Victories, Record for Stanford Runners


Stanford runner qualifies for Olympic trials, another breaks course
record at marathon


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stanford Running Club
October 28, 2003
CONTACT: Ben Cowan, (650-926-3705) ben.cowan (at) stanford.edu

Observe the foot traffic on Campus Drive any time of day and you'll see
that running is one of the most popular activities here at Stanford.
Stanford runners, however, are not limited to Campus Drive. Members of the
Stanford Running Club, and informal group for recreational runners, have
been training on a variety of routes on and around Stanford campus, and
some have posted quite impressive results at recent races.

Medical student Megan Daly won the women's race in the Portland Marathon
on October 5 with a time of 2:47:54, qualifying for Olympic Trails. And
Sophomore Patrick Ward not only won his division, but with a time of
2:36:58 set a course record for men 19 and under by over twelve minutes!
"The weather was absolutely perfect -- overcast the whole time and fairly
cool. I was just shooting for the 2:48 (women's B standard), so I was
mainly focused on pace the whole time," said Daly.
Graduate student Truman Scarborough and Sophomore Josh Ruderman
also finished the marathon, both achieving qualifying times for next
year's Boston Marathon. "It was very satisfying to train for several
months with a goal (3:10) and just make it. I had a great time, but was
also surprised how much the last few miles hurt," said Ruderman.
With two Stanford runners qualifying for Boston at the Napa Valley
Marathon last March, the Running Club plans on sending a sizable
contingent to Boston next April. "I look forward to Boston. It was
definitely an experience worth repeating," said Junior Dan Anthony, who
ran Napa.

The Stanford Running Club has dominated some local races as well. At the
Theta Breakers race on campus on October 19, Club members placed first and
second in the 5k race. With 23 runners participating in either the 5k or
10k race, the Running Club fielded several 5-person teams, including the
top 3 in the 5K and the first-place team in the 10k. Thirteen club
members won division awards as well.

The Running club had an even more impressive showing at the Habitat for
Humanity Home Run 2003 race, held at Stanford Stadium Saturday. With 34
Club members entering the race, the Running club won several team awards
-- second place in the Women's 5k race, first place in both the Men's 5k
and 10k, and first and third places in the Women's 10k. Individually, the
Running Club scored numerous awards. Senior Charles McKeown won the 5k
race while Patrick Ward won the 10k; Club member Lauren Gustafson was the
first female finisher in the 10k. The Running club dominated the younger
age groups, winning 15 division awards. "It was great to be running with
such a big group," said McKeown. "It made the race enjoyable for
everybody."

While many Running Club members enjoy the competition of races, many
others run for their personal enjoyment, and the Club welcomes runners of
all abilities and experience levels. At the regular runs (held every
Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the claw statue in front of the
bookstore), there is now a designated "sweeper" -- an experienced runner
who makes sure that new runners, especially those unfamiliar with the many
routes around campus, are not left behind. This has allowed runners to
enjoy running at their own pace. Junior Karen Loh, who used to run with
the Club only occasionally, is impressed with the new policy. "There are
so many more people running that there's bound to be someone of my pace
and I never get lost anymore," she said. Graduate student David De
Lorenzo, who just joined the Club this fall, added, "It's really a fun
atmosphere. The run leaders make sure that nobody is left behind, and
there's always someone of similar ability to run with."

This fun atmosphere has some Club members to go run off campus on
weekends, and to enter races. Sophomore Matt Jachowski said, "The weekly
runs are great opportunities to get off campus and see how nice the
surrounding areas are. And hanging out and racing with the other club
members is really fun." Graduate Student Bob Lantz joined the Running
Club this fall, and ran his first road race ever on Saturday. He finished
the 5k in 24:32 (and was rewarded afterwards with a certificate for free
pizza in the prize drawing).

Running Club members continue to look forward to running, even with
shorter days and colder weather approaching. Membership has grown to over
70 students since the start of the year. For runners who don't run with
the club, the club's website (running.stanford.edu) features interactive
maps of the Stanford area with a number of different routes of various
distances runners can enjoy.

The Stanford Running Club is an informal group welcoming runners of all
levels to join us and share a love of running in a low-pressure, flexible
environment. The Running Club thanks Stanford Club Sports for financial
support.

Press contact: Ben Cowan, ben.cowan (at) stanford.edu
President: Adam Sciambi, sciambi (at) stanford.edu
Web Page: http://running.stanford.edu/