It All Comes Down to the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K!

SCA 10K Open and Masters Championships – Grand Prix
Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K
Thursday - November 26, 2009 
Print Press Release (PDF)

The 2009 Southern California Association USATF 10K Open and Masters Championships will be held on Thursday, November 26, the 32nd annual Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K.

One of the largest Thanksgiving Day races in America, more than 12,000 runners are expected to participate on Thanksgiving morning. The stunning course takes runners on a tour of one of the most scenic coastal running tracks in the nation. Participants will feel the pounding surf and cool ocean breezes as they wind through the Dana Point Marina, Doheny State beach, and over the Island Way Bridge, by the majestic cliffs and coves of Dana Point.

Eulogio Rodriguez

For runners participating in the inaugural 2009 Road Running Grand Prix Series, the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K is the final race. In the men’s division, Eulogio Rodriguez, the 2009 Southern California Association Marathon Champion, holds a commanding 200-point lead. Rodriguez has completed the four-race minimum required for final awards and cash prizes. However, there are several competitors who have run only three races, including top masters runners Perry Forrester and John Araujo. Depending on the fortunes of the day, any of these runners could take the top prize in the 2009 Road Running Grand Prix Series.

Rosalva Bonilla

 Lydia Salinas

In the women’s division, competition between Rosalva Bonilla and Lydia Salinas has been incredibly close for months now, and it is impossible to predict the outcome between these two determined runners. Bonilla held the lead in the Grand Prix series coming into October, when Salinas moved ahead by a razor thin margin of just 22 points following the Run Forrest Run 5K! After the results of the 2009 Southern California Half Marathon Championship race, the Santa Barbara News-Press Half Marathon, were totaled, Bonilla now leads 3304 to 3293! Only 11 points separates the two runners! There are seven races in the 2009 Grand Prix series, but only the four highest scores for each runner are used to determine the winners! So not only do both runners have a chance to raise their highest score at the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K, but they can also drop their lowest scoring race.

In addition to the chance for Grand Prix runners to earn cash prizes at the end of the series, the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K also offers a total of $3,500 in prize money on race day:

• 1st Place Male and Female: $1,000
• 2nd Place Male and Female: $500
• 3rd Place Male and Female: $250

For an Elite Runner Entry contact: nchambers@danapointchamber.com.

To add more excitement to the Southern California Association USATF 10K Championships event, a handsome USATF Championship plaque will be presented to both the Open winners, and to the Masters winners. The Open winner will be the first USATF runner to cross the finish line, and the Masters winner will be the first runner over 40 to cross the finish line. Gold, silver, and bronze USATF championship medals will also be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers in 26 men’s and women’s 5-year age groups.

Awards will be presented on race day to USATF competitors, and age-graded scores from the 10K will be posted at www.scagrandprix.org. The Grand Prix also offers team scoring with a minimum of five runners from a USATF affiliated team needed for scoring. More than five runners per team can participate, but only the five highest scores will be used.

The Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K is a USATF certified and sanctioned event. The course map of the 10K certification is online at
http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=CA01050RS.

Online registration for the 2009 Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K is available through 5:00 pm, November 23! There is on-site registration available on November 25 and 26, however, the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K sold out last year! The Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K limits registration to 4,000 runners. No race-day registration was available in 2008! Early, online registration is highly recommended!

TO REGISTER ON-LINE:
http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1729988

SCA-USATF CONTACT:
Wayne Joness
Chair, Open Athletics Long Distance Running Committee
Southern California Association/ USA Track & Field
Cell (310) 600-5332 Email: runner@joness.com

SCA Cross Country Championships Results

SCA Cross Country Championships 
November 15, 2009
Kenneth Hahn Park
Results | Video

SCA Men's Open Cross Country Championships

SCA Women's Open Cross Country Championships

SCA Men's and Women's Masters Cross Country Championships

SCA Cross Country Championships Awards and More

Sharp and McLarty Take Top Honors at 2009 Santa Barbara News-Press Half Marathon

SCA Half Marathon Championships
Santa Barbara News-Press Half Marathon
Saturday - November 7, 2009

• SCA Half Marathon Championships Results (PDF)
• Santa Barbara News-Press Half Marathon / 5K
• SCA Grand Prix Standings: www.scagrandprix.org

Andrea (“Drea”) McLarty and Aaron Sharp

It was another spectacularly beautiful day for racing, as the Southern California Association USATF Road Running Grand Prix and Road Championships returned to Santa Barbara on Saturday, November 7, at the 33rd annual Santa Barbara News-Press Half Marathon. Taking first place in the men’s division was Aaron Sharp, with a time of 1:09:16, and in the women’s division Andrea McLarty wins her championship title with a time of 1:22:12.

Aaron Sharp 

At a previous USATF event, one runner described racing in Santa Barbara, as “Aaron Sharp, and then everyone else way behind him.” 2009 looked like a field to challenge Sharp’s domination. Joining Sharp at the start line was Robert Olivera of Ventura, winner in October of the Ojai Half Marathon with a time of 1:10:32, and Eli Rodriguez, of Whittier, the 2009 Southern California Association USATF Marathon Champion, who also had an October victory, winning the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon in 2:25:57.

A little more than an hour later, as the top runners neared the finish line, the race appeared to be “Aaron Sharp, and then everyone else way behind him.” Sharp, who is preparing for the 2009 California International Marathon in December, won a decisive victory, finishing three minutes ahead of Olivera’s 1:12:48, and six minutes faster than Eli Rodriguez’s 1:15:27. This was also Sharp’s third time running the Santa Barbara Half Marathon, and his best finish as well.

Andrea "Drea" McLarty 

While Sharp held a decisive lead throughout the entire race, Andrea McLarty (Drea), had more of a challenge to keep her distance from challengers Sara Dillman and Chrystee Bradley. McLarty reported that while she felt strong for most of the race, the last 5K was a tremendous struggle. Despite having the worst “bonk” she could remember in a major race, McLarty held her focus and won convincingly in 1:22:12, followed by Dillman, 1:23:52, and Chrystee Bradley, 1:25:04.

After becoming a mother to two children, McLarty is returning to running with a real passion and fire. This was not McLarty’s first Santa Barbara Half Marathon; she also ran the course in 2007, finishing in 1:31:51. Two years older and two years wiser she cut nearly ten minutes off her previous time! Like Sharp, McLarty is preparing for a marathon, in her case the inaugural 2009 Santa Barbara International Marathon.

The Santa Barbara News-Press Half Marathon is also part of the 2009 Road Running Grand Prix, and competition in the 2009 Road Running Grand Prix for overall scoring is about as close as possible. In the women’s division, both Rosalva Bonilla and Lydia Salinas ran a great race. In October, Salinas took the overall lead from Bonilla by 22 points after the Run Forrest Run 5K in Long Beach. When the scores from the Half Marathon were in, Bonilla moved out in front of Salinas again, with a razor thin margin of 11 points. Bonilla has a score of 3304 compared to 3293 for Salinas. The final outcome between these top runners will not be known until after the final Grand Prix race, the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K, on November 26, which is also the 2009 Southern California Association 10K Championship.

Several men have now run the four-race minimum for end-of-year cash prizes and awards in the Grand Prix, and the leader, not surprisingly, is Eli Rodriguez. Rodriguez holds a commanding 200-point lead over his nearest rival, David Kent. But Rodriguez has lots of potential competition by runners who have only run three races in the Grand Prix, including top masters runners Perry Forrester and John Araujo, and young Nicholas Lopez, the 2009 Southern California Association USATF 5K Champion.

In the team competition, a newly filled-out Santa Barbara Athletic Association trounced Track Club LA, 4001 to 3666. The Santa Barbara Athletic Association had no fewer than four runners scoring above 800, the mark for “nationally ranked” runners. Leading the SBAA was Maggie Mason, who also took top honors at the Semana Nautica 15K race in July.



The final Association Road Running Championship race will be the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K, held on November 26, 2009. This race will give overall awards to USATF runners, as well as determine the final winners in the 2009 Road Running Grand Prix.

USATF Contact:
Wayne Joness
Chair, Open Athletics Long Distance Running Committee
Southern California Association/ USA Track & Field
Cell (310) 600-5332 Email: runner@joness.com

SCA Cross Country Open 11/1

SCA Cross Country Open
November 1, 2009
Kenneth Hahn Park
Results

2009 SCA Cross Country Open 8K

2009 SCA Cross Country 6K

It’s a Party at the 25th Annual Long Beach Marathon/Run Forrest Run 5K!

LONG BEACH, CA—The 2009 Southern California Road Running Grand Prix recharged on Sunday, October 11, with the Run Forrest Run 5K, part of the massive running spectacle that was the 25th annual International City Bank Long Beach Marathon. The festive atmosphere on Shoreline Drive energized Southern California Association members, and with a nearly flat course, many runners set new personal records at the 5K race.

For the first time ever, both the full and half marathon events sold out, with the Run Forrest Run 5K also bringing in one of its largest fields of runners. The starting line for the 5K resembled a class reunion for many USATF runners who participated in earlier Grand Prix events. It had been several months since the last Grand Prix race, the Semana Nautica 15K on July 4th, and SCA runners showed the results of their summer training.

Luis Guevara, 15:09, of International City Racing

Crossing the finish line first was USATF member Luis Guevara, with a time of 15:09. Luis ran as a member of the International City Racing Track Club. This recently formed group, coached by Jason Bruton, has proven itself to be a dominant force, and Sunday was no exception. Luis’s ICR teammate Eli Rodriguez won the marathon event on Sunday. In May, Rodriguez also won the OC Marathon, taking the title of the 2009 Southern California Association Marathon Champion. And fellow ICR runner Jimmy Grabow won the half marathon, making a perfect sweep for International City Racing in all three events. In addition to his victory Sunday, Grabow was also the first SCA runner to cross the finish line in the elite Coaster 5K race this March!

Cambria D’Amico of the Janes, 17:20

In the women’s division, Cambria D’Amico handily won with a time of 17:20. D’Amico runs as a member of the Janes Elite Racing Team, a USATF elite development club. While the 5K was D’Amico’s first Grand Prix event, the Janes turned in an outstanding team performance in the 2009 Grand Prix, posting the highest single score by a team at the Brentwood 10K in June. D’Amico has been strong all year, also winning the Conquer the Bridge 5 mile Road Race held in San Pedro on Labor Day.

In the team competition, Track Club LA edged out Elite Health Track Club. This was a rematch for the two teams, who also traveled to Goleta in July to run in the Semana Nautica 15K. While Track Club LA is a large group of Westside Los Angeles runners, Elite Health Track Club is a smaller, close-knit group of determined runners coached by Wayne Douglas. Douglas has really encouraged his runners to participate in the Road Running Grand Prix, and as a result Elite Health Track Club is the only group to claim one hundred percent participation, with every one of Wayne’s runners showing up in at least one Grand Prix race!

With the age-graded scores calculated and posted online at www.scagrandprix.org, one thing is very clear: the race for the first place overall finisher in the women’s division is going to be very close. Rosalva Bonilla has consistently placed high in every race this year, scoring in the 800s except when fighting a cold at the Semana Nautica 15K. But close behind Bonilla has been Lydia Salinas. After her 798 score at the Semana Nautica 15K, Salinas was determined to break 800, and she easily did at the Run Forrest Run 5K, posting a score of 877! For the first time ever, Salinas has taken the lead in Grand Prix scoring by the narrow margin of 22 points, 3269 (Salinas) to 3247 (Bonilla). Bonilla did not post a time for the Run Forrest Run 5K, since she was on the marathon course, running the Long Beach Marathon in 3:06:56, and finishing first in her age group!



A Snail’s Pace Running Club also had a strong showing at the Run Forrest Run 5K, with Dale Campbell (M-56) turning in a spectacular 16:29 time, for an age-graded score of 941. Dale’s score is the highest of the 113 runners participating in the 2009 Grand Prix. Sue Zihlmann (F-45) ran 18:35, only one week after her 2:53:22 finish at the St. George Marathon. Club liaison Bob Morris indicated there would be more participation by ASPRC at 2010 USATF events, so Southern California runners are officially on notice to watch out for great performances by this motivated running club!

With the 5K race behind them, runners relaxed and enjoyed the best finishing line feast ever, with lunch provided by Bubba Gump Shrimp, the title sponsor of the Run Forrest Run 5K. Runners were offered a selection of box lunches, including smoked salmon and shrimp! While the half and full marathon runners dined on traditional bagels and orange slices, every 5K runner felt like an elite athlete on Sunday morning, with the first class treatment offered by race organizers International City Racing. And in celebration of the silver anniversary of the International City Bank Long Beach Marathon, more than 25,000 cupcakes were distributed on Sunday!

The next race on the schedule is the Santa Barbara Half Marathon, on November 7. This race is also the 2009 Southern California Association Half Marathon Championship event, and turnout should be strong. The Grand Prix Series concludes with the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K, the 2009 Southern California USATF 10K Road Championship race, on Thanksgiving Day, November 26.

For more information, please visit:
Road Championship Series: www.scaroadchampionship.org

For current Grand Prix Point Standings, please visit:
www.scagrandprix.org

CONTACT:
Wayne Joness
Chair, Open Athletics Long Distance Running Committee
Southern California Association/ USA Track & Field
Cell (310) 600-5332 Email: runner@joness.com