Presidio
August 24, 1997

Nearly 250 people came out to enjoy the beautiful warm weather and relatively easy terrain at this year's Presidio event. The beginner's clinics were heavily attended, and we had 75 people each on the White and Yellow courses. The large turnout (about 100 more than 1996) was helped by publicity in the Presidio and REI events flyers, the San Jose Mercury News, some newsletters (e.g. Hikenbyke), and our own website.

As always, designing courses at the Presidio is a challenge. The map was never ideal, and the rapidly morphing park has further complicated matters. There are numerous out-of-bounds areas and poorly mapped sections, which present problems with both route choice and control selection. Despite this, we set five fairly interesting courses, and as a bonus, participants on four courses were treated to stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands from a shared control at the top of the National Cemetery.

To minimize the number of map corrections, we made separate correction boards for each course. All our careful work was nearly undone two days before the event, however, when the Park Service blocked off a major trail used by four courses and rerouted another one used by White/Pink. After discovering this the night before, we streamered a way around the blocked area and posted signs telling people to follow the streamers to the correct trail. Much to our surprise, many people didn't see the signs and streamers, even though they were right in front of the blocked area, with the streamers set about every two feet! Well, we tried.

We had 135 starts for the five courses. On Long Orange, the nominal advanced course, newcomer Michihiro Kamijima led the pack. (Keep an eye on him, he also did well in the Golden Goat.) Steph Maclean ran away with Orange, despite initial confusion because she had a clue sheet for Long Orange but copied the Orange map. Youth beat experience on Yellow, with junior Vasya Volkov racing ahead of Christine Shirley to claim first place; sibling Dima Volkov was third by just 13 seconds. Rosalie Frankel led the huge White field, with Amy Studer and Doug Moore claiming Pink honors.

Despite the crowds and last-minute route changes, the event flowed smoothly, much to the relief of the first-time director. Thanks to careful staging and plentiful volunteers, I even got a chance to sit down and rest on occasion! The last person finished just as the courses closed at 3:00, and by 4:30 everything was collected and we were headed home.

I could not have run this event without four very special people: assistant directors Kelly and Julie Wells, consultant Marsha Jacobs, and all-around deputy Mike Poulsen. Kelly and Julie were truly amazing: they vetted courses, rounded up volunteers, set out controls, and managed the Start and Finish areas (the instruction sheets they developed should become standard handouts for workers in these areas). They even convinced their kids to help out, including running the Start-O. Marsha was the voice of experience, providing endless practical advice and overseeing the Results. Both she and Mike also helped out in nearly every other aspect of the event, including vetting and setting controls. Another key player was Greg Shine, our Presidio liaison (and BAOC member), who arranged the permit, helped publicize the event, and provided staging materials.

Much credit for the success of this event also goes to our large corps of volunteers. There were several new faces, as Kelly tried to contact members who've offered to help but are rarely called. A heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed:

Setup: Joan Roos.
Registration: Ev & Jean Beuerman, Steve Beuerman, Dox Doxiadis, Sarah Edwards, Debbie Friederichs.
Beginner's clinics: Scott Aster, Bill Papendick, Tony Pinkham, Syd Reader.
General information: Van Boughner.
Starts: Nancy Lindeman, Terry Barnes, Maroth De Marothy, Christine Shirley, Jerry Goss.
Finishes: Trevor Pering, Bill Rassieur, Josh Friederichs, Stacy Robinson, Jerry Goss, Don Dickerson, Amy Studer, Lisa Wylie.
Results: Barbara Blancke, Idell Weydemeyer, Mike Maughmer, Joshua Wells, Holley McClain.
Start-O: Jed Wells.
Control pickup: Josh Friederichs, Steve Gregg, Jeff Lanam, Mike Maughmer, Tony Pinkham, Christine Shirley.

-- Aileen Abernathy

129 Entries
237 Participants

START-O (6 participants)
No help:
                  Age   Controls   Time
Michael Denny      9       10      6.40
Brandon Tobey      6       10     10.06
Karl Lukes         9        9     15.30
Ryan Atienza      11        4     13.30
Matthew Atienza    8        1      8.00

Second time, no help:
Joey Catlin        7        8      6.30

WHITE
          2.5k, 80m, 10 controls
          75 participants

1.   Rosalie Frankel                                 25.30
2.   Mark Catlin                                     27.13
3.   Brad Catlin                                     31.10
4.   Don Dickerson                                   34.13
5.   Brandon Tobey                                   35.15
6.   Sue & John Rizzi                                36.04
7.   Amy MacLennan, Donna Rae Smith                  37.25
8.   Jeff Edmonston, Marjorie Wong                   37.34
9.   Karl Jurgenson, Chris Mello                     40.57
10.  Ava, Nick, Joe & Tanya Wyckoff                  45.08
11.  Annabelle Rodriguez, Eligene Park               47.13
12.  Joey & Linda Catlin                             49.04
13.  David Ward                                      50.43
14.  Zachary & Steve Lipton                          52.15
15.  Randa Brandt, Veronique 
         Brizard, Mark Fowler                        53.02
16.  Terrie & Buck Vines                             56.16
17.  Dunseth and Taguchi families (7)                58.00
18.  Murray Einarson, Denise Mason, 
        Kelly Roos, Elizabeth Seal                   62.50
19.  Mike, Ann & Matt Coustier (5)                   64.10
20.  Matt & Virginia Cheng                           67.16
21.  Barbara Blancke                                 70.42
22.  Cub Scout Pack 118, with Dena Lukes (6)         74.51
23.  Peggy, Gary, Elizabeth 
        & Christiane Amstutz                         78.51
24.  David & Cathy Rice                              83.10
25.  Tom Khamkoon                                    97.01
26.  Chris Linn, Tricia Kellison, 
        Caia Grisar (5)                              99.40
27.  Chot Wangdeesiri                               114.42
     Minda & Flavia Dudley, Mark Berman   (missed #10) MSP
     Liz Harre                             (missed #7) DNF
     Ann Wylie                             (missed #9) DNF
     David Suzuki                         (missed #10) DNF
     Rick Rolleri                                not timed
     Janice Judd                                 not timed


PINK
            4.7k, 160m, 16 controls
            19 participants

1.   Amy Studer, Doug Moore                          60.41
2.   Matt & Pat Robuzzi                              84.50
3.   Cheryl Chadwell                                102.35
4.   Zack Killmaier, Raymond Kwong                  108.10
5.   Linda, Bernie, & Dominie Franklyn              114.12
6.   Srikar Rao, Manjiri Gadagkar                   116.14
     Jeffrey Ho                                (196:10) OT
     Jocelyn & Elliot Young               (missed #14) MSP
     Linda Bagnall                        (missed #13) DNF

Second course
     Joey & Linda Catlin                            100.32
     Mark Catlin                                    105.20


YELLOW
           4.2k, 134m, 12 controls
           74 participants

1.   Vasya Volkov                                    68.13
2.   Christine Shirley                               73.35
3.   Dima Volkov                                     73.48
4.   Bill Smithers                                   76.06
5.   Trudy & Erica Presser; Stephanie Patterson,
     Mike & Michelle Merrick                         77.39
6.   Neal & Morgan Benowitz                          78.10
7.   Amy Sindicic, James Trujillo                    78.19
8.   Phil, Irene & Kevin Lacefield, Chris Katsuda    79.59
9.   Nannette & Emily Bassett                        81.47
10.  Idell Weydemeyer                                87.20
11.  Jon, Mary, Jon, Jason & Aimee Morse             89.44
12.  Dox Doxiadis, Sarah Edwards                     96.35
13.  Matthew Hawkins                                102.30
14.  Thorsten & Olivia Graeve, 
         Lizelda & Romina Lopez                     104.42
15.  Michael, Liane & Brandon Young                 106.07
16.  Marti Watts, Seija Surr, Becky Falk            106.21
17.  Sylvia Sabel                                   107.49
18.  Roger, Jana & Steven King                      116.29
19.  Sharon Maxon, Thomas Seabolt                   117.49
20.  Virginia Rassieur                              122.40
21.  Jane & Frank Romeo                             130.52
22.  Booth family (5), Charlene Michaels            139.25
23.  Linda & Alan Falkowitz                         143.32
24.  Nina Schindler                                 179.07
     Diane Hall                                (202:57) OT
     George, Linn, Ian & 
         Christina Haddock                (missed #11) MSP
     Terry Gleason                         (missed #5) DNF
     Sandor & Anna Straus, Tamara Prossur, 
         Ellen Valkevich, Janet Spenser   (missed #12) DNF
     Mary Pedon                                        DNF

Second course
     Brandon & Eve Tobey                             74.51
     Amy MacLennan, Donna Rae Smith                  81.21
     Rosalie Frankel                                 84.34
     Brad Catlin                                    119.20


ORANGE
           4.0k, 128m, 12 controls
           35 participants

1.   Stephanie Maclean                               58.12
2.   Charlie Graham                                  61.49
3.   Peter Rogers                                    69.38
4.   Maria Vargasova                                 75.16
5.   Rebecca Higgerson, Brian Johnson                84.08
6.   Trevor Pering, Renee Bulow                      95.43
7.   Kirk Davis                                      97.01
8.   Sara & Steve O'Keefe, with dog (Max)           100.33
9.   Elizabeth & Henry Bramhall                     110.13
10.  Vin and Bertheau                               113.10
11.  Sylvie & George Bramhall (RMOC)                117.11
12.  Ray & Barbara Kujawski                         119.08
13.  Galina Shakhnovsky                             121.46
14.  Suresh & Veena Ramaswamy                       131.19
15.  Harry Hall                                     131.45
16.  Debbie Friederichs                             134.51
17.  Jean & Ev Beuerman                             134.54
18.  Robert & Carolyn Karis                         135.50
19.  Jack Myers                                     136.30
20.  Judy Koehler                                   139.19
21.  Jason Killmaier, Alvin Yee                     153.31
22.  Mark Burchill, Mel Konrad                      162.34
     Lisa Wylie                           (missed #10) DNF


LONG ORANGE
             6.0k, 225m, 17 controls
             40 participants

1.   Michihiro Kamijima                              53.45
2.   Steve Jankowski                                 55.14
3.   Steve Gregg                                     56.50
4.   Syd Reader                                      57.46
5.   Derek Maclean                                   58.59
6.   Van Boughner                                    59.34
7.   Josh Friederichs                                63.00
8.   Alex Krasnov                                    66.26
9.   Doug Stein                                      68.04
10.  Gavin Wyatt-Mair                                69.43
11.  Ken Vomaske                                     70.00
12.  Matthias Kohler                                 71.11
13.  Bruce Bassett                                   72.32
14.  Elena Krasnova                                  74.52
15.  Bill Papendick                                  75.33
16.  Chuck Hammers                                   76.47
17.  Tony Pinkham                                    77.28
18.  Chris Taylor                                    80.46
19.  Phillip Hoare                                   91.00
20.  Oleg Shakhnovsky                                92.11
21.  Jorian Riley, Jodie Little                      95.58
22.  Jerry Goss                                     102.21
23.  Mike Catlin                                    108.25
24.  Steve Beuerman                                 108.58
25.  Jim & Brian Michaels                           109.09
26.  William & Charles Rassieur                     112.45
27.  Mike Maughmer                                  117.46
28.  Joan Roos                                      124.36
29.  Jeff Lanam                                     125.43
30.  Nancy Lindeman                                 134.55
31.  Don Gee                                        160.45
32.  Jonathan Gee                                   164.27
33.  Chris Quenelle, Lisa Kuarda, Karen Bechtel     167.02
     Stacy Robinson                        (missed #5) DNF
     Jim Cassady                                       DNF