Ruth Anderson Memorial: speed (no bump) ahead!

If you happen to be in the San Francisco area this Saturday morning, I invite you to come to Lake Merced. Not to race as the race finally filled last week but to potentially run on the course which remains open to the public, although please do not pace competitors. But also to watch some exceptionally talented and fast runners. I haven't known Ruth but, reading from the amazing account of her life by Davy Crockett, I'm sure she would be super proud of this year's RDs, Steve Jaber and Anil Rao, who managed to get the event a IAU Bronze Label. This race was already USATF-sanctioned, which is enough of a pre-requisite to set American records, but we have one runner this time aiming at reclaiming his World record on the 50K. Here are a few personal goals I've heard about, there may be more:

1. CJ Albertson from Fresno, needs to break 2:40:13 to reclaim his previous World record from Stephen Mokoka of South Africa. See more details in this great piece/coverage by UltraRunning Magazine this week;
2. Chikara Omine will chase the 5:10 Masters/M40-49 American Record on the 50-mile;
3. Fernando Cabada is coming from Aurora, CO, to break the Masters American Record on the 50K, today right at 3:00:00;
4. Jonah Backstrom will be after the M45-49 American Record on the 50K I believe, at 3:04:36;
5. Verity Breen will keep an eye on the W55-59 record at 3:56.

Wow! And it's not even a totally flat course... Needless to say, for us in the rest of the pack, our UltraSignup rankings are going to be smashed (that's the ratio between our finish time and the winner's).

All entrants should check the American Records of their respective age group. You never know, some records are easier than others, depending on who chased them. If you see something at reach, just make sure to let the RDs know before the start.

We have three USATF officials who offered their time to help making sure all the rules are applied to facilitate potential ratifications. This is THE big deal, much grateful to these additional volunteers!

I should also mention that both races provide scoring opportunities, both for individuals and teams, in our Pacific Association MUT Grand Prix. Individuals can only score in one distance so there will be interesting options and choices made on the fly to optimize the final scoring for 2022. On the teams side, Pamakids is already set to win three categories, while Excelsior might still have a chance to get the Men. If not, that will be Pamakids' second Grand Slam in a row!

For me, this will be my return after a 2-year hiatus, and a 13-consecutive streak before that (2007-2019): 3 times 50K, 8 times 50-miles and the 100K distance twice. We'll see what's in the tank this year, I don't even need the points to reclaim my age group Grand Prix title at least. The hiatus was partly due to the pandemic but also a 3.5-year-long injury. I'm just happy to get back to some track workouts these past weeks, the pursuit of records is only a great memory of the past for now. The 5:51 which Rich Hanna set at Jed Smith 50-mile last year is out of my league anyway. As for the 50K, the mark has been lowered last year as well, by Jeff Mescal, to 3:21:54. After clocking a few sub 3:20 in my 50s, that could have been in reach IF I didn't get injured. But IF isn't part of the record setting vocabulary, only the clock speaks, not taking any excuses! ;-)

What a way to remember Ruth's marathon and ultra running legacy, thank you Steve and Anil for perpetuating this very nice local tradition. 2002 is the last year UltraSignup has race records for Ruth, I missed her on the circuit by 4 years. But I've met quite a few of her contemporaries, all with wonderful memories of her. Let's surf on this inspiration to complete a few laps tomorrow!

See many of you tomorrow hopefully, for this Grand Finale of our 2022 Mountain, Trail, Ultra Grand Prix!