HARRA Party in the Park

The 2009 HARRA Party in the Park was a tremendous affair in great weather conditions, as HARRA Membership Clubs, the Bayou City Road Runners, the Houston Striders, the Tornados Running Club, and the Houston Masters Sports Association represented.

The Woodlands Friday Night Lights Cross Country

HARRA Members Gabriel Rodriguez, Luis Armenteros (Houston Harriers), and Rudy Rocha (Bay Area Running Club), placed 1st, 2nd, and 4th overall, respectively, in the Open Race at the 2009 The Woodlands Friday Night Lights Cross Country 2M+ race at Bear Branch Fields.

San Antonio's Liza Hunter-Galvan Admits EPO Use

Liza Hunter-Galvan, a prominent road racer on the Texas running scene and New Zealand Olympic Marathoner based out of San Antonio, Texas, admitted to using EPO and has been banned from competition for 2 years.

Hunter-Galvan is a past champion (2005, 57:24.4) of the HARRA Fall Series Race, the USA 10 Miler.

HARRA Party in the Park

REMINDER that the 2009 HARRA Party in the Park is set for Saturday, August 29th, at 7:30 AM and will run until 10:00 AM at Memorial Park, just West of the Tennis Center.

We look forward to seeing all HARRA Clubs represented in this great social event and opportunity to recruit new members and enjoy the St. Arnold's brew... among other refreshments and entertainment.

Sunmart to Continue as Texas Trail Runs 50K/12.5M

This past Wednesday, August 19th, Roberta MacInnis of the Houston Chronicle reported in an article titled, "Sunmart to stay... sort of: Ultra-distance event will go on without sponsor", the future of the ultra race formerly known as Sunmart.

What is intriguing is that there were several sponsorship offers for the race and yet perhaps none were thoroughly pursued. The new Texas Trail Run 50K and 12.5 Miler will take place on Saturday, December 5th, 2009, the traditional date of Sunmart, and will still take place at Huntsville State Park.

The new 12.5 Mile distance (one loop of the 50K course) will replace the traditional 50-Mile Run, in order to introduce new runners to trail racing. This is a bit disappointing, however, as the "Sunmart" 50-Mile usually produced a world-class field with world-class times.

However, the Rocky Raccoon event in February will still host an opportunity to attack the 50-Mile distance at Huntsville State Park.

HARRA at 2009 Summer National Senior Games

The 2009 Summer National Senior Games, presneted by Humana, took place this past week, August 1-15th in San Francisco, California, as HARRA Members Orville Kremmer (ALRC), Sabra Harvey (HS), and Kenneth Ruane competed in both the 5K and 10K Road Racing competitions.

• Sabra Harvey of the Houston Striders won GOLD in both the 5K and 10K in the F60-64 Age Group, running 19:55 and 41:58, respectively.


• Kenneth Ruane took SILVER in the M65-69 5K Road Race in 20:55, and earned the BRONZE in the M65-69 10K Road Race with a time of 44:46


• Orville Kremmer of the Al Lawrence Running Club captured GOLD in the M75-79 10K with a 54:44 performance, and placed 4th in the M75-79 5K in 26:08

Congratulations to all!

Outriggers 5K on the Bay Recap

HARRA Members were very visible at the 2009 Outriggers 5K on the Bay in Seabrook, sponsored by On the Run.

HARRA Member and Houston Tornado, Susie Walters, captured the 1st Overall Female title with a 19:28 clocking. Houston Master, Gerardo Mora, turned in the second fastest master's performance in the history of this event (formerly Maribelle's 5K), with his 16:28 victory.

Other HARRA Highlights in their respective Age Groups included BARRA Supervet, Lenord Burns, as he produced a minor upset over local legend and TTC Member, Ben Harvie, 20:39 to 21:23, respectively, in the 60-69 Male Age Group. Not to be out-done in his own right, was the iconic FLS Member, Ino Cantu, as he blitzed away to the 70-79 Male Age Group title with a stellar 23:26 performance.

On the Women's side, BARC Member Lauren Perkins captured the 20-29 Female category with her 22:14 run. Vera Balic reinforced BARC's presence by contributing the 30-39 Female category victory in 21:07. BCRR's Lara Allen surprisingly ran away with the 40-49 Female title, while her teammate, Kathleen Mahon, won the Female 50-59 title in 25:46. HMSA's Jo Ann Luco rounded out the age group titlists by claiming the 70-79 Female age group.