Lakeside Park training, Thursday, May 6, 2010 click any photo to see the event album!

That ole gem of a park on Lake Merritt keeps puttin' out. Pleasant, mild weather and free running... I set a course where you could go straight from point to point, not too many obstacles, so the distances recorded not much shorter than the actual distances covered by the participants. A fun crowd! Kyle and Brian were just getting started, they followed the event with a serious ride. Steve Gregg battled a cough. Gwen and Jessica represented the East Bay Run Club and helped us choose our social spots: Los Cantares and Whole Foods (for gelato!) Greg helped picked up the flags, Bruce the streamers and signs. And Pepe just tore it up! Dogbones presented an interesting challenge, and none of the recorded routes were the same! Distances covered varied slightly... the biggest difference was between the top two, with the "second place" finisher covering 170 m less distance than the "winner." Before reading those routes, here's a training opportunity: try the exercise yourself mentally! See if you can find the shortest tour. Send it to me and I'll measure it. I'll post the results here and announce it. Can you beat Steve Gregg's distance of 3.54 km? (For the "rules," scroll down to the bottom of the page without looking at the results.) Results - Dogbones Course, 18 checkpoints Rex's guess at an ideal route measured 3.67 km: 7BA-3AB-9AB-4BA-5AB-8BA-6AB-2BA-1AB Steve, Greg, and Kyle found shorter routes! Name Time Distance Route Stephen Pepe 18:40 3.71 km 7AB-3AB-4BA-9AB-8BA-6AB-2BA-1AB-5BA Steve Gregg 20:07 3.54 km 6AB-2BA-1AB-5BA-4AB-9AB-3BA-7AB-8BA Bruce Wolfe 21:19 Greg Ehrensing 25:15 3.64 km 7AB-8AB-9BA-4AB-3BA-5AB-1BA-2AB-6BA Kyle Peter 26:07 3.64 km 1BA-2AB-6BA-7AB-3AB-4BA-9BA-5AB-8BA Lyubov Solomakha 42:15 Brian Schmitz 43:31 Jessica + Gwen 43:57 Original Announcement Register in person (Registration form, waiver) | return to terraloco home Example Dogbones map from Greater Vancouver Orienteering Club sprint training camp 2008: What's the Deal? A "Dogbones" course will provide a fun challenge: 20 to 30 checkpoints will be scattered across the map, connected in pairs, creating an image of a pile of dogbones. You can get the checkpoints in any order, but you must get them a pair at a time. You may start with either checkpoint in a pair, and then you have to follow the line to the other checkpoint in that pair before moving on to the next pair of checkpoints. This will help develop your route planning and execution skills. Expect an optimal route to get all checkpoints to be about 3 to 4 km of distance. And for some more physical training, enjoy a scenic 5 km lap around Lake Merritt. Running shoes and shorts are appropriate gear for this virtually brush-free, gently rolling city park. Details: Cost $5 / person; drop in and start between 6:00 and 7:00; optional mass start at 6:30; social option afterwards in the Grand / Lakeshore or Uptown neighborhoods. Directions: We'll meet at the circular marble fountain in the forest by the eastern bocce ball court. A walking route to the fountain will be signed and streamered from the parkside corner of Grand Ave. and Perkins St. Take Interstate 580 to Oakland. From Interstate 580 going east, exit at Grand Ave. Turn right, and drive about 0.4 miles to Perkins St. and find parking. From Interstate 580 going west, exit at Grand Ave. This exit loops around, so you actually turn right on Grand Ave. Drive about 0.5 miles to Perkins St. and find parking. Registration will be signed from the corner of Grand Ave. and Perkins St. Since it's 6:00 or later, all metered spaces are free along Grand Ave. and on Perkins. However, if you enter Lakeside Park at Bellevue Ave., you may be charged a $3 parking fee if the fee station is staffed. There's also street parking in the neighborhoods along Grand. Public Transit: AC Transit bus lines NL and 12 stop on Grand near Perkins. Line 57 stops at Grand and MacArthur if you're willing to walk 0.4 miles. If you take BART to 19th St. Oakland, you can catch the NL, or catch the 57 from MacArthur BART. Or to walk or bike from 19th St. BART, head up Broadway to Grand Ave. (near where 24th St. would be), turn right on Grand, and go about 1/2 mile to Perkins. http://actransit.org Event Contact: Rex, 5 1 0 - 6 8 1 - 6 1 8 1, rex@terraloco.com Lakeside Park web page, City of Oakland