2000 - 2004
2000 (Sue Johnston, President)
January 2000 got of to a quick and successful start with our annual meeting held at Fort?, where Dawn Eggerts was awarded the much coveted Stockton Cup for her outstanding all around Impala participation as former race director, vice president, Nike rep for our team and excellent racer. Other events in January included the USATF Banquet at which the Impalas were rewarded with a clean sweep fo the Grand Prix Circuit-Open, Masters, Seniors, and Super Seniors, roads and Cross Country!!! We needed a truck to take home all of the hardware.
At the end of the month we were saddened to lose our super Co-Coach Tim Fitzpatrick who assisted Mike so successfully over the last two years.
Since 2000 was an Olympic year, we were proud to send Diana Fitzpatrick, Lisbet Sunshine and Holly Hagerman to the Olympic Marathon Trials in South Carolina in February. In spite of unprecedented heat, they persevered and ran excellent races under the Impala blue. A star of another kind emerged by the name of Donna Davis, who underwent serious surgery to donate a kidney to her twin brother.
The end of the first quarter saw the departure of head coach Mike Fanelli, who had coached us so successfully over much of the last decade. We were sad to see him go but our coaching committee, led by Kathi Berman brought us two new coaches to fill the void: Brian McGuire and Jason Karp. Their experience and sound recommendations made for a seamless transition and we were soon training hard with Big Sur in mind. Seventeen Impalas led the charge in Carmel and came home with honors.
In May we again fielded two centipedes for Bay to Breakers and once again narrowly missed beating the dreaded Aggies. Meanwhile some of our triathletes started the season in style competing in the Wildflower and Escape from Alcatraz Triís- Michelle Deasy, Tory Valentine, Kate Sweetman, Ashley Joy, Rachel Sears, Shelagh Sayers, Maggie Fillmore, and Mary Gleason. Seniors, Eve Pell and Jane Coleman proved that age is mostly a state of mind. Eve was inducted into the Dipsea Hall of Fame for her years of outstanding competition, and Jane ran the incomparable Comrades Marathon (87.3 km) in South Africa.
July and August were building months as we worked to prepare for the fall season. It was also a month of volunteering beginning with the water station at the SF Marathon, chaired by Marie Appel, and ending with a volunteer day at the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk, chaired by Peggy Lavelle and her right hand lady, Kate Sweetman.
We continued to do volunteer work at the Peak Hike for Breast Cancer on Mt. Tam in September. We also took some time for fun at a Labor Day Picnic in Marin. This event followed the annual Pac Sun 10k which was chaired by new member, Pam Hayes. It was also the kick off of the Cross Country season and Tia Rosen, organizer, put together a fast and feisty group who led the season opener in winning style. Assistant Coach, Jason Karp bid his farewells to the Impalas in September due to an educational and career opportunity that he could not pass. Although we were sad to have Jason leave sooner than anyone had planned, we were excited about the pool of candidates we had at our fingertips from our recent efforts in hire coaches. The board worked closely with Head Coach Brian McGuire and we excitedly invited Tony Coffey to assist Brian with the Impala force.
By October, our racing efforts indicated that the Impalas were leading the Grand Prix Series in roads and cross country at the Open, Masters and Seniors levels. Highlights of the month were the annual retreat to Humboldt to run the half marathon and a visit ot the team by local Olympic track star, Regina Jacobs.
Winding up the year in November and December found Tory Valentine a Mt. Bike star and Xterra Champion, and Rachel Sears with a trip to France to compete in the Duathelon International Championships. Senior Jessie Stratton ran a marathon a month to celebrate the millennium.
In addition to all the outstanding racing and volunteering this year, pro-active Impalas led the city in efforts to get better lighting and protection of women runners in Golden Gate Park and began work on a project to bring the Olympics to San Francisco in 2012, numerous Impalas helped train new runners to run their first marathon for charities such as breast cancer, and arthritis.
During the year several new women put on the Impala blue; Sara Gigliotti, Pam Hayes, Stephanie Morris, Karen Ribble, and Kathy Collins have been excellent new additions to our team.
Besides all of the above, several Impala women gave birth, bringing new baby Impalas to our great family; Terry Quan, Peggy Lavelle, Cheryl Kruse-Shwe, and Jen O'Reilly proved that Impala women have it all.
Let it not be said that the beginning of a new century caught the Impalas napping.
January 2000 got of to a quick and successful start with our annual meeting held at Fort?, where Dawn Eggerts was awarded the much coveted Stockton Cup for her outstanding all around Impala participation as former race director, vice president, Nike rep for our team and excellent racer. Other events in January included the USATF Banquet at which the Impalas were rewarded with a clean sweep fo the Grand Prix Circuit-Open, Masters, Seniors, and Super Seniors, roads and Cross Country!!! We needed a truck to take home all of the hardware.
At the end of the month we were saddened to lose our super Co-Coach Tim Fitzpatrick who assisted Mike so successfully over the last two years.
Since 2000 was an Olympic year, we were proud to send Diana Fitzpatrick, Lisbet Sunshine and Holly Hagerman to the Olympic Marathon Trials in South Carolina in February. In spite of unprecedented heat, they persevered and ran excellent races under the Impala blue. A star of another kind emerged by the name of Donna Davis, who underwent serious surgery to donate a kidney to her twin brother.
The end of the first quarter saw the departure of head coach Mike Fanelli, who had coached us so successfully over much of the last decade. We were sad to see him go but our coaching committee, led by Kathi Berman brought us two new coaches to fill the void: Brian McGuire and Jason Karp. Their experience and sound recommendations made for a seamless transition and we were soon training hard with Big Sur in mind. Seventeen Impalas led the charge in Carmel and came home with honors.
In May we again fielded two centipedes for Bay to Breakers and once again narrowly missed beating the dreaded Aggies. Meanwhile some of our triathletes started the season in style competing in the Wildflower and Escape from Alcatraz Triís- Michelle Deasy, Tory Valentine, Kate Sweetman, Ashley Joy, Rachel Sears, Shelagh Sayers, Maggie Fillmore, and Mary Gleason. Seniors, Eve Pell and Jane Coleman proved that age is mostly a state of mind. Eve was inducted into the Dipsea Hall of Fame for her years of outstanding competition, and Jane ran the incomparable Comrades Marathon (87.3 km) in South Africa.
July and August were building months as we worked to prepare for the fall season. It was also a month of volunteering beginning with the water station at the SF Marathon, chaired by Marie Appel, and ending with a volunteer day at the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk, chaired by Peggy Lavelle and her right hand lady, Kate Sweetman.
We continued to do volunteer work at the Peak Hike for Breast Cancer on Mt. Tam in September. We also took some time for fun at a Labor Day Picnic in Marin. This event followed the annual Pac Sun 10k which was chaired by new member, Pam Hayes. It was also the kick off of the Cross Country season and Tia Rosen, organizer, put together a fast and feisty group who led the season opener in winning style. Assistant Coach, Jason Karp bid his farewells to the Impalas in September due to an educational and career opportunity that he could not pass. Although we were sad to have Jason leave sooner than anyone had planned, we were excited about the pool of candidates we had at our fingertips from our recent efforts in hire coaches. The board worked closely with Head Coach Brian McGuire and we excitedly invited Tony Coffey to assist Brian with the Impala force.
By October, our racing efforts indicated that the Impalas were leading the Grand Prix Series in roads and cross country at the Open, Masters and Seniors levels. Highlights of the month were the annual retreat to Humboldt to run the half marathon and a visit ot the team by local Olympic track star, Regina Jacobs.
Winding up the year in November and December found Tory Valentine a Mt. Bike star and Xterra Champion, and Rachel Sears with a trip to France to compete in the Duathelon International Championships. Senior Jessie Stratton ran a marathon a month to celebrate the millennium.
In addition to all the outstanding racing and volunteering this year, pro-active Impalas led the city in efforts to get better lighting and protection of women runners in Golden Gate Park and began work on a project to bring the Olympics to San Francisco in 2012, numerous Impalas helped train new runners to run their first marathon for charities such as breast cancer, and arthritis.
During the year several new women put on the Impala blue; Sara Gigliotti, Pam Hayes, Stephanie Morris, Karen Ribble, and Kathy Collins have been excellent new additions to our team.
Besides all of the above, several Impala women gave birth, bringing new baby Impalas to our great family; Terry Quan, Peggy Lavelle, Cheryl Kruse-Shwe, and Jen O'Reilly proved that Impala women have it all.
Let it not be said that the beginning of a new century caught the Impalas napping.
2001 (Brian McGuire, Coach)
The year 2001 was yet another successful and interesting odyssey for team Impala.
The year was highlighted by the masters women winning both team and top individual honors at the USATF fall cross country championships in Mobile, Alabama, with Sara Freitas and Carol Keller placing first and second to lead the Impala charge.
The Impalas earned a complete team sweep of the Pacific Association USATF cross country grand prix in all three divisions; and Pacific Association road grand prix titles in both the masters and senior divisions, with the open squad placing second to Adidas Transports after a close, season-long battle.
Individually, Michelle Hannaford finished second in the Pacific Association cross country standings, Carol Keller repeated as masters grand prix champion, with 1999 champ Sara Freitas third, and Mo Bartley fourth. In the senior division, Sharlet Gilbert, recently returned to Impaladom, won the grand prix. In the super seniors division, Eve Pell finished third and Mary Walsh fourth.
Out on the roads, Diana Fitzpatrick came on strong at the end of the year to nail down second in the open long-course grand prix of the Pacific Association road series, while Michelle Hannaford took eighth in the long-course grand prix and sixth in the short-course. Diana won the masters road grand prix, with Carol Keller third and Sara Freitas seventh. In the seniors division, Jessie Stratton took second, with Irene Herman sixth in the PA grand prix. Louise Walters finished sixth in the super senior division of the PA road circuit.
Of course, 2001 was much more than a list of results. As usual, Impalas were busy putting on fund-raisers, doing volunteer work for charity drives, throwing team parties, and embarking on road trips. Special kudos to Jill Gisvold, for organizing the annual garage sale, held at Irene Herman’s house; Sara Gigliotti for spearheading the Avon 3-day walk for breast cancer volunteer efforts; Marie Appel for organizing the Impala aid station at the SF marathon; Francine Nunley for captaining the cross country team, which included organizing the team picnic after the Golden Gate Park Open, and teaming up with Carol to organize the road trip to New Orleans; Eliza Harding, for putting together the highly-successful silent-bid auction at the Impala Holiday party.
Six Impalas made the journey to Boston for the 2001 Boston marathon: Michelle Duron, Angie Akers, Lou Walters, Dana Farber, Sue Franco, and Carla Silver. Michelle led the charge, finishing in 3:13:43. A few weeks later, a large group of Impalas teamed up with some of the other top runners in the Bay Area, united under the banner of Red Hook (thanks to Pete O’Reilly for the sponsorship) for the Bay to Breakers centipede competition. In a close and spirited competition, the Red Hook squad bested the Reebok Aggies to win the competition.
Versatility has always been an Impala trademark, witness the events of June 10, 2001. On that Sunday, seven Impalas competed in the 91st Annual Dipsea in Mill Valley, while six more Impalas were braving the icy waters of the SF bay in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Diana Fitzpatrick, Eve Pell, Cheryl Shwe, Jennifer Maxwell, Tia Rosen, Michelle Hannaford, and Charlotte Ito were the Dipsea competitors, with Diana taking seventh overall, and Michelle winning the non-seeded division. In the Escape, Rachel Sears, Ashley Joy, Shelagh Sayers, Michelle Dodd, Mary Gleason, and Nelda Williams all participated, with Rachel finishing in 2:37, first in her age group, and Ashley finishing in 2:38, second in her age-group.
Rachel, one of many multi-sport standouts competing for the Impalas went overseas in September to win the gold medal for women aged 25-29 at the ITU Rimini (Italy) Duathlon World Championships. It was the last amateur competition for Rachel, who earned her professional cards for triathlons and duathlons before leaving for Italy.
In October, Kate Sweetman went to Kona to compete in the grandmother of all triathlons, the Ironman Hawaii. There, Kate overcame tough weather conditions (high winds) to finish 13th in her age-group, in a time of 11:48:54. A few weeks later, Irene Herman traveled to New York for the NYC marathon, which had special poignancy given the events of Sept. 11th. Irene struggled over the last few miles in Central Park, but was buoyed by the cheering of teammate Kathi Berman and was able to hold on until an emotional finish at the end of the 26.2 miles.
The Impalas finished 2001 in a flurry of excitement.
At the PA cross country championships on a warm November morning, the usual large number of Impalas swelled the women’s field to 156 runners, including top runners from Southern California and the Nike Farm Team. Michelle Hannaford was the top Impala finisher, doubling back only a week after Clarksburg to finish 13th in the loaded field. Kristen Koppes, ailing with an infection, held on for 20th place, just ahead of Sophie Hartshorn. Sara Freitas finished second in the masters division, just ahead of Carol Keller, who finished third.
A few weeks later, Impalas were spread all over the map, literally and figuratively.
While eleven Impalas boarded planes to head to Mobile for the USATF cross country championships, an equally large number bunkered down in Sacramento for the California International Marathon. While the Mobile crew had to survive Hurricane conditions (wink, wink) on New Orleans’ Bourbon street, the marathon crew overcame Monsoon conditions to post numerous impressive performances at CIM.
The Impalas wrapped up the competitive season with a victory at the Christmas Relays, with the quartet of Janet Bowie, Louise Tench, Michelle Hannaford, and Sophie Hartshorn taking first in a combined time of 1:49:31. Impalas also took first in the masters division with a team comprised of Suzanne Cordes, Sara Freitas, Eileen Brennan-Erler and Carol Keller.
2001 was a year that showed off the Impalas renowned depth, with a changing cast of characters stepping up throughout the year to carry the team effort. 2001 was a great year for new additions to the Impala fold. Kristen Koppes, Sophie Hartshorn, Chris Nooney, Marisa Daniel, Brandi Page, Mo Bartley, and Sharlet Gilbert were all vital additions to the team, helping to keep alive that special Impala energy.
Not to mention the weekly synergy produced at the Tuesday night Kezar track workouts and Saturday workouts in Golden Gate Park.
The 2001 Stockton Cup was awarded to Michelle Hannaford. Michelle’s unbounded energy and enthusiasm, the quality of her racing, her willingness to travel great distances from her home in Redding to don the Impala blue, were all factors in her receiving this prestigious award.
Impalas came and went in the year 2001. Some went to Washington D.C., some went to Europe, some went to Asia. Some Impalas stepped off the track to give birth, others returned from childbirth, several celebrated weddings. Throughout the carousel of changing events there was always the constant: the support of friendship, the challenge of fierce competition, the laughter, joy, and well-earned sweat that are all part of the Impala experience.
2002 (Tony Coffey, Assistant Coach)
The year 2002 began with the Impalas setting forth as a goal recapturing the Pacific Association open road grand prix. With big wins in the final three road events of the season, the Impalas pulled away from the competition to grab the title. In fact, they made it a clean sweep of the open, masters, and seniors titles in both roads and cross-country. These weren't the only team honors this year either. The Impalas finished as 9th open women's team at the Boston Marathon in April. Several Impalas participated on the winning Red Hook Brewery centipede at Bay-to-Breakers in May. Meanwhile, in harrier action, the Impala open team took 3rd place medals at the Western Regional Cross-Country Championships in November and the Impala masters team took 2nd place honors at the Fall National Cross-Country Championships in December.
There were several individual Impalas who had standout years as well. Diana Fitzpatrick finished 2nd in both open long and masters road grand prix of the Pacific Association, highlighted by a masters-winning 2:50 at the California International Marathon. Impala president Carol Keller raced well and often, winning the masters cross-country grand prix for the third straight year and finishing 3rd on the roads. Carol also combined with Mo Bartley and Francine Nunley to capture the masters team title at the Carlsbad 5K. Sara Freitas defended her fall national masters cross-country title with a runner-up finish at this year's event, while finishing 3rd in the masters grand prix. Michelle Hannaford began the year finishing 9th in the Las Vegas Marathon in a PR 2:52 and closed the year with a 2nd place in the open cross-country grand prix, earning herself a trip to the Winter National Championships in Houston. Sara Gigliotti and Karen Ribble logged plenty of frequent flier miles, accepting invitations to Japan for the Osaka City Half Marathon and to New York for the JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge National Championship, with a second place team finish at the latter. Kristen Koppes ran a PR 34:23 track 10K at the prestigious Stanford Invitational in March and had a tremendous cross-country season, highlighted by a 10th place finish at the Western Regional meet. Home-schooled teenager, Teresa McWalters, had a fabulous debut cross-country season with the Impalas, capped by a 6th place finish at the Western Regionals, believed to equal the highest finish ever by an Impala in that competition. But the youngsters didn't have all the fun, as several seniors impressed as well. New Impala, Melinda Morse, took the road grand prix title and was given an honorable mention by Running Times magazine as one of the top runners in the country in the 50-54 age group. Fellow seniors, Maggie Fillmore and Irene Herman, took 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the cross-country grand prix, while super-senior Suzanne Franco took 3rd in the road grand prix for that division.
The year was also one of transition for the Impalas. Two long-serving Impalas, Dawn Eggerts and outgoing-president Carol Keller, relocated to other cities in pursuit of new professional challenges. Their spirit and dedication will be missed. On the positive side, Carol's term as president was marked by a commitment to attracting talented young runners to the team. This indeed bore fruit in 2002, with the addition of promising Impalas like Tara Hillier, Ana Martinez, Leti Arroyo, Flora Lee, and several others. Other Impalas took time off to give birth during the year. Joining the ranks of Impala moms were Stephanie Magsanay, Stephanie Morris, Carla Silver, Kim Hunter, Kathi Berman and Chris Nooney. We look forward to their return to racing in 2003. Finally, the prestigious Stockton Cup was awarded to Carol Keller, in recognition for everything she has done for the Impalas…competing, leading, organizing, recruiting, and inspiring.The Impalas continue to remain as active as ever in community service. At the annual survivor banquet for the Bay Area Breast Cancer Fund, the Impalas were honored with an "All Star" award for continued financial support to the organization. In July the Impalas maintained their tradition of maintaining the best-supported water station at the San Francisco Marathon. The year closed with the annual Impala Christmas party, organized by Eliza Harding and Jill Baker, at Timo's in San Francisco. The annual Silent Auction held at the party raised just under $2000, half of which is earmarked for breast cancer research. The evening marked the end of a highly successful year, with the promise of even greater achievement in the year ahead.
