8th Annual San Rafael Twilight Relays

San Rafael HS is once again hosting it's Twilight Relays which will take place this coming Track and Field season on Saturday, March 8th.

From meet director Jason Jacobson:
The kids really love the relay races and running at night under the lights.

We have a place for beginners and veterans alike with multiple heats in each race ... so everyone gets to experience a "big meet" atmosphere.

Plus, we have the unique coed relays ... which gives the gals and guys one of the only chances to compete together.

We have a really strong line-up already! 1/2 filled!

Teams that will be attending so far.
--Antioch
--Berkeley
--Casa Grande
--Castlemont
--College Prep
--Crystal Springs Uplands
--Encinal
--Foothill
--Gunn
--Jesse Bethel
--Middletown
--Mt. Eden
--Novato
--Petaluma
--San Rafael
--Skyline
--Terra Linda
--University

Not to late to sign your team up for this great meet.

Other information at www.twilightrelays.com ...

Contact Jason Jacobson at Jason.Jacobson@qar.com with any questions or to let him know your team's interest in participating.

Once a Runner Book Review by Joey Kochlacs

You can find the book review by Chico's own Joey Kochlacs for arguably the best fictional book, "Once a Runner" at the following link:

"Once a Runner" Book Review

You can get your own copy of the book at Amazon.com as well as it's recently released sequel "Again To Carthage". You may have to search around the web for a better deal of OAR but the sequel is a good deal.

Track and Field Season Marks for 2007 Season

As we get closer and closer to the start of the Track and Field season, here are several links that will refresh your memory to the '07 season and the top returners for Northern California. Based on the great running this past fall season, the challenge to make the state meet will be once again very difficult.

First we have the top Central Coast Section marks courtesy of Hank Lawson's website:
•CCS Top Marks List - 2007

Next is the top San Joaquin Section top marks from '07 courtesy of Keith Conning:
•SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION TRACK LEADERS 2007 (scroll down main page)

The following are the results of the North Coast Section MOC meet last year also courtesy of Hank Lawson's website:•NCS Section Finals Day 2 Results

Here is a meet summary of the Oakland Section Finals along with the state meet qualifiers at the end of the summary courtesy of Hank Lawson's website:
•Oakland Section 2007

Courtesy of www.dyestatcal.com and www.episports.com, here are the San Francisco Section Finals results:
•San Francisco Section Road to the State Meet

Northern Section Finals Results courtesy of www.dyestatcal.com:
•NORTHERN SECTION CIF TRACK AND FIELD FINALS

There are a lot of top returners back this year which will make for a very exciting season. Updated marks will be kept throughout the season. Any track results, large or small, should be sent to me at albertjcaruana@gmail.com

The following are the automatic qualifiers from each section:
CCS-3
NCS-4
SJS-3
SF-1
OAK-1
NS-1

Here we go...

Running Shoes...What to look for?

When it comes to distance running, the most important acquisition that you will make will be your running shoes. There is plenty of information out there that you can find which will make your next shoe buy an intelligent one.

First find a store in your area that deals with runners. Second, have somebody watch you walk and run so that they can see how you make contact with the ground. Try different kinds of shoes and get out of the store and run with them. Once you make your purchase, write the date of your purchase on the side of you shoe. This will be a reminder of when you bought your shoes. Once you begin running with your shoes, the rule of thumb is that a good quality shoe will last about 400-500 miles. If you can afford to, buy two pairs and rotate your shoes. The soles of your shoes take up-to 48 hours to rebound to their normal state so rotating your shoes will help. Finally, get good insoles for your shoes such as Sof Sole, Spenco or Superfeet.

The following link will give you more information regarding finding the right shoe for you.
•Running Shoe Guide - Sierra Trading Post

If you have any other helpful hints when it comes to purchasing new running shoes, please share them in the comments link below.

NCS All-Time Track and Field Lists through 2007 and...

Top 50 Northern Californians at 2007 State Meet with their season records

and...

SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION TRACK LEADERS 2007

All those lists courtesy of Keith Conning and his website which you can find at the following link:
http://hometown.aol.com/conning/myhomepage/index.html

2 Newspaper article links about two distance running greats from the past

"Head of the Classes" is a 25-part Bay Area News Group series ranking area high schools that historically have produced the best athletic talent.

The following two articles are about two of the best high school distance runners ever in the Bay Area, Cheri Williams of Livermore and Rich Kimball of De La Salle.

•No slack on track for Williams (Cheri Williams, Livermore)
•Results of 1978 CA State Meet with Track and Field News Article

•Kimball had big State Meet (Rich Kimball, De La Salle)
•Results of 1974 CA State Meet with Track and Fields News Article

Core Strenghtening with Matt Tegenkamp Videos

Are you at home, pen in hand, wondering what to add to your new year's resolutions?

How about IMPROVING YOUR CORE STRENGTH!

So how does one develop a strong core? Check out the links listed below from Runner's World as they feature Matt Tegenkamp demonstrating his core routine.

Tegenkamp (formerly of University of Wisconsin) just finished 4th at the most recent World Championships in the 5000m and is the American Record holder in the 2 mile (8:07.07). Tegenkamp broke the American record came as he closed very strongly passing many elite runners including Alan Webb before he went on his record setting tear in Europe. Tegenkamp is also the 4th fastest American in the 5000m. at 13:04.9 and is the holder of a respectable mile personal best of 3:56.38. He is certainly part of the American running group that have made quite a statement in the distance running world scene.

In the next video links, Matt shows you his routine that covers the following:
•Part 1 - The Warm-Up

•Part 2 - Floor Routine

•Part 3 - Matt's Dumbbell Routine

•Part 4 - Matt's Balance & Glute Routine

Feel free to add other links that you may have discovered online that can help many of us out here with our core.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe 2007 is coming to a close

but here is to an even better...

Track and Field here we come...

Contra Costa Times All-Times cross country teams

Check out the two links below from the Contra Costa Times and their great writer Phil Jensen who covers Cross Country and Track and Field as well as any writer in the Bay Area.

•All-Times girls cross country teams
Coach of the year: Chuck Woolridge (Campolindo)
First team: Nicole Hood (Carondelet), Heather Cerney (Carondelet), Alycia Cridebring (College Park), Diana George (Livermore), Kellie Houser (Carondelet), Colleen Lillig (California) and Grace Orders (Campolindo).

•All-Times boys cross country teams
Coach of the year: Mike Davis (Monte Vista)
First team: James Attarian (Dublin), Nate Beach (Acalanes), Matt Duffy (St. Mary's), Jeremy Grace (Dublin), Bhavik Kanzaria (Monte Vista), Wyatt Landrum (Liberty) and Jack Leng (Castro Valley).

Best Running Book in 2007

C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Hardcover)

From Publishers Weekly
Pyle, a sports agent and promoter, came up with the idea of a footrace (mockingly known as the Bunion Derby) from Los Angeles to New York that promised $48,500 in cash, including $25,000 to the first-place winner. For a $125 entry fee, male participants got the chance for a nice payday while subjecting themselves to harsh weather, primitive housing and Pyle's ego and shady business practices. They also had to run 3,500 miles over 84 days (the equivalent of 40 miles a day) long before comfortable running shoes and sophisticated sports nutrition. Williams, a contributor to Entrepreneur magazine, has evocatively recreated a long-forgotten sports event, mixing colorful anecdotes from the race with vivid portraits of the runners. There's Brother John, a bearded zealot who raced in a sackcloth, and 20-year-old Andy Payne, a part-Cherokee Oklahoman who competed to pay off his family's farm and to win the attention of the girl he loved. What could have been one long injury report or a sappy piece of nostalgic nuttiness is a breezy, entertaining read that properly balances the runners' integrity with the comedy of errors that was Pyle's grand experiment and his life. Photos. (July)
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