Top Valley Runners have own reasons to compete

By Marek Warszawski / The Fresno Bee

11/04/09 12:54:11

For 23 years, the Valley Runner of the Year Series has shaped the local running scene.

Made up of 15 road races held from January to October, the Series draws everyone from serious competitors to casual joggers. Some run for times and titles; others for fun and fitness.

Those who finish at or near the top represent a spectrum of runners. Here are their stories:

The mom

With consecutive titles in the Open division, Alyson Berg could stake a claim as one of the fastest runners around.

Except she’s not even the fastest in her family.

“My 7-year-old daughter beats me in the 50-yard dash,” she says, laughing.

Berg was a neighborhood jogger until a couple years ago, when Emily signed up for a race. Mom figured if her daughter was running, she might as well run, too.

Then something unexpected happened. Berg started group training and got progressively faster. To the point where she started winning local races.

“I’m a very competitive person,” says Berg, an assistant U.S. attorney. “It comes with my profession.”

Things are slowing down, though. Berg says it’s “unlikely” she’ll race in 2010 and won’t defend her title at Sunday’s Eye Q Two Cities Marathon.

“I was a running mom for a while,” she says. “Now I’m a soccer mom.”

The delivery guy

Joe Amendt spends all day on his feet. As a UPS delivery driver, it comes with the territory. But his feet have been hard at work long before his shift starts.

“If I don’t run that morning, I kind of feel sluggish throughout the whole day. When you run, you just feel more alive.”

It’s been that way for most of Amendt’s life. Certainly since 1991, when he moved from the Bay Area to attend Fresno State on a track scholarship.

Amendt has taken part in Series events for years but was never fast enough to make an impact in the Open division. But he turned 40 this year, which made him a Masters “baby.”

The Series title is great and all, but it’s not the reason Amendt gets up most days at 4:30 a.m.

“I like the feeling that comes with knowing you’ve run 12 miles that day. I don’t have to tell anybody, but the feeling inside makes me happy.”

The race director

On her 40th birthday, Sherrie Flynn ran 15 miles. It was the longest of her life.

“It was kind of a 40th birthday present to myself,” she says.

Eleven years have passed since then, but Flynn hasn’t stopped running. Knee surgery in May 2008 slowed her down some, but the Fresno civil litigation attorney recovered in time to win the Seniors (50-plus) division by a sizable margin.

Flynn’s nine victories were the most of any Series runner.

“My knee just kept improving,” she says. “It isn’t even an issue now.”

Flynn has finished 16 marathons but won’t run Sunday. That’s only because she’s a race director whose responsibilities include designing the course.

“Fresno is such a great place to run,” she says. “People are so friendly, and we have so many nice parks and trails.”

The late bloomer

Danny Vulich is 26 years old. Though when it comes to running, he’s just starting to hit his stride.

“I didn’t really get addicted to running until I was 22 or 23,” he says. “I’m still early in my running.”

Vulich grew up in Prather and ran track for Washington High. He thought he was pretty fast. That is, until he went out for track at Fresno City College.

“I was jogging with the girls the first couple practices. I had no clue how to train.”

Vulich got better quickly and it wasn’t long before he was a factor at Series races. While not as accomplished as some former Open division winners, Vulich won the title by running as many races as possible and stockpiling points.

“I’m attracted to the fairness of it,” he says. “It’s just you and the clock. If you put in the miles and the time, you’re going to see results.”

The lung doctor

Kathryn Bilello knows all about the importance of healthy lungs. After all, she’s a pulmonary and critical care physician for the University of California at San Francisco’s medical education program in Fresno.

When Bilello isn’t treating patients with asthma, pneumonia or lung cancer, she’s training doctors to become specialists in the field.

Running, with its emphasis on lungs, is an important part of her regimen. It helps her breathe easy.

“I don’t run for the races or the competition. To me, that stuff is the icing on the cake. I just run for the pleasure and the way it makes me feel.”

Bilello didn’t set out to win the Masters division, which in recent years has been dominated by Pam Boyles and Maia Pucay. But it happened.

“It becomes seductive,” Bilello says. “You win a race, and then you start thinking you might be able to do it again. Before you know it, you’ve piled up a whole bunch of points.”

The ultra runner

By now, David Ruvalcaba is used to the look. The one people shoot back at him when they learn he does 100-mile ultramarathons.

“Most people say, ‘You’re crazy,’ or they don’t believe me. I tell them, ‘Want proof? I’ve got the medals.’ ”

Ruvalcaba, who in 2007 finished the Western States 100 in 23 hours, 22 minutes, runs shorter distances, too. Well enough to finish second in the Seniors division two years in a row.

This year, the Madera resident lost out to Dale Campbell, an eight-time champion, by a mere two points.

To get over the hump, perhaps Ruvalcaba could convince Series director Ken Takeuchi into incorporating a 100-miler into next year’s schedule.

Fat chance.

“Oh, I asked him already,” Ruvalcaba says with a laugh. “But he doesn’t like my idea.”