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California Senior Games on June 7th
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Greetings fellow Spartans,
I'm trying to organize a carpool for the California Senior Games on Saturday, June 7th. As you may already know, this is the qualifier for the 2009 National Senior Games that will be held at Stanford in August 2009 (see website at http://www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org/SeniorOlympics/SOHomepage.htm). It can be quite expensive to travel to this meet. An overnight stay is pretty much required, unless you can schedule your flights pretty tightly around your event. Southwest has some $59 fares (one way), so you are looking at a minimum of $120 for travel plus $75 for motel. The registration is $35 and $6 for each event entered. You probably need to rent a car to get between the airport, motel and track meet. So you could pay $300 or more to run one lousy race.
Here's my plan. I can take my minivan, which will accommodate up to six runners. I figure that it will take about 40 gallons of gas for a round trip. I'm assuming that gas will be about $4.50 per gallon (price keeps going up after Memorial Day and it's more expensive on I-5). That would be about $180. Even if we have just four people, that would be $45 per person. If we double up on rooms, figure $40 for the motel. Throw in the registration fee and now, we're down to about $125, still a lot, but much more reasonable. A lot longer than a plane trip, but probably more fun.
The track events are contested between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm on Saturday. We could leave on Friday morning, take a leisurely drive down (with frequent rest stops, so that we don't cramp up), check in to a motel at a reasonable hour and be well rested for Saturday's meet. We could leave right after the meet and drive back home. Even with a break for dinner, we should be able to get home by 11:00 - midnight.
So who wants to go?
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Bay Area Senior Games
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Have you signed up the Bay Area Senior Games? The mail registration has passed, but you can still register online until March 10.
This will be a good tuneup for the California State Games, which will be held in Pasadena on June 7th. That meet will be the qualifier for the 2009 National Senior Games to be held at Stanford in August, 2009.
The qualifying standards for the national meet (which must be achieved at the State Meet) can be found at http://www.nsga.com/secure/Documents/2009%20Min%20Perf%20Stds%20%20Metric%20Equivalents%20Combined.pdf.
I'm entered in the 400m, 800, and 1500m for M55. I'm not in shape, but then nobody else is at this time of the year. I saw Bill Bengivino there last year running the 50+ 8k race, which is usually held in conjunction with the meet, although I don't see it on the schedule for this year. Franks James was there last year also, running the 1500m for M65.
Hope to see you there.
Paul Tjogas |
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sacto xc anyone?
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spartan harriers,
i just noticed that the sacto xc run is in november and my play is
over at the end of october. i could make the sacto run if we can
field a senior team. it may be a good chance to pick up some points
if wvjs and tamalpa pass--or we could pad our current standing if
empire doesn't show. would anyone else be up for the drive?
kurt |
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Spartans are in 3rd place following Presdio...Amazing!
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Hello Spartans,
Please note that after the Presidio team scoring, the Spartans seniors team are in 3rd place behind Tamalpa and WVJS. This is wonderful news!
Thanks to the great efforts of the Spartan runners, Paul, Bill, Kurt, Cisco, Sal, Leroy, Nick, and Art. Jay has also ran well but has no 40's team support .
pb |
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Spartan's Potluck - 1/27/07
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Yes, Inquiring Minds,
The Spartans Holidaze Party is on,
on the date you reserved:
4:00 PM Saturday 1/27/07
Eat at 6ish.
At Chris and Ken Irving's home
(in north SJ, driving directions to follow.)
Potluck!
Can't wait to see you.
RSVP to either me or Chris,
Jerome |
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Club Cross Country Nationals
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Hello Spartans
We need to coordinate our entry for the Club Nationals quickly if we want to save money. The entry fee increases as shown:
Online entries received on or before 5:00 EST on 12/1 are $30
Online entries received after 12/1 and before 5:00 EST on 12/4 are $55
Entries after 12/4 must be made onsite (in San Francisco and paid with cash or check) before 5:00 PST on 12/8 and are $75 (what a pain)
Faxed and race day entries are not accepted
The procedure for entering online is fairly straightforward. All you need is your Pacific Association number and password. Here is the link http://www.usatf.org/events/2006/USATFClubXCChampionships/entry/ for entering. You don’t need to declare a team just yet. We have until 12/4 to sort that out. However, if you are not listed on the club roster, you need to take a few steps to be added so that you are eligible to run for the team. Here are the people listed on the club roster:
Bill Bengiveno
Greg Burke
Pat Buzbee
Brian Conroy
Leroy Daleen
Jay Elkerton
Lino Fabula
Kurt Gravenhorst
Sal Martinez
Rhoda Mirabeau
Jose Pina Sr
Jose Pina Jr
Steve Radigan
Art Sanchez
Claire Saxton
Paul Tjogas
Francisco Verduzco
Jerome Woehl
David Woodruff
Here is what you need to do to add yourself to the club roster (from PA website):
If athlete is 18 years old or older they must submit a change of club membership in writing to PA/USATF Membership Chair Irene Herman @ Irene@ireneinsures.com or fax to 415-447-4181 or to the PA office via e-mail to Heike Mansoor at HEIKEMANSOOR@aol.com or mail it to Pacific Association Office; 120 Ponderosa Ct.; Folsom, CA 95630.
a. Request must include the following: (1) athlete’s name & membership number; (2) reason for requesting the change; (3) current club affiliation (including “unattached”); (4) name of new club you want to be affiliated with or state unattached; and, (5) name of the event/meet, location, and date where you last competed for a club.
b. After reviewing the request the membership chair will either make the change or ask for further information.
c. Allow up to 7 business days for a response. If you have not received any response than resubmit your request.
Please note that if you have a PA card, but are not listed as a club member, you are considered unattached.
Based on our attendance at the PA meet, the big question is whether we will have enough entrants to fill out a 40’s team for the men. The following categories require 5 scoring runners:
Open Men
Open Women
Men’s 40’s
Men’s 50’s
The following categories require 3 scoring runners:
All Women’s 40’s and above
All Men’s 60’s and above
We don’t have the luxury of declaring our runners after the meet like we do for the PA Grand Prix meets. We have to declare before 12/4. We need five for the 50’s team, so that limits the number of runners that we can use to backfill the 40’s team. If we can’t put you on a team, you can enter as an individual. There are awards for 5 year increments in the individual category. However, if your participation depends on whether you will be placed on a team, we should talk.
I am getting excited about this. There are some big names entering the races, such as Nolan Shaheed in the M55-59, Leonard Hill in M50-54 and Kathryn Martin W55-59. Colleen DeReuck’s husband is entered, although she hasn’t entered yet. You can view who is already entered at http://www.usatf.org/events/2006/USATFClubXCChampionships/entry/status.asp
Happy Thanksgiving everyone - Paul |
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Today is deadline for 2007 PA cards at reduced price
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The cost for a USATF membership (aka PA card) is increasing from $20 to $29.95 next year. You can buy next year's PA card for this year's price of $20 if you do it today and online. The price goes up to $29.95 tomorrow. This is a good deal for those who already have their 2006 PA cards.
However, if you don't already have a PA card for 2006 and you plan on running the PA championships or club championships this year and running at PA races next year, then it is better to purchase a membership after tomorrow, since $29.95 will get you a PA card that is valid for this year and next year. Here is the link for purchasing cards online:
https://www.usatf.org/membership/application/index.asp
On a related topic, we had another scoring issue with race day registrations. In the past, club members bought their PA cards on the day of the race and got scored for it. We can no longer count on a PA rep being available on the day of the race. Approximately 90% of Pacific Association members buy their PA cards online. The PA encourages this for two reasons, 1) if everyone buys their cards online, they don’t have to have someone at the races signing people up and 2) online registration is seamlessly and quickly entered into the PA database and the score sheets for road racing and cross country. Applications for PA cards that are not submitted online have to be processed manually, this takes longer. In the meantime, a dummy membership number has to be created for the member so he/she can be scored. When the membership number finally comes in from the PA office, the records for the dummy membership number and membership number have to be merged for all the race results. Needless to say, it is a lot of extra work. The folks that are doing this work are volunteers and we should avoid causing them extra grief if possible.
On a second related topic, we need to assure that all our club members have Spartans (Club #154) listed as their club affiliation on their PA memberships. Most of us do. If you don’t, you are assumed to be unattached and can’t be scored for our team. We don’t want to wait until race day to declare our club affiliations. The PA association and its scorers take a dim view of this. Their position, since we turn in score sheets after the race, is “How do we know that you didn’t pick out a fast unattached person at the race and add them to your team?” So let’s get these resolved before the PA meet and Club championships. You can check as to whether you are listed on the club roster by going to the following link: http://www.usatf.org/assoc/Pacific/data/members.asp?page=adult Scroll down the list and find your name. You should have club # 154 next to your name. If not, you need to add it.
Happy Halloween to everyone. - Paul |
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Any of you been on TV recently?
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Rich Santoro who laced up his running shoes for several years to run track intervals with the Spartans, has shelved his track shoes in a return to his dancing shoes.
Check his sister and him out this Sunday on NBC 11t 10:00 A.M. He was always fun at the track, this interview should not disappoint.
Jerome
“TUNE IN TO SEE SINGER-DANCERS RICH SANTORO AND JOYCE MCULLOCH ON NBC 11's BAY AREA VISTA ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15 AT 10:00 A.M. Rich Santoro and Joyce McCulloch, a brother and sister singing and dancing duo, will be featured on this week's Bay Area Vista, airing this Sunday, October 15 at 10:00 a.m. on The Bay Area's NBC11. Santoro and McCulloch share their passion for swing music with host Janice Edwards. Santoro also promotes his upcoming variety show at the Improv in downtown San Jose on October 22.
This week's episode also features an interview with Teresa Alvarado, Marlene Bjornsrud, and Selma Murillo from the Hispanic Charity Ball; Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, star of the movie "Gridiron Gang;" CHP Officer Mike Wright, with the Smart Start driver's education program; and Tony Estremera, vice chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Anchored and produced by NBC11 Community Relations Director Janice Edwards, Bay Area Vista began in November 2002 with the goal of covering the compelling personal stories of people who are making a difference in the Bay Area community.” |
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Next Race
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Next Race
Presidio 3.55 miles
7 Oct '06
Start times - Women 8:30; Men Masters 9:15; Men Open 10:00
The car pool leaves SJ City College at 6:30 for the women, 7:15 for the
men. If you are going and/or car pooling, call or e-mail Jerome at 408
230-0689, jeromewoehl@yahoo.com. The car pool assembly location is on
Leigh Avenue, adjacent to the City College stadium.
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Last week's race at Garen Park ended with these Spartans conquering the
hills of Hayward:
OPEN - 5 needed
Jose Pina - 36
Dave Woodruff -48
Jose Pina, jr - 9
Paul King - 26
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SENIORS - 4 needed
Paul Togas - 53
Sal Martinez - 53
Art Sanchez - 53
Jerome Woehl - 61
SUPER SR - 3 needed
Greg Burke - 60
Bill Bengivino - 62
Leno Fabela - 64
WOMEN OPEN - 5 needed
Claire Saxton - 29
Rhoda Mirabeau - 52
Susan Hu - 43
It was good to see a couple new faces out there. One being a WOMAN!
Rhoda Mirebeau joined the ladies, so now we are over half way to having
a team. Since the age group would be that of the youngest member, we
probably wouldn't score too well, but, hey, we would be on the
scoreboard. Claire continued her speedy ways, leading all but two of
the Spartans. Only Jose Pina and David Wooldruff could best her.
Paul King was a new male runner. A young guy! Nice to see him out
there. If we had had ONE more male to help that team of Jose Jr, Paul
and the older guys filling down, we would have had an open team - that
would be a first time ever event for as far back as I can remember.
We did field a mens' seniors team, thanks to Art limping in on a
sprained ankle. At least he didn't get lost this time. But gee Art,
spraining your ankle by picking up your shirt after practice. Now THAT
is lame. Pat B raced a mountain lion last week. Would have caught him
but sprained his ankle. Now THAT is a macho reason for not running.
Filling the Seniors' last spot was the last Spartan, me - I proved once
again that a lot of bicycling doesn't much help running. And again we
had a Super Seniors team. they are in about third in the standings.
Don't ask how many teams are in that age group - the old guys probably
could hear you ask, and if they did, they wouldn't remember.
Jerome |
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Elements to a successful appeal - by Paul
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I think there are two elements to a successful appeal. The first element is just showing up. I think it is a lot harder for the PA committee to look someone in the eye and tell them no than it is to e-mail a rejection. The second thing is to keep answering questions.
Your protest was read and that set things up. After that, the committee had
questions. As long as you can keep answering questions, you are going to be all right.
- Paul |
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