age-graded performance basis, with the best five [of nine pre-selected] races scored from each club counting, with the highest five scorers counting from each club in a given race, and with five races needed for Gran Prix eligibility). Second place (20961 points) went to The Janes from Santa Monica (led by Individual Gran Prix Champion Tania Fischer) and Cal Coast Track Club (20833 points) from Orange County (coach Bill Sumner’s talented team). As a team, Club Ed finished first in four of the Gran Prix road races, and in a fifth one at (the Brea 8K), was denied first place by nine points.

In the individual Gran Prix competition, our runners were no less impressive. Among 530 Gran Prix participants, ageless Jon Megeff finished second behind the seemingly uncatchable Dale Campbell of Compex Racing, and an ever-determined Rich Gust was a close third. Humberto Sanchez (6th) and Steve Notaro (7th) helped to make it a competitive top ten in the men’s racing group.

In the Women’s Division, Alison Atkinson earned second place behind the indomitable Tania Fischer, with Sue Reinhardt capturing 5th and Karina Bird in 7th. Monetary awards will be made to the first five finishers, and the awards will be presented at the first of the 2012 Gran Prix Series events (still to be named).

Congratulations and thanks to all team racers who trained, raced, and supported the group effort…anyone up for a three-peat?

CLUB ED HOLIDAY PARTY & AWARDS TOO!

The not-so-annual holiday and end-of-year Club party was held at Coach Ed’s home on Saturday, Dec 10. Several dozen runners and friends stopped to celebrate a memorable year together. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we teased, we helped to recycle 100s of beer bottles, we taunted, we made racing promises we hope we can keep…in other words, a typical get together for the group.

A special thanks to Juan Fabian for an amazing (and delicious) Club Ed Cake!

In addition to secrets revealed about some of your teammates (who knew we had an Olympic torchbearer, a Hoola-Hoop champion, and an Elvis karaoke singer among us?) and a lot of good food, wine, beer and brownies consumed, several runners were also singled out for their 2011 achievements:

Sharon Lotesto, for her amazing comeback from hip replacement surgery (seemingly nothing deters this competitor);
Cherryl Rose, for the year’s gutsiest performance at the Kona Ironman (it may have taken longer than she wanted to finish, but nothing could prevent her from finishing);
Rich Gust, for being our most dependable USATF team racer (Top 5 team scorer in all USATF Road Races, from The Road Mile to the LA Marathon);
Jon Megeff, for the most impressive year in men’s racing (a new PR in almost every race distance),
Sabina Helton, for the most impressive year in women’s racing (a 14 MINUTE half marathon PR, and a 1 MINUTE mile PR);
Jim Newman, for the most races run (and showing the team colors everywhere);
Jeff Cohn & Will Longyear, for being our very own “Pied Pipers” (talking us into the Catalina 50 and the Dana Point 10K…thanks a lot, guys!)
Will Weston, for the most miles raced (…no, I don’t know how many, but I am pretty sure it was the most);
Sue Reinhardt and Pat Wickens, for being our most inspirational runners (talent is not limited by age, as these amazing athletes continue to demonstrate).

Congratulations to all for a great year; let’s do more and better in 2012!

That's right. The ONLY race on Christmas Day will be happening at the Manhattan Beach Pier. In fact, we like it so much we are going to do it twice! Once at 3pm for those who want to get back in time for dinner, and again at 5:30pm for those who want the traditional NIGHT RUN complete with glow necklaces, luminarias, and the lowest tide of the season. Run, walk, or baby jog along the sea by candlelight. Bring the family for a glorious holiday evening of adventure. Register now at mb5k.com!

Cool t-shirts and glow necklaces for every pre-registered participant. Unique awards and a chance to stand on the podium for the top five in all 28 age divisions. Don't miss the real luminarias lighting the course and finish under the Christmas lights of the Manhattan Beach Pier. Spectacular!

Kids get their own races after the 5k. Choose between the 5k, the 1k, or 400m based on age. Awards to the top 5 and a chance to stand on the podium! Celebrate the Holidays!

No Track Wednesday Night - Nov. 23 - Mira Costa Track is Closed

Dana Point Turkey Trot (Nov 24)

Holiday Party (Dec 10)

Christmas Day Run 5K (Dec 25)

Village Runner 5/10K (Jan 1)

Olympic Trials - June 22 - July 1 2012
Eugene, Oregon - Hayward Field

On a picture-perfect October 1st California morning, the 34th Annual Manhattan Beach 10K kicked off the Hometown Fair weekend. In impressive fashion, almost 70 Club Ed runners competed, and over the 6+ miles of neighbors, hills, turns, and Strand, they paced, raced, chased, and faced their competitors, friends, and team members in the perennial end-of-the-season race. 

The overall race was won by Tito Lezama, from El Camino JC, in a time of 31:51. Club Ed racers in the Top 10 included Mike Sevier (6th), Humberto Sanchez (7th), and Jon Megeff (8th). The women’s race saw history being made, as our own Nathalie Higley made it 10 Hometown 10K wins, this one in 36:51. Club members chasing chasing Nathalie in the Top 10 were Alison Atkinson (2nd), Emily Anderson (3rd), Tamar Gamliel (5th), Annie Seawright-Newton (8th), and Kaci Bathurst (10th).  See full team results below and complete MB10K race results here.

Jon Megeff continued to impress as he has at virtually every race this year, finishing in a new PR and showing he is ready for a breakout effort at the Chicago Marathon on Oct 9th. Alison Atkinson took home the First Manhattan Beach Resident Female Finisher again this year. Many of our racers teamed up with sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers to win or place in the assorted team competitions as well. Year-long grudges were settled, new ones were started, and bragging rights were established until next year’s race.

The new club uniforms were eye-catching and impressive, as groups of team members ran in packs, lines, and pursuit teams across the course. True to form and directive, most helped each other until the Strand, at which point ruthless racing generally broke out for the big finish at the Manhattan Pier. Many were happy about their race, some were rueful, a few were dejected…but all are to be commended for a great effort.

One of our own (Dave Grethen) succumbed to heat exhaustion in the latter stages of the race, but some much-appreciated help from the paramedics and lifeguards carefully monitoring the race course helped Dave back to a more even keel (and we are happy to report that Dave was fine after the race; a huge THANKS to the Emergency Responders). Other team members who did not compete, by choice or due to injury, helped to line the course and cheer on their teammates. Following the race, much of the race strategy was de-constructed during several hours of technical review in the Beer Garden at the Fair…and many more hours of review are sure to take place.

Congratulations to you all on a great run, on a challenging course, on a warm day in Manhattan Beach...and on to the next race!  Thanks again to Rich Gust & Vicki for taking photos during the race.   See more race photos on Facebook.

Scores To Be Settled at the MB 10K on October 1st

As Coach of the club, a key objective has been to motivate you all to achieve. Thus, I was surprised during a recent Saturday run when one of the club members mentioned how surprised he was that with only a few weeks to go to the Hometown 10K, there really hadn’t been much trash-talking leading up to the race…

SO LISTEN UP! The Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair 10K (now in its 34th edition) has historically been the line in the sand, the moment of truth, the proof of the pudding, the ... (well,you get the picture).

It is the race where nothing is at stake…except your pride, your performance in front of your neighbors, the settling of that grudge between you and that person that has no business beating you, your chance to set the record straight, to make a statement for the next year…so get ready to rumble!

We are opening up a blog for taunts, challenges, predictions, “motivational comments” for that 07:30 starting gun on Saturday October 1st when you need to show me what you’ve got!

I know there is a lot of pent-up talk out there, so use your words…write it out…here…now. 

Name	Age/Sex	Time	Points
Jon Megeff	48M	4:33.9	917
Alison Atkinson	44F	5:12.9	890
Nathalie Higley	41F	5:02.7	889
Rich Gust	52M	4:54.4	880
Joe Robinson	25M	4:21.7	853
Will Longyear	47M	5:00.1	828
Sue Reinhardt	65F	7:28.1	825
Humberto Sanchez	36M	4:40.3	817
Ed Avol	59M	5:39.1	809
Kaci Bathurst	39F	5:35.8	786
Karina Bird	45F	6:13.1	754
David Grethen	52M	5:48.9	743
Tamar Gamliel	32F	5:43.1	737
Sabina Helton	47F	6:35.3	729

Club Ed delivers at the Mile!  As reported earlier, we had a great team showing at the One Mile Road Championships on August 28 in Irvine CA. Fourteen of our racers ran a straightaway mile down one of the former El Toro Marine Air Base runways, to keep us competing in the 2011 Club Road Championships.

The Club scorings have now been posted (http://www.scagrandprix.org/), and our team scored amazingly high – 4429 points for our cumulative five best performers! That’s almost 900 points per runner! To put that into perspective, the scoring is roughly interpreted as the following: 700 – local class, 800-national class, 900-international class.

Take a look at our age-graded scoring above – our FIFTH runner scored over 850 points – NICE WORK! The other nice thing to see is we are getting participation and points from several age groups and both sexes. We have two more road races to go (the Long Beach Half on Oct 9 and the Dana Point 10K on Nov 24) to lock in the 2011 Road Championship – keep on truckin’!

Club Ed Racers Let the Good Times Roll in Irvine

On a hot but breeze-free Sunday morning, the Club Ed racing team travelled to the Great Park of Orange (formerly the El Toro Marine Air Base), for the 2nd Annual USATF Road Mile Championships. Last year’s event was a real novelty, and this year was even more festive, with more runners and teams participating. The event is run on the tarmac of a former airport flight path, and the course is a one-mile straightaway series of races, run in heats by age and sex (with a few Elite races thrown in).

Our competitive brethren (The Janes, Cal Coast, TCLA, the Equalizers, Compex Racing, Snail’s Pace, and several others were all there to race, and race they did. Our group of 13came to race, too… (and I can already see I am going to have a problem with superlatives)…

The fastest time of the day was turned in by Christian Heche, a regional running star, blazing to a 4:01 mile to win the Elite Open race. No less impressive was Christian Cushing-Murray (43 years’ training), who won the Elite Masters in 4:17.

We were led by Joe Robinson, who followed up his recent Silva Bros Mile victory with a new personal best of 4:21. To make his run even more impressive, Joe negative split his race, running several seconds faster in the last quarter to close with strength and determination…and he had to be moving, because two more of our speedsters – Jon Megeff and Humberto Sanchez – were chasing Joe to the finish. Jon PRed in 4:33, and Humberto showed he is back in training, closing in 4:39 (official time was 4:40, but I believe in Humberto). Rich Gust (2011 USATF Masters’ Marathon Champ, oft-noted 2nd place finisher (according to USATF), and chocolate chip cookie lover), crossed the finish line in an impressive 4:54, holding off his nemesis, the amazing Tania Fisher of the Janes. To round out our five-minute performers, Will Longyear (rapidly recovering from a turned ankle just two Saturdays ago) logged in at 5:00.09 (guess we need to work on his finishing lunge).

Coach Ed continued his 2011 Return-To-Racing Tour, with a stiff but encouraging 5:39 (who knew a mile could be so long?). Dave Grethen rounded out our men’s entrants with an impressive 5:48, once again demonstrating that he is ever improving and better than he thinks.

Our women were no less impressive... Nathalie Higley made it clear she is back and racing, clocking in at 5:02. Alison Atkinson, fresh in from a Taylor Swift concert (okay, it was for her daughter Lucy’s birthday), blitzed through in 5:12. New club member Kaci Bathurst made her team racing debut, running 5:35 in the Women’s 18-39 race. Our favorite competitive chiropractor, Tamar Gamliel, stepped down in distance and up in speed to work her way to 5:43. Karina Bird, who we haven’t seen enough of lately, showed she hasn’t just been sitting around, finishing in 6:13. In one of the more impressive Club Ed performances of the day, Sabine Helton set a PR by almost a minute (!), sprinting to a 6:35 finish (so consider that a knock on the door to the front training group at the track). To close us out in strong fashion, our Master Masters Sue Reinhardt crossed the line in 7:28, several seconds faster than last year’s effort and showing her competitive range (as she moves into the Disney Marathon weekend next week).

USATF age-adjusted results will take a few weeks to post, but we are looking good! Congrats to all; On to the Long Beach Half on October 9th, to lock in the 2011 Club Road Racing Championship Title!

Mark Silva vs Paul Silva
Wednesday, August 10 @ 6pm

6:00 - Track warm up
6:30 - All out mile for time
6:45 - 1 mile fun run
7:30 - Round table pizza
RSVP on Facebook

Top Five Club Scores as of July 17, 2011. Complete results here.
1) Club Ed Running - 16626
2) Cal Coast Track Club - 15528
3) Gritty City Track Club - 13662
4) The Janes Elite Racing - 12622
5) Track Club L.A. - 7564

Top Five Individual Women Scores:
1) Tania Fischer (The Janes Elite Racing) - 2684
2) Kirsten Leetch (The Janes Elite Racing) - 2638
3) DebbieRichardson (Club Ed Running) - 2560
4) Alison Atkinson (Club Ed Running) - 2550
5) Yayoi Liu (Cal Coast Track Club) - 2510

Top Five Individual Men Scores:
1) Richard Anderson (Cal Coast Track Club) - 3558
2) Dale Campbell (Compex Racing) - 3552
3) Rich Gust (Club Ed Running) - 3398
4) Jeff Bryant (Club Ed Running) - 3141
5) Joe Ogata (Unattached) - 2862

Humid & Fast, the 18th Village Runner 5K Airs It Out on the Riviera
See Rich Gust's Race Photo's on Facebook 

With the rest of the city seeing 100+ temps, the cool place to be was Redondo Beach on the 4th of July…for the 18th running of the Village Runner 5K. Lots of locals, as well as many from outside the area (even out of state) went to the starting line on an alternating overcast/sunny warm morning.

David Cardona, fresh off a recent tear at the State JC championships, was first to finish in 15:19 (4:57 pace), and Alison Kielty (formerly Torrance High and ASU) took the Women’s crown in 17:17 (5:35 pace). The Club Ed contingent was large (37+ runners), competitive (28 Top Ten age group finishers), and successful (no injuries, I hope!).

The Club men’s contingent was led by Mike Sevier (4th overall, 16:06, 5:12 pace), showing he is fast becoming a serious runner. Our talented and speedy women were led in by Nathalie Higley (27th OA, 17:47, 5:44 pace), as she works her way back into the local competitive racing scene.

Assorted race highlights: lots of Club Ed racing jerseys in the race (nice to see them out there!); a steady stream of Club Ed racers in the pack (another great motivator to work up through the pack); an aggressive Nathalie Higley, holding her ground as she was cut off in the first turn; encouraging words along the route by Club Ed teammates (both on the sidelines and in the racepack); Tamar doing the GI Joe Pushup Challenge (you go girl!); a competitive return for former El Camino runner Juan Fabian, in his new Club Ed singlet; Kristin Cooley jogging through the 5K, recovering from her 2nd consecutive Comrades’ Marathon in South Africa (8:47, run in the uphill direction this year!); Sharon Lotesto trying to give Coach Ed a post-race fruit roll-up treat, because she didn’t want to eat the extra 50 calories; a pack of Club Ed runners on a cool-down loop of the course post-race(nice!).

Complete race results at Resultsbyprimetime.com, but here are some of the 2100+ finishers (apologies to any I missed):

4. Mike Sevier, 16:06; 19. Humberto Sanchez, 17:20; 23. Rich Gust, 17:37; 25. Mike Cortez, 17:45; 27. Nathalie Higley, 17:47; 30. Mike Soto, 17:51; 31. Rick Dodson, 17:53; 37. Juan Fabian, 18:07; 41. James Reinhardt, 18:16; 43. Alison Atkinson, 18:30; 46. Mark Shalvarjian, 18:37; 54. Will Longyear, 18:55; 57. Emily Anderson, 19:00; 62. Juan Reque, 19:09; 63. Debbie Richardson, 19:12; 65. Bryan Johnston, 19:17; 67. Mark Silva, 19:24; 76. Ed Avol, 19:35; 80. Mike Dean, 19:41; 84. Marcio Kleemann, 19:47; 86. Kevin Sullivan, 19:49; 88. Tamar Gamliel, 19:58; 92. Chuck Kaminski, 20:12; 104. Del Carneiro, 20:33; 114. Jim O’Brien, 20:44; 120. Kevin Elliott, 20:50; 121. Diane Silva, 20:52; 126. Jim Newman, 20:59; 138. Jim Morehart, 21:14; 312. Julia Fretschl, 23:40; 335. Barb Frank, 23:58; 421. Steve Weber, 25:09; 581. Sue Reinhardt, 27:04; 803. Monyean Acuna, 29:11; 1151. Kristin Cooley, 32:41; 1153. Corrine Schratz, 32:41; 1488. Hampo Zadoyan, 37:11

A gray Saturday morning welcomed runners to Malaga Cove for the return of the Coach’s Handicap Run, an intra-club run that began in Ed’s Manhattan Beach Track Club coaching days decades ago (though I am pretty sure that all the runners who started those races are all accounted for and not still on the course somewhere).

Over 30 Club Ed runners went to the starting line (according to their designated handicapped time) and dutifully followed the baby powder puffs along the street over the challenging six-mile course. “Well, there may be one or two hills on the course,” Coach Ed admitted, when asked about the degree of challenge ahead.”Just keep on chasing,” he advised.

And chase they did. Most were gung-ho about the run…Race Director Mark Silva was so enthusiastic about the course that he organized the race, marked the course at 5:30am, then jumped into the race at his handicap time and tried to catch all those ahead of him. Sharon Lotesto, back after a long absence, arrived late, slammed on the car brakes, jumped out of her car, and sprinted down the road to join in the fun. (For her inspiring sprint, Sharon was awarded the “Fastest Start of the Day”).

The running loop began down in Malaga Cove by the Palos Verdes Beach and Athletic Club, headed up Paseo del Mar to PV Drive, out along the bluffs, around PV High School, back along PV Drive, and down the hill to the start/finish line. Mark Kerper (“Nice Mark”) and Laura Guzman (ok, “Nice Laura”…although she is our only Laura) were the first two starters (largest handicaps) and the first two finishers (so you can bet those handicaps are going to be adjusted). Overall, Emily Anderson was the fastest female, in 39:45, and Humberto Sanchez was the fastest male, in 37:25 (note the 10K times and believe the coach when he says there are a few hills).

Metronome Factory Model Jake Courtney took home honors for knowing his capabilities by coming within a few hundredths of a second of his predicted run time (…and no, he didn’t stand near the finish line waiting for the clock to strike). Speedster Jon Megeff took home a flashy set of coconuts for his laid-back vacation cruise of the course (he is just coming back from a week-long case of the flu). Renee Williams Smith earned the Biggest Liar Award for declaring a really slow handicap time and then running a whole lot faster. Other award winners included Rick Dodson (who won a container of assorted nuts for his wild and crazy attempt to run 36 minutes on this course), Sabina Helton was our Warrior Runner (for her gutsy run just back from the flu), Sean Ryan ran away with the Baby Jogger Division (thanks to Casey Ryan, who slept most of the way), Pat Wickens grabbed the Old Guy Award (we can only hope to be running like Pat when we grow up!) , and Steve Notaro was awarded the Wiliest Veteran Runner, for bringing his knowledge of the original Coach’s handicap races on this course (circa 1988) to the current group of club runners.

When the race was over, the dust settled, the shouting done, and the excuses in full swing, we all enjoyed an overwhelming assortment of breakfast/brunch goodies and drinks. Thanks to Mark Silva for organizing the race, Dian Silva for taking care of awards, Renee Smith for providing timing support services, and all the runners who participated and brought an awesome table-full of fruits, cakes, drinks, and nourishment to share.

Club Ed Coach's Handicap 10K

Club Ed is announcing a race to run, a chance to equally compete, and a breakfast to eat (and just for the record, the Coach’s Handicap is the name of the race, not a comment about my physical or mental health…but that’s not important right now)…

Race Start: On Saturday morning, June 25, at 07;30am, the Race Director – the even-tempered, always supportive Mark Silva (okay, you know who) – will send the first Club Ed runner off onto the Coach’s Handicap Race. This is a 10K fun event, individually adjusted (based on your current 10K performance, or lack thereof!) to hold a race that you all can win…no literally, if we do this right, there should be one massive tie for first place!

How Our Handicapped Race Works: we identify a course to all race over (Done, courtesy of Mark and Ed, and the use of a course we set up 20 years ago when we did this as part of the Manhattan Beach Track Club), we collect everybody’s current 10K estimated finish time (each of you need to honestly report what you can run), we handicap the start of the race, giving the slowest runner a chance by giving them the biggest head start, adjusting everyone else’s start based on their predicted finish time,…and then we see who gets to the finish line – hopefully, everybody all at once (or close to each other).

Then, we have a big pot-luck breakfast and explain to each other why we didn’t run what we coulda/shoulda/woulda…so expect lots of discussion afterwards!

Five Awards:
Actual Overall Winner (first one to cover the course and get to the finish line)
First Male Finisher
First Female Finisher
Closest Predicted-to-Actual Finish Time
Best Excuse for Finish Performance

Register by sending your predicted current 10K time: (which will be used to handicap your start) to Mark Silva (silva4surf@verizon.net), or sign up at the track, or sign up at Club Ed Running on Facebook.

Pot-Luck Breakfast will be held immediately following the race:
Everybody bring something to drink (juice, water, sports drinks, etc)

Sign-up / Volunteer: to bring all kinds of goodies (fruit, breakfast burritos, bagels, cream cheese, lox, jam, margarine, butters (peanut, almond, mango, apple,…), muffins, doughnuts, croissants, sandwiches,…feed your friends; fatten up your competitors!

See you there!

Sat June 25, 2011 First Runner Starts at 07:30 AM
Malaga Cove School playing fields, Paseo Del Mar side (at the end of the street; right above the Palos Verdes Beach Club in Malaga Cove)
Questions – ask at a workout, or contact Mark or Ed

Several hundred runners turned out for the June 18 edition of the Manhattan Beach (MB) 5K, This twice-a-year event, run from the MB Pier to El Porto and back at low tide on the hard-packed sand, has become a local beach-racing institution (or maybe it’s just that anyone who wakes up early Saturday morning to race along the beach is ready for an institution?).  Whatever – we came, we saw, we ran and tried to kick sand, and when the sprinting was done, another fun race was in the books.

This year’s June version was a tough one – just the first 5 finishers broke 19 minutes, and jus the first 14 broke 20, Ezekial Glass (17yrs old) of Victorville got the victory in 18:11, followed closely by our own Humberto Sanchez (18:20), on his way back from the Boston Marathon. Humberto led the Club Ed charge, with Rich Gust (4th in 18:46), Jake Courtney (6th in 18:58), Nathalie Higley (9th in 19:11), Will Longyear (13th in 19:50) rounding out the top five club racers. It was Nathalie’s second race back from a basketball back injury, but showed she is quickly returning to form, as she was the First Woman to finish.

The race was notable for several reasons, among which was a local appearance of Masters running legend Shaheed Nolan, who at age 63, is still faster than most mortals; he finished in 18:51, good for 5th overall.

Working his way through the pack was Coach Ed, making his return to racing after almost a year of assorted injuries. The coach finished 25th overall, in 20:58, and was happy to win a first place age group Becker’s Bakery Cookie.

Over a dozen club members ran in the race (complete race results at resultsbyprimetime.com). The Coach had this perspective on the race: “Two things showed me I have more training to do…At first, I thought I was moving well from the start, but I realized I was running with a bunch of kids half my size and a fraction of my age. After several more minutes of running and breathing, I looked up and saw I was just getting to the Marine Station (only a half-mile into the race)… so I still have some training to do.”

Do YOU have some training to do? Come on out to the next club run, and let’s get going!

Saturday, June 18th

Race starts at 7:30AM

Kids Races start at 8:30AM

Register Online Before June 14 Sign-up here.

The 10th annual Manhattan BEACH 5k will be held the Saturday before Father's Day. Start your summer on the right foot by running, walking or baby-jogging the coolest course on the planet. Bring the family, watch the kids run in their own separate races, and spend the day at the beach. 

Waking up to a blustery Sunday morning, thoughts of a wind-blown struggle to the finish flashed through many minds…but in Brentwood, the breezes abated and the race was on.

The Brentwood 5K -- fourth stop in the 2011 USATF Club Road Racing Series -- and Club Ed showed up in force to battle the talented Janes, the swift Fluffy Bunnys, a tough TCLA, and all the rest. Almost 20 Club Ed runners were at the starting line, and all ran great (5 age group winners, 3 runners-up, 3 third places, and everyone in the top ten in their age group).

Jon Megeff led the way with a 16:31 PR, good for 6th overall – not bad for someone concerned about minimal training the past month or two. Mike Cortez fought his way to 17:00, although his young age will drop him in the age-adjusted club finish (we older guys are sneaky that way!). Rich Gust was in hot pursuit (17:13), and Jeff Bryant PR-ed his way to 17:18.

Not to be outdone, our talented women also had something to say… Brentwood saw the welcome return of Nathalie Higley, who ran 17:46, good for 3rd overall woman and 1st in her age group. Chasing her to the finish, Alison Atkinson (17:50) proved she has pretty much recovered from the LA Marathon. Debbie Richardson showed her talent extends well beyond triathlons, PR-ing in 18:39. Emily Anderson continued on her comeback after baby Owen’s arrival, finishing in 19:01. (Owen was there to cheer on his mom, but Coach Ed lectured him on running philosophies, and Owen nodded off out of boredom).

In other notable finishes, our own AquaDuck (Steve Notaro) took some time off from WaterWorld, came out to race for the team, and finished strong in 20:56. Pat Wickens (22:55) made it clear he is still a competitor, and Sue Reinhardt (26:14) won her age group by 12+ minutes!

One of the day’s highlights was in the Asthma & Allergy division, where Jake Courtney finished two seconds (gun time) and two places (finish chute) ahead of Mark Shalvarjian…only to find out that when the chip times were sorted out, it was Mark AHEAD of Jake by 3 seconds. Incredulous, Jake proclaimed, “I’m the only guy in the car going home without a medal!”

It will take a little while to see the “official” club standings, but it looks like we had at least five team mates in with an 85% or higher age-graded race, which should be VERY tough to beat…Great job to all!

The fourth stop on the USATF Southern California Road Running Grand Prix Series comes to the Brentwood 5 km, on Sunday, May 29, 2011.

Team competition in the new Grand Prix series is sure to heat up when some nation's finest distance runners take the starting line. Club Ed Running continues to hold the overall Grand Prix lead with The Janes Elite Racing in hot pursuit and Cal Coast Track Club in contention as well. Regular Brentwood 5 km competitors include top running clubs like the Fluffy Bunnies and Nike Team Run LA and expect to hear more from Team Runners High, So Cal Road Runners, Gritty City Track Club, Equalizers, A Snail's Pace Running Club and Track Club L.A., all clubs posting scores in the 2011 series. These clubs include more than a few local running heroes who range in age from 19 to 69.

USATF medals will be awarded to the top three open and masters USATF finishers at the Brentwood 5K, and the first male and female overall runners will receive a USATF Southern California Association red or blue gym bag.

For a limited time only, a special discount is available to USATF Southern California Association members who register online. When checking out, enter the discount code USATFbrentwood for a $5 discount off registration fees! This discount is available only to current 2011 Southern California USATF members! Registration fees increase after May 23, 2011, from $30 to $35. Online registration closes on May 26, 2011 at 11:59 pm.

About the USATF Southern California Road Running Grand Prix
The Brentwood 5 km is part of the 2011 USATF Southern California Association Road Running Grand Prix. This is the fourth race in the 9-race series. A minimum of five (5) races is required to be eligible for the year-end prize money and awards.

The Grand Prix provides a total of $2,000 in cash awards and championship medals to the top-5 overall men's and women's individual scorers. Gold, silver, and bronze USATF medals will also be awarded to the top-3 scorers in 26 men's and women's 5-year age-groups. Championship plaques will be awarded to the top-5 scoring clubs. As with individual runners, clubs must also field teams for a minimum of five races.

For more information on the 2011 USATF Southern California Association Road Running Grand Prix Series and to see the current Grand Prix rankings, please visit: www.scagrandprix.org.

Club Ed Runners Roll Thru Boston

The 2011 edition of the Boston Marathon (and supposedly the last time it’s a first-come-first-served race entry system) is history now, and Club Ed runners continued to run with pride and determination (with a little fatigue and soreness thrown in).

Our racers were led by Humberto Sanchez, who is quickly turning back the years and getting into collegiate racing fitness. Humberto set a new PR, finishing in 2:31, and claimed to be the first Mexican to finish (no word from the Boston Athletic Association on this accolade yet). He set out on a blistering pace (16:57 at the 5K, 1:11 at the half), on his way to a planned 2:25 to 2:30 finish, but couldn’t quite hang on…would that we all “fade” to 2:31!!!

Matt Kadowaki, who apparently has been away from the track marathon training, covered the Hopkinton to Boston route in an impressive 3:06.

Chuck Kaminski, who recently retired and might contemplate adjusting to a potential future as a successful professional athlete, added another strong Boston showing in 3:22.

Bill “BK” Kelley cruised in a controlled 3:23…no doubt cheering with the crowds and talking to the fans along the way.

Jim Morehart added to his ever-growing list of Boston finishes (is it 20 Boston finishes? 22?), hanging in there to get to the finish line in 3:54.

Congratulations to all of them, our representatives to the fastest Boston Marathon in history (Men’s overall winner in 2:03, Women’s in 2:22) and our heroes for finishing! After some clam chowdah and Sam Adams, some tall tales and sightseeing, we look forward to seeing these folks hobbling around town soon…nice work!

Flat, fast, cloverleaf course is designed for speed AND spectators on the Strand in Hermosa Beach.  Separate Races for Men and Women and 11 separate Kids Races.  The Hermosa Beach 5K is the 2nd Club Ed Championshp scoring race of the year.  Here are the details on how the qualifying Club Championship races.

Registration
Online Registration by Midnight, Tuesday
Friday, April 15th, 10am-7pm at Manhattan Beach Village Runner
Late Registration on Race Day

Race Schedule
8:00 - 5K Run Men (all ages)
8:45 - 5K Run Women, City Walk (all ages)

Kids Races:
9:50 - Age 12 - 1 Mile
10:00 - Age 11 - 1 Mile
10:10 - Age 10 - 1 MIle
10:20 - Age 9 - 1 Mile
10:30 - Age 8 - 1 Mile
10:40 - Age 7 - 1/2 Mile
10:50 - Age 6 - 1/2 Mile
11:00 - Age 5 - 1/2 Mile
11:10 - Age 4 - 1/4 Mile
11:20 - Age 3 - 100 Yards
11:30 - Age 2 - 25 Yards

Mark Shalvarjian & Humberto Sanchez (Pace Crew) & Rich Gust (Super Man) 

He's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and can leap marathons in a single stride.  His name is Super Rich!   He may be 51 years old but that doesn't stop the oldest man from Club Ed running away with the LA Marathon title.  It was a great day for many other Club Ed runners list below and especially Jeff Bryant and Will Longyear who both set new personal records in the "monsoonathan".

The marathon morning started out looking very ominous with a 100% chance of rain forecasted.  However, the running gods spared the racers until about 5 miles into the race and the downpour began.  Along with the rain came a nice tailwind that pushed the runners for about 18 miles of the race.  It was a strong enough tailwind that the lead runner was on 2:04 World Record pace through about 20 miles.  The runners who were capable of powering through the quad pain induced by rain soaked running shoes and the rolling hills passed many people fading in the last 10K.

The end of the race also had its fare share of drama trying to relocate runners at the finish who were trying to sty warm.  Massage tables were crowded with runners trying to stay warm under blankets while hotel lobbies and busses housed the overflow of runners trying to prevent hypothermia.   Rich on the other hand decided that Bloomingdales (handbags) was the warmest place in Santa Monica.  Ask Rich and he can fill you in on the rest of the story.

Here are the Club Ed results below and we will update USATF as soon as they become available. 

Club Ed LA Marathon Unofficial Results 

Rich Gust 2:50

Jeff Bryant 2:56 (PR)

Will Longyear 2:58 (PR)

Bryan Johnston 3:07

Alison Atkinson 3:09

Annie Seawright 3:11

Jake Courtney 3:15

Kristin Cooley 3:17
Stephanie Norberg 3:27

John Poirier 3:48

Mike Delgado 3:40

Kevin Elliott 4:07

Trish Riley 4:23

Barb Frank 5:00

Steve Weber 6:07

See more race photos from the race thanks to Debbie Richardson who came out to support.