RRCA Champs Spotlight
28th Annual Run for the Zoo RRCA 10K National Championship By Jean Knaack The RRCA National 10K Championship, hosted by the 28th Annual Run for the Zoo 10K in Albuquerque, had a stacked field of RRCA convention attendees, resulting in some great competition for local runners and out-oftown guests. 2012 RRCA Roads Scholar Scott Bauhs attended the convention as this year’s program spokesperson. During the race, he emerged as the clear leader, holding off fellow RRCA convention-goer Jordan Desilets, who finished with a time of 32:31. Bauhs finished with the winning time of 31:43. Christine Kennedy won the 2013 RRCA 10K Female Masters Championship title. She was in town to receive her award as the RRCA’s Female Masters Runner of the Year – 2012. RRCA’s Central Region director to the
board Beth Onines went home with the 2013 title of RRCA 10K Senior Grandmaster Female Champion with her finish of 55:08. Several RRCA convention attendees went home with age-group awards. The conditions on race day for the soldout event were favorable for runners—cool temperatures in the morning and a slightly overcast sky. However, many runners commented on the rapid rise in temperature as the morning progressed. Many runners from lower elevations also noted that the high Albuquerque altitude impacted their performance. The race was put on by the New Mexico BioPark Society and boasted 12,000 combined participants in the 5K, 10K, and 1-mile Run/Walk. Participants received free admittance to the zoo following the event.
2013 RRCA National 10K Champions Open Male Scott Bauhs San Diego, CA (age 22, 31:43) Open Female Mardrea Hyman Albuquerque, NM (age 40, 38:28) Male Master Eugene Hogue Farmington, NM (age 49, 36:09) Female Master Christine Kennedy Los Gatos, CA (age 57, 41:15) Male Grandmaster William West Albuquerque, NM (age 57, 39:00) Female Grandmaster Nancy Marquette Lake Zurich, IL (age 56, 1:17:52) Male Senior Grandmaster Devin Croft Littleton, CO (age 60, 41:32) Female Senior Grandmaster Beth Onines Lake Zurich, IL (age 60, 55:08)
RunPro Camp Highlights By Jean Knaack Fourteen up-and-coming distance runners who recently graduated from universities across the country were selected to attend the second RunPro Camp hosted by the RRCA in Arlington, VA on July 18–21. The RunPro Camp, held for the first time in 2011 in Minneapolis, is designed specifically for athletes interested in pursuing a professional running career. Selection was by application, with most athletes being NCAA qualifiers and competing in distances ranging from 800 to 10,000 meters as well as in cross country. An excellent line-up of RunPro Camp speakers outlined the importance of the information being shared with the athletes. The interactive camp provided a forum for runners to meet coaches and athletes from professional training centers around the U.S., learn about sponsorship requirements, determine what type of representation would be best, find out about USATF resources and long distance running initiatives, plus complying with anti-doping regulations, working with the media and seeking financial and health support. The camp kicked off with a welcome dinner featuring 2008 Olympian Amy Begley (10,000m), who spoke about lessons learned as a professional runner and the Olympic experience. Roads Scholar grant recipients Scott Bauhs and Jon Grey joined her. USATF and the USATF Foundation sponsored the dinner. Scott Simmons from the U.S.A. Distance Project opened the camp’s education program by giving an overview of professional distance
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running. After more than 20 years, Simmons retired from collegiate coaching in 2012 to pursue full-time his work with the American Distance Project. His collegiate tenure saw successes at the NAIA and NCAA levels, as well as on the national and international stages. Simmons holds a Master’s degree in Sports Science from the United States Sports Academy, has twice been selected as a Team USA national team leader, and is a noted lecturer and coauthor of Take the Lead: A Revolutionary Approach to Coaching Cross Country (2006, with Will Freeman). Athlete representatives from both Team USA Minnesota and Zap Fitness discussed their experiences in joining a distance training center and highlighted how the RRCA’s Roads Scholar grant played an important role in their ability to stay in the sport. USADA Olympic education manager Jennifer Dodd covered drug testing, awareness, and compliance. Luke Watson, who recently completed his Ph.D. in Accounting, gave an informative talk about tax issues related to running as a profession versus running as a hobby and how those distinctions apply to young elite runners. Watson retired in 2012 from a successful running career that saw him compete in a variety of distances from the mile to the marathon, highlighted by appearances in three U.S. Olympic Trials. The athletes attending the RunPro Camp had finished their collegiate careers
as of June 2013 and show good potential for moving up to the next level. The RRCA provided travel and lodging grants so they could attend the camp free of charge. We look forward to watching and encouraging their careers in the coming years.
2013 RunPro Camp Attendees: Lara Crofford, Shippensburg University; Eric Finan, University of Cincinnati; Kristen Findley, Vanderbilt University; Michael Heller, Kent State University; Lauren Kleppin, Western State University of Colorado; Meghan Nelson, Iowa State University; Jonathan Peterson, University of California Davis; Gabriel Proctor, Western Colorado State University; Cydney Ross, Duke University; Ben Sathre, University of St. Thomas; Danielle Stack, Iowa State University; Gina Valgoi, Loyola University; Cate Westenhover, Baylor University; Amanda Winslow, Florida State University.
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