For the fourth year in a row, Crosby Freeman won the San Francisco Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon. He crossed the line almost 3 minutes ahead of the next runner! And Masters Runner, Gary Gellin takes first in his division with a top 20 finish.  Here are the results... Great job, gentlemen.

 A handful of Aggies attended the Pacific Association LDR Awards Banquet on Saturday February 6th, held at the Blue Pheasant in Cupertino, CA.  Attendees: Kevin and Noreen Searls, Joe Fabris, Gordon Abbott, Phil Reid, Linda Somers Smith, Carlos Siqueiros, Chris Schille, and Crosby Freeman.

Winter training is paying off.  Samo Michel was first overall female at The Dam Run 5K in Orinda last weekend. Great job, Samo!  Results here.  And Kim Conley represented very well with a top 5 finish at the University of Washington Invite. Awesome! (Results above in News from Around the Web). Excellent job, ladies!

Jonathan Cardenas represented the Asics Aggies at the 2010 Regional Cross Country Champs in Iten, Kenya. Before toeing the line, he survived an armed robbery at knife point. Besides that, he also witnessed a brutal beating during a morning run. Although the race was very difficult it might have been the easiest part of his trip! For all the details of his visit and his race, see his race report on our Discussion/Message Boards.

Jameson starts off the year with a 3rd place finish and a 2:24:02 PR. Results below.

Jonathan Cardenas will representing the Asics Aggies at the Regional Cross Country Championships in Iten, Kenya on Saturday, January 23. Is he intimidated by the world class competition? No! He's gonna throw down with the rest of 'em. We'll be rootin' for you, Jonathan!

Our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences go out to Kara and her family at the loss of her beloved step-father, Danny Vargas. Godspeed and rest in peace, Danny.

Jack Leydig has played a huge roll in developing the strong running community that exists in California today.  Among other things he was the president of WVTC and organized and directed many races that brought the top runners in the country.  He founded the Christmas relays and also started one of the earliest racing circuits for “points” which superseded the USATF running circuits.

Some of you may know that Jack is fighting a rare form non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and seems to be recovering well after rounds of chemo. Mark Winitz calls out to the California runners to: “Run your next race in honor of him and email me about it.  Recruit your buddies to do the same.  I’ll pass your emails along to Jack.  We owe him that kind of thanks.”

Mark Winitz email address is:  winitz@earthlink.net

Carlos Siqueiros, Mario Mendoza, Scott Stover and Kota Reichert rallied together at last minute to make a showing at this year's Christmas Relays at Lake Merced... and of course, they won!  Way to get it done, guys! 

Christina Reyes, Tricia Frisella and Glorybelle Lillie also got a last minute team together with the help of Carlos, who ran the last leg for their relay team. Results pending for their coed team, but they all ran strong. Special kudos to Carlos for running two hard legs one week after he ran the CIM.  

The gang of seven celebrated another Asics Aggie Running Club success at Pluto's in SF. Time to gear up for the holidays and winter training.

 OPEN WOMEN: Aggie women in top 3 in the nation!

3. Asics Aggie Rc
    1    1 JrW  Kim Conley, 23*, West Sacramento, CA       20:36  
    4    1 W45  Linda Somers Smith, 48*, Arroyo Grande, CA 20:41  
    9    8 JrW  Bethany Nickless, 24*, Santa Barbara, CA   21:08  
   21   20 JrW  Kara June, 27*, San Luis Obispo, CA        21:26  
   72   67 JrW  Angela Mercado, 27*, Santa Clara, CA       22:29  
   85   80 JrW  Lindsay Gardina, 25*, Santa Clara, CA      22:38  
  110  103 JrW  Jennifer DeRego, 30*, San Luis Obispo, CA  23:04  
  115  108 JrW  Rebecca Walker, 30*, Palo Alto, CA         23:08  
Total Time = 1:46:18     Total Places = 107
And Jennifer Rubio represents in the Masters division with a strong 25:09!  

Side note: Linda Somers Smith would have finished well over a minute ahead 
of the first place Masters Women finisher, yet still kills the course with a 
top 10 finish among the Open Women.

MASTERS MEN: Aggie Men place in top 10!  
10. Asics Aggie Rc 
   20   18 M40  Chris Schille, 43, Cupertino, CA           34:07  
   34   29 M40  Michael Livingston, 44, Folsom, CA         34:38  
   57   16 M45  Daniel Feder, 46, Woodside, CA             35:32  
   64    6 M50  Rudy Munoz, 51, Fresno, CA                 35:58  
   68   48 M40  Jeff Hongo, 44, Campbell, CA               36:08  
   73   50 M40  Robert Grove, 42, Folsom, CA               36:25  
   97   66 M40  Roger Dix, 42, Sacramento, CA              38:30  
  107   47 M50  Kevin Searls, 51, Martinez, CA             39:42  
Total Time = 2:56:21     Total Places = 243

OPEN MEN: Open male Aggies finish strong in 4th out of 42 teams!

4. Asics Aggie Rc
   12   12 JrM  Crosby Freeman, 25, San Francisco, CA      30:22  
   16   16 JrM  Phillip Reid, 24, San Luis Obispo, CA      30:33  
   18   18 JrM  Sergio Reyes, 28, Los Osos, CA             30:35  
   36   36 JrM  Jonathan Cardenas, 24, Reno, NV            31:11  
   55   55 JrM  Jameson Mora, 25, Arroyo Grande, CA        31:27  
   83   83 JrM  Kevin Pierpoint, 33, Palo Alto, CA         31:59  
   87   86 JrM  Keith Hankins, 26, San Francisco, CA       32:04  
  100   99 JrM  Chris Mocko, 23, Palo Alto, CA             32:14  
Total Time = 2:34:06     Total Places = 137

WELL DONE AGGIES! We are proud of all of you!

Temps at the start were 30-degrees. It got colder and windier as soon as runners turned onto Fair Oaks Blvd. From there to the finish it was blustery winds and frigid cold. There were also various physical ailments and GI issues plaguing some of the group. And still the Aggies hang tough and represent. 

Lindsay Nelson rocked her debut marathon in 2:56:47, also nailing third in her age group. She was quickly ushered to the med tent but promptly released with a smile on her face. Tara Carter finished in 2:58:01 in her first attempt at a sub-3:00 marathon.

Aggie Masters put forth a strong showing as well with Mike Abrams leading them in at 2:44:24, Doug Steedman at 2:56:20, Tony Coffey at 2:58:55, and Jose Aispuro at 3:09:53. 

Open Men pushed through some tough conditions to finish strong. Carlos Siqueiros with the top PA spot, leading the Aggies in at 2:28:35, Nick Guidi at 2:55:25, Larry Blaylock at 2:56:42 and Erik Dube at 2:58:13.

Great job ladies and gentlemen!

http://runcim09.flashresults.com/Searchable.htm

Linda ran a new national record, 16:13 for a certified 5k.

Going out with the lead pack and then running strong the whole way, Linda Somers Smith placed sixth overall, just behind Sara Hall, in the Pro race and set a new Masters Age Group American Record. She also scored about $900 in prize money for placing in the top ten and being the first PA Woman in the race.

Kara June was the next PA runner and ran a 16:38 for a top ten spot.

In the Men's race, Phil Reid ran a blistering 13:55 for sixth, and he also scored $900 in cash for his top then and top PA placing. The Aggie men were strong as Hankins, Macko, Lease, Pierpoint, Siquieros all ran or were close to their road 5K PR's.