California Track & Running News July-Aug 2013, VOLUME 39 NUMBER 3 | Page 27

Dave Waco

the daughter of two-time Olympian Matt Centrowitz (and sister of Matthew)—competed in
her first PA/USATF championship event.
And what did Melody-Anne Schultz have to
say about her pending W70–74 record-breaking
performance, which bettered the 24:35 mark (set
by multiple age-group record-holder Barbara
Miller at this race last year) by 13 seconds?
“I thoroughly enjoyed the race,” she commented. “I liked the downhill going out. By the
time I got to the ‘supposedly’ uphill section, I was
ready to start racing. When you’ve trained for
races like the Dipsea, that uphill doesn’t seem like
much.” (Editor’s Note-—Schultz won the age- and
sex-handicapped Dipsea race over Mt. Tamalpais
in 1991, 2003, and 2006).
Thanks to race director Dena Evans and New
Balance Silicon Valley for hosting a superb firstyear event to benefit Playworks Silicon Valley, a
nonprofit organization that provides safe, healthy
and inclusive play and physical activity to low-income schools.

Chelsea Reilly and Brian Pilcher
each set records at the Marin
Memorial Day 10K.

Melody-Anne Schultz added a
title in the women’s 70+ division
at the Marin Memorial Day race.
Pam Wendell

July–August 2013 • ct&rn
27

Marin Memorial Day 10K
Kentfield; May 27
Chris Chavez successfully defended his men’s title
at this popular 36th annual Memorial Day fixture,
where he has finished among the top five in the
past six years. But the really big stories on a
sparkling spring morning punctuated by a few
clouds were a new women’s race record by
Chelsea Reilly and a U.S. record-bettering performance by age-group ace Brian Pilcher.
“I love the Marin Memorial Day 10K because
it’s well organized and draws a lot of good competition from the PA/USATF [road racing] circuit,”
said Chavez (Menlo Park), reflecting the feelings
of many racers who have competed at this venerable event organized by the Tamalpa Runners.
“That quality could be seen again this morning
when we toed the line.”
A front pack of about half a dozen men proceeded through the initial miles in tactical fashion
over the flat-and-fast course that proceeds
through tidy Marin County neighborhoods in
Kentfield and Ross and finishes on the College of
Marin track. At about 31⁄2 miles, Chavez took a tentative lead, hoping to string out the pack. They
covered his move.
“My goals weren’t too lofty going into the
race. I just wanted to be competitive,” Chavez related. “My running has been consistent since the
LA Marathon, but I’ve been sidetracked the last
few weeks completing my MBA at UC Berkeley.”
Chavez placed eighth at the ASICS LA
Marathon last March 17 in 2:19:21.
2012 Cal Poly SLO graduate Brandon Shirck
took the lead just before 4 miles on the Corte
Madera Creek bike/pedestrian path. Chavez took
the lead again at 4.5 miles, proceeded through the
8K timed split at 24:21, and held on for a 30:15 victory, identically matching his 2012 winning time.
Alex Varner (second, 30:29, San Rafael) and Shirck
(third, 30:38) were next. Todd Rose (age 40, San

Francisco) won the
masters 40-and-over
age-group crown in
33:04.
Chelsea Reilly
(Berkeley) is off to a
great season in her
second year as a professional since graduating from UC
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