Scenes From the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 13th

The U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials took place on the Los Angeles Marathon "Stadium to the Sea" course on Saturday, February 13, 2016. 

The men's race started at 10:06 a.m. with a field of 211 qualifiers who ran qualifying marathon times of under 2 hours, 19 minutes (or sub 1:05 in a half marathon) between August 1, 2013 and January 17, 2016.  A total of 86 men met the "A" standard time of under 2 hours, 15 minutes, receiving funding support to get to the race.

Start of men's race (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

The women's race had a field of 246 qualifiers who ran a qualifying time of under 2:45 in the marathon (or 1:15 in a half marathon). A total of 42 women met the "A" standard of 2 hours, 37 minutes. A total of 11 "masters" women (age 40+) qualified, which was quite impressive.

Start of women's race (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

It was a warm winter day in Los Angeles, with temperatures in the mid 60s in the morning, reaching high 70s towards the finish of the race. And the race started mid-morning to accommodate TV broadcasts...unlike typical marathons that start early in the morning.

A total of 108 men completed the marathon course, including the top three, who are now slated to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. The overall men's winner was 29 year old Galen Rupp, who was actually competing in his first full marathon!  His time of 2:11:12 earned him his 3rd trip to the Olympics, having competed in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Olympics and 10,000 and 5,000 at the 2012 Olympics. Rupp took the silver medal in the 2012 10,000 meters, the first American male medalist in the 10,000 since 1964.

View fullsize

Keflezighi and Rupp in the lead  (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

Following Rupp in 2nd place was three-time Olympian and now 40 year old master's runner Meb Keflezighi, who finished in 2:12:20. Meb is a sensation indeed, having earned the silver medal in the 2004 Olympics, the first American medalist since Frank Shorter in 1976. After missing the 2008 Olympics with a hip injury (though he still finished 8th in the Olympic Trials), he went on to compete at the Olympic level again in 2012 with a 4th place overall. Rounding out the top three was 27 year old Jared Ward in 2:13.

A total of 149 women completed the 26.2 mile course, with the top three spots going to 32 year old Amy Cragg in 2:28:20, 32 year old Desiree Linden in 2:28:54 and 34 year old Shalane Flanagan in 2:29:19. This will be Cragg's and Linden's first visit to the Olympics. Flanagan holds the 2nd fastest American marathon time ever (a 2:21:14 at the 2014 Berlin Marathon) and this will be her 4th visit to the Olympics, having competed in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 games.

Cragg and Flanagan  (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

Congratulations to all of the competitors and best of luck with some solid training to those who have earned the right to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games!

And for 26.2 training tips to complete your first marathon

Marathons within a one hour radius of Ventura County

Some extremely fit looking runners at the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials  (Photo Credit: Carl Pytlinski)

Sweet Escapes In and Around Ventura County

"Sweet Escape" by Chuck Trunks

Looking for something to do around Ventura County but also looking for money missing from your wallet? Not to worry, there are plenty of escapes that won't cost you an arm and a leg around town. In fact, our mission in life here is to ensure you have hundreds of inexpensive, fun options in Ventura County and surrounding areas!

Free upcoming local events

Free things to do

Free kids' activities

Kids eat free deals

Get free food and stuff at Ventura County area eateries

That should get you started...but here's some more:

Family events

Upcoming 5K/10K events

Send your kids to a local summer camp

Go on a bike ride

Swimming and water play around Ventura County

Visit a local farmers' market

Go bowling

Throw a birthday party for your kid

Visit a museum

Not enough choices? Continue exploring Conejo Valley Guide and I can guarantee you'll find something fun to do.

Support Our Troops Through the Halloween Candy Buy-Back Program

At Halloween, many of us anticipate massive stockpiles of sugary sweets in our households.

As an alternative to consuming all this candy, consider donating it to our troops overseas. You may think, do we really want to send all that junk food to throughout the world? Sure! Everyone enjoys a treat! And truth be told, the troops themselves don't eat all this candy...much of it they enjoy sharing in the communities they patrol.

The Halloween Candy Buy-Back Program has partnered with Operation Gratitude and local dental practices to channel your candy stockpile to our troops. Local dentists "buy" back Halloween candy in exchange for cash or other items. The candy is shipped to Operation Gratitude and other U.S. Military support groups and in turn it is sent overseas, to children of deployed service members, wounded warriors, veterans and first responders.

There are nearly a number of local Ventura County dental practices participating in this program. Just visit www.halloweencandybuyback.com and enter your zip code for these or other locations throughout the L.A./Ventura County area.

Each practice has their own buy-back incentives. so make sure to call to learn more about their program and related time frames (usually the first several days after Halloween).

Viewing the Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse on Sunday, September 27th in California

Video Courtesy of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

A total lunar eclipse will take place on September 27th,  the second lunar eclipse of 2015, But this one is different, because it will rear its head at approximately 6:40pm. And the total eclipse, according to this Los Angeles Times article, starts at 7:11 p.m. and ends at 8:23 p.m. This total eclipse is quite family friendly!

The moon will appear to be larger than normal as it will be just 59 minutes past its closest approach to Earth in 2015 at mid-eclipse, sometimes called a supermoon.  Continue watching the moon come out of the shadow of the Earth until 10 p.m.

The National Park Service is on board, as it hosts a group led by Focus Astronomy at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in Newbury Park from 5-10PM. Telescopes will be available for viewing and photographing the full eclipse until 10pm. Once the sun sets, the telescopes will be focused on the moon as it rises over the hills.

Scenes from the 2015 Thousand Oaks Independence Day Fireworks Show

For those who missed it, here's some footage from the annual Fireworks Extravaganza in Thousand Oaks last night. Fireworks are launched each year from "Fireworks Hill," located above the Conejo Recreation and Park District offices and bordered by Hillcrest Drive on the south and Wilbur Road on the east. This footage was taken from the north.

"Fireworks Hill" in Thousand Oaks, as viewed in greener days of January 2015.

Thousand Oaks 2015 Community Attitude Survey Results Just Released

Since 1969, the City of Thousand Oaks has conducted a communitywide attitude survey to sample city residents' views on planning and other issues. Prior to 2013, the survey was conducted every five years; the survey is now performed every two years.

True North Research of Escondido conducted the 2015 survey as in years past.  They phone surveyed a "statistically representative" sample of 400 Thousand Oaks residents out of close to 100,000 adults (there are about 129,000 total residents).

True North is also doing a supplemental web survey, sending postcards to residents today to complete the survey at www.toaks.org/survey by July 1, 2015.

Photo courtesy of local darts promoter L. David Irete

Thousand Oaks residents continue to rate the quality of life highly here, with 96% rating it good or excellent (97% in 2013). 65% rate it excellent (61% in 2013 and 66% in 2009) and 31% rate it as good (36% in 2013 and 31% in 2009. This is consistent with previous surveys, where 96% to 98% of residents have rated quality of life as good to excellent - an outstanding statistic.

If You Could Change One Thing?

One survey question asked if City Government could change one thing, what would it be. Topping the list at 14% of responses this year was to reduce traffic congestion, up from just 5% in 2013.

Local Shopping

Another question asked what percentage of your household's retail shopping (excluding groceries) dollars are spent in the City of Thousand Oaks...less than 10%, 10% to 19%, 20% to 29% and so on. My first response is, who the heck would actually know to this level of precision? I certainly don't. In any case, 34% of respondents indicate they spend less than half of their retail dollars in the City, up from 30% in 2013.

Half of the survey takers said they'd like to see additional retail establishments in Thousand Oaks. Of these, 21% would like a large discount store like Costco.

Respondents were then asked which of six specific businesses they'd like to see in the City, some of which have expressed an interest in coming to (or expanding in) Thousand Oaks, including Sam's Club, Lowe's, Walmart, Home Depot, Costco and IKEA. Again, Costco was the overall top choice at 22%, but IKEA received the largest combined tally of 1st/2nd choice selections at 42% vs 39% for Costco.

Information Sources for News, Events, Programs

True North asked a series of questions regarding sources for City of Thousand Oaks news, services, programs and events. The Acorn weekly newspaper was noted by 42% of responses (up from 36% in 2013 and 41% in 2009). The Internet (not City's site) was the 2nd highest response at 29%, followed by the City's website at 23%. Ventura County Star was mentioned by 12% of respondents (down from 24% in 2013). Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) was noted by 7%,  up from just 1% in 2013.

Other options given were Ventura County Reporter, LA Daily News and other sources. True North did not list Conejo Valley Guide, with its base of 50,000 monthly unique visitors, in its survey. Give them a piece of your mind when you complete your supplemental survey at at www.toaks.org/survey!

47 THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY OF THOUSAND OAKS

FREE AND NEARLY FREE SUMMER MOVIES IN VENTURA COUNTY

FREE LIVE MUSIC AND SUMMER CONCERTS AROUND VENTURA COUNTY