Hello to the folks who registered for the 2022 Saguaro National Park Labor Day Run, produced by the Southern Arizona Roadrunners.

Please read below for a full race report, but first a few quick items:

1) If you missed packet pickup or the race itself, you can still snag your colorful race shirt and number by visiting the Running Shop at 3055 North Campbell before the end of September. Shirt sizing is first-come, first-served. At this writing, there are women's and men's sizing in large, XL, and XXL available.

If you want to purchase an extra t-shirt, they are discounted to $10 apiece and can be picked up at The Running Shop.

2) Race images, including those in this report, can be found at Damion Alexander's FB page here.

Damion also made an awesome race video -- you can see it on my facebook page here.

For social media, please tag #runsar on instagram.

3) See farther below for details on the results, winners, and awards.

3) Finally, on a personal note, Tia and I are sorry to have missed the race, but both of us tested positive for COVID this past week and we wanted to make sure we were not near any runners.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the National Park Service, the AMR crew, the Workout Group crew, Mica Mountain High School Cross Country team, the Tucson Tri-Girls, all the volunteers, and the SAR Board of Directors for making the race a safe and successful event in our absence.

1993 was the first year that I ran Saguaro and until Monday I had not missed the start/finish of the race in all these years.

Although Tia and I spent a couple of hours on Sunday night marking and setting the beautiful course, we both missed the fun part . . . we missed the smiles and high-fives and the sweat and the cheers and the sound of the PR Bell ringing. . . .

Whether you did the 5k or the 8-mile, congratulations to all of you for finishing this demanding race!

Thanks again for being part of this great Tucson tradition!

We hope to see you at upcoming SAR-calendered events, the September 18th TMC Tucson 10k/5k; the September 24th Sabino Canyon FitKidz free mile; and the September 25th Jim Click's Run n Roll at the UArizona campus.

Happy miles,

--Randy Accetta, Saguaro race director
There's a reason it's called "Saguaro"
Former SAR President, Jim Irish continues to be part of SAR
WINNERS, RESULTS, & AWARDS
For the second year in a row, we tried the so-called "rolling start" for the 8-miler. While this seems to be a popular way to ease start line congestion and to enable folks to run before the sun becomes dangerous, unfortunately it seems to diminish the overall racing aspect.

Thus, special congratulations to our top runners, who, while not crossing the finish line first, ran the fastest times of the morning.

8-Mile Top Finishers
First overall was Jeff Gautreau, a former U of Arizona and Salpointe Catholic High School standout. Jeff finished in a stellar time of 46:14, outpacing the competition by more than a minute.

Second place was long-time Tucson triathlon ace Jesse Vondracek, in a time of 47:28, 62 seconds faster than third-place finisher Orlando Vasquez. Jesse is 40 and Orlando is 45, meaning they were the top two 40+ runners in the race, but because they were so fast and placed in the top three, the top official Master's male is listed as 45-year-old Jason Collins who ran 53:06.

Rising local standout Claire Hans of The Workout Group took the women's title in a time of 59:03, good for 20th place overall. Claire snagged third last year, so it was nice to see her improvement.

In second place in a time of 61:33 was past champion Janet Holland, still one of the top regional runners at 63 -- she was one of the few folks who beat their age. (At this writing we're still figuring out that award...) Third place was Sahuarita's Lisa Schlink, in fine time of 1:02:47. First official Master's woman was Marjanne Magana in 1:05:24.

We think both Paul Robillia and Merry Dearmon set Arizona State age group records -- nicely done both of you!

5k Winners
In the 5k, William Newberg from Gig Harbor, Washington took first place in 17:02, while Debra Lazar of Tucson ran 22:54 to snag top female honors.
Glad to see so many happy faces on the course!
Pretty solid effort by Team Johnny Cash, with not just one but a two-person stroller!
Links to Results
All winners receive gift certificates to long-time race sponsor The Running Shop. If you're one of the top finishers, you can pick up your award before the end of September.

If you have any questions about your results, please contact our race timer, Greg Wenneborg at greg@roadrunnerracetiming.

You can see overall 8-Mile results here: http://www.roadrunnerracetiming.com/results.html

You can see 8-Mile age group results here: https://results.roadrunnerracetiming.com/09_05_228mage.htm

You can see 5k overall results here: https://results.roadrunnerracetiming.com/09_05_225k.htm

You can see 5k age group results here: https://results.roadrunnerracetiming.com/09_05_225kage.htm

No athletes signed up for a non-binary division.

How to get your award
If you were not on hand for the awards ceremony and you received an age group award, please visit the Running Shop before the end of September to pick up your award. Here is a reminder of the award categories:
8m Run: top three overall male and female: 1, 2, 3- $40, 35, 30. Masters 1st 35. 
8m Age Groups, top three male and female: U19 through 80+, in 5-year increments, AG1-$25 gc, AG 2-$20 gc, AG 3-$10 gc 

5k Walk/Run, top three overall male and female: 1, 2, 3-$30, $25, $20 gc, Masters 1 $20. 
Age Groups: First Place in U10 through 80+ in ten-year increments, $15 gc 

Thanks again to Greg Wenneborg of www.roadrunnerracetiming.com who managed all the timing -- the rolling start was a bit challenging at times, but his crew handled the challenges with ease and kindness.
Men's 8-Mile Overall Winners and Age Group Winners
Women's 8-Miler Overall Winners and Age Group Winners
Women's 5k Overall Winners and Age Group Winners
Men's 5k Overall Winners and Age Group Winners
Thanks to the volunteers
William Robinson, Margaret Robinson, David Schneider, Cindy Feaman, Caitlin Cuslidge, Connie Lopez, Carole Torpey, Peter Ruggles, David Armet, Evelyn Rios, John O'Masta, Doreen Castillo, Gina Nelson, Ashley Michaels, Kurt Michaels, Cynthia Green, Mark Kelleher, Diane Hansen, Maureen Cunningham, Billie Lubis, Jean Kincaid, Amy Jones, Bob Howard, and more.

Thanks to the SAR leadership, including Caroline Gardiner, Mely Bohman, Dave Dixon, Kris Fitzharris, Greg Wenneborg, Lucas Tyler, Don Branaman, Jeri Butler, Mohammed Al-Salouk, and Karina Pedroza.

I'm sure I am missing some of the volunteers, but thanks to all of you!
Thanks to our friends at the www.tucsontrigirls.org for so happily managing the water stop at the 7-mile mark.

Much appreciation as well to the high school students from Mica Mountain XC for handing out water at the 3 and 5 mile mark . . . thanks Coach Josh and Coach Sandy!

Thanks to DJ Rich for handling the music and announcing!

Special thanks to Tia Accetta for her tireless efforts to produce this race, in the weeks and months beforehand and on race weekend.
THANKS TO SPONSORS

  • The Running Shop provided race packet pickup support, with Sharon Bart and the whole staff available to help all runners and walkers snag their race giveaway items.
  • The Running Shop also provided all the age group awards -- thanks to Sharon for being so supportive of this event.
  • Tucson Medical Center provided post-race snacks
  • SKRATCH LABS provided sports recovery drinks and more at the finish line
  • AMR provided the ambulance crew on hand to ensure safety -- thanks to them for the early morning race help!
  • ACE Portojohns provided the, well, portojohns
  • Damion Alexander took a boatload of photos, including all the ones on this email. For more info on Damion's work, see Damion Alexander Team at Long Realty


SAGUARO BENEFICIARIES

The National Park Service: It is an honor to be able to produce a race on National Park land. Special thanks to Steve Bolyard and the event day crew for helping ensure all of our safety -- and special thanks to Superintendent Leah McGinnis for all the support. And thanks to all the runners and walkers, we were able to provide Saguaro with over $4000 in operating funds.

Friends of Saguaro: This year's event will donate funds to the Friends of Saguaro National Park, whose mission is to help the public discover Saguaro, protect Saguaro, and support Saguaro.

Southern Arizona Roadrunners: This event raises operating funds for SAR and income for the Children's Fitness Fund, an award-based program supporting youth fitness in and around Tucson.