Women-only races promote gender discrimination

Many women want to have their cake and eat it too.

They want to be able to run in women-only races and ban men. Yet they also want to run in co-ed races when they feel like it.

These women-only races, such as the Tinkerbell Runs, Nike Women's Marathon and Diva Runs, are all the rage and are growing by leaps and bounds.

Many of these races even say in the rules that there will be no age-group awards for male participants.

But do they charge men less to enter because they don't receive all of the race benefits? No.

Men pay the same registration fees yet are treated as second-class citizens.

Imagine the public outcry and uproar if some men wanted to have a men's only race.  NOW (National Organization of Women) and every other women's rights group would be up in arms.

But it's OK if women want women-only races because it's a sisterhood thing. I think not.

Discrimination is disrimination, plain and simple.

If we allow this gender-based discrimination to occur in road races, what next?

Why do cities that issue parade and other permits to these race organizers allow this type of discrimination?

If women want to continue with these female-themed races, fine, let them. But they need to make the rules the same for both genders.

The simple solution is to create men's categories the same as women's.

If women can earn medals three deep in 10-year age groups, then men should be able to, also.

Globe-trotting adventurer Adrian Crane profiled in local magazine

Contentment Health, a slick-covered feature magazine published in Modesto, has spotlighted Adrian Crane with a feature and cover shot.

Crane has led a life that Indiana Jones would envy, having tried to summit Mt. Everest twice (he'll make his third attempt in May), summitting the highest point in every state in just 101 days and many other notable feats.

He's also a veteran of too many ultra-marathons (longer than 26.2 miles) to count.

Unfortunately, the magazine article falls short and is mostly fluff with few details of what could be a riveting tale of adventure and trekking.

Titled "A big life of adventure," the article just teases readers, leaving them clammering for more.

The subhead also is misleading, calling Crane a life-long Modestan when he actually was born in England and still has that stately British accent.

Despite the article's shortcomings, cheers to Crane, who truly is an inspiration.

The Central Valley's bike-friendly community

The League of American Bicyclists every year ranks cities as to their bike friendliness.

Do they have enhanced bike lanes or bike paths that allow cyclist to commute or ride safely?

Do they encourage workplaces to provide showers and lockers for bike commuters?

Do they provide safe and secure places to lock bikes outside of businesses?

Do they have an all-round positive bike culture?

Davis was the only California to receive the platinum - or top - rating. Boulder, Colo., and Portland, Ore., were the other two that received the platinum status.

Several Bay Area cities received gold or silver status.

Fresno was the only Central Valley city that received any type of recognition, and it received bronze status.

How ironic, when the city of Modesto last year applied to be a Bike Friendly Community when it was seeking to host the 2013 Amgen Tour of California. Could it be city leaders only did so to try to attract the bike race?

Does Modesto actually think that painting a few green blocks on a few bike lanes within the city will earn them even bronze status?

Check out the green paint at the intersection of Scenic and Oakdale, heading south on the El Vista bridge.

They painted the same green blocks near Nedham and College, heading east on Nedham.

Otherwise, it's the same disfunctional system of unconnected bike paths, start-and-stop bike lanes, bike unfriendly stop lights (no bike activation pad or easily accessible push buttons) and otherwise dangerous riding conditions in Modesto.

Try finding a bike rack near Dick's Sporting Goods. Good luck.

Let's keep underwear UNDER running clothes

I'm all for making 5K runs fun and putting a different twist on something that could be mundane.

After all, the Undy 5000 sounds a lot more fun than Run Against Colon Cancer.

The Undy 5000 is a nationwide series of 5Ks put on by the Colon Cancer Alliance to bring attention to colon cancer. It's similar to the Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell Run franchise. 

And I have no problem with drawing attention to colon cancer, which is one of the largest killers of U.S. residents.

But when people literally run around in their underwear in an event sponsored by a laxative manufacturer, that's where I draw the line. 

The Undy 5000 in Sacramento, Calif., wasn't just bordering on being tasteless. It was totally tasteless.

Back when school kids actually played on the playground, there was a chant, "I see London, I see France, I see someone's underpants."

Showing one's underwear was a no, no back then, and it should still be now.

Everywhere you looked around Land Park, March 3, were people wearing their undies on top of black running tights. Sure there were boxers. 

I'm sorry, but seeing people trot around in tighty whities (a.k.a. Jockeys) or lacy bikini panties is way overboard.

On top of it, the event was sponsored by a laxative.

If you're a regular runner (pardon the pun) and eat the recommended five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables every day, you're anything but constipated. 

In fact, runners suffer from the other extreme at times dubbed "runners' trots." A laxative is the last thing on their minds.

And who wants to wear a commemorative piece of clothing from an event sponsored by a laxative? Maybe a proctologist.

As its name implies, underwear is made to wear UNDER clothing. I think the Undy 5000 should keep it that way.

Regional USA Track & Field honors two Modesto runners

Jon Olsen (right) receives the PA USATF male ultra-runner of the year award.

Much like they do in their respective races, Modesto residents Jon Olsen and Barbara Miller have been on a tear, this time on the awards circuit.

Olsen was named the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field's male ultra-runner of the year at its awards ceremony, Feb. 19, in Berkeley.

Among Olsen's accomplishments during 2012 were placing seventh overall at the IAU World 100K Championships in Seregno, Italy; winning the North Coast 24-hour Endurance Run and setting a pending 12-hour track record at the Desert Solstice Track Race, Dec. 15, in Phoenix.

In Italy, Olsen also was the second U.S. finisher, covering the 100K (about 62 mile) course in 6:48:51, or about 6:35 per mile.

Olsen recently was selected as one of six members of the USATF National 24-Hour Team, which will compete at the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 24-Hour World Championship, May 11-12, in Steenburgen, Netherlands.

PA USATF honored Miller for the best age-graded performance among PA women last year. She age-graded 96.76% with her 1:47:38 at the Clarksburg Half-Marathon in November.

Age grading is a formula that takes into account your time and age to project what you would have run if you were in your prime—your 20s and sometimes into your 30s, depending on the distance.

Miller also was reocognized as the top woman within USATF nationally in the 70-74 age group with her time of 23:47, run in the Women's Fitness 5K last summer in Sacramento.

Merced Road Running Series:A group of sweet races

There's a new race series in the valley.

Actually, it's not super new—it started last year, but it's still relatively new.

The cool thing about this three-race series is it has the state-of-the-art technology of big races but the friendliness of local events.

The second annual Honey Bun Run 5K and 10K, held Feb. 10, took runners through the streets in and around downtown Merced.

Traffic control was right on, with more than 160 volunteers—mostly Buhach High School students and their parents—directing runners and keeping cars off the course. Merced police also patrolled the route.

The course itself was well marked with cones delineating the route. Yellow safety tape also stretched across a few intersections that possibly could have confused runners.

Timing involved chip timing using the Chronotrack B-tag, the thin RFID tag on the back of the bib. Results were posted promptly.

A person near the finish line announced runners on the PA system as they approached, just like in big races.

How did he do that? He'd call out the bib number to a computer operator next to him, who would read out the runner's name.

To show the small-town friendliness, people cheered on the last few runners as they crossed the line. There also were snacks, homemade breakfast burritos and an awards ceremony for medal winners.

The Honey Bun Run was the first in the Merced Road Running Series.

The Livingston Feet for a Cure is April 14, followed by Storm the Castle in Atwater a few months later. They all have both 5K and 10K courses and benefit local groups.

Turlock resident wins the Super Bowl...10K run, that is

Only hours before one of Turlock's most celebrated sports stars took the field, another Turlock athlete was collecting her bling.

 

Turlock runner Kimberly Cloud won the women's division of the Super Bowl Sunday 10K run in Sacramento, Feb. 3, with a chip time of 38:18.4.

 

Not far behind her was Trish Frisella of Modesto, who ran 39:52.8, good enough for first in the female 25-29 age group and sixth female overall.

 

View an interview with the team from Turlock on Channel 10 news. (You have to wait for the commercial before the actual news clip begins.)

Market will dictate which half marathons will survive

Everywhere I look, there’s a new half-marathon popping up.

The event has been billed as the fastest-growing distance in the United States, and it seems like that growth has hit the Central Valley.

But with the proliferation of 13.1-milers, have we reached a saturation point?

The Avenue of the Vines in Lodi was one of the very first 13.1-mile races in the Central Valley six or seven years ago.

Shortly after, the Eye-Q, now Two Cities Marathon, added a half distance.

Four years ago, the Modesto Marathon unveiled both a half and a full marathon distance.

That’s when the flood gates seemed to open.

And some race promoters evidently believe that the Central Valley can handle a few more.

Take a look at Rina’s Run, which traditionally had been a 5K and 10K in May. This year, it’s a 5K and half marathon.

The inaugural Peace Officer’s Memorial Run in Modesto in September 2012 will be repeated agains this year.

The St. Joseph’s Half in October in Stockton is now in its third year, and Exeter added the Hell of a Half.

Then there’s the Pleasanton Half, Waskally Wabbit Half, End of the Trail Half and Eye Q California Classic Weekend Half. I'm sure I forgot a few.

That doesn’t even count any of the half marathons in Sacramento, San Francisco or along the coast.

Half marathons cost more to produce and therefore, charge more for registration.

In this economy, runners are being very judicious with their money. There's a finite pot of dollars to go around.

With more half-marathons chasing the pot, it will be diluted out.
 

As in any capitalistic society, market forces will dictate. Runners will vote with their registration dollars.

The popular and fiscally strong events will survive, and the less popular ones, such as the Modesto Midnight Half, will disappear.