BE TUCSON Race Report

Well, as someone commented on facebook, beautful weather, tutu’s and tuti-fruity socks: what more could you ask for??  See all sorts of great photos of the beautiful BE TUCSON Women’s 5k and Men’s Mile at http://www.facebook.com/Southern.Arizona.Roadrunners. 

As you can see in the results, there were some fast times to be had, with the women’s champion coming all the way from Germany (via Phoenix): Angela Axman, a professional traithlete, took home first place in 17:56, followed closely by Tucson standout Paula Morrison, training with The Grinders and on the comeback trail after missing a year and a half due to injuries.  Third place went to Tia Accetta, herself followed closely by former triathlon standout Amy Cole. In fifth was Tucson racing newcomer, Diane Manzini.  Aside from those in strollers, the youngest finisher was 6-year-old Isabella Tutus, while top veteran was local heroine Sandra Heater.

The top master’s runner was a local speedster who has developed into one of the top age-group marathoners in the country: congratulations to Merry Dearmon for a time of 21:16.  Merry, your prize will be at The Running Shop!  Speaking of The Running Shop, age group winners who missed the awards ceremony can pick up their wine glasses at The Shop.

The Men’s Mile had a couple of speedsters duking it out, with The Running Shop’s Dustin ZImmerman taking the honors in 4:44 a few seconds ahead of Aaron Ragsdale, a UA graduate student. With competitors as young as 14 and as veteran as 68, the Men’s Mile goes to show that running is for everyone!

Thanks to La Encantada and Paula Taylor Productions, BE TUCSON partnered with a great expo with fun activities, nice giveaways, and great prizes.  Special thanks to AJ’s for providing delightful pastries and fresh fruit—an awesome post-race spread!! Special thanks to sponsors; the Running Shop for the great wine glass awards; La Encantada and Macerich Properties for providing the staging area; Paula Taylor Productions for putting together the wonderful Olympic-themed models and designing the special victory belts; Pandora for the great jewelry gift boxes; Caliente and the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Lifestyle, Cox Communications; Rural Metro for providing ambulance support and fire trucks; BodyArmor for providing recovery drinks for all participants; Body Basics, a personal training studio;TMC for their support of health and wellness in our city; and to Motorola for showcasing their new MOTOACTV GPS fitness Tracker and Smart MP3 Player. 

All race proceeds will go to the Better Than Ever program of the Arizona Cancer Center and to the Komen Race for the Cure, Southern Arizona.

A special thanks to the great team of volunteers who helped out, including SAR regulars, WOG champs, Tri-Girls, and the gang from Delta Sigma Pi at the UA.  Special thanks to Janet Stamper-Holland, Eve Shapiro, Connie Lopez, Margie Norem, John Sabatine, Gina Nelson, Mary Lasser, Kristie Henness, Lucas Tyler, Mary Lasser, Steve Outridge, Christine Outridge, Alyssa Holt, Diane Manzini, Robin Gerard, Doreen Castillo, Monica Bermudez, Tim Bentley, Sandra Heater, Leslie Clark, and probably others that I am missing.  We missed Steve and Sheryl, of course, as they were cruising the Mustang Club Car Show.  A special thanks to Jannie Cox for volunteering and cross-partnering with the new Wednesday night social run and walk, Meet Me at La Encantada. 

Thanks to Keith Schlottman and Martin Pena for taking photos and posting them to facebook!.

BE TUCSON Women’s Only 5k Run/Walk and Men’s Mile

The first-ever BE TUCSON Women’s 5k Run and Walk and Men’s Mile is right around the corner, on Sunday, March 4th. To ensure a successful inaugural event for the Southern Arizona Roadrunners, we’ve decided to limit the field to only 400 runners—about 50 slots remain.

Registration:
Online through midnight Thursday, March 1
Saturday 10:00-2:00 at The Running Shop (3055 North Campbell)
Sunday 6:30-7:30 am at La Encantada (Skyline and Campbell)—see race map for location details

Event benefits include
• Cool technical t-shirt from Leslie Jordan designs
• Cool new course circling La Encantada - see updated map - thanks to Dave Hill for measuring!!
• Cool wine glasses for age-group winners and as raffle prizes, courtesy of The Running Shop
• Hot firefighting volunteers: RuralMetro firefighters will be handling most of the volunteer duties with help from the Tucson Tri-Girls
• Plenty of food and drink from Savaya Coffee, AJ’s Market, and BodyArmor recovery drink
• Post-race B.E. expo with giveaways and discounts, hosted by La Encantada, featuring LuluLemon, yoga experts, pilates instructors, boot camp leaders, clothing boutiques, beauty salons, and more
• Kids activities with MyGym, courtesy of Mildred and Dildred toy store

Don’t forget the low event pricing, including early discount pricing through March 1. See http://azroadrunners.org/races/detail/be_tucson.

And men, we’re not forgetting you: this is your chance to strut your stuff in front of the ladies, with a Men’s Mile at 7:45—one screaming loop around La Encantada, with prizes and eternal fame on the line!!
  More . . .