West Seattle, Washington
24 Friday
Opening weekend of high-school-football season continued Saturday night. Seattle Lutheran HS was in Pierce County, playing Life Christian/Seattle Christian, which won the game 49-25. SLHS is on the road again next week, playing at North Beach.
Chief Sealth International High School opened the season with a non-conference, “away” football game tonight – very far away. On the Olympic Peninsula, Sealth lost at Port Angeles, 48-0. Seattle Lutheran High School plays tomorrow night in Lakewood, Pierce County (vs. Life Christian/Seattle Christian); West Seattle High School isn’t scheduled for its first game till next weekend.
We’re on Alki, still socked in with fog, but spirits are bright as runners and walkers finish the 2011 edition of the Alki Beach 5K, raising money for Northwest Hope and Healing. NWHH executive director Shari Sewell estimates almost 1,200 came to the beach for this year’s fundraiser. The first finishers, by gender, were identified as (male) Brett Winegar and (female) Kelsey Lenzie:

(Photo courtesy Cami MacNamara)
Kelsey is 10 years old, according to race emcee Eric Radovich; she finished in 20:48! Pre-5K warmups were courtesy of Lori and Tim McConnell of West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor):

Pep talk was courtesy of “Warrior Marathon Runner” and breast-cancer survivor Carolyn Dellinger :

(Here’s our story about Carol, published last night). Post-5K treats are being distributed now – including the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle scooping Husky Deli ice cream:

ADDED 11:07 AM: A dynamic duo we met before the 5K:

Elizabeth Crouch and Kim Schaaf are with CheckYourBoobies.org – a nonprofit that will send a breast-health educator if you organize a party – it can be a party just for breast-health education, or, says their brochure, an event coupled with some other kind of gathering you’re already having.
P.S. Alki has a few more 5K (and similar events) coming up in the next few months – on September 17th, the Walk and Roll for ataxia awareness, and a new event, Beat the Burn, on October 16th.
Story and photos by Ellen Cedergreen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Tomorrow morning, “Warrior Marathon Runner” Carol Dellinger will cheer on the Alki Beach 5K run-walk participants, and then will join them.
They are walking/running to raise money for Northwest Hope and Healing‘s work, helping breast-cancer patients.
Carol knows what that’s like. She is not your average marathon runner. Completing more than 250 marathons is a feat in and of itself, but the 49-year-old Spokane resident has an even bigger claim to fame: She’s a breast-cancer survivor, and she completed her 235th marathon just 9 weeks after undergoing a mastectomy. Since then, she’s completed 8 more, bringing her grand total to 253, 254 after next weekend. We talked with her at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), shortly after she arrived in Seattle this afternoon for the Alki Beach 5K (9 am Sunday morning – and you can still register in person at the Bathhouse, starting at 8).
Dellinger lost her mom to breast cancer 25 years ago and has other family members who’ve battled the disease. She’s a firm believer in early detection and has been getting annual mammograms since the age of 35. According to her cancer treatment center, many age-eligible women do not get mammograms, often due to fear, but Dellinger wants to remind women that breast cancer can be100% curable if discovered early.
Dellinger chose not to have reconstructive surgery after learning her cancer had not spread to the lymph nodes.
Matt Haggerty is going into his senior year at Seattle Lutheran High School in West Seattle – a time when students not only are completing their coursework, but also working on their senior projects involving community service. Matt’s project is called “Ritual Running,” and he’s inviting you to be part of it. It’s a running group that will start meeting in September, working up to a 5K/10K run/walk event that will raise money to go toward buying and shipping shoes to areas of the world where they’re most needed, in conjunction with One World Running, which donates shoes in the U.S. as well as other parts of the world. Participation in the group is free, but the eventual event will have an entry fee and will encourage participants to gather pledges for the cause. Running is one of Matt’s passions – he says he runs both cross-country and track and has completed 4 marathons, “3 of which I ran in under 3 hours.” He’s planning on running the Boston Marathon next year.
The running group is set to start September 6th – a little over two weeks away – meeting Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6:30 pm, and Saturday mornings at 10:30 am. The target date for his 5K/10K is October 8th, but Matt warns that could change. In the meantime, you can sign up by e-mailing Matt at ritualrunning@gmail.com. He has a website in progress at ritualrunning.com, and Ritual Running is on Facebook, here.
Next Sunday morning is when you can put your feet to the street and help Northwest Hope and Healing in its work to help newly diagnosed breast-cancer patients deal with the fact that diagnosis and treatment don’t stop the rest of life from rushing forward. It’s the fundraising Alki Beach 5K Run/Walk, and once again this year, it’ll shut down the street from the Bathhouse to Anchor (Luna) Park for a few hours – so you might as well get out and be part of it. You can register online or in person, and today you can do the latter, with a special discount, at Coastal Boutique on Alki (right along the route you’ll be walking/running next week!) during a registration party starting at noon; you can also register at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor; NW corner of California/Charlestown). The 5K starts at 9 am next Sunday (August 28

Actually “West Seattle and vicinity” scene – the annual 40-mile Water and Spirit Bike Ride starts and finishes in West Seattle, but riders ferry over to Kitsap County along the way, and take the Southworth-to-Fauntleroy ferry back. Krista Livingston shared the photo of one group on Saturday’s ride; she says, “It turned out to be a wonderful day for the 4th Annual Water and Spirit Ride! We had a great showing, beautiful views and a lot of fun. Thank you to all of the volunteers and riders that made this a fantastic event.” It raised money for Scholastic Journey and Family Promise of Seattle (whose next major fundraiser is the Justin Roberts concert on Friday!).
That’s a preview of “Explore: Catalina,” a stand-up paddleboarding “adventure film” that’ll have its Seattle premiere next Tuesday (August 16th) as part of a big night at Seacrest. Greg Whittaker from Alki Kayak Tours says it’ll be shown outdoor at the Alki Crab and Fish lounge right next to his business, at the end of an evening that starts with SUP demos at 6 pm (first 40 people free), continues with the weekly SUP race at 7, and then the movie – free – at 8. Raffles too. (Co-sponsors for the evening include WSB sponsor Mountain to Sound Outfitters, which is celebrating the launch of its online store – discount code here; the full sponsor list is on the official flyer, which includes even more details.)
It’s the fitness equivalent of zero-to-sixty – a “couch-to-half-marathon” training plan. West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) has led a successful group through it before and is getting ready to do it again – so if you’re interested in running/walking a half marathon (13.1 miles) but stymied about where to start, you’re invited to the info night for the next group, this Thursday (July 28). If you’re interested in the (free!) training, the 17-week plan starts Sunday, culminating in walking/running the Amica Seattle half-marathon on November 27th. The shop’s at 3727 California SW, northwest corner of Calif/Charlestown, upstairs; Thursday night’s info session begins at 7 pm.
P.S. WS Runner’s Tim McConnell also has a shoutout for Team WSR’s finish in the recent Ragnar Relay – 190 miles in 23 hours and 48 minutes: 15th overall, 5th in mixed-gender, 1st in mixed-gender running stores, all accomplished in WSR’s first-ever entry in the relay.
Roxhill Park in Westwood is about to get a skatespot (which has not been without controversy) and a playground renovation, and Seattle Parks has set the date for the first public meeting about the project. According to a postal-mail notification that, as of this morning, seems to have preceded the full online notification, the meeting will be 6-7:30 pm on Wednesday, August 10, at Southwest Library (35th/Henderson). The postcard says Parks staffers will “outline the project scope and schedule, and learn what the community priorities are for transforming the play area and incorporating a new skatespot into the park.” The skateboarding area is expected to cover about 8,000 square feet, which is about two-thirds the size of the under-construction Delridge Skatepark. The $1 million-plus Roxhill project funding is from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy.

After leaving from Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza just after 8 this morning, Don Wennerlind (front of photo) and more than a dozen friends are off on a 40-mile journey to a spot just south of Sumner in Pierce County.
Actually, 40 1/2 miles … 81 total round trip … which is important because today is Don’s 81st birthday, and for six years now, he tells us, he and a group of friends have celebrated by biking the number of miles equal to his age. The first birthday ride, “there were three of us,” he told us at Alki this morning; today, as you see in the top photo, the entourage is closer to five times that. They know each other from spinning classes at the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor), one participant explained. We heard about this from Clemens Pera, who knows Don as “Coach” – no wonder, since, as he explained, Don taught athletics for many years and “is one of the founding fathers of the Special Olympics.” Oh, one more thing: “Last year, (Don’s) biking prowess included riding the STP, his birthday ride, and a senior race, which he won, all in a week and a half.”

West Seattle High School girls’ basketball coach Sonya Elliott shared that photo from Friday’s Hiawatha Fun Fest – where some of her players volunteered for a dunk tank. Next up, some WSHS players are scheduled to join Elliott and fellow coach Ashley Ioane for Westside Basketball Camp for Girls, July 25-28, at WSHS – and it’s open to girls going into third through eighth grades. Sessions are 9 am-1 pm each of those four days, and the cost is $65. Registration is under way – contact Coach Elliott at sonya@sonyaelliott.com.

(At left, Steve Sundquist, who hit a home run just before we left for breaking news, with Tom Rasmussen and Tim Burgess)
5:13 PM: Exactly one month till the primary election – but the challengers-vs.-incumbents match that just got under way here at Lincoln Park may be even more of a thriller – mostly because of the weather; it began just as the downpour hit (and now, a bit of sun).
(Video added, game’s start during the aforementioned downpour)
Back at their endorsements meeting, the 34th District Democrats publicly invited just about every politician in the room to come join in a softball game at their annual picnic – and most if not all of them accepted. Officeholders we’ve seen include five Seattle City Councilmembers (Tim Burgess, Sally Clark, Jean Godden, Bruce Harrell, Tom Rasmussen), two U.S. Reps. (governor candidate Jay Inslee and Jim McDermott), State Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, and School Board member Steve Sundquist; candidates include Diana Toledo from the King County Council Position 8 race; Maurice Classen, Bobby Forch, Michael Taylor-Judd, Brad Meacham from City Council races, and pro/anti Referendum 1 (tunnel) reps.
7:56 PM: Finally got a chance to add some of our photos – after the jump (PLUS – added 1:48 am Sunday – game recap courtesy of Michael Heavey):Read More

From West Seattle Little League president Mark Terao:
Our 11-12 West Seattle Little League All-Stars beat Rainier Little League All-Stars 12-3 in 6 innings (Friday) night, capturing the District 7 Championship. This title sends the 11-12 West Seattle Little League All-Stars to the State Tournament in Vancouver, Washington, the week of July 23rd.
Manager: John Coats
Coach: Howard Chilcott
Coach: Tim Johnson
Players: Jackson Chilcott, Anthony Coats, Jax Cramer, Matt Dietz, Zach Gerhardt, Anthony Goss, Tyler Hammond, Blue James, David Johnson, Tim Roach, Adam Wickler
This team is the second WSLL All-Stars team to win the district championship this season; the 10-11 All-Stars go to state later this month, and their fundraising car wash is coming up this Sunday (details here).
A brand-new fundraising 5K is launching in West Seattle this summer – and this one will be in Lincoln Park instead of the popular route along Alki. The date for the Breathe Deep Seattle run/walk is August 13th; it’s a fundraiser to fight lung cancer. And tomorrow, noon-4 pm, you can find out more about it at a registration party at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor; California/Charlestown).

Another side note from the West Seattle/Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade (full report still in the works): At the end of the route, Hamilton Viewpoint Park, we found Ethan, Austin, and Kevin, promoting a fundraising car wash next Sunday, 10 am-2 pm at Bar-S Playfield on Alki Point, to raise money for the West Seattle Little League 10-11 All-Stars‘ upcoming trip to the state tournament in Eastern Washington. (If you can’t read the fine print – free coffee while you wait!)

It’s a learning experience not only for campers, but for their coaches, at Chief Sealth International High School‘s 14th annual Basketball and Life Skills Camp. We stopped by the school Friday as the first of this summer’s three weeklong sessions concluded. Coming off his CSIHS team’s amazing year, going all the way to the state 3A Final Four at the Tacoma Dome, award-winning Coach Colin Slingsby was talking with some of the young men and women who help coach the campers.

Slingsby co-directs the camp with Sealth athletic director Sam Reed and Denny International Middle School‘s Coach Diallo Jackson. (When we stopped by on Friday, we spotted CSIHS principal John Boyd there too.) Check out the brochure here – it breaks down the typical day and explains how “life skills” figure into it as well as basketball skills. Two more one-week sessions for 2nd through 9th graders (fall ’11 grades), for both genders, are ahead, one starting July 11th and another starting August 8th;

Congratulations to the West Seattle Little League 10-11 All-Stars team for winning the District 7 All-Star Tournament, which sends them on to state-level play. WSLL president Mark Terao (who shared the photo) says that tournament will be in Cheney, July 16-24. The WSLL 10-11 All-Stars won the district title after beating PacWest 6-2; that followed their 12-1 win over Rainier and a tournament-opening 9-1 win over PacWest. Mark O’Neil manages the team and Terao coaches; players are Ethan Chen, Kevin Chen, Dylan Diggdon, Chris Drake, Austin Grambihler, Grayson O’Neil, Kai Osaka, Alex Pastrana, Gage Rowlands, Max Rubin-Stencel, Jacob Terao, Grant VanDerHijde. Between now and the team’s state-tournament games, WSLL has an 11-12 All-Star Tournament starting this Saturday at Alki’s Bar-S Playfield, and a Juniors/Seniors All-Star Tournament starting that same day at Rainier Playfield.

A rocky spot for the future skatespot in Roxhill Park: It had full funding from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy and a green light from the city – and then came a donation. Usually a cause for celebration, but in this case, the city Skate Park Advisory Committee wants the Parks Department to turn it down. They say the donation announced early last month is locking the city into a contract for the skateboarding facility to be built by a company that ranked low when the Request for Qualifications went out. Read on:Read More

From proud coach Marc McCann, the photo and this report:
Congratulations to the West Seattle Peewee Baseball 9U All-Stars for their excellent performance on the diamond over the weekend of June 24 to 26. On their way to the Jr. Mustang Championship, the West Seattle “Snakes,” as they call themselves after their reptilian garter-snake friends at the field, won seven straight games, allowing less than five runs per game and scoring on average 19.7 runs per game. The team also executed many flawless innings in the field during their three days at the tournament. The “Snakes” will continue to play fierce on their quest toward the PONY Regional Championship to be held in Enumclaw, WA, in mid-July. The team is grateful for the support of their fans, and especially the family members who assisted in preparing and maintaining the fields, running the Snack Shack and cheering them on throughout the tournament.
For those who like marking their calendars way in advance, today’s postal mail brought word of a new 5K added to the Alki schedule this year: October 16th is the date for the first-ever Beat the Burn 5K run/walk and “kids’ dash.” It’s co-presented by Port of Seattle Fire Department Local 1257 Firefighters and the Northwest Burn Foundation, which the event’s proceeds will benefit. More info to come later this summer.

(August 2010 Alki Beach 5K photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
It’s a gorgeous course for a great cause – August 28th is this year’s date for the Alki Beach 5K walk/run benefiting Northwest Hope and Healing, which helps newly diagnosed breast-cancer patients. You can save the online registration fees if you stop by West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) to sign up – and in fact, while you’re out and about, they’re having a registration party right now, till 4 pm.

ADDED 2:16 PM: At the store this afternoon, we found Shari Sewell (left) and Camille Boushay (right) from NW Hope and Healing, with WS Runner’s Lori McConnell. Treats for those who stop by to register! The table is right inside the store door, upstairs on the west side of the building.

The water and newly opened beach at Jack Block Park are alive with activity as the first day of the first-ever Northwest Paddling Festival continues. Both veteran paddlers and beginners are taking the chance for a closeup look at what’s new:

And if you’re just curious – not sure if you’re ready to try it out – you can wander the booths on the boardwalk:

KING 5 was live at the festival during their newscast this morning, with Alki Kayak Tours/Mountain to Sound Outfitters‘ Greg Whittaker (and others) – here’s one of their reports:
Today’s events continue till 6 pm – and then 9 am to 5 pm again tomorrow; the full schedule is here.
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