After a couple of difficult years due to covid restrictions, 2022 represented a welcome return to a nearly normal competition schedule. By the numbers, PDC athletes competed over 300 times in 37 cities in California alone, along with 14 states, and 6 countries, notching more than 40 victories.

Success for the Team on the Roads and Cross Country Course as Women win 10th PA Crown
The PDC women’s team finished 2022 with a solid series of performances, earning sixth (two points from fifth) at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships, our fourth year in five with a team finish in the top six. Our top finisher in the weather-altered course in Golden Gate Park was Kayla Knapp in 22nd, followed closely by Ayla Granados in 29th and Maya Weigel in 31st as all seven competitors finished in the top 100 placers. Three weeks earlier, the women’s team put 10 athletes in the top 33 at the Pacific Association of USATF Cross Country Championships, where Granados (2nd), Knapp (3rd), and Chelsea Burns (4th) led the squad as we took the title for the 10th time in our 15 year history. On the roads, the women won PAUSATF Grand Prix events at the Oakland Running Festival 10K and the season ending Christmas Relays, along with a runner-up finish at the SACTown 10 Miler.

In May, the men enjoyed a sensational victory at the Bay to Breakers 12K in the world famous centipede competition (our first year entering that division), running as Eggs Benedikt. On the Pacific Association Grand Prix, the team swept the Stow Lake Stampede, led by a 1-2-3-5-7 result of Chris Olley, Trevor Halsted, Matt Leach, Fabio Fornarelli, and Steven Grolle. Strong second place results came for the third year in a row at the PAUSATF Cross Country Championships (paced by Olley’s 3rd place finish), and the Christmas Relays, as the men also earned 15th at the Club Nationals, among 45 total teams scored, again led by Miles Smith in 65th, followed by a hard charging Donald Taggart in 67th. .

Weigel hit 1:10 and 2:34:25 to bookend the year. PC: Marnie Kinnaird

Lenehan, Weigel Punch Tickets to 2024 Trials Among Individual Road and Cross Highlights
Individually on the roads, PDC athletes again made waves. Maya Weigel and Matt Lenehan started and ended the year on high notes, with a 1:10 half marathon and 2:18 full respectively at Houston to begin 2022, and 2:34:25 and 2:17:11 at CIM to conclude their road campaigns in December and qualify for the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials (both doubled back a week later to help the team at Club Nationals in cross country). Matt Leach was again our top performer at the half marathon distance, running 63:29 in Houston, before coming back to the TCS Consulting London Marathon and again placing well, this time in 14th, finishing 2022 in the top 20 for GB athletes in both events. Chris Olley topped the worldwide leaderboard in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge with his victory in San Francisco, and improved nearly two minutes over two races to drop his half marathon best to 64:53 at Monterey. Cody Goodwin, Jeannette Mathieu, Victoria O’Neil, Amy Schanz, and Jen Odenheimer all set personal bests over either the half marathon and marathon distances (or both), with Odenheimer narrowly missing her own Trials standard with a 2:37 performance at CIM. Kayla Knapp won the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5K, the Great Race (and Matt Yeo Aggies Cross Country Open) on the PAUSATF Grand Prix, as well as the Stars and Stripes 5K, Jason Intravaia won the Great Race stop on the PA Grand Prix, Steven Grolle had two podium PA finishes at the John Frank Memorial 10 Miler and Great Race, Izzi Gengaro won the Open race at the Bronco Cross Country Invitational, while Trevor Halsted’s strong spring included a runner-up finish at the Kaiser Half and a sixth place finish at the Napa Marathon in a 4 minute improvement. Grolle and Zach Swenson were also top 30 finishers at the USATF Cross Country Championships, where Swenson earned third among active military participants and helped the Navy contingent to victory among the service branches.

Tayeri topped the charts at Carlsbad and beyond in 2022.

Tom Tayeri again enjoyed an outstanding competitive year, finishing second among 55+ athletes at the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships in London, where he set a personal best of 2:39. Notching age group wins at the Ashland Half Marathon, Bay to Breakers, Carlsbad 5000, Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10K, and CIM, Tayeri also took home the silver medal at the USATF Master’s 10 Mile Championships at the SACTown 10, while also finishing as runner up at the Kaiser Half Marathon, the Alameda 10 Miler, the Paris 20K, and finally at the 2022 Boston Marathon, where his mark of 2:42:39 represents the 4th fastest ever for his age group at this historic race. Melinda DiNapoli and Dena Evans also hit age group wins at multiple events in 2022, with DiNapoli winning the 50+ division at the BMO Vancouver Marathon, and Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5K among others, while Evans won the 45+ at the Kaiser Half, the 40+ at the Kenwood Footrace 10K, and earned the bronze at the USATF Masters 10 Mile Championships.

In season-long PAUSATF recognition, Kayla Knapp won the short course Grand Prix (Caitlin Chrisman was 9th). Steven Grolle was 8th in the short and 9th in the long course on the men’s side, while Tom Tayeri was 10th in 50+ competition. In cross country, Trevor Halsted was 6th (with multiple podium finishes) and Sarah Gayer was 7th, and in track and field, Matt Leach (2nd), Miles Smith (4th), Fabio Fornarelli (5th), and Sarah Gayer (6th) earned spots on the Grand Prix list.

Aneno’s 2:02.16 at Bryan Clay set a new club record.

Lifetime Bests Light Up the Track
From the first all-comers meet at Cal all the way through to the summer, Susan Aneno and Miles Smith made great strides in the middle distances, each achieving personal bests at 800m, with club records of 2:02:16 and 1:48.91 respectively, as Smith also lowered his 1500m time on multiple occasions. Matt Leach, again notched solid season bests of 13:47 and 28:34 in the 5000 and 10,000m. Maya Weigel ran 15:49 at the Stanford Invitational, Matt Lenehan had a lifetime best over 10,000m at the Portland Track Festival, and Chris Olley looks to build on a sub 13:50 5000m effort at the same event as we turn the corner to 2023. Tania Jarreau and Fabio Fornarelli also enjoyed multiple lifetime bests as they narrowly missed qualification for the French national championships, and Sarah Johnson, Benedikt Bünz, and Trevor Halsted competed well over varied distances this year, in Johnson and Bünz’s case from the 1500 to a half ironman triathlon, and for Halsted from the marathon down to the 1500.

During the summer months, Donald Taggart (two straight wins at the Tracksmith Twilight 5000 events in San Francisco), and Sarah Gayer both chopped huge chunks of time from their lifetime bests, with improvements of over 60 seconds and 30 seconds respectively. Finishing the 2022 track year on a strong note, newcomer Ashley Lewis won the 600m at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.

Leaving Their Mark on the Trail and in the Tri
With many events returning in the multi-sport and trail disciplines, several PDC team members notched strong performances. Kevin Bishop won the Stanford Tree-athlon, Benedikt Bünz won the 30+ age group at the Santa Cruz Ironman 70.3, and Sarah Johnson had strong age group finishes at each. Chelsea Burns ran our longest race of the year, contesting the Chuckanut 50K, Matt Lenehan won the Lake Sonoma Trail Marathon, Carmen Mejia won the Broken Arrow Sky Race 11K, and Cody Goodwin romped to victory at the Rabid Raccoon and Still Hollow Trail Races in Tennessee.

Progress Outside the Oval

Dena Evans again represented the team as a member of the Team USATF Coaching Staff at the World Athletics Championships, serving as the men’s assistant coach for the distance events at Oregon22.

PDC supported the Second Harvest Food Bank with our 3rd Annual Miles For Meals campaign in October, hitting over 2400 miles and raising the 2022 target of $5000 to support our neighbors in need.

In May, the first annual PDC Backyard Benefit was a tremendous late spring success, featuring great food and company, a well-supported raffle, and a lively moderated conversation with special guest Sara Hall. We look forward to a second edition in 2023, this time with Strava co-founder Mark Gainey as our scheduled guest. Join us!