2006 ASU Invitational

Posted on March 27, 2006 by AZRunning.com

Arizona State University athletes won seven events at the ASU Invitational, March 25, at Sun Angel Stadium. Those in attendance enjoyed mild weather and a fireworks show, courtesy of the ASU baseball game.

Images from the 2006 ASU Invitational

Shauntel Elcock

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Need for Speed???

Posted on March 23, 2006 by AZRunning.com

If you want to experience hair raising speed on four wheels, you must try the Bondurant Ultimate Shifter Kart Course. The shifter karts have a six speed manual transmission, and are capable of going zero to 100 mph in six seconds, and zero to 100 to zero mph in around 10 seconds.

I didn’t start feeling comfortable in the kart until the end of the three hour class. The experience of driving a shifter kart is unlike driving any street car. First, you sit a few inches off the ground, in a machine with mind-blowing acceleration ( check out the Kart vs. Corvette video on the Bondurant site). The karts do not have a clutch pedal, nor an H-pattern shifter. My left foot kept reaching for the clutch, and instead found the brakes. Unfamiliarity with the sequential gearbox would cause me to lose track of which gear I was in. Making those two blunders and then trying to find the right line into a high-speed turn is an unsettling experience, to say the least. When one finally nails a good lap, it’s quite a rush.

I can’t wait to go back for “lapping sessions…”

My Shifter Kart Images

Jeff Nappi’s Shifter Kart Gallery, with videos!

Four Guys and a Shifter Kart...

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2006 Baldy Castillo Invitational

Posted on March 19, 2006 by AZRunning.com

The Arizona State University outdoor track season opened with the Baldy Castillo Invitational on a chilly Saturday evening, March 18, at Sun Angel Stadium. Arizona State hosted competitors from Fordham, Kentucky, Louisville, Manhattan, Northern Arizona, Northern Illinois, Texas A&M, Western State College and others.

Images from the 2006 Baldy Castillo Invitational

Corey Randall leads the pack

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2006 Valley of the Sun Half Marathon / Relay

Posted on March 17, 2006 by AZRunning.com

I must admit to approaching this event with a bit of trepidation. After 143 days without rain, the Phoenix area was drenched by a chilly, day-long downpour the day before the Valley of the Sun Half Marathon. Add to that the uncertainties of a new race route, the 6:15 AM starting time, and the overall logistical difficulty of coordinating a road relay. It had the potential to be a cold, wet, unpleasant morning.

What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. The rain moved out a few hours before race time. The air was clear and cool, with a light breeze. On the horizon, the Four Peaks wore a dramatic blanket of snow.

Quest Club entered three relay teams. The Quest Gold team took first place in the co-ed division, and was the first team to finish overall, in 1:25:08. The Quest Blue team finished 3rd overall and was the first all-women’s team, in 1:33:11. The Quest Red team finished 5th overall, and was 3rd in the co-ed division, with a time of 1:42:02. Patty Beckman ran the full half marathon in 1:41:46, a nine minute PR!

Images from the 2006 Valley of the Sun Half Marathon

Snow capped peaks in the distance

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Kart Racing

Posted on March 10, 2006 by AZRunning.com

I’ve been a motorsports fan for as long as I can remember; longer than I’ve been involved with either photography or running. For years, I was a spectator, watching races live or on TV. Then, some friends from work and I discovered indoor karting. Being a spectator is fun, but skimming along 3 inches off the ground at 45 mph is way more addictive.

So far, my racing has been limited to the two indoor tracks at F1 Race Factory in Phoenix. I can’t seem to get enough, but at the same time, look forward to going faster. So, in a couple weeks, it’s on to the shifter karts at the Bondurant Ultimate Shifter Kart Course. The shifter karts have a six speed manual transmission, and are reportedly capable of going 120 mph. I can’t wait! It should be a blast.

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Tybee Island / Savannah, Georgia

Posted on February 10, 2006 by AZRunning.com

Authors, movie directors, and photographers have all been inspired by Savannah, Georgia. The novel and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a recent example. The opening scene from Forrest Gump, where the feather floats down from the church steeple, is another. The prospect of seeing the area is what motivated me to run the Memorial Health Tybee Marathon. Georgia became the 13th state in which I’ve completed a marathon. Quite appropriately, Georgia was the 13th and final of the American colonies.

Photo Gallery: Images of Tybee Island and Savannah, GA

Savannah

The race itself was pretty well-done. A local mentioned that the island is 3 miles long. If that is accurate, one can imagine that squeezing a 26.2 mile race into an area that size would require some repetition. Indeed the marathon course is shaped like an elongated figure eight, repeated twice. Runners more or less go around and through neighborhoods, and up and down the one major street on the island. I didn’t find it as mentally difficult as some commenters on Marathonguide.com. Compared to racing a 10,000 on the track, it isn’t bad.

Crowd support was enthusiastic. The compact design of the course was definitely good for spectators.

I started the marathon on legs still feeling tired from the P.F. Chang’s RNRAZ Half and Runner’s Den 10K. In retrospect, it wasn’t a good idea to squeeze the two hard races in right before Tybee. The steady wind during the marathon was bad enough. Fighting the wind with dead legs doomed me to one of my slower final 10K’s in a marathon. After 20 marathons, I’m still learning…

Tybee Island’s primary landmark is the lighthouse, located on the north side of the island.

Tybee Island Lighthouse

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28th Annual Runner’s Den 10K and 5K

Posted on January 30, 2006 by AZRunning.com

In its heyday, the Runner’s Den 10K was one of the premier road races in the US, as competitors from all corners of the globe cranked out hundreds of sub-30 minute performances during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Its position on the calendar still makes it an ideal early season indicator of fitness.

Quest Club walked away from the 28th annual Runner’s Den 10K and 5K with a slew of age group awards, a few PRs, and the overall female title in the 5K. The new red uniforms were a big hit, too.

Runner’s Den 10K results

10K results for Quest Club:

23 40:53 2/44 123 Daer, David 40 Tempe, AZ 37:33(’90)
70 47:04 9/30 539 Van Newkirk, Scott 37 Phoenix, AZ 44:54(’00)

30 48:04 6/43 40 Beckman, Patty 36 Paradise Valley, AZ
105 57:07 22/43 297 Kullander, Melissa 36 Scottsdale, AZ

Runner’s Den 5K results

5K results for Quest Club:

20 18:43 3/26 216 Gray, Michael 41 Phoenix, AZ 18:25(’03)

1 18:50 1/17 639 Simmons, Nicole 27 Mesa, AZ
3 20:08 2/40 198 Garcia, Lisa 42 Scottsdale, AZ Event P/R!
4 20:23 1/29 1711 Maurer, Kate 34 19:30(’99)
7 22:15 2/29 666 Agria, Helice 30 Phoenix, AZ
15 24:12 2/4 845 Waters, Courtney 19 Mesa, AZ Event P/R!
65 29:42 1/2 1304 Martin, Kay 69

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2006 P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Arizona

Posted on January 16, 2006 by AZRunning.com

The big news this year was Haile Gebrselassie’s new world record for the half marathon distance. Even among the locals, this race generates more interest than just about any other running event in town. Quest Club was well represented in both the marathon and half marathon. Even a couple “Braveheart” warriors and an Imperial Stormtrooper took part in the activities.

Photos from the Weekend: 2006 P.F. Chang’s RNRAZ Quest Club pics

P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Arizona Web site: P.F. Chang’s RNRAZ info and results

Results for Quest Club and friends:

Marathon

Shyman Scot M 48 Phoenix AZ 1890 658 554 M_45-49 62 Marathon 8:06 3:32:28 3:32:05 48:57:00 1:42:34 2:39:31 565
Van Newkirk Scott M 37 Phoenix AZ 3531 1938 1416 M_35-39 248 Marathon 9:09 4:00:21 3:59:39 52:13:00 1:50:15 2:56:01 659

Half Marathon

Daer David M 40 Tempe AZ 21404 313 266 M_40-44 30 Half Marathon 6:56 1:30:47 1:30:44 21:04 42:17:00 1:08:33 1015
Daer Jeff M 39 Scottsdale AZ 22666 1747 1249 M_35-39 223 Half Marathon 8:18 1:51:39 1:48:46 23:53 48:16:00 1:20:25 1114
Shafer Susan F 54 Phoenix AZ 23019 2053 615 F_50-54 14 Half Marathon 8:27 1:53:41 1:50:48 24:14:00 49:40:00 1:22:37 860
Beckman Patty F 36 Paradise Valley AZ 23947 2062 620 F_35-39 99 Half Marathon 8:28 1:53:44 1:50:52 26:35:00 53:15:00 1:25:47 1708
Sommer Laurie F 43 Phoenix AZ 24014 2248 702 F_40-44 120 Half Marathon 8:32 1:56:36 1:51:51 26:35:00 54:36:00 1:29:34 221
Orr Mary F 61 Phoenix AZ 24272 3390 1248 F_60-64 3 Half Marathon 9:00 2:02:33 1:57:48 28:22:00 57:32:00 1:32:04 1890
Callahan Stacey F 36 Phoenix AZ 26960 3529 1306 F_35-39 216 Half Marathon 9:02 2:04:44 1:58:19 27:40:00 55:58:00 1:32:21 221
Chalmers Josie F 63 Billings MT 23490 4485 1795 F_60-64 7 Half Marathon 9:21 2:06:55 2:02:23 26:42:00 56:11:00 1:34:03 449
Lindstrom Stephen M 58 Phoenix AZ 36063 4573 2735 M_55-59 107 Half Marathon 9:22 2:07:33 2:02:48 28:22:00 57:33:00 1:36:45 1326
Hildebrant Lea Ann F 46 Phoenix AZ 25476 6454 2914 F_45-49 248 Half Marathon 9:56 2:16:35 2:10:10 28:22:00 57:36:00 1:36:46 892
Hildebrant Peter M 45 Phoenix AZ 21195 6452 3540 M_45-49 484 Half Marathon 9:56 2:16:35 2:10:09 33:50:00 1:08:26 1:52:05 68
Kullander Melissa F 36 Scottsdale AZ 31839 9536 4842 F_35-39 856 Half Marathon 10:56 2:36:29 2:23:17 36:26:00 1:15:42 2:05:49 14
Martin Kay F 69 Phoenix AZ 8137 10335 5374 F_65-69 8 Half Marathon 11:14 2:51:37 2:27:17 31:34:00 1:06:34 1:49:57 1890
Langlois Lyle M 75 Phoenix AZ 32021 13422 5876 M_75-79 8 Half Marathon 12:49 3:02:50 2:48:01 24:08:00 50:04:00 1:23:25 1890

Scott, look out for the Stormtrooper!

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Quest Club Holiday Party

Posted on December 17, 2005 by AZRunning.com

Quest Club celebrated the holidays in style with its annual Holiday Party. It was nice to see friends and teammates, both old and new, in a social setting away from running. A new twist was a dice game that I am unable to describe in a few words…

Photos from the party: 2005 Quest Club Holiday Party pics

Gift Presentation for Coach Moore

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Weekend Race Report, 12/4/05

Posted on December 5, 2005 by AZRunning.com

The first weekend in December was a busy and successful one on the roads for Quest Club.

On a sunny and mild, but unseasonably warm Saturday morning, the women of Quest Club captured four age group awards at the 2nd Pacific Trail Iron Girl event. The 10 mile course consisted of two loops around Tempe Town Lake. Laura Clarke-Steffen led the way, in 4th place overall, and 1st in her age group. Helice Agria, Sue Shafer, and Mary Orr also picked up impressive age group award loot, which included color-coordinated Iron Girl sling bags and visors. Paula Case and Laurie Sommer also represented Quest Club in the 10 mile race.

Photos from the Iron Girl race: 2005 Iron Girl Quest Club pics

Iron Girl race results: 2005 Iron Girl results

Results for Quest Club:

4 Laura Clarke-Steffen AG 47 Phoenix AZ 1:16:49 1:16:40 7:40 3201
8 HELICE AGRIA AG 29 PHOENIX AZ 1:17:35 1:17:27 7:45 3334
18 Susan Shafer AG 54 Phoenix AZ 1:21:41 1:21:33 8:10 3136
21 Paula Case AG 42 Phoenix AZ 1:22:17 1:22:09 8:13 3113
41 Mary Orr AG 61 Phoenix AZ 1:26:13 1:26:04 8:37 3078
46 LAURIE SOMMER AG 43 PHOENIX AZ 1:26:42 1:26:35 8:40 3071

Sunday morning was also sunny, and about 10 degrees cooler than Saturday, nearly ideal for a long race. Quest Club was well-represented in the 18th Runner’s Den / Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon in downtown Scottsdale. Both Lyle Langlois and Kay Martin won their respective age groups, a mere 4 weeks after completing the ING NYC Marathon. Kay also set a new half marathon PR!

Results for the Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon: 2005 Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon results

Results for Quest Club and friends:

35 1:28:35 7/70 170 Daer, David 40 Tempe, AZ 1:22:52(’93)
106 1:41:18 8/33 1016 Mendoza, Ed 53
123 1:43:35 29/75 2072 Shyman, Scot 46 Phoenix, AZ 1:34:31(’98)
134 1:44:37 23/57 171 Daer, Jeff 38 Scottsdale, AZ 1:14:34(’93)
139 1:45:32 25/57 752 Van Newkirk, Scott 37 Phoenix, AZ Event P/R!
373 2:39:15 1/1 397 Langlois, Lyle 75 Phoenix, AZ 1:50:50(’95)

20 1:39:56 2/40 437 Lundgren, Suzanne 46 Phoenix, AZ Event P/R!
26 1:41:17 5/43 312 Harkins, Von 44 Phoenix, AZ 1:29:12(’94)
63 1:52:52 1/7 2094 Williams, Susan 55 Phoenix, AZ
210 2:15:47 1/1 461 Martin, Kay 68 Phoenix, AZ Event P/R!

Quest Club at Iron Girl

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Turkey Trot 10K Race Report

Posted on November 24, 2005 by AZRunning.com

It was a generally nice morning for a Thanksgiving Day race in East Mesa; mostly sunny, unseasonably warm, but without the usual stiff breeze. This venerable 10K, which celebrated its 36th running, reportedly set a record for number of entrants (nearly 2,000 in the 10K, with close to 1,000 more in the non-competitive events, a 2 mile fun run and 1 mile fitness walk). New course records were also established by the men’s and women’s overall winners.

Quest Club was well-represented in the results. For the second year in a row, Laura Clarke-Steffen took home a turkey for winning her age group (although we didn’t get two birds this year). Jeff Daer made a rare appearance in a road race, and passed Tom Turkey in the last half mile to earn a certificate.

Turkey Trot 10K race results at RacePlaceEvents.com: Turkey Trot results

Results for Quest Club and friends:

73 41:10 5/106 409 Daer, David 40 Tempe, AZ 38:12(’93)
172 45:17 5/60 2220 Mendoza, Ed 52
283 48:23 29/105 410 Daer, Jeff 38 Scottsdale, AZ 34:57(’93)
481 54:15 9/19 1613 Steffen, Bob 64 Phoenix, AZ

16 44:00 1/63 343 Clarke-Steffen, Laura 47 Phoenix, AZ 42:40(’04)
23 44:46 6/196 2180 Agria, Helice 29
232 54:43 27/123 2820 Clarke, Ginger 44

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2005 Arizona State High School XC Meet

Posted on November 20, 2005 by AZRunning.com

The Arizona state high school cross country meet was held at Cave Creek Golf course, on a warm Saturday morning and afternoon in Phoenix. The hilly venue was challenging for both runners and spectators.

Photo gallery:
2005 AIA Cross Country Championships

Meet Results:
Arizonatrack.com 2005 meet result archive

Kristin Phillips

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New Times 10K Race Report

Posted on November 13, 2005 by AZRunning.com

The New Times 10K moved to Mill Avenue for its 30th edition. Years ago, this was my first road race, when it started on Camelback near 24th St, and was known as the “North Bank” run.

Results for the 30th New Times 10K: 2005 New Times 10K on Mill results

Quest Club results:

ELITE:
18 14 TRINA PAINTER F 39 36:27 5:52

CITIZENS:
94 1090 DAVID DAER M 40 40:51 6:35 13/265 M4044 TEMPE AZ
352 2251 SCOTT VAN NEWKIRK M 37 46:26 7:29 44/252 M3539 PHOENIX AZ
485 2981 COURTNEY WATERS F 19 48:15 7:46 6/44 F0119 MESA AZ
566 2587 SUSAN SHAFER F 54 49:04 7:54 3/68 F5054 PHOENIX AZ
726 3748 LAURIE SOMMER F 43 50:44 8:10 20/218 F4044 PHOENIX AZ
897 3924 STEPHEN LINDSTROM M 58 52:03 8:23 23/91 M5559
1892 3925 KATHRYN LINDSTROM F 52 59:30 9:35 27/68 F5054

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NJCAA Region I XC Championship photos posted

Posted on October 31, 2005 by AZRunning.com

Photos from the NJCAA Region I XC Championships, held on Friday afternoon, October 28, in Kiwanis Park have been posted. These were originally intended to be submitted to Trackandfieldphoto.com, but the overcast skies and abundance of shade, while good for running, caused a lot of shots to be slightly out of focus. Congratulations to Central Arizona College, which claimed both the men’s and women’s team and individual titles.

Photo gallery:
2005 NJCAA Region I XC Championships

Meet info:
http://www.maricopa.edu/cctf/ccnews.html

photo finish

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Chicago Photo Gallery

Posted on October 31, 2005 by AZRunning.com

This gallery has been up for a couple weeks… Most of the photos of the Chicago skyline are from the Architectural Boat Tour, which I went on the day after the marathon. Although I apparently ran past many of the city’s landmarks during the race, most didn’t register at the time. I was pretty focused on maintaining the pace and staying clear of trouble. So it was quite a thrill to go on the tour and soak in the surroundings. Chicago is a really photogenic city. We had a marvelous day for the tour — not too cold, and just enough blue skies for nice photos.

Click here to view the Chicago Photo Gallery

Sears Tower

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2005 Canyon West Classic

Posted on October 15, 2005 by AZRunning.com

Photos from the 2005 Canyon West Classic, held on Saturday, October 15, in Kiwanis Park have been posted. I would normally run this race, but since it was six days after the Chicago Marathon, I had fun taking photos instead…

Photo gallery:
2005 Canyon West Classic

Meet Information and Results:
Canyon West Classic Meet Information

David Kemei

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Chicago Marathon

Posted on October 9, 2005 by AZRunning.com

Before the day was over, the folks at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon sent me the following e-mail… I was impressed that they turned results around so quickly for such a large race…

Dear David Daer,

Congratulations on finishing The 2005 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon! You achieved your goal and crossed the Finish Line. We hope you will take the memories of your LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon experience with you forever.

This year’s Marathon was a great success with clear skies and temperatures in the 50s. 33,012 runners finished this year’s marathon, and you were one of them! Your chip time was 3:10:34 and you placed 1396 out of 33,012 finishers. Here are this year’s top finishers:

Top 3 Male Finishers:
1. Felix Limo, 2:07:02
2. Benjamin Maiyo, 2:07:09
3. Daniel Njenga, 2:07:14

Top 3 Female Finishers:
1. Deena Kastor, 2:21:25
2. Constantina Tomescu-Dita, 2:21:30
3. Masako Chiba, 2:26:00

Top Male Masters:
1. Luca Foglia, 2:31:23

Top Female Masters:
1. Colleen De Reuck, 2:28:40

Top Male Wheelchair Finisher:
1. Krige Schabort, 1:29:40

Top Female Wheelchair Finisher:
1. Miriam Ladner, 2:05:27

For searchable Race results, news and photos, visit our Web site at http://www.chicagomarathon.com.

Thank you again for being a part of The 2005 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. We hope you will join us again on October 22, 2006.

Sincerely,
The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Staff
http ://www.chicagomarathon.com

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2005 Doug Conley Invitational

Posted on October 1, 2005 by AZRunning.com

Photos from the 2005 Doug Conley Invitational, held on Saturday, October 1, in Kiwanis Park have been posted.

Photo gallery:
2005 Doug Conley Invitational

Meet Results:
Arizonatrack.com meet result archive

Kari Hardt

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Cross Country season is here

Posted on September 26, 2005 by AZRunning.com

Although the weather in the Valley of the Sun still feels like summer, cross country season is in full swing. Congratulations to the ASU Sun Devil women’s team for capturing the team title at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota, and to Amy Hastings for the individual crown. Closer to home, the Mesa Thunderbird Cross Country Classic took place in Riverview Park. I’ve posted photos from the high school portion of the meet in the photo gallery.

Photo gallery:
2005 Mesa Thunderbird Invitational

Mesa meet info:
Mesa Thunderbird Cross Country Classic

Mesa T-Bird Invitational

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Galleries have been updated

Posted on August 21, 2005 by AZRunning.com

Still can’t get into a running groove after four days at home. However, I’ve managed to update the photo galleries from London and Helsinki, in the Scenic section. I also created galleries from the world championships men’s and women’s marathons, in the Running section. Please have a look…

Helsinki Women’s Marathon Photos

Helsinki Men’s Marathon Photos

Helsinki Men's Marathon

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