October 30, 2025 Welcome to my blog. I report on Masters Elite LDR. In addition to this current story previewing an upcoming race, you can find previews and recaps of all USATF Masters LDR and Cross-Country Championships since Fall 2014. I also report on Masters Athletes in major Marathons including Olympic Trials. I cover distance events at some USATF Masters Indoor and Outdoor Championships. I reported on the one World Cross Country Championship that included Masters competition, Australia 2022. I regularly cover the Non-Stadia Road Race Events at World Masters Athletics Championships. I cover other road raqces from time to time. See the sidebar for easy navigation through the archives. [If you are using a mobile phone, please scroll to the bottom and choose 'View web version' to access the sidebar.] While there, please note the coffee cup logo. That is a way to express your appreciation for the work that goes into these articles.
The last time we gathered at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco for a national cross country championship, the rains came down, the wind picked up and a huge tree fell down within a few meters of the course. We all hope for better this time around, including the weather forecasters! The Women's Race is set to go off this Saturday, November 1st, at 9 AM and the Men's at 10 AM [subject to change according to the USATF Events website--perhaps a nod to the occasional unpredictable weather]. The forecast calls for brilliantly sunny skies, temperatures in the mid-50's for the 9 AM race and upper 50's for the 10 AM race. Morning winds are forecast to be moderate. It seems as if the forecasters are predicting perfect Cross Country weather! Over 300 athletes have signed up, with a predominance of West Coast team affiliations!
Note: Previews when a race follows within two weeks of the previous championship are always based on a quicker data search than usual. This one is even more so as I leave the morning of the race, from Chicago, for Peru. This preview is based on a hasty search of folks I do not know and knowledge of the few names that I do recognize, from other Masters national championships. Apologies in advance to anyone who should be mentioned but is not.
OVERALL COMPETITION
WOMEN If Jenny Kadavy HOKA Aggies is healthy, fit, and runs with confidence it is hard to see anyone staying with her. This year she ran 17:45 at the Impala Stampede 5K and 37:00 at the Alameda Hospital 10K. At the Matt Yeo Aggies XC Open last weekend, over 4.1 miles, Kadavy finished 4th overall and first Masters in 22:42. Last December at Club C=ross in Tacoma, always the deepest and strongest race on the Masters Grand Prix circuit, Kadavy finished 2nd in the Masters race for Women in 23:10. None of the other runners who finished in the top ten at Tacoma are entered here. Ashley Carroll Impala Racing finished 16th at Tacoma in 24:17. At the Matt Yeo XC, Carrol ran 25:21, finishing 25th overall and 4th Masters. She ran 40:09 at the Alameda Hospital 10K. Angela Giuliani TX just finished 3rd at the USATF Masters 5 Km championships in Atlanta. As noted above, the consensus among runners and officials at the event were that, due to the weather conditions and the course being long, and the hills, the times were a good minute slower than one would normally expect. So, think of that 19:09 as an 18:09. I am not aware of Cross Country results for Giuliani.
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| Start of Women's Race at 2024 Masters 5 Km Championships in Boulder CO Photo Credit: Dave Albo |
Chloe Glare-Conti Wolfpack RC covered the Wharf to Wharf 6.0 Miler in 38:22, convertible to a 39:46 10K. Glare-Conti has been active on the turf this season, starting with her 29:14 W40 win on the UC Santa Cruz 4.15 Mile XC course. She followed that with another W40 win at Willow Hills over 5K in 23:23. At a more competitive Matt Yeo XC last weekend, over 4.1 Miles, she finished 7th Masters in 25:48. She was 27 seconds behind Carroll. Dana Hayden VA, out of W45, finished 9th overall at the Masters 5 Km Championships in Atlanta two weekends ago. Her time, as noted, should be thought of as closer to 18:39 than 19:39. She also finished fourth overall at the Masters Road Mile Championships in Indianapolis in June with a 5:25.4. It will be interesting to see if Hayden's speed can serve her as well on the Cross Country turf. Celeste Prothro Impala Racing is also running out of W45 and could play a part; she was just over a minute behind Carroll at Tacoma. Her teammate, Katie Famous, also deserves mention. She won the W45 title and the Masters national championships in 42:06. She ran a 20:00 5K at the Impala Stampede. She has run in most of the PA XC races this fall so she is primed to compete on the turf. At the Matt Yeo XC race this past weekend, Famous finished 11 seconds ahead of Prothro.
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| Start of the Women's Race at the 2023 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Race in Boca Raton FL Photo Credit: Mike Scott |
Clara Peterson Impala ran 1:21 Half marathons in both 2018 and 2019. With nothing in Athlinks since then, Peterson's current fitness cannot be judged. As noted, it seems likely that Kadavy gets the win. After that it looks like a close battle between Carroll and Giuliani, with Glare-Conti and Hayden slightly off their pace. Should Peterson's fitness be similar to what it was in 2019, she could break up that group as a top five.
MEN Four names jump out at me without doing any research: Jonathan Charlesworth West Valley TC; Nicholas Kipruto CO; Neil McDonagh Square State Striders; and Malcolm Richards West Valley TC. Charlesworth is on my mind because he just won the Overall Masters 5 Km road Championship in Atlanta. His time, 16:15, does not inspire awe. But there was general agreement that not only was there wind and rain, and one very long, steep hill and a few rollers, but the course was long. [There was, apparently, some official announcement about this.] The general feeling was that times were about a minute slower than one would normally think. So, think of that as being closer to a 15:15 effort and you will see that Charlesworth has some wheels. He also took third in the Overall Masters competition at the Carlsbad 5000 this past spring in 15:29. Will that speed translate to the turf? Perhaps. The evidence I know is that Charlesworth ran 35:44 at Clubs in Tacoma to finish 21st. He was four seconds behind Kipruto in that race. Kipruto is strong at XC. In addition to Tacoma, he finished 2nd overall, over 8 Km, at Cross Nationals in Lubbock, clocking 27:13. Apparently, his time would have been faster, but he stopped to check on a fallen rival before continuing to the finish. This past January he finished 23rd at the Armed Forces XC Championships in San Antonio, over 10.25 Km, in 33:03. The only recent relevant road result I find for Kipruto is the Army Ten Miler last October. He was fifth in the Masters category in 53:58. That is better than 5:24 per mile, for ten miles!! He was entered in Atlanta but did not compete. McDonagh finished fifth Overall at the 2022 Masters 5 Km XC Championships in Boulder CO and 2nd in the 2024 edition. Joseph Gray, a World Mountain Running Champion during his Open career was the only runner to best McDonagh that year. McDonagh also finished 2nd Overall at the 2023 USATF XC Championships in Richmond, losing to Ben Bruce. At the Tacoma Club Cross Championships last December, McDonagh was again able to beat everyone not named Joseph Gray. He also showed his speed by winning the 2024 USATF Masters Road Mile in Danville CA, with plenty of air between him and the second-place finisher. McDonagh would surely love to do well over the actual course at Golden Gate Park. When he was here in 2022 for Club Cross, he, like everyone else in the Men's 40+ race, had to cover several circuits of the 'track' in the Polo Grounds stadium. He will be looking for a higher finish this coming Saturday; in 2022, with a deeper field, he finished seventh. Richards was in that same race and finished third, twenty-nine seconds ahead of McDonagh. Richards did even better the following year at Clubs in Tallahassee, winning the Overall Men's race with a half minute to spare. At Tacoma last December, Richards was in the hunt but finished sixth overall, a good half minute behind McDonagh.
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| Start of the Men's Race at the 2024 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships at Boulder CO Photo Credit: Dave Albo |
Who else might challenge these four?! Of course, there are a half dozen or more very strong runners who typically push these guys hard. But it takes a special set of circumstances for them to prevail. I should mention a couple of 'wild cards' who might otherwise be flying in under the radar. Bolota Asmerom is entered without a team affiliation, in the M45 division. Three years ago, Asmerom ran a 32:06 10K at the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon and clocked 54:50 to finish as first Masters at the Alameda 10 Miler. Hiroki Fujinaga HOKA Aggies was the second Masters finisher at the Wharf to Wharf 6 mile run this year in 31:12, which can be converted to a 32:20. Two weeks earlier he ran a 32:39 10K in Morro Bay CA. These are two guys with good road times. Will they translate to good times on the turf? Maybe, maybe not. I find no recent cross country events for them. The transition from road to turf is not always smooth. Neville Davey West Valley TC is a late entry. Though he is now in the M50 division, one can never ignore him. It is eight years since he last won a Club Cross Championship. He was the fifth Masters athlete to cross the finish line at Carlsbad this year, clocking 16:05. Charlesworth is the only athlete entered here who was ahead of him that day.
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| The Start of the Men's Race at the 2023 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships at Boca Raton FL Photo by Mike Scott |
Others who, with a good day, could play a role, include: Bryce Lighthall West Valley TC, Juan Rivera West Valley Joggers & Striders, Andrew Touchstone West Valley TC and, from M45, Jamey Gifford, Konrad Knutsen, Ben Koss, and Chip Scarinzi, all from West Valley TC.
AGE DIVISIONS
MEN M40 All four of the chief contenders for the Overall win come out of the M40 division. So, Charlesworth, Kipruto, McDonagh, and Richards should also battle for the top of the M40 division. The same caveats apply, with Lighthall, Rivera and Touchstone, again suggested as having a potential role to play in forming the podium.
M45 The four Musketeers of the West Valley Track Club, Gifford, Knutsen, Koss and Scarinzi were mentioned as having role to play in the Overall competition. That suggests they are favored to occupy the top four spots in this division. Gifford finished 8th Masters at Carlsbad this year in 16:20 and finished 15th in M45 at Tacoma in 16:22. Knutsen ran 16:09 at Carlsbad but had a slower time at Clubs in Tallahassee in 2023 than did Koss. And Koss finished behind Gifford at Tacoma. So, the three are close. Scarinzi did not run at Carlsbad but he clocked a 16:27 5K at the Impala Stampede. He was faster at Tacoma than Koss but not as fast as Gifford. At the Matt Yeop XC this past weekend, Gifford led the way, with Scarinzi 9 seconds back and Koss another fifty seconds behind him. Unless Azmerom, mentioned in the Overall analysis, is still capable of running a 10K in something like 32:06, those four should battle for the three podium positions.
Early Going in the Men's Race at the 2022 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships in Boulder CO Photo by Dave Albo
M50 Neville Davey should be the one to beat here but it is a strong field. Jonah Backstrom West Valley, Alan Black Atlanta TC and another two West Valley runners, Julian Marsh and Todd Rose. [Note: Rose is listed as unaffiliated but I suspect this is a registration glitch. Rose is a long-time member of West Valley.] Davey, Rose and Marsh all ran Carlsbad this year, finishing in that order at 16:05, 16:36 and 16:45. Marsh came in ahead of Backstrom at the recent Matt Yeo XC race. Black has legitimate sub-17 5K speed but may not be quite as fast as these West Coast speedsters. At Tallahassee in 2023, Black was well behind several of these athletes but was a bit off his best at that time. Unless he is able to break them up, Davey is probably the favorite for the division win, with Rose, Marsh and Backstrom mixing it up for the 3nd through fourth spots.
They Are Off and Running in the Men's 40+ Race at the 2021 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships at Franklin Field in Boston MA Photo by Mike Scott
M55 Jaime Heilpern HOKA Aggies, who dominated the M50 division on the turf, is now in the M55 division and is likely to continue his winning ways. He set a new M50 American Road Mile Record, pending ratification, at the Mile of Truth in Danville CA with a 4:43.4. It is a wonderful race but not as fast a course as some. He also set the M55 Ten Mile record at Sactown, which is a fast course, with a 53:28. Ivan Lieben West Valley is probably the next strongest athlete. He just finished 2nd in M55 at the USATF Masters 5 Km Championships. He beat his running partner, Charles Mullane West Valley, by nine seconds at the Tamalpa XC race in mid-October. If Tacoma is any guide, those two still look good for 2nd and third, in either order. After that it seems that Michael Buckhoff Cal Coast TC, Gary Gellin HOKA Aggies, and Eric Hartmann Bowerman TC will be there to push for the podium if there are any surprises up front.
M60 This division got more interesting today when the M60 Clubs Champion from San Francisco in 2022 entered. Nat Larson had a skiing accident over the winter that forced a long rehab. He appears to be fully recovered. He won the USATF M60 5K title in Atlanta two weeks ago in a 17:56 that should probably be thought of as a 16:56. That was his first race back. Last December, he finished 2nd in M60 at Tacoma at 31:31. Of the athletes entered for Saturday, only Scott Lacrosse SRA Elite, Lester Dragstedt Atlanta TC, and Michael Chasse Pamakids. Their times ranged from 32:39 to 33:20. Consistent with that, Dragstedt finished a little over a minute behind Larson at the 5 Km Championships in Atlanta in mid-October. From a quick skim of PA XC this fall, no other M60 Athletes in the PA seems to be running any faster on the turf than Lacrosse. He seems likely to lead the way behind Larson. Jeffrey Hongo, Iain Mickle, Raymond Rodriguez, and Jeffrey Soares seem the group that will, most likely, be battling with Dragstedt and Chasse for the bronze medal.
The men's 60+ Race is Under Way at the 2021 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championship at Franklin Field in Boston MA Photo by Mike Scott
M65 Dan King Athletics Boulder has been the main man on the turf and the track, in his Age Division, for a long time. Jacob Nur was able to beat him here at GG Park in 2022 but that is rare. At Tacoma and Boulder last fall, King was supreme. He beat a strong field by a good minute. At Tacoma, over 8 Km, it was closer to two minutes. It has been a long season. King has won more national championships and set a few more recoreds, including for the 10,000 meters on the track, surely not one of his favorite events. He trusts his sore hamstrings will hold up for one more championship this year. He is probably right. Ken Youngers, who chased him around the course at University Park near Tacoma, is not entered. But Roger Sayre Twin Cities RC, formerly of Golden CO, now living in the Twin Cities area, who chased him up and down and across the hills in Boulder, will try to catch him again. Kevin Ostenberg HOKA Aggies should be in the hunt as well. At Tallahassee in 2023, King was not entered. Though Ostenberg finished behind Larson, he finished fourth in the M60+ race, ahead of almost everyone else. At Tacoma last December, he was behind King and Youngers but, again, ahead of everyone else. On the other hand, Athlinks has no results for him since April. Luckily, I found him among the division winners at the Fifth Avenue Mile in 5:11. Still, a quick scan of the PA XC shows Bobby Hastings HOKA Aggies winning M65 a few times. I did not see Ostenberg's name. Sayre finished 2nd M65 at the 5 Km Championships in Atlanta with a 19:09, interpreted, as indicated before, as being closer to an 18:09 in ordinary circumstances. He also finished second to King at the 4 Mile Championships. Jay Littlepage Athletics Boulder finished 8th at Tacoma last year, a good minute ahead of Hastings. King looks good for the win but Sayre, Hastings, Littlepage, and Ostenberg will make sure he earns it.
M70 After a few setbacks this year, a major bike accident and getting a pacemaker put in, it appears that Rick Becker Atlanta Track Club is back at, or at least near the top, of his game. In his first race after those setbacks, in mid-October, he won the M70 5 Km Championships in Atlanta with a 20:48 (think 19:48), beating James Linn by 25 seconds. At Tacoma last December, Becker took the M70 crown in 33:48, over 8 km of turf in difficult conditions, finishing a good three minutes ahead of Linn. So, Becker may be a little off the very top of his game. But he is definitely the one to beat. Tom Cushman who won at Tallahassee in 2023 and won the division at the PA's Matt Yeo XC race, is not entered. That suggests that Gerhard Fischer may be the one to give chase to Becker. He has been the top M70 runner apart from Cushman on the PA circuit this fall. Tamalpa teammates, Paul Herrerias and John Hirschberger have not been far off the pace set by Fischer. William Menchine Santa Cruz TC is also likely to mix it up with those two. It looks good for a Becker win, with Fischer likely after that. Then Herrerias, Hirschberger and Menchine are likely to fight it out for bronze.
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| Start of the Men's 40+ Race at the 2017 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park in Boston MA |
M75 Gary Ostwald Boulder TC has not lost many races in this division in the last couple of years. There is little reason to think that will start at Golden Gate Park. Here at Golden Gate Park at Clubs in 2022, Ostwald surprised everyone by sprinting past Ron Wells to take the M75 win. No one was surprised to see him take the win in Tacoma. He came in 45 seconds ahead of David Dunbar Jamul Toads and a minute and a half ahead of Doug Winn Bowerman TC, both of whom are entered. Winn took the M75 national 10K crown in Massachusetts this past spring, in Ostwald's absence, with a 46:11. Dunbar ran a 47:30 10K at the Scripps Ranch run in the summer. Ostwald took home national crowns in the 4 Mile in Peoria IL and the 1 Mile in Indianapolis IN. Jerry Learned Atlanta TC. Learned is almost always on the podium these days. If not he is right around the edges. He was fourth at Tacoma last year behind Ostwald, Dunbar and Wells. He has finished second M75 at the 4 Mile, 1 Mile, and 5K national championships road Championships this year. Learned always comes ready to compete! It is always a treat when four such competitive and talented runners meet to compete. The edge probably goes to Ostwald but the others will be battling.
M80 Len Goldman Tamalpa has been at this for a while. He finished fourth M70 at Club Cross in Lexington KY in 2017. here at Golden Gate Park, then 78, Goldman finished 6th in M75. Last year at Tacoma, Goldman took the top prize in M80. He finished ahead of Przemek Nowicki, Fred Martin Tamalpa, and Jan Frisby. Only Martin, of those three, is entered for Saturday. Goldman covered the Matt Yeo course in 35:00 last weekend to take that M80 crown. He finished two and a half minutes ahead of Barry Hotchkiss, thee other of the three entrants this coming weekend. Goldman should get another win on the turf this weekend. After that, Martin and Hotchkiss can fight it out for the silver and bronze medals.
M85 At the age of 88, this past May, Elmo Shropshire Tamalpa won M85 at the Marin Mile in 9:49.2. His teammate, Donald Hillebrandt, won the M85 crown at the 2024 national Road Mile championships in 12:51. He averaged 13:30 per mile in winning the M80+ division at the Impala Stampede in 2024. This past summer, Theodore Jones was the fastest 85-year-old or older across the finish line in 30:41. It is a great day when any of these three super veterans cross the finish line. On paper it looks good for Jones to take the day.
WOMEN W40 Kadavy should lead the way overall. That puts her atop this age division as well. Carroll, Giuliani and Glare-Conti should, as with overall, be in the mix for the other medals.
W45 Famous, Hayden and Prothro, mentioned in the overall write-up above, should have a great duel for the W45 win. After those two, it appears that Romy Basler, Julie Ann McCarthy Dougery, and Claire Saxton are in the mix for the bronze medal. Basler ran some sub-20 5K's in 2023 and 2024. Dougery finished 6th W45 at the 2024 national Road Mile championships in Danville with a 5:53. Saxton ran a 19:27 5K at the 2024 Impala Stampede and 42:28 this year at the Alameda Hospital 10K. I did not see Basler's name in my quick skim of PA XC. But Dougery and Saxton met at the UC Santa Cruz XC race in August. Dougery finished a good two minutes ahead of Saxton that day. Dougery was also just seven seconds behind Famous at the Matt Yeo XC race this past weekend. Saxton was only 11 seconds behind Dougery. With Hayden, from Virginia, mixing it up with these PA warriiors, it looks like a terrific race for W45 honors!
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| Start of the Women's Race at the 2021 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park in Boston MA Photo by Mike Scott |
W50 This looks like it will be a West Coast affair. Among those entered, Jodi Buuyounouski Impala had the top performance at the Matt Yeo XC this past weekend at 27:52. Caroline Temmins Wolfpack was a good minute behind her. Temmins has been active this fall on the PA XC circuit, often coming in first in in her division. But Buuyounouski was also the only one of these athletes to run at Tacoma and finish in the top 15 last December. At the UC Santa Cruz XC race in August, Buuyounouski's teammate, Elizabeth Gottlieb finished almost two minutes ahead of her. Another teammate, Megan Kossar, has not been as active at Cross Country but has run a bunch of 5K's in the 20 to 22-minute range. In 2023, she finished 2nd W50 at the Masters national ten mile championships in Sacramento. Temmins will need a good day to break up those three Impala teammates. Rebecca Carcamo CA almost flew in under the radar. In 2023 and 2024, Carcamo ran three 5K's well under 20:00, a 19:21, a 19:00, and an 18:57 5K. If she enjoys similar fitness now, she will have to be reckoned with.
W55 The name of Chris Lundy Impala jumps out. At Clubs in San Francisco in 2022, Lundy claimed the W50 win. No one else appears to have competed at that championship or the one in Tacoma this past December. Lundy has not been active on the PA XC circuit this fall. She did run Dipsea again, covering that tough trail course a second faster than last year. Her teammate, Patti Shore, finished 2nd W55 at the Matt Yeo XC race, with Kackie Cohen Santa Cruz TC just two seconds back. Ruth Teitelbaum Lake Merrit Joggers & Striders was another half minute back in fourth. But Teitelbaum finished twenty seconds ahead of Cohen at the UC Santa Cruz XC race in August. I find no recent XC races for Elizabeth Guerrini. But she finished 4th in W55 at Carlsbad this year in 19:41. Not all of her recent 5K's are that fast. But she also ran a 19:32 5K in Southern California in mid-October. At Clubs in San Francisco in 2022, Guerrini finished two minutes behind Lundy but two and a half minutes ahead of Shore. It looks like Lundy should be at the front of this pack, with Guerrini likely leading the rest. Cohen, Shore and Teitelbaum will mix it up for the other medals. Kari Rust West Valley will likely be in the mix for bronze with Shore, Cohen and Teitelbaum, based on her road times. She ran a 20:54 5K at the Impala Stampede in 2024.
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| Mid-Race Action at the 2017 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park in Boston MA Photo by Mike Scott |
W60 Eileen Brennan-Erler Impala finished tenth W60 last December at Tacoma with a 29:03 effort. Michelle Neal Club Northwest was a good minute back in 15th. Brennan-Erler finished 3rd W60 in 29:47 at the Matt Yeo XC race last weekend. Hronn Gudmundsdottir Impala did not compete at Tacoma but has done well this year on the roads. She won the W60 5K National Championship in Atlanta in mid-October at 21:21 (think 20:21). She also took the W60 win at the Matt Yeo XC race in 26:22, three minutes ahead of Brennan-Erler. Diana Micros West Valley TC was 5th in 31:29 at Matt Yeo. Gudmundsdottir should lead the W60 group all the way to the finish. After that, Brennan-Erler looks good. Neal will likely push her fo the silver medal. Micros could move up if any of those three has an off day.
W65 The names Joanie Siegler, Kathi Sleavin, and Jennifer Teppo jump out at me. Siegler won this division at Clubs here in 2022 by almost two minutes. At the Matt Yeo XC race this past weekend, Siegler put her stamp on this race by posting the winning W65 time of 28:38Sleavin was in 60-64 at that time and came in sixth but was a minute and a half behind Siegler. Teppo has not competed nationally in recent years, but she won the W60 division at Clubs in Spokane in 2018. There may be others entered who can mix it up with them, but it does not seem likely.
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| Women's Lead Group Mid-Race at the 2017 USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships Photo courtesy of USATF-New England |
W70 This appears also to be mostly a West Coast crew, except for Helene Myers Potomac Valley. Cynthia Long Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders posted the fastest W70 time at the Matt Yeo XC race on October 25th at 35:33. Ruth Rainero Impala Racing came next at 37:26, with Long's teammate, Sharlet Gilbert, third at 37:57. Long was also the top finisher at the UC Santa Cruz XC in August, except for one athlete who is not entered here. Long and Gilbert also went 1-3 at the Tamalpa XC. Long's teammate, Suzette Smith, who just turned 70 this year, finished 4th in W65 at the Alameda Hospital 10K with a 1:00:33 time. Long looks pretty good for the win. Rainero, Gilbert and Smith will likely be the ones vying to win the other two medals.
W75 There are three entries in this division; they are all from the Impala Racing Team, Irene Herman, Arlene McCarthy, and Nelda Williams. Herman and Williams finished 3rde and 5th respectively at Tacoma last December. McCarthy led the way for the team at the Matt Yeo XC race on October 25th at 37:17, with Herman second at 38:35 and Williams at 46:13. Those gaps are big enough that the result here on Saturday is likely to yield the same order of finish.
W80 Bridie Dillon CA ran Dipsea two years ago at the age of 78, no mean feat! Edda Stickle Tamalpa won the W80 division in 43:59 at Club Cross in San Francisco in 2022. She did not compete in Tacoma. She did win at the 3K Kenwood Footrace this past summer in 11:50. They should have a grand competition.
AGE GRADING This is mostly a case of looking to the usual group contesting the award.
WOMEN The most likely winners include: Hronn Gudmundsdottir, Chris Lundy, Joanie Siegler, Kathi Sleavin, and Jennifer Teppo.
MEN The top contenders are: Rick Becker, Jamie Heilpern, Dan King, and Nat Larson. Others who could make the podium include Neville Davey, Gary Ostwald, and Roger Sayre.
TEAMS
I have not much to say; I am no expert on West Coast teams. Very few teams from other regions are competing. The comments below are largely impressionistic.
WOMEN
40+ Impala looks good for the win with Wolfpack, perhaps, pushing them.
50+Impala again looks solid for the win with, perhaps Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders next?
60+ Impala should win here as well. Club Northwest will make them earn it.
70+ Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders have a good shot at making this the one Women's division where Impala does not take home the top prize.
For the Men 40's and 50's, West Valley TC and HOKA Aggies will probably contest for the win, with West Valley favored for both divisions. Atlanta could push them.
For 60's it is perhaps SRA Elite with the edge. HOKA Aggies and Santa Cruz seem likely to press them for the win. Atlanta may form a 60's team with Becker and Neil Feather moving down from M70 to join Dragstedt. But they are not likely to be on the podium.
The 70's are a mystery to me. I do not know the teams well enough. Perhaps Tamalpa has the athletes to win?
The 80's, at least, are clear. There is only one team. Tamalpa will win!
Best wishes to all who are running this weekend at Golden Gate Park! I look forward to reviewing the results. There are some epic matchups!
Sources: USATF Events website, my archives, Athlinks, Strava, and Facebook.
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AGE GRADIING Davey, Heilpern, Larson, Becker
