A new local running club on the scene out of Orange and Los Angeles County will be competing in the U.S.A. Track and Field Cross Country National Championships on Dec. 14 in Bend, Oregon.
A new local running club on the scene out of Orange and Los Angeles County will be competing in the U.S.A. Track and Field Cross Country National Championships on Dec. 14 in Bend, Oregon.
The So-Cal Elite Running Club, started by Coach Daniel Ozan, 32, of Long Beach, will be sending 8 men and 8 women to the nationals. The club has 30 members, meets casually in Whittier and Griffith Park, and was started by Ozan, a Cal State University, Long Beach alumni, to promote distance running while helping the community. Ozan hopes to begin running clinics in the spring for middle and high school students in Los Alamitos and surrounding cities, to give back to the community.
“We will be doing the running clinics to focus on health for the next generation,” said Ozan. “For the holidays, we are giving warm clothes to the homeless through my mother.” Ozan’s mother, Janin Rimper, who lives in San Jose, will be distributing the clothing to the needy in a park by her home. Previous years, she’s given out food and clothing, which has instilled a spirit of giving in Ozan.
“I truly believe So-Cal Elite will have a positive impact on the community,” said Ozan. “If you start with a goal, proceed with a dream, you can end with accomplishment, because anything is possible.”
So-Cal Elite currently has 30 athletes who are USATF members, striving to bring out the best in post-high school and post-college distance runners by helping them to compete at a high level including preparing some for the Olympics. Glennis Seldon, 28, of Long Beach, who attended Wilson High School in Long Beach, and is head coach for cross-country/distance running coach at Lakewood High School, is just one such athlete who has her eye on the Olympics and will be competing in nationals in Oregon.
“I’m very grateful and proud to be a part of So-Cal Elite,” said Seldon. “It’s allowed me to pursue my dream of running in the Olympics.” So-Cal Elite provides her with coaching, facilitating workout and training schedules, and enters athletes into meets. Ozan is the mastermind of the club, and single-handedly provides this for club runners along with funding for uniforms as well as entering the athletes into races. Seldon has a time of 2:09 in the 800 meters, and won CIF Division 1 Championship in the 800 meters.
Eli Rodriguez, 30, of Pasadena ran in the School Ghoul 5K in Rossmoor, finishing with a time of 14:41, and will also be running in nationals. He said he joined the new running club because of Coach Ozan. “He has a lot of knowledge and helped me improve,” said Rodriguez, also a CSULB alumni cross-country runner. “Being on a team helps me to stay on task, giving me more structure. It’s more fun and interesting.”
“Coach Ozan really cares about all of us, and knows a lot about the sport,” continued Rodriguez. “I would call him a ‘running nerd!’”
Yet another So-Cal Elite runner, Rosa Del Toro, 23, of Van Nuys and a CSULB alumni, recently got the Brooks I.D. (Inspire Daily) Program Sponsorship, a national program that hand selects 90 runners from around the United States, providing them with free running gear, jerseys and shoes. One of Coach Ozan’s fastest runners who will also be competing in Oregon, she has been clocked in the 5K at 16:14 and 10K at 34:14.
“It’s a pretty neat club,” said Del Toro. “I love it! Coach Ozan does everything he possibly can to help So-Cal Elite.”
For more information on So-Cal Elite, email Coach Daniel Ozan at coachozan@gmail.com. To sponsor and make donations, please visit online at gofundme.com/4Kmomo.
