2005 Brentwood 5K

Report by: Eric Barron

A rare bit of rain for late May dampened the skies, but not the spirits of those at the 2005 Brentwood 5K/10K. For whatever reason, the 5K had a deep field this year, and was slightly more popular with the runners as just under 800 raced it while a few more than 600 ran the 10K.

Adam Reid, the first TCLA member to finish the 10K last year, switched races, but not his team standing, this year. Cheered on by his father, he managed sixth overall and first in his division. Also earning a medal, Nate Shopay ran a steady race for third in his division. Not so steady, but with a respectable finish, Alex Thompson was TCLA's third runner under 17 minutes.

Chris DeWitt, Tyrone Black, Mike Branch, and Larry Gessler all ran sub-6:00 pace, and Todd Patterson was the remaining TCLA'er to break 19 minutes. Brian Panosian and Wayne Joness were both just over 19 minutes, but both ran strong races. Albert Li almost broke 20 minutes. Sam Spencer then led a cluster of TCLA runners including Ogie Espinosa, who ran 30 seconds faster than last year, Wenise Wong, who took first in her division, and Elizabeth Garfield, who took second in her division. Neither Wenise (busy planning the TCLA Memorial Day party) nor Elizabeth (busy getting hitched) had much time to train lately, so their hardware is all the more impressive.

Just over 21 minutes, Mark Harris held on as best he could, and John Loveless was only ten seconds back. Jim Garfield, looking tan after his Palm Springs honeymoon, broke 7:00 pace. In the 22's were Reuben Villanueva and "Grizzly Adams" Feiger. Alison Lee, in her first race post-delivery, looked happy to be at the races once again.

Taking home his second medal of the day, Nate Shopay was first for TCLA and second in his division in the 10K. Bruce Reisenfeld also medaled by finishing third in his division, and greatly improved his time over last year. A last-minute entry, Peter Glassman and Gary McArdle, who doubtlessly swam and biked after the race, both put in good efforts to be the last club members under 40 minutes. Brian Panosian ran his traditional second race of the day in the 10K. Setting a personal best, and taking second in her division, Rikako Takei continues to amaze. Dean Goodman ran right at 7:00 pace, and the Bearded Man ran his second race of the day just under a minute back of Dean.

Dennis King cruised through his race, while Michael Berger ran almost a minute faster than last year. Scott Allen finished a few seconds in front of Jennifer Liu, who greatly improved her best time at this distance. Kim Brettler led the way for Sharon Yamato, whose strong effort earned her first in her division. Finally, Roberta Silverman and Mike Lynch closed out a fine day of racing for TCLA.

Also out for the fun, either cheering or pacing were Robert Augenstein, Amy Aukstikalnis, Jimena Barrera, Nyron Bernard, Jeff Brettler, Stephanie Cahn, Peggy Enriquez, Mike Mahler, Robert Newmark, Jacinda Raiche, Andrea Spear, Jim Spear, and Terence Young.