Stanford Runners More Active Than Ever

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stanford Running Club

May 23, 2002

CONTACT: Ben Cowan, (650-926-3705) ben.cowan (at) stanford.edu

STANFORD -- The Stanford Running Club, an informal group of runners at Stanford, has seen many new runners and much greater activity in recent weeks than there has been all year.  One reason for the club's growth may be the longer and warmer days that come with Spring.  More importantly, however, the club has implemented new policies to attract runners of all abilities.

At the regular runs (held at 4:15pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting at the claw statue in front of the bookstore), there is now a designated "sweeper" -- an experienced runner who makes sure that new runners, especially those unfamiliar with the many running routes around campus, are not left behind.  "The sweeper policy is working out great," said junior Eloy Avila, a Running Club co-president.  "The sweeper knows the run and stays back making sure everyone enjoys the run at their own pace."

Members of the Stanford Running Club have also participated – and often placed well -- in several recent races.  In the MBA Challenge for charity race that took place at Stanford April 21, freshman Adam Sciambi placed 3rd overall in the 5k event with a time of 17:00, while graduate student Sunil Goda placed 7th at 17:56 and freshman Dan Anthony came in 8th with a time of 18:02.

In the 10k, junior Amanda Thaete and graduate students Ben Cowan and Scott Hamilton all finished first in their age groups.  More recently, Sciambi won the Powwow fun run held May 11 with a time of 14:04.

In the Woodside half-marathon, a hilly trail run held March 2 in Huddart Park, graduate student Matt Craven finished 3rd and Ben Cowan 5th overall, with times of 1:22:22 and 1:23:00 respectively.  Matt Craven also won the 7-mile Golden Gate Headlands race on April 6.

Stanford Running Club participation is not limited to local races, however.  In fact, several Stanford runners ran the Boston Marathon April 15, with sophomore Nooshin Navidi finishing in 3:33:56 and sophomore Elizabeth McCleneghan finishing 80th among over 5000 women with a time of 3:04:42.

"Running the Boston Marathon was truly the most amazing thing I have done in my entire life--crossing the finish line after running 26.2 miles past cheering supporters was a perfect finale to nine months of self-induced rigorous training in order to qualify for, and then run my fastest marathon," said McCleneghan.

The Running Club hopes to continue to grow in future years.  In fact, the club was joined by several ProFros for a workout during admit weekend.  "The Stanford Running Club is for all runners out there, beginner to hardened marathoner, sprinter type to distance lovers," said Avila.

The Running Club has a recently redesigned website (www.stanford.edu/group/runningclub) including a message board that runners can use to arrange additional workouts.

The Stanford Running Club is an informal group welcoming runners of all levels to join us and share a love of running in a low-pressure, flexible environment.  The Running Club thanks Stanford Club Sports for financial support.

Press contact:   Ben Cowan, ben.cowan (at) stanford.edu

Co-Presidents:  Eloy Avila, eavila@stanford.edu

Tim Grow, grow@stanford.edu

Webmaster:      Adam Sciambi, sciambi (at) stanford.edu

Web Page:       http://running.stanford.edu/

e-mail list:         runningclub (at) lists.stanford.edu; to subscribe send a message to

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