California Track & Running News Apr-June 2013, VOLUME 39 NUMBER 2 | Page 25

CTRN-APR-JUNE_2013--1_Layout 1 4/24/13 8:18 AM Page 25 PA/USATF LDR News [email protected] Pacific Association/USATF conducted its annual Long Distance Running Awards Banquet on Feb. 17, honoring the outstanding individual athletes, teams, and volunteers who participated in the four 2012 PA/USATF LDR Grand Prix circuits (short LDR, long LDR, cross country, and ultrarunning. The banquet was held at the Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery & Restaurant in Berkeley and was organized and hosted by PA/USATF’s Impala Racing Team, an elite development running club composed of all women, founded in 1979, and based in San Francisco. Almost 100 PA/USATF athletes, coaches, officials, and their friends and families attended. About 80 trophies and plaques were awarded to top performers. Attendees were treated to presentations by two keynote speakers. Lisbet Sunshine, a member of the Impalas and veteran of five U.S. Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials races, spoke about the challenges and rewards of training up to 80 miles per week and competing at a high level, while raising three children and working full-time as a high-powered director of government relations at San Francisco State University. Lisbet also talked about the importance of goalsetting and having a support network (such as the PA) to help realize these goals. Then Dena Evans colorfully shared some of her extensive experiences in the sport. Evans is a self-described “soccer mom with a serious running coaching habit.” She was an NCAA Division I Cross Country Coach of the Year while at Stanford University and currently directs the New Balance Silicon Valley Running Club. Evans, who was recently app