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Booth, Schille, Reid win races at the PAUSATF John Lawson Tamalpa Cross Country Challenge
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Rachel Booth (Peninsula Distance Club), Chris Schille (Asics Aggies), and Philip Reid (Asics Aggies) won the individual races at the 13th Annual John Lawson Tamalpa Challenge PAUSATF Cross Country Grand Prix, Saturday. Host club Tamalpa will likely win 6 of the team competitions, with the Impalas winning two and the Asics Aggies taking the men's open team victory.
Mugs and post-race beer highlighted the John Lawson Tamalpa Challenge PAUSATF Cross Country Grand Prix, October 31, 2009 (photo by Carolynne Juarez).
Booth led from the start in winning her first PAUSATF cross country race of the year. Schille broke the race open on the challenging uphill portion of the course en route to his fifth victory of the season, and Philip Reid came from behind to overtake early leader, Chris Chavez (Transport Adidas), in taking his third victory of the season. Each winner established a new course record, as this was the first running of the event at its new Rodeo Valley location. All courses were 4.25 miles, although the women's race inadvertently measured short at 3.77 miles.
In the closest age division competition of the day, Irene Herman (Impala) beat Janet Bodie (Tamalpa) by 4 seconds in the women's super-senior division. The top four women finished within 20 seconds, and the top six finished within one minute.
The event was covered by dense fog as runners arrived on location in the Marin Headlands. Fog horns on the bay could be heard throughout the morning, but the fog over the race course lifted during the masters men's race and the site was bathed in sunlight by the time the races had finished.
Tamalpa, their President Ken Grebenstein, and a group of dedicated volunteers, did an excellent job of organizing the event. As has become the custom with this end of the regular cross country season event, runners were treated to a beer mug and beer at the conclusion of their race. Bagels and other pastries were also served.
The Rodeo Valley in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area proved to be a great replacement course for the China Camp location of previous years, that was unavailable for this season. The course included a long, but gradual climb on mile three, finishing with a long downhill into the finish. The hill was a strategic point in at least two of the races, and many sub-races. I know of at least one runner who spent the night at a local hostel, a terrific idea for enjoying this location and arriving quickly at the race in the morning. My own enjoyment of this natural wonder included wading into the ocean at the nearby beach after the race, a recommendation for hastening recovery that I recommend to all.
The PAUSATF Cross Country Grand Prix now concludes with the Championships to be held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, November 22. For those who are not ready to see the season end so soon, the National Club Cross Country Championships will be run in Lexington, Kentucky, December 12.
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