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14-YEAR-OLD RUNNER DOMINATES AT DIPSEA JACQUE TAYLOR FINISHES 16TH OUT OF NEARLY 1,400; PLANS TO RUN CROSS COUNTRY AT CASA GRANDE DATE: Friday, June 23, 2006 BYLINE: By NATHAN WRIGHT FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT SECTION: PETALUMA Jacque Taylor expanded her wardrobe earlier this month, adding the celebrated black shirt from the Dipsea race to her list of running accomplishments. Taylor, 14, came in 16th out of a field of almost 1,400 runners in the 2006 Dipsea cross-country race, which begins in Mill Valley, crests Mount Tamalpais and ends at Stinson Beach. The trail features a 1,360- foot elevation gain over 7.1 miles, including 677 steps at the beginning of the course. ``I wanted to get into the top 35 because I wanted to get a black shirt,'' Taylor said. ``It's something that every runner wants.'' Taylor first ran the Dipsea in 2004 when she was 12, and finished 45th. In 2005 she tried for a second time to get a black shirt, but finished 50th, 15 away from the award. This year Taylor trained hard with the Empire Runners Club, a Sonoma County group that trains and competes for running events. ``They have practice runs, and I went to every practice,'' Taylor said. ``I got used to the path and the trail, and learned when to go faster or slower. A lot of the people I was running with told me how to handle things'' in the race. The extra work paid off, and Taylor was one of three Empire Runners to win the black shirt. ``I think it's better than getting a trophy,'' she said. Taylor hopes she'll be adding many more trophies, ribbons and awards to her trophy case in the coming years. She graduated from Kenilworth Junior High School this month, and plans to run cross-country and track at Casa Grande High School in the fall. Taylor already has qualified and competed in three Junior Olympic cross-country national competitions in the past three years in Albuquerque, N.M.; Chicago and Rhode Island. This weekend, she's competing in the Junior Olympic track regional competition, the first time she's competed in both the Junior Olympic cross-country and track competitions. If she places in the top nine in either the 1,500- or 3,000-meter run she'll return to the regional finals the following weekend, and a top three finish there would lead to a spot in the national competition in Baltimore in July. Taylor already has informed Casa Grande cross-county and long-distance track coach Carl Triola that she intends to compete for the Gauchos next year. Triola says that Taylor is close to running a sub-five-minute mile, a superb time for a high school distance runner. He believes her physical gifts will give her an advantage in high school competition, but says strategy and mental toughness also play major roles in the success of a runner. ``I don't know her well enough to say what type of runner she will or will not be,'' he said. ``I do know that she's a very dedicated, motivated runner.'' He believes her dedication to the sport will help the Gaucho running program immediately. ``A dedicated runner can raise the level of all the runners around them,'' he said. Triola is expecting around 50 runners to participate in his cross-country program this fall, his largest group to date. Many of these runners, like Taylor, are young. ``I think it's going to be a fun year,'' he said. You can reach Correspondent Nathan Wright at 694-4053 or nwright01@gmail.com.
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