Monday, December 27, 2010

SCA Road Running & Grand Prix Series Update

Congratulations 2010 Road Running Grand Prix Winners!
Dale Campbell: 4511 - 1st - Tania Fischer: 4420
Jon Megeff: 4320 - 2nd - Alison Atkinson: 4371
Ray Knerr: 4306 - 3rd - Kirsten Leetch: 4335
Lydia Salinas: 4234 - 4th - Rich Gust: 4222
Rosalva Bonilla: 4203 - 5th - Nabor Gomez: 4180

Overall 2010 Road Running Grand Prix Champions Tania Fischer and Dale Campbell held off any challengers to win the top prize, despite the final surge of talent at the November Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K. The final results for the individual competition closely mirrors the team competition: Tania Fischer is joined by fellow teammate, and third place women’s finisher, Kirsten Leetch from The Janes Elite Racing. The Janes finished second in the team competition, right behind 2010 Road Running Grand Prix Team Champions Club Ed Running. Not surprisingly, no fewer than three top ten finishers hail from this South Bay powerhouse running club: second place overall finishers Alison Atkinson and Jon Megeff, and fourth place men’s finisher Rich Gust. Rounding out the women’s division are 2009 Champions Lydia Salinas with fourth place overall, and Rosalva Bonilla in fifth place. Ray Knerr takes home the third place men’s finish, and Nabor Gomez is the fifth place finisher. Both Gomez and Campbell compete for Team Runners High.

Congratulations to all the runners who participated in the USA Track & Field Southern California Association Road Running Grand Prix. 2010 saw the numbers of runners in the Road Running Grand Prix more than double, from 161 runners in 2009, to a total of 389 in 2010. Several factors contributed to the increased turnout: the series was expanded from seven races in 2009 to nine races in 2010. Interest was piqued by new two events for Southland runners: the revised Honda LA Marathon Presented by K-Swiss, and the inaugural Southern California Association Road Mile Championships. The prize money was increased from $800 to a total of $2,000, and 2010 saw an explosion of interest by youth runners in the Road Running Grand Prix, including the dominant youth team, and 2010 Champions, the Tustin-based Equalizers.

Competitors in 2010 took the standards set by the 2009 runners and considerably raised the bar. The question is: What can we expect for 2011? In February of 2010, no one in the Association familiar with team road racing even had Club Ed Running on their radar. Who will be the next Club Ed Running? With two finishers in the top ten, can we expect to see more competition from Team Runners High? Are the Janes set to close the narrow gap between their team and Club Ed Running? Is there a youth club ready to mount a challenge to The Equalizers?

Join us on February 6, 2011 at the Redondo Beach 5K as we kick off 2011, and be sure to bring your "A" game! The 5 km race is the official Southern California Association 5 km Championship race! We will be offering more great prizes, and holding our official 2010 awards ceremony after the 5 km race.

See you at the starting line!
 
Wayne Joness
Chair, Southern California USATF Open Athletics LDR
runner@joness.com

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