PAMAKID RUNNERS HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIES 1. Frank Alupay, McAteer HS 2. Danielle Bisho, St. Ignatius 3. Andy Chan, Lowell HS 4. Patrick Cunneen, Sacred Heart 5. Merick Dang, Carlmont HS 6. Brent Daniel, Harvard School 7. Kenley Gaffke, Port Hope HS 8. John Gieng, Lowell HS 9. Gino Giusti, Sacred Heart Cathedral 10. Stella Hall, St. Ignatius 11. Mark Hermano, Benet Academy 12. Steve Holcombe, Lincoln HS, Stockton 13. Peter Hoskow, La Follette HS 14. Keith Johnson, San Mateo HS 15. Anna Kurtz, Maine South HS 16. David Kurtz, Bonita HS 17. Christina Lay, Mission San Jose 18. Adam Lucas, Brookline HS 19. Justin Mikecz, Waukesha West HS 20. Simon Novich, Town School 21. Tomas Palermo, St. Francis HS 22. George Rehmet, St. Ignatius 23. Ashley Rodwick, Mary Institute & Country Day School 24. John Spriggs, El Cerrito HS 25. Malinda Walker, South Bay School Running Club 26. Paul Zager, Monterey Peninsula College Edited by Andy Chan, August 30, 2010 FRANK ALUPAY 1991 varsity pole‐vault champ (don't ask for the height, it's a little embarrassing)...SF public school champs go directly to the state meet. 1990 4 x 400 meter relay state meet alternate. Most valuable runner sophomore and senior year XC Most inspirational track sophomore, junior, and senior year (?) Favorite reason to go to the state meet was to go to Disneyland. HS track favorite events: pole vault, 300 meter hurdles, 800 meters also did: 65 meter hurdles, 4 x 100 meter relay, 4 x 400 meter relay, 400 meters, 3200 meters, long jump. Ran XC 4 years, wrestled 10‐12 grade, T&F 4 years, student council athletic VP I ran a lot in HS. Had to run 1‐2 hours before each wrestling match to make weight and I was already super‐skinny from XC. For some reason the coach thought I was more reliable at losing 15 pounds than for this other guy to lose one pound... I made weight every time, but barely. Times? I don't remember any. Editor’s Note: Frank’s high school, McAteer High School, sadly no longer exists. 1 DANIELLE BISHO I couldn't imagine my life if my high school, St. Ignatius had had tap dancing. See, I had tap danced since I was in kindergarten and was set on continuing this hobby in high school. So, I went to the first day of try‐outs only to discover thate th dance program was mostly jazz. I hated jazz dance. Very disappointed, I called a good friend who informed me that she went out for cross country that day and loved it. She strongly encouraged me to join. The very next day, I was running on Sunset Boulevard and although I'm sure it was painful (as I had never "just run" outside of other sports), I distinctly remember how fun it was: just chatting away with girls I knew from before and also quickly getting to know new girls. One memory that stands out vividly, no not to me, but to my dad, is the first time I ran Crystal Springs. Apparently, after the race I threw up and within minutes, looked at my dad and said "That was fun; I want to do it again!” Four years, a 19:23 (I think, Editor’s Note: 19:23 is correct) PR for Crystal Springs, and an 11:52 PR for the 3200 meters later, took me to the starting line at one of the cross country Girls Private School League (GPSL) races at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park (see picture). Notice the expressions on our faces. These intense looks accompanied a purpose. We were anticipating the intense competition we knew we would have with the Sacred Heart Cathedral Team, headed by their new Coach, Andy Chan. Oh yeah, and Shannon Rowbury was there too. Editor’s Note: The second picture is actually from Andy Chan’s SHC scrapbook. It’s more a photo of SHC runner, Francesca Cannata‐Bowman. But to Francesca’s right is a runner from SI named Danielle Bisho! 2 ANDY CHAN High School PR’s: 440 yards on a relay: 53.7 800: 2:05 1600: 4:43 5K (XC): 17:17 My favorite Lowell High School track team memory is from my senior year. The same four of us ran all the relays together – 4X400, 4X800, Distance Medley, and even some random ones like 4X330 yd relay and 4X660 yd relay. We were known as the Four Horsemen (John Polony, Kelsey Siegel, Dixon Ly, and me). The other three all started out as sprinters and moved up to distance. Our best event was the 4X800. The 1989 track season was amazing….I absolutely loved Saturday meet days when we got to compete. Every Monday, I would go to practice and say to myself, “If I can get through this workout, there will only be four more days until Saturday.” My best high school cross country race was All‐City 1988. Most of the season I was our team’s #3‐5 runner. The battle for the top 3 spots (there were trophies for top 3) was between me, a kid from McAteer, and three underclassmen teammates. I really wanted to end my Lowell cross country career with a trophy from All‐City. For weeks leading up to the race I nwould liste to Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time” before I went to sleep and visualize the race. When race day came it was pouring rain but I was in the “zone.” I ended up running the race of my life…maybe the wind, mud, rain, and cold were my advantage. There was a pack of seven of us after about 1.5 miles. Slowly people started dropping off. With ¾ miles to go, I was in 3rd place. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. I remember a teammate jumping up and down and pointing to the McAteer runner in 2nd place and telling me I could catch him. As I entered the Polo Fields I started kicking and moved up one place to come in 2nd. To this day when I hear “One Moment In Time”, I see Speedway Meadow with the rain falling diagonally as I approach the entrance to the Polo Fields. 3 PATRICK CUNNEEN When I attended Sacred Heart ('51) (now Sacred Heart Cathedral) we had no track team let alone a cross country team. Our 120 lb. basketball team did win the City AAA Championship under the legendary coach "China" (never call him Elwood) Lang. But that is not running per se. Approaching "Geezerhood" after running a few years I picked up four golds in the Senior Division (40 yrs.+) CA Fire Fighters Olympics held in Newport Beach, CA in 1975. At 42 years old my times were: 880 yards‐2:19:06, 1 mile‐4:56:04, 2 mile‐11:20:02, 10,000 meters‐36:28:06. On the track at that time they didn't use meters except for the 10,000. One nice thing is that I will always hold the CA Senior Fire Fighters mile record because they don't use the mile distance anymore. In the first World Police and Fire Games held in San Jose, CA in 1985, at 52 years old, I picked up a gold in the Grand Master Division (50 yrs+) in the 1500 meters (4:58:00). But you know, there were so many other foot races, swims and triathlons where I won or lost to anyone (young, old, male, female) that are also great memories. Racing is the icing on the cake. Now I shuffle along at 13 minute miles but am grateful. 4 MERICK DANG Hi, to those who don’t know me, my name is Merick Dang. I am 16 years old and I have been running with Pamakids for 8 years. Pamakids is the reason I have been running competitively, since I joined, I was encouraged to join my middle school XC team, and now rI run fo my high school cross country team (Carlmont High School). Though difficult at first, now I find running to be very fun. I think running is a great reliever, running outside and seeing the outdoors really allows me to find the beauty in nature, which many people have strived throughout the years to preserve. Seeing the occasional squirrel or the shocking snake by the roadside or trail really helps me relieve my stress. So I, as they say knock two birds with one stone, relieve and strengthen myself. After the first or second mile, I find my groove and it feels like I can go for miles; the feeling of nothing in my mind coincides with the action going on around me and my heart races for more. The feeling of euphoria and awe blows my mind and tingles my being. Running wasn’t something that I just decided to do, my mom was always yelling at me to get out and run. I found her form of encouragement frightening yet efficient, because it worked and it still does. Though now I don’t get the yelling too much, now it has transformed to a foreboding warning of being a couch potato with no strength to run 100 yards. My youth told me that I didn’t need to heed these warnings, and I suffered. Come cross country season, I would sometimes find myself straggling and struggling behind my peers. I would have to play catch up, and I wouldn’t find running so fun then, but it would remind to stay in shape for next season.