Nisene Marks Summer Trail Run Series

Wednesday nights are the new Friday night compliments of the newly formed Nisene Marks Summer Trail Run Series! Every Wednesday evening for 12 weeks this summer, June 9 through August 25, local Santa Cruz runners are gathering for the approximately 3.6-3.9 mile race through the woods. We say approximate because there's always the chance you're gonna take the wrong trail!

So far there have been three weeks worth of races and 45 people have shown up. Keep in mind, for some crazy reason, the course seems to slightly change each week, so take the following times with proverbial 'grain of salt.' To date, the fastest male is Johan Schimmel in 24:51, fastest female AND fastest overall time goes to the lovely Marissa Ferrante with a time of 24:38, while the best running stroller time goes to Leo Strudley and his chauffeur... we mean dad, Trevor, in a time of 30:17! Congrats you four!

If you'd like to learn more, check out the series website http://aptosrun.com/. Joins us for check in around 6pm, look for the crew in the green Zoomzer shirts. Race starts promptly at 6:15pm.We hope to see you out there next Wednesday!

No more excuses, Big Sur, here we come!

Big Sur, huh? What's that all about? Excuses, excuses... we've all got them! I may have more than the average human being and I am gonna use one, no, I am gonna use two, right now to explain why there has been a 3 1/2 month gap in blog postings. Newborn and MBA - 'nough said! So if Zoomzer was too busy to blog, compliments of a screaming baby girl and a 10 lb. accounting book, you can only imagine that other duties fell by the wayside, including the all important triathlon training! A good week these days might include two 30 minute jogs - they are slow so that calling them "runs" seems quite the exaggerating - and maybe a 10 mile spin on the bike. What happened to me?!

More importantly, what am I, and what are all the rest of your formerly fit slackers, going to do about it? We're gonna buck up and get back in shape by signing up for some races. First on the list, select a late Summer/early Fall half ironman. Second, train for a Spring time half marathon. I've always wanted to try one of the Big Sur events. Maybe this is the year? Who wants to join Zoomzer?!

Goodbye Sentinel, hello Santa Cruz Triathlon

Where does the time go? It seems like racing season was just beginning and here we are, days away from the Santa Cruz racing season closer, the Santa Cruz Triathlon, formerly The Sentinel. This Sunday marks the 27th annual running on this fantastic Olympic distance event. Participants enjoy fantastic views as they swim around the Santa Cruz Wharf, ride out to Davenport, and run along West Cliff.

Zoomzer has raced this event numerous times and always has a great time. Well, not always, there was this one time too much alcohol was involved at a bachelorette party the evening before... but we won't go there!

This year's event welcomes 1,200 racers to town and promises some serious competition. Even if you're not racing, come out and witness the speed! While you're at it, stop by the Zoomzer booth and say hello. We'll be at the expo on Saturday and the finish line on Sunday. And if you review three races before the triathlon this Sunday, show us your reviews and we'll give you a free Zoomzer t-shirt!

Don't forget to review the Santa Cruz Triathlon when you're done!

Impressive times at the RCP Tiburon Mile

The South Pacific or Oceania - whatever you want to call it - dominated the scene at the RCP Tiburon Mile on Sunday September 13. New Zealand's Kane Radford and Australia's Melissa Gorman both toook home top honors at the 1.2 mile,750 swimmer, open water event.

Radford earned his keep, defeating two-time Tiburon Mile champion Vladimir Dyatchin, Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli, and defending RCP champion Trent Grimsey, scoring a $10,000 winner-take-all first prize.

The women's race throned Gorman a clear winner, as she finished ahead of Eva Fabian of Greenwood Swim Club and Chloe Sutton of the Mission Viejo Nadadores.

Overall men's results: 1. Kane Radford, New Zealand, 22:13 2. Trent Grimsey, Australia, 22:18 3. Vladimir Dyatchin, Russia, 22:50 4. Ous Mellouli, Tunisia, 23:47 5. Andrew Beato, Australia, 23:58 6. John Koehler Jr., USA, 24:20 7. Thiago Pereira, Brazil, 24:23 8. Brendan Capell, Australia, 24:42 9. Zach Hansford, Australia, 24:44 10. Ben Hinshaw, USA 25:17

Overall women's results: 1. Melissa Gorman, Australia, 24:06 2. Eva Fabian, USA, 24:08 3. Chloe Sutton, USA, 24:09 4. Britta Kamrau, Germany, 24:24 5. Ekaterina Seliverstova, Russia, 24:41 6. Luane Rowe, Australia, 24:53 7. Stacey Hansford, Australia, 25:51 8. Taylor Nanfria, USA 25:58 9. Caitlin Leverenz, USA 26:00 10. Lauren Matevish, USA, 26:02

If you raced, leave a review on Zoomzer.com

Dirt Inspires Women's Trail Half Marathon runs into Aptos

This Sunday marks the first annual running of the Dirt Inspires Women's Trail Half Marathon in Aptos, California's Nisene Marks State Park. The race is the brainchild of accomplished adventure racer and triathlete, Terri Schneider. If you're a woman and consider yourself to be one of the more eco-friendly among us, this race was designed with you in mind!

If you've not visited Nisene Marks before, you are in for a real treat. Zoomzer is one lucky pup because we live at the park entrance and get to run, bike, hop and skip - yes, we have hopped and skipped there before - every single day! We enjoy this park and the beach at Seacliff State Park so much, that after moving to the area we canceled our gym memberships and solely recreate here. It is that awesome! There's this one section after you cross the steel bridge and go past a locked gate (about 3 miles from the main parking lot) that reminds me of some crazy forest scene from the old Ewok movies. It is a 500 yard straight away on the fire road, below gorgeous towering redwoods. No matter the time of day it is always dark on this one stretch. I am always waiting for Star Wars music to start blasting from the sky and for an Ewok to pop out from behind a tree. This is also the section where, if Quiddich was a real game, I'd play it in the tree tops with Harry Potter. I may have revealed too much of my nerdiness there!

Back to Terri's race... if you've not signed up, I believe there are still a few spots left. Zoomzer can guarantee that you will have a fantastic race and the 13.1 miles will fly by because you'll be consumed by the gorgeous scenery. And after you've raced, stop by the Zoomzer booth to say hello and to review the race. Or... you can review it when you get home. http://www.zoomzer.com/races/view/4596

Happy Zoomzering!

Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon ups the ante this year

This weekend, August 9th, welcomes back the ever popular Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon. If you were hoping to race, boo on you, it sold out weeks ago. If you are a friendly soul and just love giving your time to local events, I know they are on the hunt for volunteers, so shoot them an email if you can help. I hear they are handing our cool shirts and homemade cookies. Zoomzer is in! Look for us on the bike course.

This year looks to be an especially exciting race as the Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon is hosting the USAT Southwest sprint distance, youth, and junior categories regional championships. The competition promises to be intense! The race has also been selected by the USAT Endurance Mobile Tour for 2009 which means two days of expo, music, video, and product samplings by national triathlon sponsors.

If you were lucky enough to get a spot in the race, or are a past competitor, stop by Zoomzer to leave your review.

http://zoomzer.com/races/view/4664

Barbs Half Ironman, Vineman Aquabike, and Full Vineman welcome the cool weather

In years past, the weekend of the Full Vineman, Vineman Aquabike, and Barb's Half Ironman can be insanely hot. We're talking 100 degrees as you trot along the half and full marathon course at 3pm in the afternoon. It is brutal! This weekend all us racers are lucky because the high is supposed to be 80 degrees in Windsor, how awesome is that? Call Al Gore!

As many of you know, the Vineman course is one of Zoomzer's favorites. Swimming in the Russian River, biking through Sonoma County winereies, and running the country roads just can't be beat... assuming the mercury stays down. We also love this event because it is held on a Saturday, not a Sunday like most half and full ironmans, which allows you a full day to recover before returning to work. Gotta love that!

If you're in Windsor/Santa Rosa tomorrow, August 1, 2009, stop by the transition and finsih venue at Windsor High School. It's a moving and inspiration expereince to watch people finish an Ironman, we always get a kick out of it. See you tomorrow!