Sacramento Running Association

DENIS ZILAFF, President

Denis, a Sacramento native and a supervising attorney in the County Counsel’s Office, serves or has served on other not-for-profit boards including the Western States Endurance Run Foundation, Parent Support Program, Parents Anonymous, the Old Sacramento Little League (where he served as President), and the Sacred Heart School Foundation. His first marathon was the first CIM in 1983. Since then he has run all 28 CIMs and an additional 24 marathons. He has also finished 63 ultramarathons including two Western States 100-Mile Endurance Runs and every Way Too Cool 50K (formerly known as the Cool Canyon Crawl).

LARRY LIEB, M.D., Treasurer

Larry is a retired pathologist and the former director of the laboratories at Mercy San Juan and Mercy Folsom hospitals. He ran his first marathon (CIM) at age 62 and 12 more since then, with number 12 in December, 2010 at age 77. In the past five years he has run two 50Ks, a 50-miler and a 52-miler, in addition to many 30-or-more- mile runs, just for the pure enjoyment of running them. Now that he has turned 78, he looks forward to many more years of long distance running and its associated fitness benefits. His wonderful wife, Evie, has planted three trees in the American River Parkway to honor his long distance runs.

MUFFET MCCLENEGHAN, Secretary, Youth Fitness

Muffet, a recently retired elementary school teacher, has participated with her students and both her daughters in the CIM’s Youth Fitness Program since 1991. Many of her young runners achieved a cumulative 100-mile mark and have gone on to run competitively in junior high, high school, college, and as adults. She has run five CIMs, the Boston and Napa Valley marathons, Way Too Cool 50K, and the American River 50 Miler, and she is also a swimmer, avid birder, hiker, and nature enthusiast. Her goal is to promote life-long fitness through running and healthy choices.

DEIRDRE FITZPATRICK

Deirdre joined the CIM Board in 2002. She’s an avid runner and triathlete who has completed eight CIMs, the Boston Marathon and Ironman Wisconsin. Deirdre is an Emmy award-winning weekday morning anchor/reporter at KCRA TV. Deirdre has reported live for KCRA from the last six Olympic Games. These days she trains mainly by chasing her two boys (ages 6 and 2). Follow Deirdre’s endurance sports updates at twitter.com/kcraFitz or facebook.com/deirdrefitzpatrick.kcra.

DENNY JOYCE

Denny is one of the founding members of CIM and has served as board president for four different years. In 1992 he completed a 24-year career with the FBI after serving as a supervisor in the Sacramento Field Office for 12 years. He was an avid participant in the California Police Olympics as a runner and triathlete. Now he has his own private investigating firm specializing in employment law and fraud investigations. An avid runner and cyclist, he has run five CIMs. He can be found most days running the trails near his home in Folsom with his trusty German Shepherd, Tara.

STEVE POLANSKY, M.D.

Dr. Steve, originally from New York, now a Sacramento resident for 36 years, settled here after two years of service at Mather Air Force Base Hospital. He is a practicing OB/GYN physician. He is a member of the Buffalo Chips Running Club, has run at least one marathon for each of the last 32 years, and has run a total of 64 marathons: all 28 CIMs and all the majors including Boston, NY and Chicago. He has climbed Mount Shasta for the Breast Cancer Fund, as well as Mt Mera in Nepal and Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina. For his 60th birthday he hiked the entire 160-mile Tahoe Rim Trail to raise money for the Sacramento Eating Disorders Outreach Program and recently hiked part of  the John Muir Trail for his 65th birthday raising funds for Shriner’s Hospital. Steve has been a member of the CIM Board since 1984.

LEIGH RUTLEDGE

Leigh, a runner for many years, has run 13 marathons and one ultra (Way Too Cool 50K). She is very excited to have completed all five of the “World Major Marathons”: Boston, New York, Paris, Chicago, London, and in September 2010, Berlin. She has run the CIM twice. She is a former board member of the Buffalo Chips Running Club and ran three marathons with Team in Training raising money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. She is a member of the National Ski Patrol, and loves running, hiking and traveling with her husband Bill. She can also be found running around Sacramento selling homes as a long-time Realtor with Dunnigan Realtors.