West Valley Joggers & Striders Information

General Information

WVJS is a USATF registered running club (number 117) that fields teams for the annual Pacific Association USATF Championships. We field Men’s and Women’s Open Teams, Men’s and Women’s Masters (40+) Team, Men’s and Women’s Seniors (50+) Teams, Men’s Super Seniors (60+) Team, and a Men’s Veteran (70+) Team. Some of our teams have traditionally been among the top in PA/USATF. See the history page for more information. We conduct and participate in many running events aside from USATF. Our club members vary widely in age, running interest and talent. Annual dues are $30 for individuals, $40 per family and $1 for students. An online newsletter is published several times a year.

Weekly Activities

Saturday Workouts

We meet at West Valley College (Fruitvale Avenue in Saratoga) each Saturday (see aerial view on home page). Most runners arrive around 7:30 and do a warmup on local streets, around the campus or on the track. Our events start at 8 a.m. Every two weeks we run one of our six pre-measured road races. The distances vary from 2.75 miles to 5.74 miles. All courses involve some hills. On alternate Saturdays a handicapped relay event is held on the West Valley track or on campus. Our weekly event usually ends by 9am. Each week, one of our runners is awarded the Walt Van Zant Trophy, which they get to keep for one week. Many club members then meet for breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Some club members also meet at West Valley for track workouts on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Competition

USATF Team Activities

The club regularly fields Men’s and Women’s teams to compete in the PA/USATF annual LDR and Cross Country competitions. Our team number is 117. LDR PA/USATF Championship races are generally held at most common distances from 1 mile to the marathon. Races are held at various locations throughout Northern California and Nevada. Teams consist of 3 to 5 individuals in the  appropriate age group.

Cross Country races are usually in the 4-6K range and are  held in the extended San Francisco Bay Area.

Internal Club Competitions

Racer of the Year.

Club members are categorized into one of five divisions depending on their ability. The A Division consists of runners who can run a 10K in under 39:00 or those runners so designated by “the committee”; B Division runners can run under 43:00; C Division runners can run under 48:00; D Division runners can run under 52:00; and E Division runners can run a 10K at 52:00 and over.

A number of races are designated “Racer of the Year” events. The competition is held in these events within each division. The individual in each division with the best time in that event scores 25 points, the 2nd best time scores 24 points, etc. Each individual’s best 8 events for the year  count toward the competition.

“Racer of the Year” events consist of a number of road races at distances from 5K to Half Marathon as selected by vote of club members each year, and the WVJS Halloween Relays, the fastest Saturday morning Farwell course run of the year, the fastest marathon of the year, the fastest Saturday morning track mile (scheduled twice each year), the fastest total of the six Saturday morning races.

Saturday Cumulative Contest

Within each division the runner with the lowest overall total of their best time in each of the six Saturday race courses wins the award.

Runner of the Year

Here are the rules:

  1. Runners will earn one point for every mile that they run.
  2. Runners will earn 20 points for every club workout that they attend and run the warmup and/or just cheer on the runners.
  3. Club members who compete in a Grand Prix race on a Saturday/Sunday will earn 20 points.
  4. Club members will receive 40 points for participating in the Valentine race and 40 points for participating in the club handicap race.
  5. Walking at a brisk pace during a workout will count in this contest.
  6. Tom Warfel, who now lives in Florida, will receive 20 points per week in exchange for keeping track of the Runner of the Year results and helping to compile the Racer of the Year results.
  7. 3,500+ point earners will receive a gold award, 2,500+ will receive a silver award, and 1,500+ will receive a bronze award.
  8. Club member = someone who has paid their annual dues.

Annual Events

Awards Banquet

An Awards Event, typically a lunch or dinner, is held early in the year. There, we present awards for our “serious” events held the previous years, and perhaps also some less-than-serious awards.

Annual Handicap Race

Every summer the club holds a 3+ mile race for members that is handicapped to give everyone an equal chance of winning. The run is followed by refreshments and awards to top finishers. See history and winners. Full results are found in each year’s archive.

Club Valentine Team Race

On a Saturday near Valentine’s day we hold a team race, consisting of fairly equal 4-man teams.  The placing of the teams is based upon the total of the finishing places of the members of each team.  The top teams receive boxes of Valentine candy as their awards.

Lake Merced Xmas Relays

The club usually puts together multiple teams for this annual race held at Lake Merced in San Francisco.