Category Archives: LOCAL RUNNING

Running areas in Sonoma County.

LOCAL RUNNING, NOVEMBER 2015

Run in a Herd ! Group Runs

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Here is a listing of group runs in Sonoma County! If there are more, let us know!

Mondays: 
No training runs currently scheduled

Tuesdays – 6:00 am – Athletic Soles Retail Store 

  • Location:  Petaluma High School Track
  • Meeting Time:  6:00 am year-round
  • Phone:  (707) 763 0700
  • E-mail: 
  • Session Description:  Work with one of our team members to do some speed training in the morning before your work day begins. All skill levels are encouraged to come and work with us towards their goals.
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all abilities are welcome.
  • http://www.athleticsoles.com/#!events/c1diw

Tuesdays – 6:30 am  – Taylor Mountain Tuesdays/ Justin Borton

Tuesdays –5:30 pm – Empire Runners Club                                            

  • Location:  3390 Princeton Drive, Santa Rosa (unless an alternate site is listed on the ER calendar)
  • Meeting Time:  5:30 p.m., year-round
  • Host/Leader:  Larry and Tori Meredith
  • Phone:  (707) 526-4536
  • Email:  [email protected]
  • Session Description:  A wide variety of interval sessions designed to improve or maintain racing speed.  The total distance of the workout is almost always between 5 and 6 miles.  Most of the workouts between March and October take place on the Montgomery High School track.  Late summer sessions often focus on cross country running that include repeats on grass or hills.  Winter sessions are typically on well-lit streets in surrounding neighborhoods and can range from short sprints to hill repeats.
  • Who Should Attend: Runners of all ability levels that can comfortably cover 6 miles in a workout. This is a good group for beginning racers who want to get faster and also for veteran racers who enjoy running intervals with a group.
  • http://www.empirerunners.org/training-calendar

Tuesdays – 5:30 pm  –  Heart & Sole Sports  Retail Store                                         

  • Location:  Heart and Sole Sports, 65 Brookwood, Santa Rosa
  • Meeting Time:  5:30 p.m., year-round
  • Host/Leader: Kenny Brown
  • Phone:  (707) 545-7653
  • E-mail:  [email protected]
  • Session Description:  We will explore different routes; both loop and out and back runs. On the streets of Santa Rosa. Distance is usually 4 to 5 miles. With options for shorter distances.
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all abilities are welcome.
  • http://heartnsolesantarosa.com/contact.html

Tuesdays – 6:00 pm – Healdsburg Running Company Women’s Group – Retail Store 

  • Location:  Healdsburg Running Company, 333 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA, 95448
  • Meeting Time:  6:00 p.m., year-round
  • Host/Leader: Staff
  • Phone:  (707) 395-0372
  • E-mail: 
  • Session Description:  Tuesday Healdsburg Running Ladies, Leave from HRC at 6 PM
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all abilities are welcome.
  • http://www.healdsburgrunningcompany.com/runs.htm

Wednesdays – 5:30 pm –  Fleet Feet Sports Retail Store 

  • Location:  Fleet Feet Sports, 111 Third Street, Santa Rosa
  • Meeting Time:  5:30 p.m., year-round
  • Host/Leader: Marc Strozyk
  • Phone:  (707) 569-1494
  • Session Description: Out and back routes with 2, 3, 4 and 5 mile totals
  • Who Should Attend:  All paces welcome.
  • http://www.fleetfeetsantarosa.com/events/ongoing-events-fall-2013/wednesday-night-fun-run-530-pm

Thursdays – 5:30 pm –  Empire Runners Club 

  • Location:  Howarth Park, Santa Rosa, upper parking lot near start of bike path
  • Meeting Time:  5:30 p.m., March through October; 4:30 p.m., November through February
  • Host/Leader:  Larry Meredith (when in attendance)
  • Phone:  (707) 526-4536
  • E-mail:  [email protected]
  • Session Description:  Trail running through Howarth Park, Spring Lake Park and Annadel State Park.  Published workout sessions tailored to fit club racing schedule.  Attendees can choose to run the published workout or break into smaller groups for a basic trail run.  Workouts include tempo runs (elevated effort over 2 to 4 miles), repeat intervals, hill running.
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all ability levels.  Those who wish to participate in the published workouts should be able to comfortably cover 8 miles in a workout.
  • http://www.empirerunners.org/training-calendar

Thursdays – 6:00 pm –   Healdsburg Running Company Retail Store   

  • Location:  Healdsburg Running Company, 333 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA, 95448
  • Meeting Time:  6:00 p.m., year-round
  • Host/Leader: Staff
  • Phone:  (707) 395-0372
  • E-mail: 
  • Session Description:  Thursday Family Fun Runs, Leave from HRC at 6 PM
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all abilities are welcome.
  • http://www.healdsburgrunningcompany.com/runs.htm

Fridays: 
No training runs currently scheduled

Saturdays – 8:00 am – Healdsburg Running Company Retail Store Trail Run –  (TBD) – 8:00 am (check website for location)   

  • Location:  Healdsburg Running Company, 333 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA, 95448
  • Meeting Time:  8:00 am, year-round
  • Host/Leader: Staff
  • Phone:  (707) 395-0372
  • E-mail: 
  • Session Description:  Saturday Trail Runs, Meet at the Trail (TBD) at 8 AM
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all abilities are welcome.
  • http://www.healdsburgrunningcompany.com/runs.htm

Saturdays – 8:30 am –  Empire Runners Club 

  • Location:  Railroad Square, Santa Rosa (meet at West Sixth and Wilson Streets)
  • Meeting Time:  8:30 a.m., year round
  • Host/Leader:  None

  • Session Description:  An out-and-back run on the dirt-and-gravel path alongside Santa Rosa Creek that flows west from downtown Santa Rosa.  It’s 5 miles to Willowside Road so runners can cover any distance up to 10 miles on this workout.  Runners choose their own distance and pace and typically break up into pairs or small groups.  After the run, some adjourn to the nearby A’Roma Roasters Coffee & Tea for socializing.
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all ability levels.
  • http://www.empirerunners.org/training-calendar

Sundays – 8:30 am –  Empire Runners Club 

  • Location:  Parktrail Drive at Summefield Drive or Channel Drive at Cobblestone Trailhead in Santa Rosa (unless an alternate site is listed on the ER calendar).  See ER calendar for location.
  • Meeting Time:  8:00 a.m., year-round
  • Host/Leader:  None
  • Phone:  For information, call Larry Meredith at (707) 526-4536
  • E-mail:  For information, e-mail Larry Meredith at [email protected]
  • Session Description:  Trail running in Annadel State Park.  The longest run of the week for most who attend.  Runners choose their own distance and pace and typically break up into two or three small groups.
  • Who Should Attend:  Runners of all ability levels.
  • http://www.empirerunners.org/training-calendar
AUGUST 2015, LOCAL RUNNING, THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

The Long and Short of North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park

2 Comments

Every runner gets stale.  We all get tired and have times when runs seem more like a chore than the joy that they should be.  Sometimes all that is needed to refresh your running is a little change of scenery.

Recently I was feeling very flat, beat up and literally run down.  Some of this was due to little nagging injuries.  Some to the general bone-tired feeling you get in the middle of marathon training before the body adapts to the mileage, but most of it was due I think to doing the same run in the same place over and over again.

I’d been thinking about returning to the new North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park ever since Robin and I did a run there in early spring but I never seemed to make it.  This past weekend I finally got back and boy was I glad I did!

If you have never been there, it is time you went.  North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park is located off of Sonoma Mtn. Rd. not far from the Pressley Rd. intersection.

The trails are true single-track, mostly shaded and uncrowded.  The best thing is that the main trail takes you up a series of steep but manageable switchbacks revealing fantastic views of Bennett Mtn. and Bennett Valley on your way to Jack London State Historical Park.

North-Sonoma-Mountain-trails-challenge-large

On my run Sunday I made it well into Jack London but apparently far short of the storied Beauty Ranch and Wolf House.  My run was over 2 hours in length overall (seven minutes faster coming down than going up).  You can definitely get a nice long run there.  I did not see another human-being for the first hour and forty-five minutes which is the way I like it.

Legs and spirit that had been feeling old and sluggish felt young and energized right from the first step.  When running becomes work, turn it back into an adventure.

http://parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Get_Outdoors/Parks/North_Sonoma_Mountain_Regional_Park_and_Open_Space_Preserve.aspx

JUNE 2015, LOCAL RUNNING

TAYLOR MOUNTAIN TUESDAYS, By Justin Borton

1 Comment

When: 6:30am Tuesday morning every week… or whatever time and day you wanna get yourself a run-up!

Distance: 2.35 miles to the top. 1063′ of elevation gain.

Route: Start on the Western Route, follow the Pedestrian Connector, head up to the top on the Eastern Route.

MapMyRun link:  http://www.mapmyrun.com/us/roseland-ca/taylor-mountain-tuesday-course-1474976

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/848575968533333/

May15Borton2    May15Borton3

Description:

For downtown Santa Rosans, the best panoramic views of your backyard and the most accessible steep mountain training run are at Taylor Mountain. Just a few minutes from downtown, this short mountain-climb brings you from the daily grind to classic west Sonoma county cattle grazing land. Beautifully soft green grass hangs around until late in the year, as this slope of the mountain is often shrouded in fog until late morning. A quick morning run-up brings out the sun as you clear the clouds to spectacular views of the soupy fog as it hangs over southern Santa Rosa.

May15Borton5 May15Borton6

 Taylor Mountain Tuesday (#TMT) launches from the lower parking area every week at 6:30am. The route starts with a 1/4 mile of gravel road before it turns to something like a wide single track mix of path and trail. Then it starts getting steep. I mean really steep. This is no joke. Most runners can not run it the entire way the first time, not only because of burning lungs and legs but also due to the cows that often end up in your path. To stop your run to negotiate use of the trail with a couple of cows is downright charming. The trails are mostly smooth dirt with cow-pies about. During the rainy season the dirt here turns to very slick mud. There are some technical rocky stretches to keep you on your toes, but for the most part this is smooth, steep running. The climb gets steepest as you join the Eastern Route. Don’t quit because within about 10 minutes you’ll reach the top. The trail ends at an oddly climactic fence line. There you can have a seat on the rock wall and catch your breath while you soak in the views. And just in case you want to announce to the city that you are now urban mountain royalty… TMTers know that there is a little something hidden at the top so you can ring out loud your achievement. The run back down allows you a bit more time to reflect on the intensity of the slope you just climbed as you hit the brakes hard down the steepest sections. Towards the end of the run you can open up your stride for a few nice flat stretches, then you’re back at your car in under an hour. Not bad for a Tuesday recovery run!

May15Borton4  May15Borton7