Three Generations from One Family at MVTC ... - Colorado Runner
Three Generations from One Family at MVTC ... - Colorado Runner
Three Generations from One Family at MVTC ... - Colorado Runner
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USATF New Mexico...<br />
<strong>Three</strong> <strong>Gener<strong>at</strong>ions</strong> <strong>from</strong> <strong>One</strong><br />
<strong>Family</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>MVTC</strong> Tri<strong>at</strong>hlon<br />
<strong>MVTC</strong> Tri<strong>at</strong>hlon<br />
5K Run/25K Bike/500m Swim<br />
April 2, 2006<br />
Las Cruces, NM<br />
<strong>Three</strong> gener<strong>at</strong>ions <strong>from</strong> one family in<br />
the same event… th<strong>at</strong> must certainly say something<br />
about the popularity of the event; its good<br />
reput<strong>at</strong>ion, well established, well managed, etc.<br />
But it says much more about the participants.<br />
And there is a p<strong>at</strong>tern. Most of today’s older<br />
by NM LDR Chair Don Shepan<br />
<strong>at</strong>hletes made a dram<strong>at</strong>ic change<br />
in lifestyle somewhere in the<br />
past. They were not the best <strong>at</strong>hletes<br />
in any one sport, but mediocre<br />
in many of them. And not<br />
in best of shape <strong>at</strong> the time they<br />
made a monumental decision to<br />
get involved.<br />
Jim Lilley, (78) <strong>from</strong> Roswell,<br />
NM, admits to all of the<br />
above. As advice to others, he<br />
says to start the good life sooner.<br />
Do not start <strong>at</strong> four packs of cigarettes<br />
per day. Train regularly.<br />
Train diligently. Find others to<br />
join you. Form a club. Hold a<br />
competitive event. (Sounds like<br />
a coach.) He was one of those,<br />
too.<br />
Seven of Jim’s ten offspring<br />
are runners today. It is small<br />
wonder th<strong>at</strong> a son and grandson<br />
joined Jim <strong>at</strong> the Mesilla Valley<br />
Track Club Tri<strong>at</strong>hlon on April 2,<br />
a sprint tri<strong>at</strong>hlon consisting of a<br />
5K Run, 25K Bike, and 500 meter<br />
Swim. Jim was <strong>at</strong> the club’s<br />
inaugural event. Jim was <strong>at</strong> the<br />
inaugural event of the Burn Lake<br />
Tri<strong>at</strong>hlon, another Las Cruces<br />
event. His presence has been<br />
noted in the early history of most local events.<br />
The picture says the rest: Jim, (78),<br />
1st in his 75-79 age-group, a time of 2:08:32;<br />
son, Jess (39), 6th in his 35-39 age-group, with a<br />
time of 1:20:08; and grandson, Joshua, (13), 3rd<br />
place finisher in his 16 & under age-group with<br />
a time of 1:47:26.<br />
The second photo shows the highly<br />
competitive 30-34 Male Age-group: Left: Alberto<br />
Lugo (34) El Paso TX, 1st with a time<br />
of 1:06:27; Center: Danny Montoya (33) Las<br />
Cruces NM, 2nd with a time of 1:06:33; Right:<br />
Esteban Lopez (31) El Paso TX, with a time<br />
1:09:40. No other age-group finished so tightly<br />
packed together.<br />
1:25:11. 60-64: 1. Barry Field, 61, Albuquerque, NM, 1:22:20; 2.<br />
Flip Lyle, 61, El Paso, TX, 1:24:42; 3. Richard Kelly, 60, El Paso,<br />
TX, 1:35:46. 65-69: 1. John LeRoy, 69, Las Cruces, NM, 1:21:13.<br />
70-74: 1. J Mack Adams, 73, Las Cruces, NM, 1:39:26. 75-79: 1.<br />
Jim Lilley, 78, Roswell, NM, 2:08:31. Clydesdale Less Than 40:<br />
1. Brian Steinbach, 35, El Paso, TX, 1:20:47; 2. Cody Hanson,<br />
31, Santa Fe, NM, 1:22:06; 3. Shea Dawson, 23, Las Cruces,<br />
NM, 1:22:26. Clydesdale 40 & Over: 1. Brian Pilgrim, 40, Rio<br />
Rancho, NM, 1:16:49; 2. Felix Hinojosa, 48, El Paso, TX, 1:20:53;<br />
3. Allison Stout, 49, Las Cruces, NM, 1:46:54. Female (Overall):<br />
1. Kristin Moriarty, 28, Albuquerque, NM, 1:14:54.37. 20-24: 1.<br />
Amber Miller, 23, Las Cruces, NM, 1:17:32; 2. Perla Retana, 22,<br />
El Paso, TX, 1:24:10; 3. Lauren Thompson, 20, Albuquerque, NM,<br />
1:26:50. 25-29: 1. Liz Jaramillo, 27, Las Cruces, NM, 1:22:57; 2.<br />
Jayne Margolin, 25, Socorro, NM, 1:28:13; 3. Carolina Carreon,<br />
27, El Paso, TX, 1:29:30. 30-34: 1. Julie Ford, 33, Socorro, NM,<br />
1:22:09; 2. Shannon Pederson, 32, Las Cruces, NM, 1:35:10; 3.<br />
Aysegul Birand, 32, Las Cruces, NM, 1:37:12. 35-39: 1. Brittany<br />
Strobel, 35, Albuquerque, NM, 1:26:15; 2. Kerry Buehler, 37, Albuquerque,<br />
NM, 1:28:21; 3. Terry Hijar, 38, Albuquerque, NM,<br />
1:37:22. 40-44: 1. Cristina Macias, 41, El Paso, TX, 1:19:20; 2.<br />
Laura Bernal, 44, El Paso, TX, 1:25:36. 45-49: 1. Dorothy Dare,<br />
46, Silver City, NM, 1:28:23; 2. Naomi Finson, 46, Albuquerque,<br />
NM, 1:29:02; 3. Mary Wells, 46, Las Cruces, NM, 1:29:42. 50-<br />
54: 1. Terry L<strong>at</strong>ham, 51, Albuquerque, NM, 1:18:57; 2. Barbara<br />
Rivers, 53, Albuquerque, NM, 1:29:47; 3. Jill Janss, 53, El Paso,<br />
TX, 1:35:06. 55-59: 1. Colleen Burns, 57, McIntosh, NM, 1:27:25;<br />
2. Mariana Vilorio, 55, El Paso, TX, 1:43:23; 3. Rheda Brown,<br />
55, Socorro, NM, 1:58:03. 60-64: 1. Carole Cook, 62, El Paso,<br />
TX, 1:41:35; 2. Colette Meltzer, 60, Las Cruces, NM, 1:42:28.13.<br />
Athena 40 & Over: 1. Helen Crane, 48, Alpine, TX, 1:39:31; 2.<br />
Misty Pilgrim, 41, Rio Rancho, NM, 1:56:38.54. Relay Male 39 &<br />
Under: 1. Ronny Eckles, 17, El Paso, TX & P<strong>at</strong>rick Gailey, 16, El<br />
Paso, TX, 1:20:37.49. Female 39 & Under: 1. Savannah Pierson,<br />
22, Las Cruces, NM & Leah Geer, 21, Las Cruces, NM, 1:38:57;<br />
2. Darcy Riley, 31, Las Cruces, NM & Gabriela Perez, 16, Las<br />
Cruces, NM, 1:57:31. Female 40 & Ove:r 1. Lynn Bagwell, 40,<br />
Dona Ana, NM & Corinne Steele, 51, Las Cruces, NM, 1:35:37.<br />
CoEd 39 & Under: 1. Shannon Appleg<strong>at</strong>e, 23, Las Cruces, NM<br />
& K<strong>at</strong>rina Mackrain, 34, Las Cruces, NM, 1:40:45. CoEd 40 &<br />
Over: 1. Jason Strauch, 42, Albuquerque, NM & Karen Soloman,<br />
38, Albuquerque, NM, 1:10:21; 2. Luis Martinez, 51, Las Cruces,<br />
NM & Jane Greek, 51, Las Cruces, NM, 1:46:35.<br />
Male (Overall): 1. Shaun Burns, 28, Albuquerque, NM, 1:06:05.09.<br />
16 & Under: 1. Enrique Garibay, 16, Juarez, Chih., Mex,<br />
1:20:57.36; 2. Josh Thomson, 15, Mesilla Pk, NM, 1:23:34.95; 3.<br />
Joshua Lilley, 13, Las Cruces, NM, 1:47:25.75. 17-19: 1. Robert<br />
Mercer, 19, Las Cruces, NM, 1:20:27; 2. Owen Boberg, 18, Las<br />
Cruces, NM, 1:35:52; 3. Raul Carrillo III, 18, Las Cruces, NM,<br />
1:35:56. 20-24: 1. Francisco Perez, 23, Santa Fe, NM, 1:09:08;<br />
2. Sergio Garcia, 23, Albuquerque, NM, 1:11:08; 3. Adrian Wagner,<br />
20, Albuquerque, NM, 1:13:06. 25-29: 1. Jason Atkinson, 25,<br />
Alamogordo, NM, 1:08:30; 2. Steven Montoya, 29, Las Cruces,<br />
NM, 1:09:11; 3. Adam Meade, 27, Albuquerque, NM, 1:12:22. 30-<br />
34: 1. Alberto Lugo, 34, El Paso, TX, 1:06:26; 2. Danny Montoya,<br />
33, Las Cruces, NM, 1:06:32; 3. Esteban Lopez, 31, El Paso, TX,<br />
1:09:39. 35-39: 1. Cid Lopez, 38, EL Paso, TX, 1:07:49; 2. Mark<br />
Trejtnar, 35, Albuquerque, NM, 1:14:37; 3. John Himes, 36, El<br />
Paso, TX, 1:15:10. 40-44: 1. Leonard Piazza, 40, Anthony, NM,<br />
1:14:15; 2. Mark Liesse, 44, Rio Rancho, NM, 1:14:31; 3. Mark<br />
MacKenzie, 44, Albuquerque, NM, 1:15:14. 45-49: 1. Paul Zetocha,<br />
45, Albuquerque, NM, 1:15:38; 2. Mike Torneby, 47, Albuquerque,<br />
NM, 1:25:18; 3. Jorge Alonzo, 49, El Paso, TX, 1:31:03. 50-<br />
54: 1. Randy M<strong>at</strong>tila, 51, Grants, NM, 1:21:07; 2. Kevin Lovell, 52,<br />
El Paso, TX, 1:22:23; 3. Scott Darling, 54, El Paso, TX, 1:22:31.<br />
55-59: 1. Miguel Sanchez, 57, Albuquerque, NM, 1:16:52; 2. Jose<br />
Ortiz, 57, El Paso, TX, 1:24:51; 3. Robert Welo, 55, WSMR, NM,<br />
Brandon Leslie of Albuquerque<br />
finished seventh in the Bolder Boulder<br />
Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Team Challenge Race.
A Tribute to John Stermer<br />
Photo <strong>from</strong> the Stermer <strong>Family</strong>, Opposite - Top and Bootm Left: Don Shepan, Bottom Right: Derek Griffiths<br />
John Stermer, 53, was a f<strong>at</strong>her, grandf<strong>at</strong>her,<br />
brother, and son. He was also a history<br />
teacher, counselor, administr<strong>at</strong>or, referee<br />
and coach in New Mexico and <strong>Colorado</strong> high<br />
schools. His concern was to encourage young<br />
people to strive for excellence. He was st<strong>at</strong>e<br />
president of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention<br />
Group and chair of Big Brothers, Big Sisters.<br />
Running was John’s joy<br />
and led him to tri<strong>at</strong>hlon<br />
and ironman competitions<br />
throughout the<br />
Southwest.<br />
John was diagnosed<br />
with ALS (Lou<br />
Gehrigs’s Disease) in<br />
September of 2004.<br />
When John was selected<br />
for the 2005 Annual<br />
Southwest Challenge<br />
Series Sportsmanship<br />
award, it was remarked<br />
of him, “John has found<br />
the elusive secret to defe<strong>at</strong>ing<br />
the fear of our<br />
own earthly demise – to<br />
embrace life. He is testimony<br />
to the fact th<strong>at</strong><br />
all times are good ones<br />
if we but know wh<strong>at</strong> to<br />
do with them. John’s<br />
echo already is reson<strong>at</strong>ing<br />
with all who knew<br />
him. If we’ll let it in, it<br />
will carry us all upwards<br />
in our desire to be<strong>at</strong> the<br />
trees to the sky. John Stermer is a friend. John<br />
Stermer is an <strong>at</strong>titude to live by.”<br />
John cherished the life he was given<br />
and left it with courage and dignity.<br />
Mentor, amigo, and <strong>at</strong>hlete are also<br />
among the list of John’s titles.<br />
Denver’s Channel 9 television news<br />
aired a story and video of John on November<br />
11, 2004. The story conveyed John’s desire to<br />
run as long as he could. And he and his close<br />
friend, Annie Schneider, were observed to run,<br />
bike or swim daily in spite of ALS.<br />
In January, 2005, John’s friend, Mark<br />
Balsiger, described John’s last event, the Polar<br />
Bear Tri<strong>at</strong>hlon <strong>at</strong> White Sands Missile Range<br />
on December 11, 2004. John had said th<strong>at</strong> he<br />
wanted to complete one more tri<strong>at</strong>hlon. Mark<br />
wrote:<br />
“There he was on race day morning,<br />
smiling broadly, albeit thin as a reed, legs a bit<br />
shaky, and speech slurred almost beyond comprehension.<br />
But John raced. He ran every step<br />
of the run, pedaled every stroke of the bike, and<br />
made every lap of the swim. It took him over<br />
two hours, but I think I’ve never seen a finer<br />
race, a more courageous effort, a gre<strong>at</strong>er inspir<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
John Stermer, an <strong>at</strong>titude to live by.”<br />
John finished th<strong>at</strong> tri<strong>at</strong>hlon in 2:02:52,<br />
5th in his age-group, but still a very commendable<br />
performance. He finished ahead of many<br />
who did not have an affliction. The event was a<br />
7K Run/ 30K Bike/ 400m Swim. As you have<br />
noted, Mark repe<strong>at</strong>ed the words he used to describe<br />
John’s last tri<strong>at</strong>hlon as he used twelve<br />
months l<strong>at</strong>er <strong>at</strong> the SW Challenge Series award<br />
banquet.<br />
Two events have since been presented<br />
in his honor: February, 2005, Soledad Canyon<br />
Run for John, Las Cruces, NM; February, 2006,<br />
First Annual John Stermer Du<strong>at</strong>hlon (5K Run/<br />
30K Bike), WSMR, NM.<br />
John was living in Whe<strong>at</strong>ridge, <strong>Colorado</strong><br />
<strong>at</strong> the time of his de<strong>at</strong>h.<br />
USATF Found<strong>at</strong>ion Grants Help Youth and Elite Programs<br />
The USATF Found<strong>at</strong>ion has awarded<br />
two grants th<strong>at</strong> will benefit the sport of track and<br />
field in the United St<strong>at</strong>es. These grants will support<br />
a group of emerging elite distance runners<br />
and enhance the Mark Springer Youth Travel<br />
Program. The Found<strong>at</strong>ion depends on don<strong>at</strong>ions<br />
<strong>from</strong> its board of directors and <strong>from</strong> generous<br />
fans of track & field.<br />
The USA Track & Field Found<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
awarded a $15,000 grant to support emerging<br />
elite <strong>at</strong>hletes on a three-week European Track<br />
Circuit program this summer. Based on a grant<br />
request <strong>from</strong> Team USA Minnesota, this program<br />
will focus on “up and coming” American<br />
distance runners who have demonstr<strong>at</strong>ed worldclass<br />
performance potential and have financial<br />
need.<br />
A highly lauded program th<strong>at</strong> provides<br />
travel support to young <strong>at</strong>hletes has received<br />
a $20,000 grant <strong>from</strong> the USATF Found<strong>at</strong>ion.<br />
Named for the former USATF Director of Grass<br />
Roots Programs and origin<strong>at</strong>or of the program,<br />
the Mark Springer Youth Travel Program is supported<br />
by USATF and the USA Track & Field<br />
Found<strong>at</strong>ion. The Mark Springer Youth Travel<br />
Grant Program offers travel assistance grants<br />
to eligible youth clubs across the country. Since<br />
2000, the grants have helped clubs offset expenses<br />
rel<strong>at</strong>ed to bringing <strong>at</strong>hletes to USATF<br />
n<strong>at</strong>ional championships, specifically the USA<br />
Junior Outdoor Championships, USA Youth<br />
Outdoor Championships, and USATF N<strong>at</strong>ional<br />
Junior Olympic Track & Field and Cross Country<br />
Championships. It’s one of the most popular<br />
grass roots efforts and a direct benefit of USATF<br />
Club membership.<br />
USATF New Mexico thanks the following local sponsors for their support:<br />
505-299-8922<br />
www.fleetfeetalbuquerque.com<br />
Heart &<br />
Sole<br />
505-884-5300<br />
www.heartnsolesports.com<br />
505-856-9377<br />
www.the-<strong>at</strong>hletes-edge.com<br />
505-837-9400<br />
www.sportzoutdoor.com<br />
July/August 2006 coloradorunnermag.com 25