May 25, 2008 Numerous San Marcos teams run in Beach to Bay Relay Last Saturday there were several San Marcos teams that entered the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi. When one of their fast runners bailed out at the last minute on the elite team, a qualified fast runner took his place and the team “SMiRCkers” managed a 12th-place finish out of 166 teams in the Open Men’s category. Randall Wood, Doug Framke, Tim Bayliss, Phillip Adams, Richard Powell and Britt Van Dine composed the membership and finished in a time of 2:44:59. They were 27th out of a total of 1,638 teams. That is definitely finishing near the top. The “WOW” team of Masters Women finished 8th out of 18 teams. Elizabeth Wills, Sheila Torres-Blank, Eva Sanders, Gina Moore, Angie Burke and Dawn Robarts made up that team and ran a good 3:47:38 time. Overall they were 316th out of 1,638, which still put them near the top of the teams. The San Marcos Runners Club Team #3 competed in the Odds and Ends category and finished 156th out of 648 teams. Jessica Diaz, Liesela Austin, Sharon Eads, Frank Payne, Brigitte Payne and Mark Brendalen were members of that team and ran a 4:10:51 time. They finished in 627th place, which was still better than more than half the teams there. The fourth team from the San Marcos Runners Club was there to take part in the event; they entered the Odds and Ends category and ran a 4:47:38. The “Fiesta on Foot” team was comprised of Laura Mason, Elma Minor, Diana Esparza, David Alexander, Teresa Medina and Charlene Martinez. While not in the top half of teams, they did finish in 1,248th place, and that is good enough to beat almost 400 other teams. Kathryn Futrell was picked up by a team from San Antonio called the “S.A. Mariposas.” The team ran a 4:17:41 and finished 48th out of 179 teams in the Open Women category. Another runner from San Marcos is making a comeback to running after taking some time off to high jump and play some basketball. Ros Hill last entered the Congress Avenue Mile when he was 25 years old and ran a 4:26 time. This time he entered and won his age division of 45-49, running a 4:51 time. The time is a little misleading, as the reason most mile runners enter this race is that it is a straight, somewhat downhill course that allows some fast times. Because of road blockage at the Paramount Theater, the course became a loop course with some more uphills and turns to run. It is one of the first years the winner did not break four minutes. Either way, Ros ran a good time. Runners estimated that because of the course and turns, it added 10-12 seconds to a runner’s time. Ros also entered a 5K race down in Pharr-McAllen and took first place in his age group with a good 17:50 time. He also entered a race up at Concordia College and took first overall with a time of 17:09. Ros thinks the non-certified course was a little short, as it was early in his training program and he has since been able to run faster. For those interested in marathon training, New Braunfels will host former Olympic runner Jeff Galloway on June 9th. Jeff is a very good speaker on training programs and motivational for any runner. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!