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Stories about Striders - 2007

Program for November and December 

November 08, 2007 (updated December 16)

Well, it's getting to the end of the year, and of course time to think about breaks from work. That's both Thanksgiving and The Holidays. And three terrific events planned:

  1. Thanksgiving Relay Races
    Thursday November 22. De Anza Track at 8.30am
    Photos by Jean: click here
    And Ali's Photos: click here

  2. Holiday Party and "Big L" Awards
    Saturday December 8. 6pm for 7pm
    3. AWARDS for 2007
    Strider of the Year:    
    Volunteer:
    Most Improved:
    Achievement:
    Western States Entry:       		Penny B
    Bob & Marsha
    Michelle K
    Peggy A
    Charles S
    Photos:click here
  3. Christmas Relays
    Sunday December 16. San Francisco

    4. Very spirited performances by two teams of 4 and two supporters. Team "Stevens Creek Striders" (Mike P, Peggy, Robin and Bill J) narrowly defeated "Stevens Creek Striderz" (Dave, Ron, Mike D and Bill G) by 3 minutes. And great support by Larry and Penny. Thanks everybody for coming.

    Photos: click here
    Results: click here

Big L Awards

Please nominate your favorite Striders for "Big L" awards. Nomination forms are available on-line and you can nominate at club on Saturday. More information: click here.

Holiday Party

The Holiday Party's being held again this year at St Edward's Church, San Jose. We need numbers for the catering lady - so please register as soon as possible. Registration: click here.

We're going to have some new games and entertainment this year. And we're not going to spoil the surprise by letting you know everthing in advance about how you'll be entertained. However, part will be a guessing "Which Strider was......". So we need an interesting secret from everybody's past as part of the registration. Something nobody knows - "which Strider worked as a tour guide at Count Dracula's Castle in Transylvania". You've got the idea. And of course, not just Striders - also their guests. A chance to get the skeletons out of the closet, right?

Thanksgiving and Christmas Relays

Just turn up for the Thanskgiving Relay Races. Bring your family and friends. Everybody welcome. More information: click here.

If you'd like to take part in the Christmas Relays, please register at club on Saturday morning (Robin's passing the clip-board). Or email : board@stevenscreekstriders.org to let us know you'd like to participate.
More information about the Christmas Relays: click here.

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New Board for 2007/08 

August 2, 2007

The 2007/08 Board of Stevens Creek Striders met on July 31, 2007.

Firstly, "Thanks and Welcome" to Patrick who has taken on the role of President. And "Thanks" to Mark for his successful year as President and resumes his former role as Treasurer. We say "Thanks and Cheerio" to Penny and Bill who are standing down at this time. And we say "Hi and Welcome" to Mike and Gene who join the board.

And on the program front, Gene and Peggy have agreed to share the demanding role of Social Director. Both Peggy and Gene however have accepted additional administrative roles. Peggy is Vice President and substitutes for the President when he is unavailable. Gene is secretary and conducts the correspondance of the club and maintains the minutes of the Board.

I'm sad to be handing over the role of webmaster. Mike will be taking this on and of course I wish him "Good Luck". I'm going to take care of the Newsletter. You'll be finding the August edition of "What's Afoot" in your in-box shortly, if you haven't already!

Ali and I intend to retire to England during the next year. I've loved the 7 years that we have spent in California. One of the highlights of our stay has been the "Strider of the Year" Award presented to me in December 2006. It means a great deal to me. When we arrived here 7 years ago, I was 50 pounds overweight and hadn't taken serious exercise for 20 years. I leave the Golden State having run 11 marathons (including Boston) in 5 years. Being a Strider has been a very rewarding experience. Thank you, everybody.

Membership Dues for July 2007-June 2008 are now payable

Groan! Time to pay up. $25 for individual membership. $40 for families. Amazing value and three ways to pay:
  1. Pay at club on Saturday - put your check/cash in an envelope (with your name) and give to any board member.
  2. Send a check or cash the Striders PO Box address (don't forget to include your name with cash!).
  3. Pay on line via Active.com
More information: click here.
Ali and Robin are going to retire

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Western States Endurance Race 

June 24, 2007

The Western States Endurance Race (WSER) is a 100 mile race from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California. This event has to be the focus of Striders activities every year. It's just a fantastic weekend - which is about 1 year in the planning! Results: click here.

Here are some external web sites about this year's race: If you have photos you'd like me to display, please email me: webmaster@stevenscreekstriders.org. And if you know of other blogs and web sites you'd like listed here - please let me know.
Send off Party  Photos: click here

Penny and Andrew held a party at their home a week before the Western States Endurance Race. As well as inviting the Striders who were running and pacing, they also invited the Striders Board Members and the Australian Western States Team - 20 amazing folks who'd come 8000 miles to run. Thanks Penny and Andrew for your generous hospitality.

Getting There  Photos: click here

There's a load of equipment and food required to run the Aid Station at Last Chance. This had to be collected from the event's storage warehouse in Sacramento on Saturday June 9. By convenient coincidence, Striders were running in the Tahoe Relay that day, so Penny and Robin were able to collect the stuff en route for Tahoe. It was subsequently stored in Penny's garage and transported to Last Chance by volunteers and I believe John made the major contribution to make that happen. Others also brought equipment and supplies. Thanks to Eileen we had lots of fresh fruit.

Mile 43 Aid Station - "Last Chance"  Photos: click here

The Aid Station at mile 43 has been provided by Striders for 26 consecutive years. A proud record. The Station's called 'Last Chance' because it's on the site of a ghost mining village of that name. The village was finally deserted in 1970. At one time, I believe there were about 130 living there. Today it's a forested wilderness.

Anyway, we camped on Friday night. Our first runner arrived at 11.21am and the station closed at 5:15pm. It's very convenient - there's no pressure to set up in the morning and folks who are pacing and crewing are able to work on the aid station before going off to their next supporting role further down the trail.

The Club really appreciates the help given by non-members who volunteer, and of course Striders who volunteer. This year we had a record 50 volunteers from Striders, San Jose Fit, WSER, and other friends and nice folks. Thanks everybody who made this "The Best Aid Station on Western States".

Foresthill - Pacer Central  Photos: click here

Runners in the Western States can pick up a pacer (running buddy) at Foresthill - mile 62. Of course, most runners have a special buddy arranged up front. However for overseas visitors, the 'Pacer Central' service (on-line in advance and at Foresthill on the day) pairs runners with pacing volunteers. Dennis paced Tamyka from Australia, Steve paced Cath from England, Penny paced her friend Peggy and Anil paced his friend Chris.

And of course there were Striders 'crewing'. The crew are the long standing/waiting buddies and family members who hang around aid stations to give support and encouragement to one or more runners. Bill and Gene were crewing for Peggy, I was crewing for pacer Dennis.

The Finish at Placer HS, Auburn  Photos: click here

The finish at Auburn is an elecrifying experience. It's very dramatic to see the early runners arrive in the dark with their head lamps. They enter the stadium to the huge applause of the crowd. I did not see this year's winner Hal arrive - however I was there to see all the others. You're welcome to camp and sleep in the sports field adjacent to the stadium track.

So I was awake to see Striders Jean and Peggy finish. Although sleeping, I heard the stadium announcement of Charle's superb 23.40 finish at 4:40am. I was asleep when Mark R finished at 4am. Great running by everybody.

It's really inspiring to see the finish. The early finishers are impressive for their incredible pace, the later finishers for their incredible effort. The generous and sporting applause of the crowd for every single finisher makes this extra-ordinary event. Breakfast is provided for the 1200 volunteers who supported the 400 athletes.

Thank You Everybody

Thank you everybody who contributed. The hosts of the send off party, the runners, the station captains, the pacers and crews, the safety patrol, the 20 Australians and their families and the 50 volunteers who ran the Aid Station at Last Chance. It was just wonderful. Oh, and a "Thank You Too" for Greg and the WSER Team. I'm sure Greg will be making sure there's an Australian Flag on the finish line at next year's event! Great Job, Everybody.

Peggy Finishing Eileen in the kitchen Nikki Won Again Charles Striders Banner Don with guitar Campfire Kim from MN (finished 10th) Jean with his sons Finish in Stadium Strider Mark Volunteer Photographer Jay Tamyka with Aussie Flag
Tamyka finishing. Volunteer photographer Jay
Strider Mark. The stadium at night
Strider Jean and his sons. Kim from MN was 10th
Don, Guitar and Campfire. Strider Charles
Captain Bob and Strider's Banner
Nikki won again. Eileen in kitchen. Peggy finishing.

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Tahoe Relay Weekend 

June 10, 2007

We had a very enjoyable weekend at the Tahoe Relay on Saturday June 9. 15 folks came for the weekend and 11 ran. We had two teams with the interesting names "Stevens Creek Striders 1" and "Stevens Creek Striders 2". How did we manage to think of such imaginative names? The total distance around the lake is 72 miles and relay has 7 legs of just over 10 miles on average.

Team 1 consisted of Charles, Elvira, Ana, Jack and Mark. Mark bravely tackled legs 5-7 on his own - a long 32 mile trek round the difficult west side of the lake.

Team 2 consisted of Gene, Bill, Mike, Cindy, Penny and Robin. The relay was completed by Cindy and Penny taking on an extra 5 miles each of the difficult final leg.

After 4 legs, Team 2 was about 2 minutes in the lead. At the end, Team 1 won by about 10 minutes. Remembering that Mark ran the closing 32 miles for Team 1, this is a remarkable result. Well done, Mark and Team 1.

Team 1 stayed in luxury accomodation at the Deerfield Lodge in Southshore. Team 2 stayed in a ski/weekend cabin near the start. We all had dinner together on Saturday evening at the cabin. We were so tired after the effort of running at altitude on the difficult rolling hills of Tahoe that we were all tucked up and asleep by 10 o'clock. On Sunday, the teams had breakfast separately before heading home.

Cindy and Bert's very nice photos: click here
Robin's photos: click here.

Thank you everybody for your company over the weekend. The runs were all demanding and the company as wonderful as always.

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Western States Aid Station

Looks like we're going to have a record turnout for the station at 'Last Chance' on the Western States Endurance Run on June 23. I'm looking forward to seeing you all there.

Mike Gene Mark Robin and Cindy Penny Striders at Finish Charles Elvira Ana Bill Bill, Bert and Cindy Jack

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Western States Training Weekend 

May 28, 2007

Every Memorial Weekend, there's training on the Western States Trail. The Trail runs from Squaw Valley, CA to Auburn, CA. The training's intended for participants in the 100 mile Endurance Run in June, however anybody can pay and run.

All the Striders who'll be running next month went for the weekend. Jean, Christina, Charles, Mark and Peggy. And Robin, Steve and Penny went along for fun! Accompanied by various family members of course. Lee and Winny also joined us. Anil also turned up at training. It's a fun weekend - and not all running and sleeping. Jerry was a volunteer and we visited him at home for a BBQ on Monday.

Jean used my Garmin Forerunner 305 to capture the runs on Saturday and Sunday for Google Earth Maps. And of course there are some photos from the weekend:

Google Earth Saturday Run: click here   Photos: click here
Google Earth Sunday Run: click here   

The training provided aid stations and transport on 3 days, so there were 30, 20 and 20 miles runs on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Jean and some others extended Saturday's run to 50 miles. So they did a total of 90 miles by the end of the weekend and covered about 70% of the total trail. Good preparation for June 23 when 100 miles in very hot conditions will test their strength and endurance. Good Luck!

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast Lodge near Foresthill. It's really lovely. Steve discovered it 3 years ago and Ali and I have stayed there four times now. I don't want to say where this is, because other runners will book the accomodation and we'll have nowhere to stay! However if you'd like a very relaxing weekend in the Sierras, I highly recommend the Christmas Tree Lodge, near Foresthill, CA. It's 15 miles NE of Foresthill on the Foresthill Divide.

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Tahoe Relay 

We're set now for 2 teams at the Tahoe Relay on June 9. More information about Tahoe Relay click here.

Western States Aid Station

Don't forget to sign up to volunteer at the aid station at Western States on June 23: click here.

 Start of run at Robinson Flat Snow at the start of the run Simon and Jean at finish in Auburn James, Jean and Tim Race Director Greg Steve Sleeping Christina


Start of the Run in snow
Christina
Steve sleeping
Simon & Jean. Race Director Greg
James & Jean with 5 times winner Tim

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Ohlone 50k Wilderness Run 

May 22, 2007

The Oholone Wilderness Trail Run has a deserved reputation for being very difficult. It's a brutal 50km with 7,500 feet of elevation gain (and descent). It starts near Fremont and proceeds via Mission Peak to a finish near Livermore. Google Earth affectionado's will enjoy Terry's fly through. Fasten you seatbelt and click here or click here.

So, it's with considerable pride that I can report that 8 Striders took on this challenge and gave very spirited performances. Jean, Mark W, Charles S, Peggy, Dennis, Anil, Christina and Terry all tackled this very difficult event and finished in impressive times.

And I'm especially pleased to report that Jean was placed FIRST in this event. We're all familiar with Jean's triumphs in 10k's, Halfs and Marathons, however I believe this is his first victory in an ultra-marathon. His winning time was 4:40. First overall and a new age-group record for the event. In second place was Graham Cooper who was last year's winner at Western States. Looking at the event web site, I see that Jean's time was the best for several years and a better winning time than other famous ultra runners. Well done, Jean. You're inspirational.

Don't forget that Jean's running this year at Western States and he is also the Station co-Captain for Last Chance (along with Bob and Marsha). We're still looking for volunteers for Last Chance. Sign-up: click here

Results: click here.

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Tahoe Relay 

We're set now for 2 teams at the Tahoe Relay on June 9. More information about Tahoe Relay click here.

Western States Aid Station

Don't forget to sign up to volunteer at the aid station at Western States on Jun 23: click here.

Picnic

The picnic on Saturday May 19 was a great success and well attended. We met to run at Linda Vista Park in Cupertino and had the picnic afterwards. There were between 30 and 40 Striders and family members at the BBQ. Unfortunately, I don't have the photographs. When I got home, I discovered there was no memory stick in the camera! So apologies for not having photos. Of course if anybody would like to send photos I'd be happy to display their photos.


Jean on Saturday Evening

Striders at Last Chance 2006

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Quicksilver Aid Station 

May 14, 2007

Striders have been helping Quicksilver Running Club by providing the Aid Station at Dam Overlook. It's a really beautiful location in Quicksilver Park, San Jose. For the runners on the 25k and 50k, it's mile 9. For the 50 mile events, it's mile 19 and 23.

Bob and Marsha have been doing splendid service at this event for at least 15 years. Sadly, this is probably the last year as they're planning to move away from the area later this year. We'll miss you - thanks for all the hard work you've put into this over the years.

A new feature this year was the new Striders Banner which Penny had made. It'll come in handy at lots of events when we want to promote the club. So it'll be at the picnic next week and undoubtably at Western States in June. Good Job, Penny.

Striders had 4 athletes this year. Mark R, Anil and Patti ran in the 50k and Christina in the 50 mile event. Mark R and Christina are training for Western States next month. We had a really good turnout of volunteers at the aid station. Thanks everybody for helping.

Photos: click here. Results: click here.

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Spring Picnic 

PlaceLinda Vista Park, Cupertino.
Time11:00am until the party is over!
DateSaturday May 19, 2007.
CostFree!
Bring   Your own drinks, tableware and utensils
Meat/veggie burgers for grilling (small grills are present)
Frisbees, wiffle balls and bat, other fun toys

A dish to share:
Surname: A-K main dish of some sort.
Surname: L-R chips/dip/vegetables/salads.
Surname: S-Z dessert.
Running   Striders Club Run will take place from Linda Vista Park at 9am on Saturday May, 19. And don't worry if you go to Stevens Creek County Park at 8.30am - somebody will be at there redirect you to Linda Vista.
MapClick here

Bay to Breakers and Tahoe Relay 

We're set now for 2 teams at the Tahoe Relay on June 9. More information about Tahoe Relay click here.

We're not going to be part of "The Palace Guard" at this year's Bay to Breakers. However Robin and Elvira are going to go anyway. If you'd like to join us, please send an email to the board.

To email the board: board@stevenscreekstriders.org

Western States Aid Station

Don't forget to sign up to volunteer at the aid station at Western States on Jun 23: click here.


Gene, the Banner and Penny

Quicksilver Aid Station

Striders Picnic 2006

Striders at Bay to Breakers

Ali at Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

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Miwok 100km Endurance Event 

May 6, 2007

One of my favorite events is the Miwok 100k Endurance run which takes place on the first weekend of May. The Miwok Trail goes from Golden Gate Recreation Area to a few miles north of Stinson Beech. It's a challenging 100km run with more than 10,000 feet of elevation gain.

Striders had 4 athletes running this year. Jean, Charles and Peggy were using it as a training run in their preparations for Western States at the end of June. Penny ran for fun! Tom paced non-Strider Barbara, and Roger was pacing the 'father of the race' - an 80 year old gentlemen! Robin was a volunteer and paced Penny from Pan Toll Station. Ali did a lot of running around and taxi duties for Tom. Jean's family were crewing while Max was polishing his French for an exam next week!

There's a rule of thumb that you double the Miwok finish time to predict Western States. If this is true, it's a good omen of strong performances to come in June. Jean finished in 10:53, Charles did 12:16, Peggy did 12:53 and Penny 13:35. 4 really good runs. Penny did very well to improve her finish by 13 minutes from last year. When you consider that her health has curtailed her training in the last couple of months, this is a very impressive result. Peggy's sub-13 is amazing - she's getting stronger every day and is in great shape for her first WS next month. Charles never fails to impress both at Miwok and WS and he looks as good as ever this year. Jean's preparing for his first WS in June and his Miwok time was really good. It's amazing how Jean has transitioned from Marathon to Ultras in one year.

Penny and I met Chris M during the last couple of miles. Chris is running WS this year for the first time - Good Luck. To enjoy Chris' trail photos click here.

So Congratulations and Well Done everybody. Very good running. Thanks to Tia and the team for staging the event. Perfect Weather, gorgeous trail, awesome scenery. A day out in paradise!

Photos: click here. Results: click here.


Striders and friends at Miwok

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Big Sur International Marathon 

May 1, 2007

The Big Sur International Marathon is thought by many to be the most scenic marathon in the United States. It's also rated in the top 10 difficult marathons. So it's quite amazing than John McK should achieve a PR of 4:06 on a very demanding course. Even more surprising is Tom's (John's 79 year old father) 5:57 finish. A very impressive achievement indeed - and very soon after Tom ran another sub-6 in the LA Marathon in February. Congratulations to John and Tom.

Robin ran and finished in 4:15. One of the highlights of the weekend was a talk at the Expo by America's most famous running coach - Jeff Galloway. Robin followed Jeff's advice and did a 4/1 minute run/walk and finished in less pain than usual for a marathon. Another insprirational moment was Michael Martinez playing 'Bridge over troubled Water' on the Grand Piano as we ran over Bixby Bridge. Amazing.

As I was leaving the finishing area at Big Sur, a volunteer came up and introduced herself as an ex-Strider. It was Sophia L and she lives in Monterey now. She said 'Oh please say hello to everybody in Striders from me'. So I'm passing on the message. Thank you Sophia for speaking to me.

More story and photographs on Robin's web site: click here. Results: click here.


John and Tom finish BSIM

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Santa Cruz Half Marathon 

April 22, 2007

Santhi and Robin went to run in the Santa Cruz Half Marathon on April 22, 2007. For Santhi, this was her debut event and she clocked a very credible 1:47. Robin equalled his time from two years ago of 1:49 and was very pleased by that. We were delighted to meet ex-Strider Mike P at the finish. Of course Mike was rested and relaxed having finished in a blistering 1:26. Good Running, Mike. So we caught up with Mike's adventures as a teacher at San Lorenzo Valley High.

The very beautiful course starts at the Board Walk in Santa Cruz and rolls along the Western Cliffs for 3 miles. The 10k runners turn back at this point and the Half Marathoners proceed further up the coast and follow a farm trail past beautiful ocean coves. The trail returns along the bluffs and finishes on the Beach beside the Wharf in Santa Cruz. The race seemed bigger and better supported this year with something like 3000 runners.

Congratulations to Santhi on her first event. A very impressive result. And very nice to catch up with Mike P. We might be seeing more of Mike if he comes to do his Masters at San Jose State next winter. And of course thanks to Ali for being as supportive as always. Photos: click here. Results: click here.


Santhi, Robin and Mike at Santa Cruz

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Boston Marathon 

April 17, 2007

Congratulations to Jean and John who ran in very tough conditions in the Boston Marathon on Monday April 16. Jean did a brilliant 2:45 and John did an impressive 3:15. This compares with their 2:43 and 3:20 last time. The conditions were so tough that although defending champion Robert Cheruiyot won again in 2:14, he was 7 minutes slower than last year. So for John to gain 5 minutes is very good indeed. Afterwards Jean sent an email to say:

And Congratulations to Tom and Christina for running in AR50. Christina has run this 10 years in succession. Congrats to her and Tom.

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Lots of Good Things Planned 

April 9, 2007

Spring is here and there are lots of good things planned for May and June. So, mark your calendars and prepare for some fun.

The Quicksilver Aid Station will be on Saturday May 12. and is held in Quicksilver Park, San Jose. To volunteer: click here

The Striders Spring Picnic will be held in Linda Vista Park, Cupertino on Saturday May 19. This is a pot-luck BBQ occasion for all Striders and their family and friends. Everybody's welcome. More details soon.

The Tahoe Relay will be Saturday June 9. We now have 12 runners - so we're hoping to have 2 teams of 7. A bit of rivalry will spice things up. And we also have 10 supporters and family members coming to enjoy a weekend at Tahoe. If you want to join in the fun, please email board@stevenscreekstriders.org.

The Western States Aid Station will be Saturday June 23. The club is very proud of having operated the 'Last Chance' Aid Station for more than 25 years. It's a really enjoyable and relaxing weekend. To sign up click here

Don't forget it's time to Nominate Board Members for season 2007/08. Nominations close on May 1. To moninate a Strider: click here

And of course there are lots of spring events in the next month including - American River 50m, Santa Cruz Half, Big Sur International Marathon, Miwok 100km, Quicksilver, Ohlone and Bay to Breakers. If you're running - good luck. And don't forget to buy and wear your Striders Club Shirt.

And lastly, the board received a email from the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America looking for a coach for their fundraising/endurance program. I believe this is a staff appointment (not a volunteer position). For more information: click here


Don't forget your team shirt!

If you're volunteering for an aid station, or running in an event, don't forget to buy and wear your 'Coolmax' Striders Club Shirt. Only $20/$25 (short/long sleeved) from Mark.

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Coach Wanted 

April 8, 2007

This advert has been displayed as a gesture of goodwill by Stevens Creek Striders to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. Stevens Creek Striders have no connection with the foundation.

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Volunteer for an Aid Station 

March 24, 2007

Striders have been doing the Aid Station at 'Dam Overlook' in the Quicksilver Running Club 50 mile endurance event for about 15 years. This year it's Saturday May 12. It's a lot of fun and in a beautiful location as you can see from the photos below.

Striders are very proud of doing the Aid Station at 'Last Chance' on the Western States Endurance 100 mile event. We've done this for more that 25 years - quite a record for the club. Everybody agrees that 'Last Chance' is the biggest and best Aid Station in the event. And everybody who goes to help at the Aid Station returns to help again - it's such a fun weekend. This year it's Saturday June 23.

So Com'on and sign up! and help station captains Marsha, Bob and Jean. click here.


Quicksilver Park on a perfect day - May 13, 2006. The aid station is on a hillside overlooking the reservoir.

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Sport Injury Clinic 

March 22, 2007

The following email was received by the Board. Charles S also wrote to the Board about this matter and has spoken highly of the value of this service.

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Penny and Peggy in Rome 

March 20, 2007

Well, Penny and Peggy had an amazing time at the Marathon in Rome. What a place! The Coliseum, The Vatican, The Eternal City, not to mention .... the coffee and ice cream. And they also had some fun running in the marathon.

Photos:

Getting There
Friday
Saturday
Marathon
After

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Good Luck to Penny and Peggy 

March 12, 2007

Penny and Peggy are going to Rome this week to run in the Marathon next Sunday. WOW, Exciting, isn't it? They've both been very hard at work fundraising with "Team-in-Training" which raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Penny and Peggy have raised more than $7000 EACH for the cause - a very impressive achievement. So we wish them "bon voyage" (or the Italian equivalent) and hope they have a great time both at the Event and visiting "The Eternal City". Have a wonderful trip.

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Ski Weekend 

March 8, 2007

The ski weekend has been fixed for ski-ing/hill-walking/running at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe in late March. Even if there's no snow, a weekend at Tahoe is always a nice break. If you're interested, please email us: board@stevenscreekstriders.org


Robin with his sons Alan and Jamie at Heavenly in 2003

Good Luck at Cool and Uncool 

Best Wishes to our club mates who are running this weekend at "Way too Cool" and "Uncool". I believe Jean and Mark are running at Cool, and Peggy, Penny, Patti, Christina and Tom will be at Uncool.

"Way to Cool" is 50km on the Western States Trail and starts and finishes in the village of Cool, on Highway 49 near Auburn. "Uncool" is on the Marin Headlands and is a pretty demanding 42 miles on the Miwok Trail.

Best of Luck to everybody - don't forget to send your photographs for the web site.


Clipart from:
http://www.free-graphics.com


Robin took this composite photo after sunet at Golden Gate going home from 'Uncool'

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The Relays 

February 21, 2007

There are a couple of relay events coming up this spring. "The Relay" is a 200 mile event for teams of 12. Everybody runs 3 legs of about 10k. We ran this last year and everybody had lots of fun. In fact so much fun that Elvira wants us to do it again. And why not? It's the weekend of May 5/6. More information about last year's event: click here.

In June comes the "Lake Tahoe Relay" for teams of 7. Everybody runs a single leg of about 10 miles. We'll drive up to Tahoe on Friday, run and party on Saturday, breakfast and home on Sunday. Sounds like fun, right? We'll book cabin accomodation. Event website: click here.

If you'd like to take part in either (or both) of these events, please contact board@stevenscreekstriders.org by March 15 at the latest. The cost for "The Relay" will be $150 per runner. The cost of "Lake Tahoe Relay" will be $40/runner plus your share of the accomodation, transport and food - probably about another $100.

Ski Weekend

We're hoping to fix a weekend for ski-ing/hill-walking/running at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe in late March. Details next week. Even if there's no snow, a weekend at Tahoe is always a nice break. If you're interested, please email us: board@stevenscreekstriders.org

The Mills Family at Tahoe in 2003
Robin and Ali have 2 boys who live in England
The family went skiing at Tahoe for a few days in 2003.

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Board Nominations 

February 13, 2007

It's that time in the year that everbody dreads - being asked to stand for the Board. Com'on it's not that bad. Somebody has to serve and why not YOU. We'd like new members to consider this - fresh blood brings new ideas. And it's hardly a chore to come to dinner once a month and discuss the business of the club.

You may nominate yourself or any other Strider using the on-line nomination form. And of course there's a printed form if you prefer to nominate by post or at club on Saturday. Details and forms: click here

Newsletter Available

The Winter Newsletter was published last week and sent by email to all members. Printed copies were available at club on Saturday. Copies have been sent in the mail to those who have requested this service. If you haven't received your copy, they will be available at club for the next few Saturdays, or send an email to request an e-copy or printed copy by mail. webmaster@stevenscreekstriders.org

Board Members 2006/07

Mark
President		 Patrick
Treasurer		 Bill
Secretary
Peggy
Social		 Penny
Newsletter		 Robin
Webmaster

 

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Grand Canyon Trip  

February 5, 2007

After last year's very successful trip to Mt Whitney, Penny's come up with the inspired idea of going to the Grand Canyon!

We'd love to stay at Phantom Ranch, however accomodation has to be booked years in advance. And organising this for everybody is just too complicated. So, here's the more practical alternative! We'll have three types of adventures:

1. Walk from North Rim to South Rim

2. Walk from South Rim to North Rim

3. Explore Bright Angel Trail from South Rim

Group 1 will travel from Vegas to North Rim and camp the night. Saturday walk to South Rim. Sunday return home from Phoenix.

Group 2 will be doing the opposite. Travelling from Phoenix to South Rim on Friday. Walking on Saturday. Camp out at North Rim and then use the transport left by group one to get to Vegas on Sunday.

Group 3 will travel to South Rim from Phoenix on Friday, explore the canyon on Saturday and return to Phoenix on Sunday.

The weekend is still to be fixed. We have accomodation booked for weekend of 7-9 September, however we're hoping to possibly get a later weekend when the weather might be cooler.

Interested? Drop us an email at: board@stevenscreekstriders.org and say you'd like to come. Please say which group you'd like to join.

Once we've got an idea about the numbers, we'll have a meeting to discuss this in more detail. Time is important. The Grand Canyon is very popular and we should book accomodation by the end of February.




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Australia Day Party 

January 28, 2007

  B O N Z E R  

Bonzer. That's the word to describe Penny and Peggy's Australia Day Party on Saturday January 27. Bonzer is one of these colorful Aussie words and it means "good". I think it's maybe about equivalent to the Californian "cool" or something like that.

The party raised $1500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Penny and Peggy are raising $7000 EACH with the Leukemia's Society's TNT Program and will run in the Marathon in Rome, Italy in March. This is quite a goal to raise that amount of money. TNT is Team-in-Training - the fundraising/endurance training program of the Leukemia Society.

We had a raffle and tickets were $20 each. Pretty good value really, the prize was worth more than $750 and included Software by Adobe, food, drinks, games, and souveniers from Australia. The prize winner was Greg and he's going to get his mom and dad to give him a mouth with the wine. His family are looking forward to getting to grips with Adobe InDesign to do their Christmas Cards and other domestic publications.

And there was a house full of Striders, TNTers, Australians and friends of the Johnson family. There were 90 people at the party. It was awesome. Carlo, an old TNT friend of Penny's and Robin's, was able to attend. Sadly Carlo had a stroke last year and his marathon days are over. However it was good to have our old friend with us.

Penny and Peggy spent the day cooking sausage rolls, pavlova, lamingtons and other Australian nibbles and fun things to eat. For those brave enough, there was even vegemite to be tasted. And of course lots of Australian wine and cheese. There was even a boomerang and a digiridoo to put you in an Australian mood and some "down under" music to complete the atmosphere. Almost as good as actually going to Australia!

So I think it's "Thank You" time for Penny and Peggy. However big "Thank You's" are also due to Andrew for helping in the kitchen and Bill for selling the raffle tickets. And the rest of the Johnson family for letting us invade their home. And a HUGE "Thank You" to everybody for so generously supporting the event and buying raffle tickets.

And the photos are:

  1. Greg won the raffle
  2. Ali with her Australian Beach Hat
  3. Peggy, Amanda and Penny
  4. Deborah, Carlo and Penny

Lots more photos: click here

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Australia Day Party Invitation 

Day : Sat Jan 27
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Why: Why not??
  Never heard of Australia Day? Oh well, now you have. It's Australia's 4th of July and celebrated with BBQs and playing Cricket. January 26 is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in Syndey Harbour in 1788, with several hundred convicts, some guards and sailors.

Come join us for some Aussie Down Under culture. This means a little wine and cheese tasting (Australian wines of course), some traditional Australian food (you'll have to see what that is), some Australian music, some boomerang throwing... Hosted by the Aussie Striders - Penny and Andrew.

If you don't know where they live, send us an email an we will reply with details and a map! Email for directions

PARC Runs 

Our friends at PARC (Palo Alto Run Club) have asked us to announce their monthly run:

When:Saturday February 3, 2007.
Meet at 8:15am for an 8:30am start.
Those who want to carpool meet at the Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield (between Melville and Embarcadero), Palo Alto. This month, the carpool leaves at 7:45am.
Where:San Bruno Mountain State and County Park, 3555 Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, Brisbane, CA 94005. Bring $5 per vehicle for park entrance fee.
  Take 101 North to Brisbane (about 22 miles from Palo Alto). Exit at Bayshore Blvd toward Brisbane/Cow Palace. Go 2 miles and turn left on Guadalupe Canyon Pkwy. The park entrance is about half a mile on the right. After paying the entrance fee, drive to the right, under the highway and to the Summit Loop trail head parking lot.
What: A long (about 11.8 miles, 1,200 feet vertical) and a short run (about 7.0 miles, 900 feet vertical).
 This is a remote trail run and each runner must carry at least one water bottle.
 To avoid having to search for lost runners we ask every runner to find other runners of approximately the same running ability to form a group. The runners in each group must be able to account for their partners to make sure nobody is lost.
 As usual, there will be a potluck after the run. Please bring food or drink to share.
Contact:Ron Wolf ron.e.wolf@ieee.org or Peter Zepter pwjzep@hotmail.com
More information: click here.
Images of Australia:
Uluru (Ayers Rock)
Flag and Road Sign
Sydney Harbor
Mine Loco and Kangaroo

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Happy New Year, Striders 

January 7, 2007

Happy New Year, everybody. Feels good to be back at work after the holidays, right? I received this email at the weekend:

Unfortunately, the email address was wrong, and I've been unable to reply. So Krisitne, if you're reading this, please email me at webmaster@stevenscreekstriders.org and I'll get the photo to you.

Striders had a very busy fall agenda with Mt Whitney, Clambake, Campout, Turkey Relays, Yosemite, The Holiday Party and the Campbell Park Relays. Phew.... that's a lot of stuff. And now the cupboard feels a little empty. However Penny and Andrew are hosting an "Australia Day" party at their home on Saturday January 27 at 5pm.

Australia Day Party

Day : Sat Jan 27
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Why: Why not??
  Never heard of Australia Day? Oh well, now you have. It's Australia's 4th of July and celebrated with BBQs and playing Cricket. January 26 is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in Syndey Harbour in 1788, with several hundred convicts, some guards and sailors.

Come join us for some Aussie Down Under culture. This means a little wine and cheese tasting (Australian wines of course), some traditional Australian food (you'll have to see what that is), some Australian music, some boomerang throwing... Hosted by the Aussie Striders - Penny and Andrew.

If you don't know where they live, send us an email an we will reply with details and a map! Email for directions

Why do you run?

I received this very interesting email last week:

Anybody who'd like to participate should drop Denis an email.

El Capitan


Images of Australia:
Uluru (Ayers Rock)
Flag and Road Sign
Sydney Harbor
Mine Loco and Kangaroo

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Running Club
Cupertino, California