Misplaced mile markers and the stench of raw sewage seem somewhat
incongruous with a race called, "Keep L.A. Running," but that is what greeted the
runners who showed up at Dockweiler Beach last Sunday.
For whatever reason, several TCLA'ers chose to follow up their race on
hills at Will Rogers five days earlier with the 5K. Ed Olson ran 19:25, perhaps
with sore legs from the Palisades hills. Michael Berger, however, improved his
time from that prior race with a 24:07. Happily, the women all brought home
hardware. Jane Lieberman might have run even faster on fresh legs, but still
turned in a 20:17, making her the second woman overall and first in her division.
Having volunteered
at the Will Rogers race, Peggy Sauve put it on the line here and came away with
a 22:15, good for third in her division. Peggy's daughter, Kim, was about 42
seconds behind mom, but placed first in her division.
In the 10K, perhaps the best performance came from Bob Mercier. When
he joined the club, Bob set a goal of breaking 40 minutes for the 10K. His
dedication (he was one of three attendees at last Tuesday's special holiday
workout) paid off and he crossed the line in 39:14, a huge p.r. Also in the long
race was Rikako Takei, another Will Rogers racer, who still managed a 44:15 for
fourth in her division. And though you will not see him in the official results, Brian
Panosian cruised to a 41:10 after having put in some long mileage Saturday.
