Local cyclist wins race category at Marymoor Velodrome

Kirkland resident Brandon Schumacher, 15, recently won the Junior A category at the Marymoor Velodrome for 2010. A sophomore at Inglemoor High School, he races for First Rate Mortgage Cycling team. The junior races took place every Monday night from June through August. The teams race on single speed bikes without brakes in groups of up to 20 riders. Schumacher finished with 108 points this season.

Girls on the Run needs volunteers coaches for fall session

The Girls on the Run of Puget Sounds is looking for volunteer head and assistant coaches for the fall session, which run from Sept. 28 through Dec. 4.

Coaches help guide group of girls, ranging from third through fifth grade, in an easy to follow curriculum using active games to teach about healthy lifestyles. The program trains girls for a non-competitive 5 kilometer race at the end of the session.

Volunteers have to be available during after school hours, and the program meets twice a week after school, in the 3 to 5 p.m. timeframe. Coaches must attend every practice. Each site has two to four coaches, typically one head coach and assistant coaches as needed. All head coaches must be 21-years or older, while assistant coaches need to be at least 16.

Interested parties need to submit an application, and attend a one-hour group interview, along with a six-hour training, as well as consent to a background check. Contact Amber Swim at amber@girlsrun.org and visit www.girlsrun.org/coaching for more information.

Girls on the Run is a non-profit organization aiming to encourage preteen girls to develop healthy lifestyles and self-respect through running.

Kirkland native defends half marathon title this weekend in Philly

Kirkland native Ryan Hall won last year’s Philadelphia Distance Run with a time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 52 seconds, to be the first American born runner to do so in 23 years. The racer had gone into the event thinking it would be a prep race for marathons in Chicago or Boston.

Now Hall will try and defend that title during his second trip to Philadelphia for the race this weekend. The race, which starts Sunday morning, will feature 18,600 other runners.

In 2008 Hall won the marathon in the Olympic trials, and was an American record holder in the half marathon event, running it in 59:43 in 2007. That same year he ran the London Marathon, taking seventh overall with a 2:08.24 race. The next year he finished the London race in fifth place with a time of 2:06.17.