Welcome to the Stevens Creek Striders website
July 1st, 2008
About us: Stevens Creek Striders Running Club is based in Cupertino,
California. Runners (and Striders) of all ages and abilities meet on Saturday
morning at 8.30am to run/hike on the trails of Stevens Creek County Park. Groups
of similar ability are formed and we run or hike for around 90 minutes. From
10:30am-12:00 Hobee's Restaurant in Cupertino has a reserved area for our
members who wish to enjoy a well earned brunch together after their run. In
addition to the main Saturday morning run, members meet for various mid-week
runs. On the social side, the club hosts occasional picnics, expeditions, relay
races, camp-outs and parties for members. If anyone is interested in checking us
out they are welcome to drop in and join us any Saturday morning. For directions
and more information about Steven's Creek County Park
Click here.
7/1: Bill Jones received this email from Michelle Cline and asked
for it to be forwarded to this website:
6/30: Back in May we wrote about the plight of a local Leukemia sufferer,
young Nick Glasgow,
who was in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Possible donors would be of an Asian and
Caucasian mix. For an update click
here.
6/30: 10K benefit on Saturday, July 18th. The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society Team in Training is organizing a 10K benefit on Saturday, July 18th, at
9:00am at Shoreline Park in Mountain View. For more information please
visit www.runonbanktnt.org
6/30: June Board Minutes added.
Here.
6/30: Quicksilver Aid Station. If any members have any photos
please send them in. Bill Jones writes:
The Striders did their customary great job of manning the Dam Overlook Aid
Station at the Almaden-Quicksilver 50 Mile/50K/25k ultra race on Saturday May 9.
Bill Jones and Gene Kiernan volunteered as co-captains this year and when Gene
caught a nasty bug Peggy Alfred valiantly jumped in to help out. That was a good
thing, since Bill managed to sleep thru his 4:15 alarm and only arrived at the
aid station, with all the gear, just in time to set up for the first runner.
The Striders were well-represented in the race- Jean Pommier, Bill Dodson,
Christina Brownson (paced later on by Patty Koren) and Charles Stevens ran
various distances and we got to cheer them on multiple times as they passed thru
our station. The race organizers did a fabulous job and even managed to hump a
couple of extra water jugs up to the site to avoid us running out.
The Club Volunteers included Steve Reagan, Tom Kaisersatt(!), Patty Koren, Larry
Meyers, Rob Larson, John McKiernan, Randy Ison, Mike Shields, Lina McCain, Mike
Florence, Anil Rao, Maria Morales, Patrick, Claire, Liam and Isaac Sexton as well as Bill
and Peggy. This was good practice for the Last Chance Aid Station at Western
States in late June.
Jean Pommier was second overall and set an age group record for the 50-mile
course- 12 minutes faster than the previous in 6:48:58. Charles Stevens:
9:30:26, Bill Dodson: 11:06:36. In the 50k we had Christina Brownson: 07:27:45.
The volunteers got to enjoy a great barbecue at the finish line after packing up
all the gear. Bill
6/28: Western States 100 results.
Despite hot temperatures, our 3 member entrants succeeded in this weekend's
race. Jean's performance was outstanding. More details and photos
soon.
Jean Pommier, 21st place, 20:56:49
Charles Stevens, 107th place, 26:41:22
Dennis Connor, 209th place, 29:33:41
6/21: Race results added for Quicksilver, Ohlone and Mt Diablo.
Here.
6/4: Western States 100
Penny writes: WHAT DID YOU DO MEMORIAL DAY???
The Memorial Day "weekend" is traditionally spent by at least a few Striders
on portions of the Western States Trail and Peggy has a story for you about this
years event (see below). We wish our Strider members running this year's Western
States all the very best. Run strong Striders. Keep a look out for Jean Pommier
(if you can get a glimpse as he flies past), Charles Stevens (always a strong WS
participant who keeps coming back stronger than ever) and Dennis Connor (on his
first attempt at the big one .. go Dennis). We will give them special Strider
attention at Last Chance.
Speaking of LAST CHANCE ... thank you to all you wonderful volunteers. We
have plenty of volunteers willing to spend lots of their time and energy to help
the runners. They do this tirelessly without expectation of anything in return
... but we can guarantee at least a reasonable expectation of a really good
time!!
A few notes to volunteers from Captain Lina ..... please read your
notes so you don't forget any essentials such as water, bug spray and sunscreen
(or else we can assure you you probably will not have such a great time). We
have so many willing helpers this year that we really need you to CARPOOL ... at
the very least 2 to a car. Please contact Lina if you want to hook up with
someone else for a lift up/back. We have more volunteers and more runners than
ever before...that means we need more water ... bring along as much as you can,
we just can't have too much!
... and now from Peggy about training camp ....
"First you run, then you run some more, then keep running!" This kind of sums
up the adventure of the annual "Memorial Day Western States Training Camp"
weekend, sponsored by the WS folks for all who wish to run a lot of miles over 1
to 3 days.
Five Striders, Christina B., Lina McC., Charles S, Dennis C. and myself ran
one or two of the three days that the weekend offerred for runners. If one ran
all three days, the total mileage would be 72 miles of the Western States
trail......whew!
Lina, Christina, Dennis and I ran two days (Sat and Sun) and that was plenty!
The trail is beautiful, technical and loaded with "ups and downs".......runs
through the peaks and canyons of the Sierra Hills above Auburn, CA.
On Saturday, runners loaded up on school buses to be dropped off at Robinson
Flat. We ran through about 1 1/2 miles of not-too-deep snow before cresting in
elevation to start our first descent of the day, the run length that day 50k.
Very beautiful topography surrounded us along the trail.....I ran mostly on my
own and was taken back to the memories of having run this section during the
race in 2007. It was a peaceful, coming-home sort of feeling as these mountains
have been a place of solace and acceptance for me since my childhood experiences
of backpacking, rafting, and climbing. I still enjoy these activities today,
except now they also include trail running.....how lucky is that! ;-)
We started from Forest Hill school on Sunday morning, no buses needed, and
ran down to the American River.....one of it's mighty forks. This run was 20
miles and included beautiful river vistas from high up on the canyon, running on
a sandy trail along the water for a stretch, and a lovely cold plunge into the
river to rejuvenate tired and sore legs before trekking uphill for the last 2
1/2 miles to the finish where a filling Bar-be-que awaited us.
All this for just 20.00 dollars a day.....such a deal for wonderful runs
(complete with aid stations), good companionship, sharing of Western States
dreams along the trail, and enjoying good days in the magnificent beauty of the
beautiful Sierra hills. This is definitely a return trip!
Run strong, Peggy
5/21: Bone Marrow Donor request. We have been asked to publicize
the plight of a local Leukemia sufferer who is in urgent need of a transplant. Possible donors would be of an Asian and Caucasian mix. Read more
here.

5/14:
What's Afoot? The Club Board has recently decided to publish the newsletters on line.
Initially these will consist of those editions that we already have in
electronic format. However we are now exploring how we can digitize our
many years of printed newsletters and add them to this page. Newsletter
page here.
Please look in your files to see if you have any pdf Newsletters from 2002 to
date that are not shown below on the Newsletters page. If you have please email the board.
5/12: Race Results updated.
Here.
5/5: Striders Spring Picnic, May 16th. Peggy writes: "Hi all!
Please plan to attend the annual Striders Spring Picnic, being held on May 16th
after the normal Striders run in the picnic area adjacent to where we park (by
the pretty little creek). Charcoal will be provided for roasting any meats you
wish to bring. Please bring a potluck item to share, and bring your own plates,
utensils and drinks. Any games you might have to add to the fun would be
appreciated.....wiffle ball, table games, Frisbee, etc. This is a nice
opportunity to socialize with other club members, relax, and enjoy the pretty
surroundings of the lovely park we run in. Hope to see you there!"
4/29: Cupertino Footbridge over I-280 opens. If you run or bike in
the Cupertino area you will pleased to hear that the new footbridge at Mary
Avenue over the 280 opened on April 30th at 3pm. Time lapse sequence of the construction
here.
4/28: Tom Kaisersatt's Bench Tribute:

On Saturday May 2nd, San Jose Fit presented a fine bench to Tom Kaisersatt in
recognition of all the enthusiasm he has inspired in their many marathon
training members over the years.

Typically in each year they train some 400 new marathoners. They invited the
Striders to attend the event on the Los Gatos Creek trail close to the Roberts
Road overpass. So look out for Tom's bench next time you are running down the
trail.
4/27: Big Sur Marathon results. Congratulations to Penny Beeston, Noel
Relyea, John McKiernan & Peter Hargreaves. Results here.
Thanks to Rebecca Feng for the photo.
4/27: Quicksilver Aid Station Volunteers for Saturday May 9th. We still
need more volunteers to help at the Striders' Aid Station. Please sign up
here.
4/24: Santa Cruz Half Marathon results. Congratulations to Dave Radtke
and Randy Ison. Results here.
4/14: Sign up sheet for WESTERN STATES LAST CHANCE AID STATION - June 27th - 28th. Once again we
are keeping up the long standing tradition of providing what we believe is the
one of (if not the best) aid stations on the famous Western States 100 mile
Endurance Race. Striders have been doing the aid station at Last Chance for more
than 25 years - a proud record. The aid station is at mile 43 in quite a remote
and beautiful section of the trail. We look after, feed and fuel the runners
before they head off into the canyons in the middle of the day/race. Lots of
volunteers are needed. Volunteers travel to Last Chance on Friday and camp
overnight. The aid station is open from 11am until 5pm on Saturday. Then we
clear up and proceed to watch the finish at Placer High School, Auburn. Sign up
and be part of this historical event.
Sign up here.
4/13: World's Coldest Marathon. Reuter's video
here.
4/10: Bill Dodson's running secrets.
Webmaster's note: we persuaded Bill to divulge his secrets to his
great running results. Hardly a week goes by with out him taking another
age group record! Here's Bill.
4/8: American River 50 Mile success. Congratulations to 5 Striders
on their fine results:
Lina McCain: 8.55.24
Bill Dodson: 9.54.00 (1st in age group!)
Peggy Alfred: 10.21.19
Pat Koren: 11.30.06
Christina Brownson: 12.22.30

Unfortunately our super quick Jean Pommier had to pull up due to asthma: read
more on his
blog. Thanks to Jean for the photos.
3/26: Stevens Creek Reservoir. Good to see the reservoir is almost full.
Just 6 inches shy of the spillway.

3/21: Lake Tahoe TNT Fund Raiser here
3/4: Photos of Peggy's 50th Celebratory 50k
here.
3/2: New Family member of the Striders! Claire Saxton reports:

Dear Family and Friends,
We are pleased to announce the arrival of Isaac Ryan Saxton! Isaac joined us
on February 26 at 6:05pm. He was 8lbs-6oz and 20 inches long. Claire's labor was
extremely smooth and we were barely in the hospital for an hour when Isaac was
born. We are home now and the entire family is doing well. Liam seems excited to
be a big brother.
Here are a few pictures to tide you over until we have more time to get an
announcement together.
Love, Patrick, Claire, Liam & Isaac
1/14: Randy Ison's photos of the cold and wet Christmas Relays at
Lake Merced. Here.
1/13: Dennis Connor's story of the Javelin Jundred.
Here. Peter's note: This
article was meant to be included in the latest newsletter but due to my
oversight that did not happen. Many apologies.
12/11: Strider of the Year and other "Big-L" Awards.
Here.
12/13: More photos added. Story and photos of the Holiday Party on December 6th,
2008. Here.
12/9: OUR QUAD CHAMPIONS
Congratulations to Jean, Bill, Christina and Eric... our Quad Dipsea
champions. All four finished the incredibly grueling race. Jean and Bill took
out the honors - winning their age groups and Jean was third overall. This gives
both of our Steven's Creek Striders 1st place in their divisions in the Pacific
Association Ultra Mountain Racing series for the year (Masters for Jean and
Veterans for Bill) Christina finished in her usual impressive style and this was
Eric's (Tom K's son) first Quad Dipsea!
12/9: Penny Beeston is holding an informal track workout every
Tuesday evening at 7pm. This is at the De Anza college track in Cupertino.
Recent: Photos and story about the Thanksgiving Relays
here.
Peggy Alfred writes: "An Adventure
Run With Running Deer and Great Horned Goat"
Tom Kaisersatt's Flight in a stunning P-51 Fighter. Hollister
Airport, November 15th.
Photos here.
Weekly Program
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursdays:
Rancho San Antonio
6.30am meet near the bathrooms at the lower parking lot. Various
lengths involving Upper and Lower Wildcat Canyon trails but 60-75 minutes
typically.
Friday Fun:
Fremont Older
6.30am sharp at Fremont Older. Meet in the parking lot at the top of
Prospect Road, Cupertino. 6.5mile/1.15
hour trail run on Seven Springs, Coyote
Ridge and Toyon Trails. Beautiful sunrise run over some 75 mins.
Saturday Striders:
Stevens Creek Country Park
Every Saturday 8.30am Stevens Creek Country Park.
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