It was a marathon weekend . . . literally

It was a marathon weekend - Nike 26.2 in SF and Chicago. Congratulations to all y'all who went out there and got it done - Impala style. And, let's give a shout out to all of you (husbands, daughters, teammates) who helped us along on the sidelines (trust me we were lookin' for you. And, Cheryl, from the Chi-folks, thanks for getting in our grill with 10K to go and reminding us that this is what we trained for!)

So whether you qualified for the '08 Trials or just showed off those skinny legs, hope you all had fun while you were out there.

Peggy ... we see how you do it.



"I've never looked so happy at 9 miles of a Half Marathon. Seeing my husband and children made me happy." Peggy

Becky named Triathlete of the Year!

Congratulations, Becky on being named :K's Short Course Triathlete of the Year!

Diana standing cool in her shades after 100 miles

I know this is last month's news, but I thought you'd all like to see these photos of our remarkable Diana Fitzpatrick, doing the only race I know of that has a race date that spans two days - the Western States 100. She was the 2nd Master, 5th Woman, and 28th overall, out of 210 finishers. There were 399 at the start, but this year's conditions delivered a 47% drop-out rate. Yikes! Check her out - still standing up and smiling after 100 miles. - Nelda

P.S. Here are the full results

Olivia's miles race report

Last weekend on saturday morning while many of us were sleeping in and enjoying a break from racing two impalas toed the line in Menlo Park for a local race called Olivia's Miles. Wearing impala blue (see pic above), Shaluinn and Caroline ran the 5K placing first and second in a quick field. And rumor has it that Shal's speedy 17:26.70 is also a course record. Way to go ladies!

Offical race results can be found at this link

More from Tahoe...by Flashley

Check out more fun Tahoe scenes from Ashley (aka, Flashley). Say cheese!

The Tahoe Report

A report from President Nelda:

It was like a Hollywood movie! Seven strangers came to town, and walked shoulder-to-shoulder down Main street, lookin' to wet their whistle at the local Starbucks!

...Well, it was almost like that. What they did do was re-position the Impala Racing Team as a tour de force at the 72 mile Tahoe Relays, in our first team appearance there in 6 years. Unbelievably, our team's finish time was less than one minute better than the Impalas winning time posted in 2000.

The racing members included Martha Chase, Angie Longworth, Katie Wasilenko, Megan Daly, Terri O'Brien, Flora Lee and Ashley Carroll, running at 7,000 feet of altitude and in temperatures that ranged from 38 at the start to around 80 in the afternoon. In spite of a heroic effort on everyone's part, behind the Chico XC Team, but we were only around 2 minutes behind them after 72 miles of racing! And along the way, we acquired some great stories to tell. The support crew included myself as Race Director, Nga Do, Janet Cain and Marisa Beck, who drove the racers to their hand-off sites, and kept them topped off with water and PowerBar products. We've got lots of great photos of the day so look for a few of those in the newsletter or on the blog soon, but I attached 2 great ones to this email. I'll also bring the full set to the workout tonight.we came in at second place

Of course, Tahoe was not just a race destination, but also our , so we relaxed with massages (which Janet Cain arranged on-site and at a discount for us) and daily hot tub/Jacuzzi time. We also had a group take off on a bike ride the day after the race, and another group doing a wonderful swim in a very choppy lake. It was beautiful! Our cabin was only 1/2 block from the lake, and only 2 miles from the start/finish, so Marisa did a great job of securing one of our best sites ever. And of course, we also did an enthusiastic job of sampling a large variety of California wines and micro-brews, while cooking in, playing cards and watching soccer and track meets. If you missed out this year, you'll want to think about joining us next year. It's a quintessential Impala experience, where we motivate and inspire each other to race hard, not for a big prize purse or Grand Prix points, but just because we love the competition, and want to do our best for our teammates. Annual Running Camp

Thanks to the Board for helping to fund this race, and also to everyone who raced and supported. It was a magnificent weekend!- Nelda

Becky wins and Impalas represent at Alcatraz

Sunday's Alcatraz triathlon was a true impala event as we had athletes competing and many athletes cheering. Those of us in the event braved the cold waters, pushed through the hilly bike course and tore up the sand ladder. The Lavelle family definetly won in the team competition (with 5 competitors) and Maggie definitely pulled off the most surprising finish (coming off a broken ankle). Below are some stories related to the event:

1. This first story highlights the Lavelle family

2. This second article talks about the whole event, great pic of Becky winning and Peggy can be spotted in the last pic on her bike (she has the red arm warmers)

3. A link to the full results

4. A list of Impala specific results:

Becky Lavelle 2:21:05 0:30:24 0:04:21 0:51:56 0:01:00 0:53:24
1st overall, WOW!

Ashley Wood 2:47:31 0:39:29 0:07:06 1:00:10 0:01:50 0:58:56
1st in age division 35-39 and 10th female, another WOW!

Peggy Lavelle 3:10:44 0:46:12 N/A 1:00ish N/A 1:14ish
3rd in age division and an amazing time, lost timing chip after swim so bike and run are approximate, 1st alcatraz tri

Marisa Beck 3:29:20 0:46:40 0:08:09 1:23:04 0:02:20 1:09:07
1st alcatraz tri, 37th in age division 25-29 (73 women in her age division!)

Maggie Fillmore 3:32:58 0:50:44 0:09:52 1:13:05 0:02:47 1:16:30
2nd in age division 55-59, 1st alcatraz tri and coming off a broken ankle (was not even going to do the run since she has not been able to run for months) – we vote Maggie for the Pete's performer award!

Candace Hendra 3:36:16 0:49:24 0:09:08 1:14:43 0:02:35 1:20:26
11th in her tough age division of 50-54, this shows that Candace is definitely on the rode to recovery!

Nelda Williams 3:42:52 0:53:40 0:08:07 1:17:35 0:01:35 1:21:55
Our very own president, 4th in her age division 55-59, amazing transition times, fourth time doing alcatraz, amazing sand ladder climber and she promises to have a clinic for the rest of us on fast transitions!