Half-marathons continue to lead race growth

Since 2003, half-marathons have been the fastest growing road race distance, and 2011 was no exception.

Of the 100 largest timed U.S. road races, half-marathons comprised 42 percent, according to figures from Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Running USA.

And the Competitor Group, producers of the Rock 'n' Roll series, had 15 of them.

The top 100 races had more than 1.6 million finishers, and five road races had more than 40,000 timed finishers each.

That compares to 922,500 total finishers in 2000.

The 100th race in 2000 had 3,600 finishers. In 2011, the 100th race had more than 8,000 finishers.

Here are the top 10 timed races:

1. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race 10K, 55,077

2. Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K, 51,303 (Spokane)

3. Dick's Sporting Goods Bolder Boulder 10K, 49,213

4. ING New York City Marathon, 47,133

5. Zazzle Bay to Breakers 12K, 43,954 (San Francisco)

6. Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 35,755

7. Cooper River Bridge Run 10K, 34,789 (Charleston, S.C.)

8. Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K, 33,365 (Richmond, Va.)

9. Zappos.com Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half-Marathon, 33,257

10. Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K, 32,442 (Chicago)

View the full list and other statistics at Running USA.

Is German Fernandez going to run for Nike?

Shortly after competing in the1,500 finals at the Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Ore., last month, former Riverbank, Calif., High School running phenom declared he was turning pro.

Now rumors have it that he's joined Nike and the Oregon Track Club to train.

After graduating from Riverbank High School, Fernandez spent four years at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, running cross-country and track.

Although he's graduated, Fernandez still had a full outdoor season of eligibility left because of red-shirting.

He won the 1,500 at the NCAA track and field championships as a true freshman in 2009. But he has since said he believes the 5,000 may be his best event.

Stay tuned.

Area runners take silver at Junior Olympics

A team of four girls from Modesto's Central Valley Roadrunners youth track club took second in the 4x800-meter relay, July 26, at the Junior Olympics in Baltimore.

Team members were Juliette Acosta, Nicole Warwick, Victoreya Maravilla and Meagan Warwick. (Nicole and Meagan Warwick are twins.)

The Roadrunners Youth Girls' team ran 10:04.68, placing behind the gold medal team from Oak Hill Racing, Sacramento, which ran 9:46.17.

Age is no hurdle for this runner

You're never too old to run.

Just ask Joe LoBianco, who at 84 years old, continues to dominate the 80-plus age group.

You may say he wins his age group because there are few other runners over 80. That may be true.

But when you look at Joe's times, you'll see that he continues to beat runners several decades his junior.

Joe lives in the Bay Area, but he has his favorite races in the Central Valley that he'll run year in and year out. HIs most recent was the Escalon Park Fete 2-miler, July 15, where—you guessed it—he won his age group.

Joe is always quick with a smile or a joke. Maybe it's the running that keeps him so young.

Area runners fail to advance in Olympic 1500 trials

Neither former Riverbank High School star German Fernandez nor former Modesto High runner Matt Maldonado advanced in the 1500-meters semi-finals at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., June 29.

Both had run fast enough times to advance from the prelims into the semis.

There were two semi heats, and the top five in each heat, plus the next two fastest times, advanced to the finals.

Maldonado, a junior at Long Beach State, ran in the first heat, clocking 3:52.95. He was 10th in the heat.

Fernandez, who graduated this spring from Oklahoma State University, ran in the second and faster heat. He ran 3:43.78, finishing 11th in the heat.

The 1500-meter finals will be run July 1.

Records fall at Western States 100

Blessed with unusually cool conditons, Timothy Olson of Oregon blasted through the 100.2-mile course from Squaw Valley to Auburn to set a new Western States 100 course record, June 23-24.

Olson ran 14:46:44, eclipsing the old course record set by Geoff Roes of 15:07:04 in 2010.

Olson is a former drug addict who turned to ultra-running for therapy. Read his story by clicking here.

Setting a new women's course record was Ellie Greenwood of Canada with 16:47:19.

She broke the long-held record of 17:37:51 set by Ann Trayson in 1994.

These are the results for Central Valley participants:

• Mike Bohi, 94 (bib number for tracking). Finished in 28:10:05.

• Jeanne Kysar-Carey, 252. Finished in 28:46:16.

• Karen Lozano, 124. Dropped at Rucky Chucky near, about 70 miles into the race.

• Jon Olsen, 298 (Olsen was recently recognized by the state Legislature for his performances at the world ultra-running championships and his 24-hour run. He ran more than 158 miles in 24 hours. Read more about him on Multidays.com.) Finished 21st male in 18:23:12.

• Nile Sousa, 360. Finished in 27:42:07

View the complete finishers list at Western States 100.

Read about an accompanying research study of ultra-marathoners' gates and their impact on muscle damage in the Sacramento Bee.

Modesto's Jon Olsen tackles24-hour endurance event next

Modesto's Jon Olsen is on a roll, having finished seventh at the world ultra-marathon championships in Italy April 22.

Now he goes for a win at the North Coast 24-Hour Endurance Run.

 No, the event isn't on California's North Coast. It's in Cleveland, Ohio, on the north coast of the Lake Erie, May 5-6.

 The winner is the runner who covers the most miles during the 24-hour time limit. The course is roughly a 1-mile loop.

There is no pacing, either, because the race is sanction by USA Track & Field, which doesn't allow pacing by non-registered runners.

 From the looks of the website, it's doubtful they're going to have live runner tracking or live event updates. The question was even posed on the event's Facebook page without a reply.

 After Cleveland, Olsen has the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run on his calendar, June 23-24, on his calendar.

You can follow Jon on his blog, http://olsenjon.blogspot.com.