My Reno running mate, Rachel Atchley, won the W45 age group at the California International Marathon (CIM) yesterday. Her time of 03:08:48 is a personal best. “I survived and I’m very happy. It was so cold and we had a head wind. My goal was to break 3.10, but you never know what sort of day you’re going to have. Luckily I didn’t cramp up, that’s my biggest fear. I got a few twinges at 23 miles and was thinking, please no…”

Rachel drove straight back to Reno, which was pretty smart. A huge snow storm hit the area yesterday and it’s dumped 29 inches so far. Looks like we won’t be hitting the roads for quite a while.

So Rachel wasn’t aware that she’d won her age group until a friend called this morning. “The funny thing is that I was battling with this woman in the last few miles. We kept passing each other. I wasn’t sure what age group she was in. When I got in front again I thought now just hold on.”

It was a close with Christien Di Stefano just behind Rachel in 3:09:06.

Rachel runs her long runs with a group of younger guys, ages 34-36, and was first home in the training group. “It’s always fun when you beat your friends. They’re saying, we’ll beat you next time. So the challenge is on!”

Good luck guys, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Rachel’s one running machine!

Congrats Rachel and I’ll see you on the treadmill.

First woman was Buzunesh Deba, 22, from Ethiopia, in 2:32:17.
Click here for the full results of the California Marathon.