2014 REDONDO MIDSUMMER NIGHT ALL COMERS TRACK MEETS 

Redondo Union High School 

Thursdays, July 17, 24, 31, August 7, 14, 2014

ALL AGES CAN COMPETE * FAT Finish Lynx Automatic Timing * 
COST: $5.00 UNLIMITED ENTRY for ATHLETES 
 (FREE for SPECTATORS AND COACHES)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS * MEET STARTS AT 6:00 PM

Running Events Order (Females followed by males) 

 4 X 100 METER RELAY 

 1600 METERS 

 100/110 METER HIGH HURDLES 

 400 METERS 

 100 METERS 

 800 METERS 

 300 METER HURDLES 

 200 METERS 

 3200 METERS 

 4 X 400 METER RELAY (Co-ed teams will be allowed)

Field Events 

 (Females followed by males unless otherwise stated) 

 LONG JUMP (6pm start–3 jumps–Open Pit–closes at 7:00-Boys and girls start at the same time in 2 pits) 

 POLE VAULT (6pm start-start at 6’ and raised every 6”) 

 HIGH JUMP (6pm start-start at 3’6” and raised every 2”)

*Ribbons to the top three in each event.
 3/16” PYRAMID SPIKES ARE REQUIRED (on sale at the meet)

LOCATION: Redondo Union High School, 1 Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, Calif. 90277 

CHECK IN: Begins at 5pm. Pay at athlete registration for a wristband and then compete in as many events as you would like to.

 PARKING: Free parking is available in the student parking lot (Del Amo & Diamond Street) or on streets around the school. Please pay attention to permit parking signs on some of the surrounding streets.

ATMOSPHERE: Come enjoy the beautiful summer Redondo Beach nights at the track under the lights. Fun music will be playing, compete for a vintage ribbon and see what’s new with local and big brand booth set ups.

 CONTACT: Meet director at redondotrackinvite@gmail.com

Coach’s Handicap Race 2104 Results -- By Marty Friedman

The handicap race tradition continued, on Saturday June 21, thanks to the “Stupendous” Silvas and our “Courageous” Coach Ed. Tradition included beautiful weather, sandbagged predicted times (2/3 runners faster than predicted), family and friends hanging around to cheer and/or partake in breakfast buffet, etc.

The first runner across the line (thank you Johnson & Johnson for the baby powder course markings) was Jake “Cyclone” Courtney. He was immediately accused of sandbagging, but claimed he was only 2 seconds off his predicted time. Upon review of his signed and notarized deposition, it was determined he was 4:58 better than predicted. Now you know why there are lawyer jokes. Did you hear the one about…….

Shortly after Jake’s finish, the first female finisher was Renee “Scurrying” Smith. She must know a good coach or have a convincing story about how slow she expected to finish. Tamar “Gliding” Gamliel was next across the line, chased by Diane “Sleek” Silva and “Nice Mark” Kerper. At this point in the race, runners began finishing in clusters, challenging the Coach to remember names quickly (and Debbie Richardson to write names even more quickly) . Sabina “Hasty” Helton and Trish “Rushing” Riley started out and finished together. They were chased by “Studly” Sean Richardson, Sharon “Smoking” Lotesto, and Mark “Streaking” Silva (who lost out on his bet to beat Sean Richardson). Next came “Little Mark” Shalvarjian, Mark “Tearing” Townes, and Simeon “Prompt” Petrov.

Honesty awards went to Bill “Whirlwind” Weber who was exactly right with his run-time prediction, although there were accusations that he took a short nap and hung out steps before his finish. Chuck “Kamikaze” Kaminski, Brad “Airborne” Angle and Nicola “Leaping” Lowrey were mere seconds off their respective predictions…and Coach Ed predicted he wouldn’t run at all, so he was right on, as well.

Awards were varied and many, including several for the select few who actually seemed to have some idea of what they were capable of. Notable finishers included Rich “Gusting” Gust, Corrine “Sandbag” Schratz, Humberto “Superman” Sanchez, Aaron “Meteor” Munger, Leonard “Butane” Burzynski, Erin “Cantering” Cvengros, Risa “Karma” Kahn, and Louise “Glinting” Gold. Louise is a new member and promises (threatens) to get back in marathon shape.

Fastest times of the day were turned in by “Superman” Sanchez (35:10) “Meteor” Munger (35:42), “Whirlwind” Weber (37:00), Jon “Mach Speed” Megeff (37:36) and “Gusting” Gust (38:49). Notable events included the fastest runner of the day (Humberto) catching the not-so-fastest (Corrine) a few steps from the finish line, both running about a minute or so off their predictions.

Our directionally-challenged runners included Risa “Karma” Kahn and Michelle “Wanderlust” Wun. Risa thought it would be interesting to check out the PV cliffs at the one-mile mark, before getting back on course, and Michelle decided to check out Lunada Bay before turning around to head back. The timing company (Coach Ed, a clock kindly loaned from Coach Renee at Mira Costa, and Debbie Richardson feverishly writing down names and times) had moved on to the pot luck breakfast by the time “Wanderlust” found her way back to the finish line, so an actual time was not recorded. Jim “Nuclear” Newman created a Club Ed first, by being chauffeured right up to the Start Line to jump into the race…although he arrived about 20 minutes later than his handicapped starting time!

Official timekeepers were Ed “Air Mail” Avol and Debbie “Rampaging” Richardson. The “Stupendous” Silvas handed out a mixture of gags and serious awards. The raucous and wildly cheering spectators included Kenzie “Assistant-In-Chief” Avol, Danielle “Boomer” Boyer, Marty “Flying” Friedman (grounded by mechanical failures), Mom-to-be Marina “Sneaky” Sanchez, role-model-mom Gretchen “Nerveless” Newman, and runner-in-training Martin “Mischievous” Newman.

Reporter’s Note: Corrine “Sandbag” Schratz received her nickname after winning the 2013 race. She suggested “Slug” as a new nickname, but it was rejected by the rules committee as unbecoming a runner. “Hot at 50” was suggested as “Hasty” Helton’s nickname, but it was rejected as both sexist and age discriminatory (and in the eyes of the beholder). Besides, we’re a politically correct club - we would never refer to Mark Silva as “A-hole” Mark, would we?

Coach's Handicap Race Results, Fastest First
	10K time	HCP TIME	FINISH	RUN	Diff from Hcp
Humberto Sanchez	34:00:00	46:00:00	81:10:00	35:10:00	1:10
Aaron Munger	34:00:00	46:00:00	81:42:00	35:42:00	1:42
Bill Weber	37:00:00	43:00:00	80:00:00	37:00:00	0:00
Jon Megeff	38:00:00	42:00:00	79:36:00	37:36:00	-0:24
Rich Gust	38:30:00	41:30:00	80:19:00	38:49:00	0:19
Mark Shalvarjian	41:00:00	39:00:00	78:53:00	39:53:00	-1:07
Jake Courtney	45:00:00	35:00:00	75:02:00	40:02:00	-4:58
Sean Richardson	45:00:00	35:00:00	77:42:00	42:42:00	-2:18
Mark Silva	45:00:00	35:00:00	77:51:00	42:51:00	2:09
Chuck Kaminski	43:30:00	36:30:00	79:52:00	43:22:00	-0:08
Renee Smith	50:00:00	30:00:00	75:14:00	45:14:00	-4:44
Erin Cvengros	43:45:00	36:15:00	82:07:00	45:52:00	2:07
Simeon Petrov	48:00:00	32:00:00	79:09:00	47:09:00	-0:51
Brad Angle	48:00:00	32:00:00	79:52:00	47:52:00	-0:08
Diane Silva	52:00:00	28:00:00	76:37:00	48:37:00	-3:23
Mark Kerper	52:00:00	28:00:00	76:37:00	48:37:00	-3:23
Sharon Lotesto	52:00:00	28:00:00	77:45:00	49:45:00	-2:15
Nicola Lowrey	50:00:00	30:00:00	79:51:00	49:51:00	-0:09
Mark Townes	52:00:00	28:00:00	78:53:00	50:53:00	1:07
Tamar Gamliel	56:00:00	24:00:00	76:27:00	52:27:00	-3:33
Sabina Helton	56:00:00	24:00:00	77:53	53:53:00	-2:53
Trish Riley	56:00:00	24:00:00	77:53	53:53:00	-2:53
Leonard Burzynski	56:00:00	24:00:00	81:41:00	57:41:00	1:41
Risa Kahn	60:00:00	20:00:00	83:35	63:35	3:35
Louise Gold	60:00:00	20:00:00	84:05	64:05	4:05
Corrine Schratz	77:00:00	3:00	81:12:00	78:12:00	1:12
Terri Unzueta	60:00:00	20:00:00	dns	dns	--
Nathalie Ingevaldsson	60:00:00	20:00:00	dns	dns	--
Kevin Sullivan	42:00:00	38:00:00	dns	dns	--
Greg Eng	36:00:00	44:00:00	dns	dns
Ian Mikelson	36:00:00	44:00:00	dns	dns
CLOCK START	80:00:00	0
Jim Newman	47:00:00	33:00:00	late to start; jumped in with ~23min hcp?
Michelle Wun	44:30:00	35:30:00	ran off course to Lunada Bay…:(

Club Ed Racers (Successfully) Return to Anaheim, By Ed Avol 

On Saturday, June 14, under an overcast but humid morning, our South Bay group made a brief visit to the 15th Annual Northgate Anaheim 5K, to test themselves on the streets near the Magic Kingdom. Last year, several in the group had raced in Anaheim and pronounced this as “a fast course” and “one not to miss.”…so we came, we saw, we conquered (sort of).

The course is a flat and fast run around downtown Anaheim, with long straightaways (the first one is over a mile long), lots of competition, and a nice post-race booth area for snacks and drink. Several clubs (Cal Coast, Snail’s Pace, Southern California Road Racing, Jamul’s Toads) as well as schools were represented…and so was Club Ed Running.

The race was won by Sydney Gidabuday in 14:43, so there was definitely some speed present on race day. Our team was led by Aaron Munger who captured first Club Ed honors for the day and a new PR (16:03), just holding off a quickly closing Humberto Sanchez (16:06). Fast-improving Bill Weber (16:54) showed more of his impressive potential, winning his age group and setting a new PR. Down the final straightaway, Kate Myers (17:12) and Jon Megeff (17:13) fought it out, with Kate getting the lean at the tape. Billy Crader (17:32) finished just seconds ahead of a quickly improving Rich Gust (17:35). Nathalie Higley (17:51) won her age group, even though she felt like she is still a recovery-in-progress. Carrying the club gear and closing the gap, Coach Ed showed he, too, is slowly improving, finishing in 19:26, which was good enough to cover the geezer category. 

We all thought the race was well-done and would return to run again…hope to see more of you in Anaheim next June!

Registration Now Open For The Village Runner 4th of July 5k Presented by UCLA Health Systems

Entries are open for the 21st edition of the Village Runner 4th of July 5K presented by UCLA Health Systems. The event highlights the 5K Run/Walk. The race begins on Independence Day at 8 a.m. in Riviera Village, Redondo Beach, California. Prior to the start of the race there will be the Red, White, and Blue Costume Contest with cash prizes awarded for the best, and most unique, running costumes. Following the 5K, there will be the Firecracker Dash races for kids 12 and under. These races begin at 9:30 a.m.

To register for the race, visit VillageRunner.com and click on the event and registration links. Registration can also be done at the Village Runner store in South Bay. Registration fees are $30 for children and $35 for adults. Runners can either register online, in-store, or come in person to register on-location right before the race starts.

Land Rover South Bay, the exclusive vehicle sponsor of the race, will provide the pace car for the race. Rock & Brews, the renowned restaurant chain co-founded by KISS rock and roll stars Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, will host the post-race party at its location within walking distance of the finish line. The Sound 100.3fm is the presenting media sponsor. Clif Bar will be the official energy bar for the race. TheRemedyPharm is a continuing race supporter.

Media Contact: Don Franken (office) (310) 342-0260/(cell) (310) 962-3297

Small Club Showing, But Big Results at Magic Shoe 5K 

(Ed Avol - Running Reporter)

Days of heat, fire, and smoke failed to deter our racers from travelling down to Corona Del Mar for the Magic Shoe 5K. This is a great road race well-organized by the Cal Coast Running Club, with collected used running shoes going to those less fortunate. Through this race, Cal Coast has provided over 60,000 pairs of running shoes to assorted running programs, homeless shelters, churches, and those needing a little help…so it’s a worthwhile cause AND a great 5K!

Still, Club Ed members were a little hesitant to go race, given that 15 of our racers were still recovering from the Boston Marathon, and the prior week had been filled with unseasonable heat from a weather event and unexpected smoke from nearby San Diego fires. Fortunately, the weather cooled a little, the winds relented, and the race ended up being just a bit warm but not too smoky. 

Race-wise, the first three 5K finishers crossed the Finish Line within 2 seconds of each other. Juan Paredes officially got the win in 14:34, with Roosevelt Cook (14:35) and Brandon Bethke (14:36) chasing him through the finish.  On the women’s side, newcomer Dann Mineo from Redondo Beach, just about to begin her medical residency at Harbor General, surprised the field to win in 17:08 (but rich and Ed had noticed her in the race warmup and predicted she would be fast). Club Ed newcomer Kate Myers showed just one of the many reasons we’re excited to have her in the group, nabbing second overall in 17:35.  Rachel Baker of Redondo Beach (and the Janes Racing Team) finished third in 17:42.

In the club racing category, several local racing groups were present, including literally hundreds of Cal Coast runners (the race hosts and organizers), seemingly hundreds of Equalizers (Coach Jerry’s incredibly talented kids from Placentia), and assorted Southern Cal Road Runners, Janes, Club Ed, Snail’s Pace, Jamul Toads, etc.

Aaron Munger and Humberto Sanchez led the way for Club Ed, pulling each other along until Aaron got the win in 16:14 (with Humberto close behind in 16:23). Both were recent PRs for these two rapidly-improving athletes. Bill Weber showed the strength of youth, running 17:28 just weeks after his 3:01 at Boston. Kate Myers was next, cruising along in the race with headphones, until she realized the race was about over, running 17:35 and serving notice that she will be rapidly moving to the front. Rich Gust finished in an impressive 17:45, demonstrating he is most definitely on the comeback trail while notching a friendly win over perennial co-competitor Tania Fischer of the Janes. Nathalie Higley made a gutsy showing for the club, despite being unable to breathe due to respiratory allergies (so who needs to breathe to run?). Though disappointed in her 18:10 showing, her presence helped the team and made a statement about her commitment to the group…and though not up to “Nathalie” standards, she was still fast enough to win her age group.

James Reinhardt made an unexpected showing, running 18:51 while in town to visit high school friends. Former club member Paul King (19:01) also ran the race, and asked Coach Ed-- halfway through the race-- how Cal Coast had managed to convinced us all to come down and run. Coach Ed was unable to answer, due to an increasingly pressing need for oxygen from about the one-mile mark to the finish line. Nevertheless, Coach Ed did show he is also on the comeback, finishing in 19:44 and winning his division (first-left-handed-old-bald-guy-with-a-bum-knee-and-a-long-list-of-excuses).

Sharon Lotesto was there to race, fighting through the back injury she suffered earlier in the week. In typical Sharon-esque fashion, she ran tough and finished in 23:20, good for 2^nd in her age group. Rounding out our travelling team, Irene Mapua ran a respectable 25:19, just a prelude to future faster times as she gets back into racing form.

We had fun, generally ran fast, and re-confirmed that age, size, gender, and excuses don’t well-predict finish times… we look forward to the next starting line, and hope to see you there!

Club Ed 2014 Boston Marathon Results by Will Longyear

The 118th running of the Boston Marathon was absolutely spectacular on so many levels.  The field was huge - 36,000 entrants, the crowds were gigantic and enthusiastic and the weather was nearly perfect but this year was special.  Hanging over the event was the memory of last year's marathon bombings and a palpable sense of renewal and determination to triumph over the senseless violence that affected so many lives and brought the race to a premature close.  The people of Boston responded to the tragedy with amazing warmth, welcome and generosity towards the runners on and off the course.  The BAA and the City of Boston orchestrated this event with such precision that there is no question why this race is such a premier event and so significant to the running world. 

As always, the course was tough and served up a mixed platter of surprises and disappointments for all levels.  Meb Keflezighi, 38, of San Diego was the first American in 31 years to win the men's race with a time of 2:08:37 while Shalane Flanagan of Marblehead, Mass, considered to be a strong contender for the women's title, came in with an amazing time of 2:22:02, a new American women's course record but only 7th place in a really tough field.  The women's winner, Rita Jeptoo, 33, of Kenya, repeated her winning performances from last year and 2006 with an astounding time of 2:18:58 - 2 minutes faster than last year.

As for Club Ed and friends, I have provided the accounts of those that I know for certain and have refrained from passing on rumors about getting eaten up by the hills or bad shoes choices.  Greg Eng delivered the best time of the field with a time of 2:45 to redeem himself after a tough LA Marathon finish of 3:05-ish only one month ago - nice job!. Will Longyear brought home a 3:01 by running it the hard way - going out fast and paying for it all through the hills.  After weeks of equivocating about poor projected finish times due to chronic plantar faciitis and a slow recovery from a recent surgery, Jon Megeff and Mark Shalvarjian were revealed to be the massive sand-baggers that they are by handing in 3:03 and 3:07finishes, respectively.  Despite their apparent injuries, both ran very strategic races that enabled them to maximize their race enjoyment by high-fiving as many kids as possible and "lingering" at the Wellsley wall.  Shalvarjian managed to negative split every 10K, including the hills.  Bill Weber also delivered a 3:01 and had the best seed to finish ratio - Bib: #5733 / Finish: 2672 place (factoid included for Mark Silva).  Recent San Diego transplant and former Club Ed member, Sam Dillman ran a solid 3:05.  The "Perseverance in the Face of Adversity Award" goes to Tami Shalvarjian for running the entire race on an injured foot that caused a compensating stride resulting in a massive blister on the injured foot.  Matt Knight gets the "Never Leave Your Wingman Award".  Following a nice 3:48 finish, he spent the evening in the Med tent with a severely dehydrated buddy and forewent a well deserved evening of celebration.

Club Ed Runners

Greg Eng 2:45
Mike Sevier 2:54
Will Longyear 3:01
Jon Megeff 3:03
Bill Weber 3:01
Mark Shalvarjian 3:07
Sam Dillman 3:05
Kevin Sullivan 3:26
Tami Shalvarjian 3:28
Renee Williams-Smith 3:50
Marcio Kleeman 3:54
Emily Vaughn 3:23
Jim Morehart 4:08
Chuck Kaminski 3:48

Matt Knight  3:48
See other South Bay runners - by Village Runner

USATF National Masters 8K Championships

February 23, 2014

(Story by Marty Friedman; Stats Support by Ed Avol)

Maybe they were escaping the Arctic vortexes, or maybe the words “national championships” attracts like moths to light, but there were some strong runners from all over the country at the Brea Masters 8K. Of course Club Ed runners were attracted, even without Coach Ed’s promise of “under the table” appearance money. Did you get yours?

A large group of runners congregated at MCHS in the early morning cold and fog for the caravan to Brea. There was a lot of shivering during the redundant check-in process, but the sun broke out shortly before the race started, for perfect running weather.

The course was tough, with sustained uphill sections for the entire 3^rd Mile, after “rollers” in Miles 1 and 2. After one last climb, Mile 4 was entirely downhill, and the last “mile” was a gentle roller.

Our top team finish was 3^rd place for the Men’s 50-59 team, represented by Jake “Cyclone” Courtney, Rich “Gusting” Gust, Kevin “Fury” Farrington, and Chuck “Kamikaze” Kaminski. We had a second Men’s 50-59 team that took 6^th place. This team was comprised of Will “Leopard” Longyear, Kevin “Swift” Sullivan and Jim “Tornado” Torii.

Our Women’s 40-49 team achieved 4^th place, led by Nathalie “Hurricane” Higley, Tami “Supersonic” Shalvarjian and Karina “Ballistic” Bird. Taking a 5^th place was the Women’s 50-59, with contributions from Debbie “Rampaging” Richardson, Julia “Frenzied” Fretschl and Marian “Dynamo” Drahnak.

We had some masters “orphans” (guys and gals without a minimum 3 team members) also. Marty “Flying” Friedman (35:54), Art “Cooking” Cookson (36:37), Sharon “Smoking” Lotesto (39:08), and Monyean “Air Flow” Acuna (47:57) ran their senior hearts out as individuals. “Flying” said the course turbulence led to his late arrival at the gate (Finish).

Individual achievements were made by “Rampaging” Richardson with a 50-54 AG 2^nd place and “Air Flow” Acuna, 3^rd in her AG (unlisted out of respect). Just missing medals were “Hurricane” Higley and “Supersonic” Shalvarjian, both in 4^th place. The women’s field was packed by an Olympic marathoner and a former high school phenom. The fastest Master Male was Greg Mitchell (40yrs old) from McMinnville OR, in 25:07; first Woman was Magdalena Lewy Boulet (40yrs old) from Oakland CA, in 28:16. Oldest finisher was 81yr old Al Ray from Diamond Bar CA, who traversed the course in an impressive 1:00:59.

Cheering on the club were our recovering running addicts: Ed “Air Mail” Avol, Dave “Galloping” Grethen and Mark “Swift” Shalvarjian. Non runner supporters included “Smoking” Lotesto’s soulmate Dale and “Dynamo” Drahnak’s significant other.

Youth was served also. In the “kid’s race”(the Classic Brea Open 8K), we had another outstanding battle between Aaron “Meteor” Munger (27:33) and Humberto “Superman” Sanchez (27:58), with the former taking 2^nd in his AG and the latter taking 4^th. “Superman” said he will take down “Meteor” as soon as he gets his taste of baby-induced sleep deprivation. Mike “Comet” Cortez (29:24) was 6^th in his always tough AG, followed by Andy “Yeoman” Yurko (31:02) in 8^th place. James “Miler” Miles (28:34) was our youngest competitor, taking 4^th in the 25-29 AG. Irene Mapua represented our “younger” women racers with a yeoman 42:11.

Editor’s note: Nicknames can be changed, for a small banking/baggage fee or chocolate bribes

PS – Our fastest finisher (young guy Aaron Munger at 27:33) would have placed 21^st in the Masters’ race!!!

Masters’ Championship 8K Results: https://www.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2014/USA-Masters-8-km-Championships/Results.aspx

(“Kid’s” Race, the Regular Brea 8K Classic): https://results.active.com/events/23rd-annual-brea-8k-classic-presented-by-brea-mall

Club Ed summary:

Team finishes:

W40-49 4^th Team (Nathalie 30:47,Tami 31:43,Karina 36:47)

W50-59 5^th Team (Debbie 31:32, Julia 40:16, Marian 42:55)

M50-59A 3^rd Team (Rich 29:42, Jake 29:48, Bill 30:10, Chuck 31:26)

M50-59B 6^th Team (Will 30:28, Kevin F 30:35, Kevin S 31:39, Jim 34:47)

Individual Awards:

Silver Medalist (2^nd AG, 50-59) -- Debbie Richardson

Bronze Medalist (3^rd AG 65-69)-- Monyean Acuna