2009 promises to be a banner year for Tamalpa. We have had tremendous interest in racing for the club this year, which has been prompted by our sponsorship with Adidas. The Tamalpa Racing board, Ken Grebenstein, Karen Steele, Frank Ruona, Brian Pilcher, and Mark McManus, have been putting a lot of effort into encouraging existing Tamalpans to come out to PA races and run for the club, as well as recruiting new members. To date our efforts have born a lot of fruit. We have surpassed our expectations with the number of teams that we expect to field this year. The strength of our club throughout the various age groups should make us the most competitive club in the Pacific Association.

 

We want to encourage all Tamalpans to participate, and have designed a system to reward those who have been active participants in Pacific Association races in the past year or are outstanding Tamalpans whose participation we tremendously value.  Additionally, we have actively recruited runners outside the club who we feel will help our teams and enjoy the camaraderie and friendship that a multi-faceted club like Tamalpa offers.

 

We are announcing the bulk of kits and uniforms that we will be distributing this year. There will be some additional distributions during the year as we continue to gather momentum. At the present time, we will be giving full kits (including shoes, warm ups, uniforms, and workout wear) to a limited number of runners that we feel are big impact runners. We will also be splitting several kits in half to spread the wealth around. The content of the kits is as offered by our sponsor, Adidas. All of the kits, and most of the uniforms that we will be distributing, have been donated to us by Adidas and we are grateful for the support and enthusiasm that they have shown in establishing a relationship with Tamalpa. The racing board has put considerable time into prioritizing who will get what and will continue to do so during the year as we continuously refine our efforts. Please remember that this is a first for us and we may not get it entirely right on the first go. We encourage positive feedback and suggestions on how we might be able to improve upon our efforts. If you have been left off of the list of recipients and feel that you should have been a recipient please let us know.

 

We ask that all recipients plan on running at least 6 Pacific Association races in 2009. Additionally, we need you to be a current member of Tamalpa and to have a 2009 PAUSATF card. Cards can be obtained at www.pausatf.org. If you were not awarded a uniform and purchase one and then run 6 or more PA races Tamalpa will reimburse you for your uniform. Those who ran 7 PA races last year can be reimbursed for their PA card and will be able to seek reimbursement this year after completing 7 races. To claim reimbursement please contact Frank Ruona at fdruona@comcast.net .

 

We will be focusing on a number of PA races where we really want to have the maximum number of Tamalpans possible. Currently we are targeting: Across the Bay, Zippy, Marin Memorial Day Races, Dipsea, and Banana Chase. In cross country we are targeting: The John Lawson Tamalpa Challenge, the PA Championships, Golden Gate, Presidio, and Empire. To make it easy to organize our teams and to see who is planning on running which races, we have a team sign-up page on the Tamalpa web site.  Just go to www.tamalparunners.org, then the Race tab at the top of the home page, and then to team sign-ups. Once there enter the access code of wilddog, wilddogs, wild dog, or wild dogs, and indicate if you are planning on racing a particular race. You will be able to change or add interests as the year progresses.

 

Adidas will be offering discounts to all Tamalpans on shoes and Adidas gear. This program and distribution of all racing gear will be handled by Fleet Feet San Anselmo. The discount program will work as follows: Tamalpans will have a two week period three times a year to preorder their purchases at Fleet Feet San Anselmo (probably March, July and September). Orders will arrive shortly after the order period and you will then be able to pick them up at Fleet Feet. All Tamalpans must show a current Tamalpa membership card when placing an order. Tamalpans who have not been awarded a Tamalpa Racing uniform or sweats and would like to purchase them may do so at Fleet Feet San Anselmo. Look for announcements in the Gazette and on our website for ordering announcements.

 

Those receiving racing uniforms will be able to pick them up at Fleet Feet in San Anselmo in a week or two. We will post an announcement on the web site when they arrive. Those receiving kits or half kits if you have not already been contacted please contact Dave Ripp at dripp33@comcast.net with shoe and uniform sizes. If you are receiving a kit or half kit you will pick your uniform up when the kits are available.  

 

Awards are as follows:

 

Open Men: 

Full kit: Jeff Peterson, Jason Karbelk, Josh Babiak, Mark Churchill, Mark McManus

Partial kit: Pete Cushman, Nate Leefer

Uniforms: Matt Hirshey, Andy Valla, Jason Jacobson, Wayne Patton, Seth Davis, Nate Bowen, Jim Sweeney

 

Open Women:

Full kit: Anna Bretan

Partial kit: Linsey Meisel, Leah Sawyer

Uniforms: Amy Sonstein, Kathleen Helmer, Mary Fagan, Megan Green, Ginger Polich, Tina Hackett, Allison Tables, Christina Locke

 

Master Men:

Partial Kit: Wayne Best

Uniforms: Rob Flatland, Brad O’Brien, Malcolm Fearon, David Bronstein, Don Lindsay, Tim McCarthy, Scott Schneider, Tom Lyons, Greg Nacco

 

Master Women:

Full kit: Val Young

Partial Kit: Tammy Gonzalez, Tanya Fredericks

Uniforms: Liz Shortino, Leigh Kenny, Julie Nacco, Christine Heilman, Carolyn Hutchins, Vicki DeMenno, Beth Freedman, Michelle McLaughlin, Michelle Wilcox, Anna Slattery

 

Senior Men:

Uniforms: Brian Pilcher, Tim O’Rourke, Tom O’Reilly, Dave Ripp, Roy Rivers, Mark Richtman, Brian Purcell, Brad Bryon, Brian McCurdy, Jim Howard, Roy Kissin, Ken Grebenstein

 

Senior Women:

Full kit: Karen Steele

Uniforms: Christina Lachman, Mimi Willard, Tricia Wallace, Jamie Berns, Mary Wells,  Adele Ho, Jamie Berns, Mary Wells, Linda Gill, April Powers, Ann Charlton

 

Super Senior/Veteran Men:

Full Kit: Russ Kiernan

Uniforms: Frank Ruona, Hans Schmidt, Elmo Shropshire, Bernie Hollander, Phil Phythian, Darryl Beardall, Don Porteous, Robert Gormley, Jim Myers, Walter Underhill

 

Super Senior/Veteran Women:

Uniforms: Janet Bowman, Edda Stickle, Bridie Dillon, Ann Hardham, Melody Anne Schultz

 

Super Veteran Men:

 Uniform: The Incredible Sam Hirabayashi

 

Ultra Men

Uniforms: Victor Ballesteros, John Catts, Gary Wang, John Mintz, Karl Hoagland, Jon de St Paer, Carl Jacob, Charles Savage, Dave Covey

 

Ultra Women

Uniforms: Suzanna Bon, Florencia Gasgon, Carrie Sisk