California Indians cherished the poppy as both a source of food and for oil extracted from the plant. Its botanical name, Eschsholtzia californica, was given by Adelbert Von Chamisso, a naturalist and member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, who dropped anchor in San Francisco in 1816 in a bay surrounded by hills of the golden flowers. Also sometimes known as the flame flower, la amapola, and copa de oro (cup of gold), the poppy grows wild throughout California. It became the state flower in 1903.
This past weekend was kicked off with the debut of our first short distance class program. The OC Chili Race took place at Oneil Regional Park this was the first of three. The race distance was 5 miles, its a perfect distance for runners to get a taste of the trail running experience. This first group started their training back on Jan 8th. They were not new to running, but have completed at least a 5k or 10k distance- so making the transition from the road to trail was pretty easy. Due to the recent closure of Oneil Park we found other local trails thru Coto De Caza to get their training. The group was very flexible and accommodating during this phase. Most of the runners had alot of concerns of getting lost on the trail- we made a point of keeping the group intact. Based on the feedback many of our runners really did not know what existed out on the trails in terms of the scenery. Leading up to the race and dealing with frantic txt msgs and emails everyone did fantastic on race day. Following the race there were fun things like a raffle and hot chili being served. Everyone had a positive race experience, and plan to continue to Race #2 March 12th. We will continue to run this weekend Feb 19th @ 9am. However due to the recent rain Oneil park will be closed- so we will meet at Bruegger's Bagel- (22361 Antonio Parkway, E110 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688)
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