The gO! Running Group is a Roseville based recreational running group that aims to provide group running opportunities for runners of all abilities. Although our focus is primarily on 5K to marathons, we have members who have completed triathlons (including Ironman events) and ultras. We train on both roads and trails. We currently meet three times per week - Sunday mornings and Tuesday/Thursday evenings.

Friday, October 30, 2009

You train best where you are the happiest.
Frank Shorter, American distance runner and Olympic gold-medalist

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

gO! Runner of the Day- Michael Fogarty


Name: Michael Fogarty (No, I’m not related to John Fogerty from Creedence Clearwater Revival. He spells his name wrong).
I’m 43, married to Julie and have two children Kenzie (7), Kyle (5) whom I affectionally refer to as “my rodents”. Twelve years ago I escaped to Roseville to start Princeton Solutions Group, an IT consulting company after a career in the Fortune 500 world and Dot-Com startup frenzy.
I started running because Julie thought she wanted to start running. I figured “great now I have an excuse to start”. I grabbed my laptop and found the No-boundaries posting on Fleet Feet website. Running is a release, a time to think, or not. I use to run while in high school and college, I just need a push to start again; plus I needed a summer sport beyond yard work.
I don’t have hobbies, I have obsessions: Music, Snowboarding and now Running
I play Lead Guitar for Soul Distortion, a Hard Rock/Metal band here in Sacramento check us out at http://www.souldistortion.com/
In the winter I spend as much time on the mountain snowboarding as possible. If you want to play hooky Julie and I go to Northstar every Friday there is snow. Saturday and Sunday are reserved for riding with he rodents.
As for running I have no elaborate goal other than to improve, have fun running and enjoy the camaraderie that is gO!

gO! Group Confessional

When we run, we are already so exposed, often nearly naked in our shorts and T-shirts, huffing and puffing, purified by the effort. Briefly removed from the defenses and secrets we maintain in so much of our lives, we feel less need to hide our private thoughts, loves, fears, and stresses. We share.
Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life

WHAT IS YOUR CONFESSION?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Halloween Run With The Werewolves!!


Call me crazy, but.....

If you dare, I invite all the gO! Freaks out for a midnight romp through the haunted woods on Halloween night! In the spirit of Halloween, I plan to run a 12 mile trail in the hills up near Foresthill (Divide Loop) starting to the howls of the werewolves as the clock strikes MIDNIGHT! This will be what I like to call a "MENTAL run/challenge" for the ages for all of those that are up for it. We will start when our bodies and minds want to go to bed and run the cold, dark, scary, hilly, long, and very challenging trail. Why? Because we can! And because mile 22 of CIM/Vegas just won't seem that bad with this experience on your training resume!

Let me know if your freakish enough to join me!


**Sorry to those folks doing the Harvest Run Sunday morning, I just could not pass up the Saturday night-Halloween opportunity!

**There will no longer be a formal Sunday morning run at Bicycles plus due to the Harvest Run and the new "Halloween Run with the Werewolves!" An informal run will take place at Sculpture Park for those interested.
New York Times
November 2, 2008
Phys Ed
Stretching: The Truth
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
WHEN DUANE KNUDSON, a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Chico, looks around campus at athletes warming up before practice, he sees one dangerous mistake after another. “They’re stretching, touching their toes. . . . ” He sighs. “It’s discouraging.”
If you’re like most of us, you were taught the importance of warm-up exercises back in grade school, and you’ve likely continued with pretty much the same routine ever since. Science, however, has moved on. Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes’ warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but actually bad for you. The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent. Also, stretching one leg’s muscles can reduce strength in the other leg as well, probably because the central nervous system rebels against the movements.
“There is a neuromuscular inhibitory response to static stretching,” says Malachy McHugh, the director of research at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. The straining muscle becomes less responsive and stays weakened for up to 30 minutes after stretching, which is not how an athlete wants to begin a workout.
THE RIGHT WARM-UP should do two things: loosen muscles and tendons to increase the range of motion of various joints, and literally warm up the body. When you’re at rest, there’s less blood flow to muscles and tendons, and they stiffen. “You need to make tissues and tendons compliant before beginning exercise,” Knudson says.
A well-designed warm-up starts by increasing body heat and blood flow. Warm muscles and dilated blood vessels pull oxygen from the bloodstream more efficiently and use stored muscle fuel more effectively. They also withstand loads better. One significant if gruesome study found that the leg-muscle tissue of laboratory rabbits could be stretched farther before ripping if it had been electronically stimulated — that is, warmed up.
To raise the body’s temperature, a warm-up must begin with aerobic activity, usually light jogging. Most coaches and athletes have known this for years. That’s why tennis players run around the court four or five times before a match and marathoners stride in front of the starting line. But many athletes do this portion of their warm-up too intensely or too early. A 2002 study of collegiate volleyball players found that those who’d warmed up and then sat on the bench for 30 minutes had lower backs that were stiffer than they had been before the warm-up. And a number of recent studies have demonstrated that an overly vigorous aerobic warm-up simply makes you tired. Most experts advise starting your warm-up jog at about 40 percent of your maximum heart rate (a very easy pace) and progressing to about 60 percent. The aerobic warm-up should take only 5 to 10 minutes, with a 5-minute recovery. (Sprinters require longer warm-ups, because the loads exerted on their muscles are so extreme.)
While static stretching is still almost universally practiced among amateur athletes — watch your child’s soccer team next weekend — it doesn’t improve the muscles’ ability to perform with more power, physiologists now agree. “You may feel as if you’re able to stretch farther after holding a stretch for 30 seconds,” McHugh says, “so you think you’ve increased that muscle’s readiness.” But typically you’ve increased only your mental tolerance for the discomfort of the stretch. The muscle is actually weaker.
Stretching muscles while moving, on the other hand, a technique known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups, increases power, flexibility and range of motion. Muscles in motion don’t experience that insidious inhibitory response. They instead get what McHugh calls “an excitatory message” to perform.
Dynamic stretching is at its most effective when it’s relatively sports specific. “You need range-of-motion exercises that activate all of the joints and connective tissue that will be needed for the task ahead,” says Terrence Mahon, a coach with Team Running USA, home to the Olympic marathoners Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor. For runners, an ideal warm-up might include squats, lunges and “form drills” like kicking your buttocks with your heels.
Controversy remains about the extent to which dynamic warm-ups prevent injury. But studies have been increasingly clear that static stretching alone before exercise does little or nothing to help. The largest study has been done on military recruits; results showed that an almost equal number of subjects developed lower-limb injuries (shin splints, stress fractures, etc.), regardless of whether they had performed static stretches before training sessions. A major study published earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control, on the other hand, found that knee injuries were cut nearly in half among female collegiate soccer players who followed a warm-up program that included both dynamic warm-up exercises and static stretching. (For a sample routine, visit www.aclprevent.com/pepprogram.htm.) And in golf, new research by Andrea Fradkin, an assistant professor of exercise science at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, suggests that those who warm up are nine times less likely to be injured.
“It was eye-opening,” says Fradkin, formerly a feckless golfer herself. “I used to not really warm up. I do now.”

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

gO! Runner of the Day- ?????????


Hey kids, I would REALLY like to continue our gO! Runner of the Day feature, but I am not getting any more bios! PLEASE take a minute to send me your bio and picture so we can all get to know each other just that much more! Some things to include in your runner bio could be:
name, age, occupation, family, running history, running goals, why you run, and what you want to be when you grow up.
Email your bio to me at josherrecart@yahoo.com
It is amazing how much you can progress week after week, month after month, year after year if you allow for gradual training increases.
Bob Glover, The Runner's Handbook

I think we have some gO! runners that are GREAT examples of this! Stay consistent and the progress will happen!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Run Change Notice

Please note that this Sunday's run location has changed. I realized TBF Racing is hosting a trail half marathon where we had planned to run. The Four Bridges Half Marathon is also taking place on the bike path so that is out as well. We will now meet at Veteren's Park (the one on Blue Oaks blvd.) in West Roseville.

CONGRATS to all our ladies that finished the half and full marathons Sunday! I have been trying to find the results, but cannot get the complete lists. Regardless, it was an amazing day and an amazing race. It was awesome to see our ladies all decked out in their pink gO! shirts running amongst 20,000+ other ladies. I think great times and great memories were had by all!
Nonrunners cannot see how they can afford the time to run every day. But runners cannot imagine getting through a single day without it.
Kevin Nelson, The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration

Monday, October 19, 2009

Everything changed the day I understood that if I was to become a runner, I would have to run with the body I had.
John Bingham, The Courage to Start

Friday, October 16, 2009


Ten Commandments of the

gO! Fair Weather Runners Association



  1. Thou shall not run unless temperature is between 72-76 degrees.

  2. Thou shall only run when beginning and ending within ten yards of ice cream, pizza, or beer.

  3. Thou shall not run without sunglasses. If sunglasses are not appropriate, neither is running.

  4. Thou shall not get our car tires wet in order to get to a group run.

  5. Thou shall only run with a tailwind.

  6. Thou shall support other Fair Weather runners throughout the storm by always being available to chat on Facebook.

  7. Thou shall treat the Weatherman as their primary running coach. His words trump all.

  8. Thou shall treat all minor weather disturbances as potential weather disasters. Stay at home, board up windows, and be sure you have an operational generator available for your television.

  9. Thou shall never abuse their running shoes with exposure to dirt, water, extreme temp. (temp. below 70 degrees or above 80 degrees), or wind chaffing.

  10. Thou shall donate all winter running gear (gloves, hats, jackets, etc) to those in need. This will help with the guilt.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Chix That gO! Shirt Design Is Here!


If you can train your mind for running, everything else will be easy.
Amby Burfoot

This is a great quote for those mentally challenging winter runs ahead of us!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Winter Has Arrived!!


Just a sweet little reminder....
WE RUN RAIN OR SHINE!
Nothing stops a gO! runner from getting better!

Some tips...


  • Dress in layers. You will still get hot despite the rain, so you will want to be able to pull off a layer after warming up (which will take longer).

  • NO COTTON. It will only absorb the water and show you what it is like to run if you were 10lbs. heavier.

  • Try a water proof shell. Even a trash bag will work.

  • A hat or visor will help keep water out of your eyes.

  • Bring dry clothes and a towel for after the run.

  • EMBRACE the rain! It can be fun and invigorating to run in the rain!

See you tonight!

HOT Pink 5K Results


Great job gO! runners!

Melissa Gutzman, 3rd place age group, 23:28 (PR)

Michelle Banda, 19th place age group, 33:15

Cassie Hartley, 2nd place age group, 25:32

Julia Fogarty, 4th place age group, 26:54

Patricia Marquez, 5th place age group, 25:52

Tim Herman, 4th Overall, 2nd age group, 20:08

Allen Reid, 1st place age group, 25:20


Monday, October 12, 2009

gO! Runner of the Day- Tim Casagrande







Name: Timothy Lee Casagrande Lee is also my father's middle name. Casagrande is an Italian word for Bighouse or the term for an orphanage. My ancestor was dropped off at an orphanage in northern Italy by Maria before migrating here 5 generations ago.
Age Division: Just jumped up to the 30-39 age group (the toughest division)
Where I live: Rocklin in a rental house
Employment: UPS : Plant Engineering in West Sacramento (yes, I used to work at the Hub 1/2 mile away from my house in Rocklin)
Family: You all know my family. Tosha (younger than me), Alyssa (10), Ava (3), Hadley (1)
Running Background: I only began running 4-1/2 years ago. I have run 35 running races and triathlon/duathlons. My last duathlon I finally earned my first ever 1st place finish; I was the only one on my age group!!
Favorite Race: Apple Hill Harvest run
Worst race: Bizz Johnson Marathon (really good stories though); body broke down at mile 16!
Race I want to do again someday: Bizz Johnson
Other races I want to done someday: Western States 100, Pike's Peak Marathon, Badwater, Comrades Ultramarathon (Africa), Athens Marathon and/or anything else that sounds crazy
Current Running Goal: 1/2 Ironman next September in sub 5-1/2 hours. http://tbfracing.com/events/tbfhit.html
Other Hobbies: Sac State Mechanical Engineer student...am I allowed to have other hobbies? I used to camp, hike, read books, watch movies, etc etc
When I grow up, I want to be... Josh
Headphones?: No, almost never
Why I run: two reasons: I'm super competitive and I need the peace and serenity of nature and my own heartbeat gently beating in my ears to maintain my sanity.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Update: Sunday's run will have NO coaches in attendance as Gary and Anne will be working the Golden State Tri and I will be taking my three munchkins backpacking for a couple nights (sorry they trump you!). We are scheduled for a 5-6 miler at Miner's Ravine. Please still meet up as a group at Sculpture Park (7am) and run out to Sierra College Blvd. and back (about 5.5 miles).

Reminder: Please send me your "Runner of the Day" bio. I want every one's! Don't forget to include a picture! Send them to josherrecart@yahoo.com You can use the following questions as a guide:
  • Name:
  • Age Division:
  • Where I live:
  • Employment
  • Family:
  • Running Background:
  • Current Running Goal:
  • Other Hobbies:
  • When I grow up, I want to be...

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Poetic Justice

The gO! group was out in full force once again,
The countdown to Cowtown; let the races begin.

The half featured many who dared to step up,
And challenge their muster, to rise to the top.

They ran near the houses, past the river and then,
‘Cross a levee and into the park once again.

And many ran faster than ever before,
A testament to workouts (and coaching galore).

But this poem is not about the gO! running crew,
It’s about just one whose legend just grew.

Because reaching the biggest achievement this Fall,
Was our leader, the coach, who outran them all.

He ran with his legs through the first half and then,
He relied on his heart to go ‘round again.

Yes, Josh did accomplish the ultimate test,
3:10 was his time, no doubt, he’s the best.

No one else can claim, ”Going to Boston am I”
cept, Josh who’ll just smile, and wink with one eye.

Although in this borough, so many did run,
In the end it is really about only one.

The Man, our Leader, the self-proclaimed jock,
Is going to Boston, let’s wish him good luck.

Anonymous (and no it was not Josh)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

gO! Moooooves Right Through Cowtown!


GREAT job to all who raced at Cowtown today (and to Jesse who raced Rock N Roll San Jose)! The accomplishments, PR's, great runs, funny stories, and general success by all is too much for this tired body to publish at this time! However, there is nothing I enjoy more than to see the gO! group out there working hard to make themselves better and supporting each other like no other group I have seen along the way! I hope you all feel better than I do and are patting yourselves on the back for a job well done. And to quote many spectators out on the course today...

gO!.......gO!