Week That Was

Bryan Green says Houston is the right choice for the 2012 Olympic Marathon trials. Link.

Rich Burns sets a new American record for the 3000. Link. Rich is a friend, who attended Hart High, COC, and an artist. Not only does he routinely set American age group records, he broke the once considered impossible record for the Beast, age 50 to 59.

The Signal reports on the scholarships to Bailey Miller and Nicole Penick. Story. Good for them. Two special young ladies.

Doug Logan wants better television coverage for running. Link.

Whitney Canyon is lovely this time of year. Link. You can park free at the Beast base and walk in. It is about two miles deep and ends at a series of waterfalls.

Q&A with Anna (Willard) Pierce

The Saugus alums and Pizzo were at the Ben Brown Invitational. Results here. More from Brando's Blog.

The Signal has a story on Canyon's Tiffini Stone.

Linda Somers Smith Annihilates American W45-49 Record for 10 Miles!

A runner friend, about 48 years old, is reading his Kindle on a flight. A twenties couple is close by and ask what that is. He explains and continues reading, only to hear the guy whisper to his girl, "Yeah, that's a Game Boy for old people." ...Same friend says he will be joining a dozen of his fellow church members on a two week mission to the slums of New Delhi, attending to the health of the desperately poor. He has never done anything of the sort and wants to help and to have a completely outta-the-comfort zone experience. Those who have done the like say the smell, unsanitary conditions, poverty and bad food are beyond our imagination. I believe it.

More on the passing of Doug Speck. Larry Eder makes a good point about telling those special to you how much they mean to you, etc. Anyone of a certain vintage has such regrets about missed opportunities with teachers, coaches, mentors, friends and especially loved ones.

Coach Zach Schroeder at Master's writes: TMC track and field had yet another outstanding meet on Saturday at the Ben Brown Invitational. The conditions were tough as the rain poured down almost incessantly during the distance carnival, which began at 6:00 that evening. However, poor weather did not stop Anthony Pizzo (Canyon) and John Gilbertson from hitting the “A” standard national qualifying mark in the 5000m, securing a trip for the two freshman to the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Marion, Ind. Pizzo and Gilbertson ran tough, proving themselves to be two of the best freshman in the nation; Pizzo and Gilbertson are among the only freshman to have qualified for nationals this early. Pizzo won his heat on Saturday, with a time of 14:45, and Gilbertson finished 4th in the same heat with a time of 14:49; both times set new school records in the men’s 5000m. With their national qualifying marks behind them, Pizzo and Gilbertson are in a great way as they progress into the remainder of the season and gear up for the national meet.

SCV Invitational girls relay video.

Foothill Bests! 2010 results in bold. Thanks Paul (Bro) Broneer!!!!

Tejon Ranch. Shangri-La? This concerns a huge, nearly entirely wild area you can get a glimpse of on I-5 and near Gorman. A precious natural resource. ...Newhall Land is attempting to effect the same sort of deal with its proposed massive project along the 126, between I-5 and Fillmore. Is the fix in one both projects? What about the sufficiency of water? Pacts with the devil? I dunno.

Will we see you at the St. Patrick's 5K? A great, fun race! Flyer.

Just back from the mountains. There was 6 to 8 inches of snow when I woke this morning. So lovely. What a thrill for a flatlander, but a worry too about getting back. As it turned out, no problem.

Canyon v. Crescenta Valley results

There were rain issues at the SCV Invitational

Napa Marathon results:

Dale Heys 2:55
Chuck Teixeira 2:55
Greg Garman 2:59
Steve Watanabe 3:25

More on the passing of Doug Speck

A Minnesota high school has produced four runners who later ran a sub four mile. Link. Amazing, eh?

Months ago, I ran up Slide Mountain. The trail starts at the bottom of the front face of the Pyramid Dam. It's challenging. Beast-like, more-or-less. There is an fire lookout station at the top, no longer in use, but available to the public for overnight stays. I want to do that. No. 1 son gave me the tip. And the video.

Congratulations to the Grizz on its domination in the distance races. Other results?

Sissy officials ban running in a race. Story.

If you're running the Los Angeles Marathon, it is time to register. There is a cap at 25,000 and we hear that will be reached in the next few days.

Unstoppable Harriet Anderson

Canyon boys look tough. Yesterday...

Boy Varsity Won 103-33
Girls Varsity Lost 66-70
Boys FS Won 65-57
Girls JV Won 68-49

Amby is butt serious.

Rob Evans, the outstanding coach at Golden Valley, talks about being a tack/cross country coach. Here. Scroll down.

More on the Chelsea King story in the Orange County Register.

Marathons and old age are hell, Chapter 73.

Doug Speck, RIP

Thinking about coyote attacks. Here.

Bryan Green on The Talent Distraction.

George Will on Nurture Shock: New Thinking About Children.

About treadmills and other indoor stuff. Here.

Solitude and Leadership. Excellent.

Q&A with Shannon Rowbury.

With the exception of Scott Jurek, I'm not aware of any runner who is also a vegetarian, though many limit their red meat intake, including Don. The debate about the matter is often passionate and fun to read, like here.

The Los Angeles Times has stories on the murder of Chelsea King. Yes, good people make mistakes, but why is it that such pyschopaths are not put away for a very, very long time, or executed? In this and other recent and like instances, the criminal justice system, and the politicos, are not up to the task of protecting us against all enemies, foreign and domestic?

Brando tells us about the life of a runner at San Francisco State. Link. Are we all a bit envious?

Any Saugus results? Track today:

Canyon at Crescenta Valley
Valencia at Birmingham
Hart at Burroughs
Golden Valley at Glendale

West Ranch opens at the SCV Invitational (Canyon High) on Saturday, 3/6.

Let the fun begin. Best wishes to all. Don't forget to write. Send results.

There will be a debate amongst the City Council candidates, and we are invited to submit questions here. My question: The six high schools in SCV have no decent, dedicated cross country course, though we have been promised same for decades. The running community of runners and walkers want a great three mile course, mostly on trail and outside the fences, at Central Park. Will you commit to ensuring a permanent course, following consultations with the community, this year?

Is Mt. Everest the "highest spot on earth"? Consider.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin reports on additional benefits of exercise for the older athletes. See Read More.

Yesterday the Saugus cross country girls, at the invitation of Supervisor Mike Antonovich, were honored at the County Board of Supervisors. Afterwards, they had lunch on Olvera street. Photos. ...Saugus track starts today in Moorpark.

In a recent study... Men who strongly identified with their teams and reported high group cohesion also reported a higher level of effort and satisfaction with their running performance. For women, the association of these variables with performance was weaker or absent altogether. More. Surprised? I am.

Wilf Paish, passionate British track coach, is remembered. Here.

The Santa Clarita Runners will put on a special, much improved, completely fun Women's Race 5K on May 23rd, 8 a.m., at Lowe's. With special race favors and a raffle. Goodies afterwards. All for the benefit of the participants and the Food Pantry. Thanks, Race Director Vince McGrath. ...Helpers and more sponsors always appreciated. ...Flyers soon.

Daily Dope.

We think we're tough? You should know about Jan Baalsrud. And about the many brave people who risked all for a stranger.

Pasadena City Council seems to care about the safety and comfort of runners and walkers at Brookside Park. Story. Do you think the City of Santa Clarita cares about a decent venue for runners and walkers at Central Park? You can have your say if you vote on April 13th, the incumbents up for your thumbs up/down being Ferry, Weste, and McLean. ...Here's a taste of what went on last year. For a year or two, the high schools had an OK course (with a great course promised by 2009) for the three race afternoons during the season. But last year, without consultation or scant notice, the City says runners inconvenience the park staff who are returning park vehicles to the rear of the park, and chops off about a third of the course and forces the runners into less pleasant trail with hair pin, less safe turns.

Point Loma eliminates men's track and cross country. Story.

What's with the "Run For" events? Story. Just so. It's not about you, me, or how wonderful we are. People are hurting and we gotta give it up.

A new study finds static, pre race stretching is not helpful. Story.

Los Angeles Times story on Chelsea King, the high school runner missing in Poway. Link. I'm familiar with the area (having racied the Lake Hodges 50K). Indeed, it is remote and with rough terrain. Some of my older runner buddies are tough hombres, but even they are wary about being alone in remote areas without "protection." Some dangerous and creepy folks and beasts abound.

I don’t tweet, I don’t Twitter, I couldn’t even tell you how to read or where to find a Twitter message. I don’t actually see the point of limiting communication to a haiku. I find the whole effusion of communications technology bewildering. All you have to do is overhear a certain number of cell phone conversations to see that the vast majority of what people say and write to each other is totally pointless. I have an email address and I’m thinking of shutting that down. It’s amazing how overly accessible people are. There’s a lot of communication in my life that’s not enriching, it’s impoverishing. ...So says Michael Lewis.

Great Read: In Patagonia Check Customer Reviews. To be honest, I only had the most vague idea as to where Patagonia was, let alone knowing anything about it.

Bolt blasts anchor leg in a 4 x 400. Video.

Julia Lucas (runner and Ian Dobson's squeeze) prefers real food. Link.

Is a big heart a particular problem for the aging athlete? Story. Hey, nothing new here. Move along, folks. Continuing to live is a risk. An annual EKG is my doctor's advice, and to keep running.

Are you worried about your next race? Losing sleep over it? Consider. Your problem is you think you have a problem.

How Palm Springs girls stay safe. Story and Video.

Alysia Johnson is 2nd in the 800 at the Indoor Championships. Link.

And in a shocker, Metivier Baille (who?) takes it out very hard and then hangs on to beat Shannon Rowbury and Sara Hall. Link. You gotta love it. ...My favorite viewing at the Winter Olympics was a long mens cross country race. Some Swedish nobody takes off with about 10K to go. He is caught in the last 100 yards by the favorite, who is in turn passed by the Swede's team mate who had done so much to hold back the chase pack. The breakaway guy hung on for the bronze. ...We need to take chances in races and life. Even if we crash and burn, there's some fun and learning in the effort.

Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport is about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. Sport, like all life, is about taking risks. ~Roger Bannister

Lauren Fleshman has a website.

The Master's College continues to shine. See Read More.

Blind man to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. Story.

Born to Run: Christopher McDougall interview. Nah, I haven't read the book, though I probably will some day. A friend, who knows more about form and shoes than we do, read it and said it's a fun book, but not to be taken seriously, especially the Caballo goof and yapping about barefoot/minimalist running.

Don't miss the St. Patrick's 5K. Flyer. Mentryville will be lovely and the the most fun race you'll do all year. I'll donate a large sum to the Food Pantry in the name of the first barefoot finisher.

Should your athletic kid get an EKG screening? Story. Only if you want to pay for it out-of-pocket, I say.

I Was A Teenage Illiterate.

Have you checked out the Joe Newton video on Dyestatcal? Very entertaining. You must be truly exceptional to attract over 200 each year to your cross country program. What a force for good in the community.

Pat Connelly has sold his Valencia home and is returning to the San Fernando Valley to be closer to his grandchildren. What a class guy. He worked very hard at Valencia and turned that program around. And more, he was a positive force amongst the Foothill coaches. Godspeed, Pat.

Thank everyone who calls out your faults, your anger, your impatience, your egotism; do this consciously, voluntarily. -Jean Toomer, poet and novelist (1894-1967)