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 the 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 & Runner of the Year
Information and rules for these club member competitions can be found by selecting the Annual Meeting Minutes link on our Home Page.
Saturday Cumulative Contest
Within each division (see Annual Meeting Minutes) the runner with the lowest overall total of their best time in each of the six Saturday race courses wins the award.
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.