JK8K
Dedicated to Jim Kurtz
Jim was a very dear and great friend. He was always thinking of others. Gave his free time constantly. He was a fellow runner who was quite competitive and always humble with his successes.
To honor his life we established the JK8K cross country race to celebrate his kindness and generosity and his undying devotion to his family.
Candy Cane 5K
First Annual Candy Cane Run
Ramona High School Campus
1401 Hanson Ln
Ramona, CA 926065
Saturday 12/6/2025
8:30am
5K
9:30am
1 Mile Run
Registration due by 12/4/2025
For more information email mikes_pen@yahoo.com
Striders in Action
DIRT DOGS #6
4 Mile Carrera de los Muertos
The Carrera de los Muertos 4-Miler was held at Chollas Lake Park in Sa Diego on Saturday, 10/25 – and the Striders were there:
(L-R) Benjamin Wagnell Dan Linehan Peter Gregory Richard Magargal
Dan (77) scored a 2nd place finish (75-9) with a time of 41:33, a good time on a tough course. In the 60-64 division, Rich finished in 10th place (35:43), and Peter in 13th – beating his goal of running under 55:00 with a 54:32. Finally, Benjamin (18), a young friend of Rich’s and an honorary Strider for the day, captured 1st place in the 13-18 division, running a fine 24:30.
Congratulations guys, and thanks for a fun day at the park!
And now on to the Championships at Tecolote Shores on Sunday, 11/09. The standings so far have Robert Fanjas in 5th place in the 60-9 division, Richard in 19th, Allan Miller 21st and Peter 22nd (out of 30 scorers so far). In the 70s, Dan is in 9th place; and in the 80s, Keith Wetterer is 3rd. Our 60s team needs to field 3 at the Championships to make the final standings, so let’s keep our fingers crossed…
Meanwhile, Allan Miller is done for the season (knees), but he is still able to keep fit with his San Diego Rowing Club activities:
Allan: “That is a San Diego Rowing Club shell, the “Red Rose”, a Hudson from London, Ontario. The boat I usually row when I am in a single, the “Red Zeppelin” was rowed into the South Ingraham bridge yesterday morning by Azja Czajkowski, who won a gold medal two weeks ago at the World Championships. She also medaled in the Olympics. The full moon had the incoming tide running exceptionally hard. If she can crash, God help the rest of us. Hudson quoted a new single, their best model for $17,250. I am not sure if I am committed enough to buy a boat, plus there is a year plus wait to get a space in the boathouse. If I race well on November 9 that will help with a decision. Surfing is cheaper.”
Keep us posted, Allan!
DIRT DOGS #5
JK8K ’25
October 12th was our day in the sun, as the Striders hosted the 4th annual JK8K at the Ramona Community Park. A new fence across the Start/Finish field precipitated changes to the course – including a hill, which added to the challenging route. Our volunteers recieved a number of compliments, as the RHS coaches, team and family made a strong effort guiding the runners through a complicated course. And once again, the Kurtz family came out to assist at the start and finish, several of whom flew in from the East Coast to be a part of the developing tradition.
Okwaro Raura returned to win the Master’s race (40+) for the 3rd time; pretty good for a 50 year old! Even more impressive was Celestine Arambulo’s win in the women’s Masters race, improving considerably in both place and time from her previous run (in 2022) – at an ageless 55! This after running the Carmel Valley Trail 5K (2nd female finisher overall) the day before. Here they are, showing off their “winnings”:
(L-R) Celestine Arambulo Okwaro Raura
Meanwhile, the sole Strider in the race Dan Linehan (76) captured 3rd place in the 75-9 group, finishing in 51:37. Congratulations, Dan!
So, we move forward toward the 2026 race with some new ideas for an even better experience, as well as for avoiding the few hiccups from 2025 (sorry, Okwaro…).
See you then!
Catching Up with Mark Gookin
Last we heard from Mark (66), he was heading into 2 races in one day (9/27): the R5K in Reno in the morning, and the Cider & Sunset 5M trail run in Auburn in the afternoon. the first race seemed uneventful, with Mark finishing 5th overall in an impressive 20:54. The Auburn race was anything but (see below), nonetheless, he still managed a 10th place finish. Two weeks later, Mark was down in our neck of the woods for the Carmel Valley Trail 10K (of Puke Hill fame), placing 10th once again.
In his words:
Auburn was crazy as 2-4th place (which included me) all went off course. Still managed to pull 1st in 60+. Puke hill was the steepest hill I have ever done on a race. I was game to run the whole thing but it got so steep that I lost traction for a half dozen steps or so. Attached are a few pics from the Carmel race (sporting the Striders jersey!).
