Toyota Desert International Triathlon

LA QUINTA – The largest staged triathlon in the Coachella Valley attracted nearly 1100 participants on April 22 at Lake Cahuilla. Athletes ages 11 though 84 competed in the eighth annual Toyota Desert International triathlon.
The calm cool weather made for fast times on two distances. The sprint race included a 500 meter swim, 14 mile bike and 5K run. The international distance was a .75 mile swim, 24 mile bike and 6 mile run.
The overall winner for the men’s sprint was Michael Collins age 41 of Irvine with a time of 1:01.05. For the women’s sprint Laura Kephart age 24 of San Diego finished with a time of 1:12.56. The event was her first triathlon.
The overall winner for the men’s international distance was Thomas Taylor of Phoenix, Ariz. with a time of 1:49.23. Rachel Challis of Carlsbad won the women’s international distance with a time of 1:59.20. She was the only woman to finish the international distance in less than two hours.
The event benefited Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) and the DARE program.
The next event for Klein and Clark Sports is the Tram Challenge held in mid-October.
For more information, contact Klein and Clark Sports at 760-324-7069 or www.kleinclarksports.com.
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Yum! I cut a lot of fruit. The day was fun - the boat died and the director swam in before the start of the race, I got GU all over me afterward, the race went very well for most, and afterward we went out for food and beer. It can't get much better than that!

Save the Ta-Tas!

LOCAL 5K BENEFITS LOCAL RESIDENTS

Nearly 800 runners and walkers took to the streets Sunday, March 25, with their strollers, dogs and children in tow to support breast cancer. The Morrow Institute Women Running Wild 5K Run & Walk began at Ruth Hardy Park and wound through the Movie Colony area of Palm Springs.
“The event was a fun, family-oriented way to benefit people locally,” said race director Greg Klein. “It was great to see so many people come out and support such a great cause.”
For Klein’s family the cause hits home – his sister lost her battle to breast cancer two years ago at age 46. To honor her memory Klein and partner Brenda Clark created the Jody Klein Breast Cancer fund. The money raised from the event goes to the Klein Fund and is directed to the Suzanne Jackson Breast Cancer Fund. Since 1996, the event raised more than $400,000 to provide breast cancer screenings, diagnostic tests and education to women and men in our community who would not otherwise have access to these critical services.
The event included a run and walk with awards and prizes. Many participants wore the name of a person they were there to support or remember. After the race, participants observed a moment of silence and released pink balloons.
Tristan Rogers, known to viewers of General Hospital as Robert Scorpio, ran in the event and later presented awards – including one to his son who placed third in his age group.
First place woman Melissa Oodeca from Santa Barbara not only won the women’s division by a slightly more than a minute with 17:33 but ran in the men’s race 45 minutes earlier and recorded a 17:35. Peggy Kern of Riverside placed second for the women in 18:55. Denise Foote of Aloha, Ore., finished at 19:34.
Adrian Mendoza of La Quinta took first in the men’s race in 16:01. Carlos Ventura of Coachella followed in 16:45 and Eduardo Macias took third in 17:06.
For more information and results, visit www.kleinclarksports.com or call 760-324-7069.

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I wrote that all and got no coverage. Oh well. It went really well, and I worked the 5K on Monday, too. That one was all fancy and nice - the food was catered by the hotel and everything. Not as big of a turn-out as they thought though.

Santa Barbara

I went to Santa Barbara for the first time!

Palm Springs Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk

FEBRUARY 18, 2007

PALM SPRINGS -- Slightly over 1,000 runners competed in the 8th annual Palm Springs Half Marathon & 5K Run/Walk on Sunday. The runners, age 7 to age 86, represented 30 states plus Canada and Mexico. The race went off without a hitch and benefited the Arthritis Foundation.
Carlos Carballo of Cathedral City blasted away the competition in the 13.1 mile challenge with a time of 1:07.58, or an average of 5:11 each mile. Juan Ramirez trailed nearly six minutes later with a time of 1:13.57 followed Aaron Olswanger (1: 17.02).
Mary Moore of Irvine had an impressive time of 1:21.23 to lead the women. She was followed closely by Olympian and Triathlon World Champion Joanna Zeiger who ran 1:22.43. Kristin Schranz trailed for a third place finish (1: 24.18).

For the men Steven Crum, age 16, took first in the 5K with a time of 15:49. Kevin Barda trailed nearly a minute later (16:40), followed by Daniel Rosales (17:02). The women were lead by Robyn Arnold, age 13, with a time of 19:15 followed by Shannon Maisano (19:53) and Brittany Rereimer (19:56).
The next event to be organized by Klein and Clark Sports will be the Morrow Institute Women Running Wild 5K Run and Walk to benefit the Jodi Klein Breast Cancer Fund on March 25 at Ruth Hardy Park in Palm Springs.
For more information and more race results, contact Greg Klein at (760) 324-7069 or visit www.kleinclarksports.com.

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My work paid off. The event made the front page of the area newspaper! I have to get into writing press releases again - I'm getting rusty.

I'm so glad there was a Desert Sun photographer there.
http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=permgall

Home, sweet home

I'm home and I already depart tomorrow. :( I'll write later about my adventures drinking Leine's, getting wet at the MOA, going to the impound lot, throwing a guy out of a concert and going to my old stomping grounds.

But I did get what I came here for.

I got to sit on Fred's lap after the Cowboy Mouth concert! Yum!

Da Bears let us down.

Thisis when you know you've made it. Ahh, memories. I grew out of graphing and into my business calculator. I love paying off student loans.

I'm feeling much better. I'm rehydrated, back to hiking and getting off the toilet. I went to a Super Bowl party today with all big Bears fans. They started off so well. At least the commercials were good and the food was plentiful, that's all I require for a good Bowl party.

I'm excited to be coming home soon. I'm in dire need of a vacation.

Other than that, I'm doing well and a deeper entry is coming soon. I've been reading a lot lately so I'm feeling particularly philosophical and saucy.

Two tickets to paradise!

It's official! The boy and I are coming to Minnesota from February 8-13. Other than the planned Cowboy Mouth concert on Saturday for Krystle's 21st b-day, there isn't anything else set in stone. Except for the fact that the first beverage to touch my mouth when I arrive will be Leine's, damnit, because it's good and you can't get it here.

Well, except for the list that his boss (grew up in MN) helped to compile that is: Mall of America, White Castle, Erb and Gerb's, UW-RF with Bo's for lunch, Holiday (of course!), downtown, and Snuffy's. I'm thinking Sexworld has to go on too just for fun.

I'm so excited for this adventure. He hasn't really seen snow or cold, so it should be good. There had better be snow, maybe we'll go tubing, or at least sledding.

So you all better clear your schedules, because the party is coming to town. :)

Idyllwild and the Celebration of Commerce

After all of the sleeping, JP and I took a drive to Idyllwild, enjoyed the snow and went for a hike. I love getting out of Palm Springs and enjoying the wilderness. It makes me feel so refreshed. Then I went to Best Buy and used a gift card (and some extra) to buy a vacuum (finally!). Now it's back to work for the night. :/

I'm not sure that I'm going to make New Year's resolutions. Basically 5Ks and triathlons to stay in shape, stay crazy healthy, and aggressively pay down debt. Those are my goals for 2007.