Age groups - where do you draw the line?

This weekend I attended a local fun run and was surprised to see two seniors wearing hand-made signs, if you can even call them that, protesting age groupings.

Seems they were a little miffed because the club putting on the race had 10-year age spans up to 69, then it was 70-plus.

The protesters said the club as well as the race sponsors were discriminating aginst seniors.

They said it wasn't fair to have an 83 year old running aginst a 70-year old.

When you get right down to it, most age groups aren't fair. If a race has a 0-13 age division for youths, can a 4 year old really be expected to compete against a 12 year old?

You could even go further and say there should be separate divisions for collegiate runners and recreational runners. After all, it isn't fair when a cross-country star from Stan State runs against a weekend warrior who only puts in 15 miles a week.

But race directors have to draw the line somewhere.

No one was holding a gun to the two protesters' heads forcing the to run the race. They chose to be there.

It's up to race directors to set age groups. Some choose 5-year spans, others 10-year spans.

I've even seen larger. For several years, the Trix Run 5K in Lodi had small age groups for kids and then went 19-39, 40-55, and 56 and over. They have since changed that to 10-year spans, but it's still 60 and over for the most senior runner. The run was supposed to really cater to kids.

For years, the Modesto Turkey Trot had 20-39, 40-55 and 56 and above. As the race grew, so did the grumblings. Eventually race management listened to the comments and made 10-year group.

There was even one area race last year that had kids age groups, then 20 and above. Needless to say, they only got 25 participants.

And that's the point. If you don't like the age groups, just don't sign up to run the race.

If race directors are smart, they'll get the hint.

A gem in the San Joaquin Valley

As I was running Woodward Park in north Fresno a week ago, I marveled at its expansiveness.

Was it a fluke that this area was never developed and eventually became a park? Or did county planners long ago set it aside to preserve it for local residents?

Whatever the reason, it's a great treasures that needs to be preserved for future generations.

The park, which is located off of Highway 41 and Pine Flat Dam Road, used to be way out in the country. Fresno has grown, and now residential developments neighbor the park.

But it still has that out-in-the-country feel.

There's also something for just about every athlete. If you want to take a leisurely ride on your bike or walk your dog, there are paved trails.

Want to run some firetrails? There are gravel roads. Want to do some steep single-track running. There are trails for that, too.

The park also covers a wide range of habitats, from the arid, foothills grassy pastures to marshes adjoining creeks and wooded areas.

And it's this wide variety of terrain that makes it the stage for the CIF high school cross-country championships in late fall. That, and it's located in the center of the state, making it fairly convenient for both north-state and south-state schools.

If you're ever in the Fresno area, give Woodward Park a run.