Enterprise staff writer

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Many people wear a lot of hats over the years. For Davis\’ Joannie Siegler, it\’s been a case of wearing a lot of shoes …

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Track spikes, basketball shoes, soccer cleats and now — at age 53 — it\’s back to running shoes for the elite cross country competitor.

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So accomplished has the local mom of three become on the trails that she\’s coming off an age-group victory in the 10k run at the National Masters USA Track and Field Championships.

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“I guess I started a mid-life crisis shortly before turning 50,” Siegler recalls. “(I) decided I would race a 10k after I hit the mid-century mark.

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“The idea was that I\’d have the advantage of being the youngest in the age group rather than competing with the younger 40-somethings.”

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Siegler, who has coached recreation league basketball, AYSO soccer and Emerson Junior High cross country, has always been competitive — running since her high school and college days in Wisconsin.

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She grew up in the early years of Title IX, when women\’s sports were given horrible, break-of-dawn practice schedules, hand-me-down uniforms and little first-rate coaching.

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At Ripon College, Siegler played basketball and ran track. Staying in shape, she ran a couple of miles a day. Enjoying the longer distances, she had no place to competitively place her love of road racing. Ripon had no cross country team.

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“One of my claims to fame — when I finally did go out on a limb — was in a track meet my senior year in college,” Siegler remembers. “The steeplechase event was about to happen and I thought it looked interesting.”

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Asking her coach if she could enter the all-men event, Siegler got the green light. The only woman involved.

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Recalling it an “abysmal” effort, the master distance runner didn\’t know she set a record:

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“I found out later that I held the Wisconsin collegiate record that year — only because no other female … had ever run it before. Needless to say, I never became a steeplechaser.”

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Next, graduate school at Cornell University had Siegler taken in by the beauty of upstate New York. She started running longer distances — five- and six-mile jaunts were not unusual.

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“I\’d kind of forget I was exercising,” she adds. “There was a group of us who would race. Back then, things were pretty lax. I don\’t think I ever knew the distance we were running, no one gave mile times. But it was a lot of fun and good competition.”

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While studying and teaching nutrition at Cornell, Siegler met soon-to-be husband Clay Weeks.

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The family came to Davis in 1988, Weeks pursuing agricultural work at UC Davis (he now works with the USDA).

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With three children — Caleb, JonahMaria and Joelah — Siegler chose to put her career on hold, focusing on her offspring. That move brought her into local coaching.

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Youth soccer, basketball and cross country all got the Siegler touch over the last 22 years.

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“I kept myself busy outside of the home by volunteering at the schools … most recently I manage a recycling and garden program at Patwin Elementary,” explains Siegler, who also does tutoring.

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It wasn\’t until last year that Siegler discovered the Golden Valley Harriers of Davis.

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“Having six or so races in the season makes you work hard … so you can run well for the team on the weekend,” Siegler says. “And it\’s great fun, not only having the camaraderie with your teammates, but with the competition.”

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Siegler loves her teammates and says “they make running a lot more fun … and (they) make me work harder. If I go out on a long run by myself, I\’m more likely to take it easier than if I\’m running with others.

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“We end up challenging each other or we get to talking and don\’t notice that we are pushing it harder than we would if we were alone.”

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Craighton Chin, a longtime GVH board member and runner, has been impressed by Siegler\’s dedication and accomplishment:

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“Most older runners gravitate to longer races like half marathons and marathons. What they have lost in speed, they compensate with endurance and perseverance. Joannie is the opposite — she is after speed.”

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To wit, earlier this year Siegler ran a 5k race in 19:38, which equates to a blistering 6:19 per mile.

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“What is amazing is that among senior women (in Northern California), she (ended up) in third place for the (PAUSATF cross country) season,” Chin continues.

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Siegler says she\’s honored to be running with some of the elite national names “and frankly amazed that I can do it.”

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That third place finish was a big accomplishment for the Davis mom.

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“Last year I was just another runner and this year I was one of the top finishers,” Siegler adds. “It\’s nice to know that training can have its rewards, other than just feeling physically fit.”

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But her new running career goes beyond the times, ribbons and kudos …

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“Although I have had great success this past year, I would say that it takes second place to the friendships I\’ve made and the pure pleasure I get from spending an hour with a group of people who want to get out there and breathe some fresh air, get their hearts pumping, make their muscles work and get a little sweaty,” Siegler says, almost laughing. “You don\’t have to be competitive to experience that. You just have to take that first step and the rest follows.”

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Notes: Siegler\’s son Caleb, 22, and daughter JonahMaria, 20, are Chico State students. JonahMaria, a former Davis High track and cross country standout for coach Bill Gregg, runs for the Wildcats. Joelah is a sophomore at DaVinci Academy. … “Once I started training with (Golden Valley Harriers), I steadily improved,” Siegler remembers, although she had been running competitively for two years before linking up with the local club. For more information of GVH, visit http://www.goldenvalleyharriers.org.

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— Reach Bruce Gallaudet at [email protected] or (530) 747-8047. Comment on this story at www.davisenterprise.com

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