Urban Wild
Roundup

Alameda Thrills 'n Chills
Saturday, October 30, 2010

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Victorians!

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Park St.!


portion, Crown Beach map

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more Victorians!

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click on any photo to see the event album

Most of the wild in this "Urban Wild Roundup" was outside the houses of the zealous Hallowe'en decorators. You have to credit the denizens of Alameda for making this course a lot of fun. And the architects. Mix in some bay views, and all the ingredients were there. It didn't rain on our parade too much, fortunately. 55 showed up out of 80 signed up, so maybe the weather threat did scare a few folks away.

Thank you to everybody who showed up to make it a fun event! I heard stories of people encountering each other on the course coming from different directions. There were so many categories! In the 25 km, our intrepid foot pedalers Vladimir and Greg were not far behind the duathlon biking teams. It will be interesting to compare routes, the courses allowed for many possible ways to get all the checkpoints. Some of the 10 km teams reported GPS distances of about 7 miles.

Thanks to our fabulous event helpers! Inger showed up early and helped with registration and managing the event. Also helping with registration were Judy Koehler and Vladimir Gusiatnikov. Dennis Wilkinson came up from Palo Alto just to help man the aid station out on Grand Ave.

lcA special thank you to our sponsor, Life Chiropractic College West of Hayward. Their representatives Ken and Julie were friendly faces to greet us at the finish.

Results

scroll down further for combined results!

5 km Family

1. Sunny Day: Paul, Sunny, Allie, Casey 62:06
2. Hodkinson: Trevor, Dexter, Jarvis, Sandra 66:00
3. Team Complainer: Chris, Kathy, Boreas, Maxx 120:05

5 km Junior Men

1. anonymous 60:11

5 km Masters Women

1. Judy Koehler 78:55
2. Team Wasabi: Cynthia Corral and Blithe Brandon 91:47
3. Goo: Kathy Ornellas, Nancy Glenn, Jackie O'Laughlin 121:26

5 km Masters Men

1. Fishy Jim 65:59

5 km Masters Mixed

1. Tyler: John & Laura Pattillo 210:08

5 km Open Men

1. Barrett Cook 34:57

10 km Masters Women

1. Two of a Kind: Roxanne Bowers 133:17
2. Silver Slugs: Marsha Jacobs, Jennifer Kerr 160:08

10 km Masters Men

1. Bud Laird 102:18
2. Jeff Lanam 125:24

10 km Masters Mixed

1. Parvi Sed Lenti: John Bell and anonymous 109:06
2. Racing with Monkeys: Janie Page, Larry Sovulewski, and anonymous 171:37

10 km Open Men

1. Men on the Moon: Ed Aten, Samuel Bradbury, Mathew Lomas 72:26

10 km Open Mixed

1. Eleven: Joel & Winnie 129:32
2. Team Turtle: two anonymous 142:34
3. Awesome: Stephen Donner and two anonymous 238:34

10 km Masters Mixed Duathlon

1. Alameda Trekkers: John & Ariel McKnight, Heather Cleveland 130:31

25 km Masters Men

1. Greg Favor 162:21

25 km Open Men

1. Get Lost!! Running, Racing: Vladimir Gusiatnikov 145:09

25 km Masters Men Duathlon

1. Steve Gregg 136:54

25 km Open Men Duathlon

1. USCG: Adam Doti, Jon Griggs 126:13

5 km combined

Barrett Cook 34:57
anonymous 60:11
Sunny Day: Paul, Sunny, Allie, Casey 62:06
Fishy Jim 65:59
Hodkinson: Trevor, Dexter, Jarvis, Sandra 66:00
Judy Koehler 78:55
Team Wasabi: Cynthia Corral and Blithe Brandon 91:47
Team Complainer: Chris, Kathy, Boreas, Maxx 120:05
Goo: Kathy Ornellas, Nancy Glenn, Jackie O'Laughlin 121:26
Tyler: John & Laura Pattillo 210:08

10 km combined

Men on the Moon: Ed Aten, Samuel Bradbury, Mathew Lomas 72:26
Bud Laird 102:18
Parvi Sed Lenti: John Bell and anonymous 109:06
Jeff Lanam 125:24
Eleven: Joel & Winnie 129:32
Two of a Kind: Roxanne Bowers 133:17
Team Turtle: two anonymous 142:34
Silver Slugs: Marsha Jacobs, Jennifer Kerr 160:08
Racing with Monkeys: Janie Page, Larry Sovulewski, and anonymous 171:37
Awesome: Stephen Donner and two anonymous 238:34

Duathlon

Alameda Trekkers: John & Ariel McKnight, Heather Cleveland 130:31

25 km combined

Get Lost!! Running, Racing: Vladimir Gusiatnikov 145:09
Greg Favor 162:21

Duathlon

USCG: Adam Doti, Jon Griggs 126:13
Steve Gregg 136:54

Originai Announcments and Event Updates follow...

Event Update - Oct. 28

Forecast is 30 chance of showers, I'm expecting it to be dry for us. Showers or shine, it's happening! Come on out and enjoy these courses!

These are the shortest distances I could measure for each course, to get all the checkpoints.
5 km = about 5.5 km actual distance.
10 km = about 11 km actual distance.
25 km = about 25.75 km actual distance.

Get a free posture and health assessment from our sponsor, Life Chiropractic College West Health Center!

lcGreetings everyone! Senior interns from Life Chiropractic College West Health Center, Ken Swinford and Julie Gray, who are members of Dr. Susan Hilliker's practice, will be attending the Thrills N Chills Run this weekend. Both Senior Interns at Life Chiropractic College West want to show the support from the Health Center of this great community event promoting healthy recreational fun! Rex Winterbottom has graciously allowed the college to be a sponsor of this event and represent the Life Chiropractic College West Health Center. They will be out at the park on Saturday morning supporting everyone in their run, providing information on healthy living, information about the health center at Life Chiropractic College West, and doing free posture and health assessments.  So come stop by our table after your run and find out if there is anything that we can do to help you maintain your active and healthy lifestyle!

Event Update - Oct. 16

A lot of cats out there today. Many of them black cats. The festively festooned houses also added to the Hallowe'en spirit. And I can verify that's it's no joke that Alameda offers the most examples of Victorian houses in California. Of course, there are many other interesting things to see highligted on the courses too. You're in for a treat. With a few tricks to navigate.

The main traffic hazard is probably Park St., which is labeled on the map. It's super busy, so if you must cross it, it might be worth going directly to it so you can jog along it rather than wait for traffic (which could happen to you if you go to the street you want to be on once you've crossed it.) There are other streets to watch out for like Webster, Central, Lincoln, Encinal, but Park is the worst for traffic. Also, the blocks just west of Park are similarly tricky with the traffic.

The actual distances you travel on your course may vary from the 5 km, 10 km, and 25 km distances; however, the best routes I can think of match each distance within a kilometer. This is true if you are on foot. However, if you are in the duathlon category for the 10 km or 25 km distance, the overall distance will be slightly longer since there is a portion you will have to do on foot after returning from the bike. The foot portion for the 10 km duathlon course is 1.9 km, for the 25 km duathlon course 2.8 km. There are 3 bridges to cross on the 25 km course. Each has a pedestrian path that does not allow bicycle pedaling (but bicycle walking is okay.) You can ride across the bridges with your bicycle along with the vehicle traffic, just keep in mind that the lanes are narrower so there's less road space to share.

Everything else you need to know is written below in the original announcement.

Original Announcement - Enjoy a 5, 10, or 25 km map adventure trek to find interesting checkpoints!

Have you seen Hallowe'en in Alameda? Those quirky Victorian houses get mighty dressed up for the holiday. Expect some of the finest in Victorian architecture and Hallowe'en decorum on your tour of the islands of Alameda. We'll start and finish at Crown Beach. The custom map will contain a course that maximizes the navigational challenges allowed by the streets, lagoons, bridges, and tunnels. A portion of the 25 km course will include the Oakland waterfront along the estuary, and that course also visits Bay Farm Island.

All of the courses - 5, 10, or 25 km - may be done on foot. The 10 and 25 km have a section that may be done on a bike if you sign up yourself or your team in the Duathlon category.

Event Schedule:

9:00 Registration open, City View picnic area
9:45 Registration closes
9:50 Course briefing
10:00 Mass start, all courses
2:00 All courses close

Courses and Team Categories

The course lengths of 5, 10, and 25 km are approximate; more exact lengths will be published prior to the event.

Everybody's on a team of 1 to 5 people. Sign up ahead of time or at the event individually; you will register your team the day of the event. So, teams do not sign up ahead of time, but every individual on the team who wants a reduced entry price should sign up online ahead of time.

Every team will be in one of four categories: Junior - all participants under 18; Masters - average age of participants is 40 or more; Family - mix of juniors and non-juniors; everybody else is Open.

There will be award certificates for the top three teams in each category on each course.

So how does this work?

Please be registered by 9:45 so we can start on time. You can leave non-valuable items at the registration area, which will be monitored by event staff. You're also allowed to leave stuff like car keys if they're put in a sealed "lunch bag" type thing clearly labeled with your full name.

10 minutes before the 10:00 mass start there will be a course briefing with information that will be helpful to you in completing the course. You'll receive an event "passport" for marking checkpoints. Then maps will be handed out.

You can get the checkpoints in any order, and finding the best route or tour to get them all is an interesting part of the challenge. If you're using a bike in the duathlon category, the checkpoints will be divided into multiple sets - some, you will get on foot, and the others, you are allowed to use your bicycle to find them.

At checkpoints, you will answer a multiple choice question about a recognizable map feature, or you will find an orange and white marker and use its attached hole puncher to mark a punch pattern on your event passport. To place in the event, you need to correctly mark all checkpoints on your passport.

There will be water and snacks available at the start and finish and, for the 10 km and 25 km participants, at an aid station out on the course. If this might not be enough for you, consider bringing your own water and energy snacks to carry with you.

What will I need?

  • Comfortable clothes for moving around.
  • Comfortable shoes good on trails and pavement.
  • Head cover, and apply sunscreen to exposed skin.
  • A pen or pencil (or two) to mark the answers on your Q & A sheet.
  • Mobile phone, if you have one.
  • Personal hydration system, or plan to stop at a water fountain or minimart on your course! Don't drink the bay or ponds, however.
  • Biking gear - duathlon participants only: Helmet and bike lock are mandatory.

Optional gear:

  • Compass: it's not necessary, but could help you reorient your map if you're disoriented.
  • GPS logger: it might be fun to record your route, but don't use it to aid your navigation. That's why you have a map!
  • Food / energy snacks

Hazards

  • Traffic: many major roads will be crossed. Please observe the rules of pedestrian safety, and don't read the map while crossing roads.

Cost and Registration:

signup online by October 24
signup online by October 27
event day signup
Adults, per person
5 km = $10, 10 km = $15, 25 km = $25
5 km = $15, 10 km = $20, 25 km = $30
5 km = $20, 10 km = $30, 25 km = $40
Students and juniors, per person
5 km = $5, 10 km = $7, 25 km = $12
5 km = $7, 10 km = $10, 25 km = $15

When you signup online, you are not committing to show up or pay. Online signups help us prepare for the event. We'd rather be overprepared, and we encourage you to sign up ahead of time if you have any interest in attending.

Directions:

When the kiosk is staffed at Crown Beach, there is a $5 parking fee.

From Interstate 880 in downtown Oakland, follow signs for Alameda - Webster Street tube. Webster St drains into it, and there's another entrance at Broadway and 5th St. Bear left onto Constitution Way, which becomes 8th St. At Otis Dr, turn right into the park entrance.

Park in the farthest lot all the way at the end of the drive. Nearby is the City View picnic site where we will congregate.

Public Transit

From the downtown Oakland 12th St BART station, take the AC Transit 20 or 51A bus towards Alameda. From the San Francisco Transbay Terminal, the AC Transit O goes the same way. The 20 bus takes you straight to Westline Drive and Otis Drive, which is the entrance to the park. If you catch the O or 51A, get off either bus at Webster St and Santa Clara Ave - that's where they turn off of Webster. You need to keep walking on Webster towards the bay, left on Central, right on 8th St, and walk into the park when you get to the Otis Dr intersection. http://actransit.org

Follow the drive into the park, all the way to the end of the drive to the farthest parking lot... the City View picnic site will be off to the right towards the beach. That's where we meet up.

Event Contact: Rex, 5 1 0 - 6 8 1 - 6 1 8 1, rex@terraloco.com

Crown Beach web page, East Bay Regional Parks District