About 150 members of the Pima County Sheriff's Department accompanied by the Sunnyside football team ran north up Oracle Road from River Road to Magee Road where the torch was passed off to the Oro Valley Police Department.

The torch for this year’s Arizona Special Olympics passed through Tucson Thursday morning.

The 2009 Special Olympics Summer Games are set to begin Thursday and will run through Saturday.

Members of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Sunnyside football team carried the torch on its way to Mesa Community College, the site for this year’s Arizona games.

The runners passed the torch to runners from the Oro Valley Police Department.

About 1,200 athletes throughout Arizona will participate in this year’s olympics.

The torch should arrive at the games in time for Friday’s opening ceremonies.

Jame Carney of Tucson crosses the finish line to win the 70-mile Tour of the Tucson Mountains race on Sunday with an official time of 2:46.09.

Coming around the final corner, Jame Carney took one last glance to check out his closest opponents.

The brother-sister tandem bike of Dave and Sarah Swanson was right behind him.

“These events are usually won by who gets to the last turn first,” Carney said.

He was right. Carney claimed his second Tour of Tucson Mountains title Sunday, covering the 70-mile event in 2 hours, 46 minutes, 9 seconds – three seconds ahead of the tandem. More than 1,100 bikers participated.

Carney, 40, a longtime pro cyclist who lives in Tucson, and the Swanson tandem broke away from the pack at about the 45-mile mark and worked together to stay away.

“I saw the balloons (near the finish line) and hit the tandem right before the turn and accelerated,” Carney said. “The real race was the race with the Swansons. We had to pull as hard as we could for the last 25 miles.”

Clay Murfet of Tasmania crossed the finish line after the tandem and one second ahead of the lead pack of 70-plus riders. He finished in 2:46:44.

“I knew that coming out of the last left turn it was going to be 150 meters,” said Murfet, who trained with Carney before the race. “I knew I had to be first or second going into the corner. I came in a bit hard and gave everything I had. I had a big gap, so I sat up and just rode across (the finish line).

“The plan was try to get me and Jame or six to 10 (others) in a break, and we kept hitting them and the pack didn’t come down again.

“Once we got to the front, we just relaxed and I wasn’t going to chase. We got one-two, and that was the plan. It worked out perfectly.”

Laura McCaughey (2:46:48), also from Tasmania, was the female winner and 31st overall finisher. Like Murfet, she also trained with Carney.

“It was hectic, but it was good fun,” said McCaughey, a first time participant. “There were some women floating through the pack and we settled around each other all the time. After the first hour or so, the attacks started coming. I thought if I could hang with the main group there, I would do all right.”

Dave and Sarah Swanson worked their way through the pack to hook up with Carney.

“We knew we were the lead tandem when we made the attack off the front,” said Dave Swanson, the captain of the duo. “We were marking wheels and we worked hard to chase (duo Evan Unger/Dwight Nelson) a little bit. We counterattacked and got ahead with Carney about 25 miles from the end.”

David Murray finished the 27-mile race in 1:09:53. Randi Najac was the first women finisher in shorter event at 1:15:09.

Cyclists ride along Ajo Way during Sunday's 70-mile Tour of the Tucson Mountains race. More than 1,100 riders participated in the event.

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TOP FINISHERS

70 MILES

1. Jame Carney, Tucson 2:46.09

2. David-Sarah Swanson*, Tucson 2:46.12

4. Clay Murfet, Tasmania 2:46.44

5. Jay Koesters, Tucson 2:46.45

6. Jeff Francone, Tucson 2:46.45

* Tandem; counts for two places

27 MILES

1. David Murray, Phoenix 1:09.53

2. Lawrence Knight, Oro Valley 1:09.54

3. Jason Dannettel, Tucson 1:09.54

4. Henry Novell Jr., McAllen, Texas 1:09.55

5. Jose Font, El Paso, Texas 1:10.03

The ski resort north of Flagstaff plans to close after Sunday.

A beginner trail has already closed because of warmer weather, but the main part of the mountain still has from 29 to 60 inches of packed snow. Just one of four lifts is operating.

The resort is open on a modified schedule this final weekend, with the lift running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The resort opened for the season on Dec. 20.

Lucas finished the 4-mile race in 21 minutes, 23.8 seconds to Colavito’s 21:26.4 and Miles’ 21:40.9.

Paula Morrison won the women’s race in 24:13.2, beating Amber Young (24:16.14) to finish 12th overall. Young was 13th overall.

Miles

A coach’s curious advice to a runner: “Don’t be in a hurry.”

“He convinced me I had to do shorter distances and work up to marathons,” said Tucsonan James Miles of his mentor, Randy Accetta. “I was hurting myself: tendinitis, ankle, knee trouble . . .”

With just a few years of competitive running experience, Miles, 23, had finished third in the 2007 Tucson Marathon before dealing with Accetta.

He had promise as a runner, although he had serious doubts about his basic survival in the painful days that followed.

“I couldn’t walk for five days (after the marathon),” he said. “Honest. Then I started running again, too fast, and hurt myself again.”

Accetta, a former Olympic Trials marathoner and perhaps Tucson’s No. 1 running advocate, came to the rescue.

“James and Catlow Shipek are two young guys with great potential,” Accetta said. “They’re naturals, but it has to be a long-term process. They have the mental process and they have heart.”

Miles has changed his philosophy and workout schedule.

“It’s just a matter of following it, shorter races,” Miles said. “I had been doing 100 miles a week by myself, nobody to pat you on the back or criticize you.”

Miles graduated from the University of Arizona as a musician and songwriter, but burned out on music.

Athletically inclined, he had tried running in high school but balked at the idea of running the 800 meters.

“Too much work,” he said.

So he looked at another sport.

“I started out (after college) wanting to be a cyclist,” he said. “I tried racing but it was just me falling back of the pack and trying desperately to catch up. There were other issues: bike handling skills and I don’t like riding close to others.”

Miles started his run program and a year later found himself at the rear of a group of Tucson’s elite male runners, finishing 12th in the 2007 Sun Run 10K.

“After I started, it was six, seven weeks before I could keep a pace . . . not superfast but I was able to do it,” he said.

In the meantime, music – guitar, piano, experimental jazz, composition – had taken a long break.

“All I’d do is strum guitar and play Bob Dylan songs,” Miles said.

Running has a way of clearing his mind.

“It just kind of came to me one night,” he said. “I wanted to do it (music) again, so that was good.”

As a frequent runner in Accetta’s workout group, Miles trains with a comfortable troop, competing well with Ian Johnson, Robert Seaman, Shipek, Shane Carr, Jason Colavito and Shaun Haley.

“We train and compete as friends,” Miles said. “It’s fun to compete. We talk about the times, who’s hurt, who’s not.

Except . . .

“I’m always second behind Shaun Haley,” he said, laughing. “He beats me every workout. I’m sick of looking at his back.”

Woolsey

Wesley Silcox had the lead in bull riding for all but a few minutes Sunday at the Tucson Rodeo.

However, Silcox’s traveling partner, Steve Woolsey, bested him by a point, scoring an 82 to win.

“I don’t know about dinner but I might be buying some beer,” said Woolsey, 23, of winning.

Woolsey, of Payson, Utah, qualified for last year’s National Finals Rodeo, where he placed fifth. This year he has been splitting time between competing at rodeos and competing in Spike TV’s reality show, “Toughest Cowboy.”

“If you get on a bareback first then a bronc (then a bull) . . . and then can’t get on and compete (after that), you’re automatically out,” Woolsey said.

“The bareback riding, it abuses you. It’s probably the easiest to stay on but it abuses your body and it doesn’t feel good.

Woolsey leads the “Toughest Cowboy” competition.

The winner of the show wins a ranch in Laramie, Wyo., along with $45,000.

“The bronc riding is the hardest to pick up and get the hang of and probably the most difficult,” Woolsey said.

Despite the double duty between the regular PRCA rodeos and the “Toughest Cowboy” competition, Woolsey tries not to think about the risk of injury.

“It’s always there but you just put that in the back of your mind and don’t worry about it,” Woolsey said. “Just nod your head and try.”

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84th ANNUAL LA FIESTA DE LOS VAQUEROS

Where: Tucson Rodeo Grounds, 4823 S. Sixth Ave.

Monday-Tuesday: Pro time even slack competition, begins 8 a.m.

Wednesday: Pro barrel racing slack competition, 8 a.m.; Gold Card team roping, 10-11:30 a.m.; Mike Cervi Jr. Memorial Team Roping, noon-5 p.m.

Thursday: Tucson Rodeo Parade, 9 a.m.; Pro competition, 2-4:30 p.m.

Friday: Pro competition, 2-4:30 p.m.

Saturday: Pro competition, 2-4:30 p.m.

Sunday: Pro competition finals, 2-4:30 p.m.

Tickets: Advance, $12-18, call 520-741-2233 or 800-964-5662

Web: tucsonrodeo.com

If it was, it was a good one. In his three years since, the select park course has recovered from the midsummer weather blast and renewed itself as the traditional, old-home grounds for many golfers.

“It really is traditional,” said Schultz, 32, who came to the club after more than 10 years as an assistant pro in this area. “It makes me feel more at home. I’m from Missoula, Mont., and am used to tree-lined courses.

“People from the Midwest and East also love the grass from tee to green. You don’t get penalized as with the desert. It’s a little more enjoyable; you can tee it up and not worry about running around the snakes.”

The club was established in 1959, and eucalyptus and pine trees grew stately under the shadow of the Santa Catalina Mountains’ Pusch Ridge. It became a desert oasis of sorts.

The entire 18-hole acreage – 7,025 yards with Bermuda and lush winter over-seeded rye and fine-texture, thick bent-grass greens – runs along the line of the Santa Catalinas. Driving on a par-4 hole, you might think you’re in the mountains.

The club promotes a complete golfing challenge, a use every-club-in-the bag situation. Fade, draw, hit it straight, over the bunker if you can and deal with tricky greens. Beauty and strength.

“There are not a lot of holes next to each other,” Schultz said. “It just feels good to play here. We are protected from this side of the mountain and get 20 mile per hour winds when it will howl in other places.”

The valley effect makes the microburst that wrenched up whole trees in the summer of 2006 one of those devious mysteries of nature.

There was little significant damage anywhere else in the Northwest and Oro Valley areas.

“Most of the damage was on the back nine,” said Schultz, who arrived at the club a few months before. “Not a lot you can notice now, but hole seven was completely altered. It tore up three, four eucs and a couple of pines. It opened it up completely. There was a tree down on the golf course 10 to 12 feet high. It took us two hours to just go around the course because of the damage.”

If that weren’t enough, a few weeks later a private plane made an emergency landing on the 10th fairway.

Schultz came to Tucson with his family as a pre-high schooler, went to the University of Arizona and stayed in the area after school, getting his golf-business start working for Jack Connors’ old River Road driving range.

Schultz and his wife, Jenny, a member of Salpointe Catholic High School’s first female golf team, have a legacy going.

Son, Ryan, 3, plays overtime, swinging at a plastic tee, although on the course you can’t beat a ride in the golf cart. The couple also have a newborn daughter, Tiffany.

Schultz has worked as an assistant at El Conquistador, Skyline Country Club and The Gallery, honing abilities in competition – once winning the Pima County Amateur – administration and what you might call valuable lore.

Picking the brains of those such as Mike Hayes, Jeff Kern, Steve Porter, Dave Powell, Mike Wilson . . .

“A lot of locals to learn from,” he said.”

The Oro Valley club under Schultz now has an amphitheater type clubhouse and pro shop, and has rebuilt, or rather regrown.

There are no visible signs of the summer burst’s work other than airy No. 7. On old No. 14, a giant tree guards the left side.

“If anybody would want a tree to fall down, it’s at this one,” Schultz said, laughing.

It’s an example of the course’s difficulty. On No. 11, long hitters might opt to go over a bunker; shorter hitters play to the right and climb up to the green. On No. 14, you can’t play a big fade; it’s more of a straight shot. No. 16 makes you play down a narrow chute.

“You have to create something that moves,” Schultz said. “It’s a shotmaker’s choice and you can’t overpower it.”

No. 9 has a minilake to the left and 220 yards uphill. It’s picturesque and one tough par 4, Schultz said. The crown jewel.

“Our course basically sells itself,” Schultz said. “Most people who play here say, ‘Wow.’ ”

———

ORO VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB

Type: private

Holes:18

Tees: championship, regular, intermediate

Yardage: 7,023

Pro: Scott Schultz

Phone: 297-1121

Web: Orovalleycountryclub.com

Mountain bikers make their way uphill during the Kona 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Bike race on Saturday. The race, one of the largest cycling contests in North America, was held about 25 miles north of Tucson.

Tucsonan Dejay Birtch won the men’s solo single speed category Sunday at the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo mountain biking event.

Birtch finished 15 laps on the 16.5-mile course, finishing at noon.

About 1,650 riders took place in the race, which began at noon Saturday in the Willow Springs Ranch area, north of Tucson, near Oracle.

Evan Plews of Salem, Ore., won the solo male category. He finished 18 laps on the 16.5-mile course, finishing at 12:01 p.m., ahead of Ian Leitch, who ended his 18th lap at 12:39. Tinker Juarez finished third with 17 laps.

In the corporate race, Tucson’s Team Hosie Cow/Cirrus Visual was edged out by Area 51 by 16 minutes. Both teams finished 20 laps.

Other results:

• Women’s single speed: Lynda Wallenfels, 16 laps

• Women’s solo: Sarah Kafmann, 15 laps

• 4-person men’s single speed: Mountain Flyer (Brian Riepe, Steve Mabry, David Ochs, Engelbert Humperdink), 20 laps

• 4-person men’s open: Adrenaline Race Team (Jeff Herrera, Sam Schultz, Andy Schultz, Chris Suter), 22 laps

• 4-person women’s open: P. Power (Edy Light, Katie Tuttle, Kris Hanning, Nancy Turman), 17 laps

• 5 person coed 0-149 combined age: Racer’s Racers (Arthur Morris, Aaron Fox, Shaelie Johansen, Jessica Morris, Kellie Williams), 15 laps

• 5-person coed 150-199 combined age: Ergon Corporate (Yuki Saito, Sonya Looney, Dave Weins, Jeff Kerkove), 21 laps. Notable: Teams can race with less than five members.

• 5-person coed 200-plus combined age : Weapons of Destruction (Nicholas Stevens, Rick Callies, Philip Simpson, Dave Million, Shannon Gibson), 20 laps

• Duo female: Natalie Luhtala and Alacia Sooter, 14 laps

• Duo co-ed: Mario Correa and Heidi Volpe, 18 laps

• Duo male: Jordan Williford and Jeff Zurakowski, 20 laps

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he couldn’t ignore the photo but defended his investigation.

“Michael Phelps is truly an American hero … but even with his star status, he is still obligated to obey the laws of our state,” Lott said.

The photo showed Phelps smoking from a marijuana pipe at a party in November when he visited the University of South Carolina.

Phelps has called his judgment bad and said he would learn from his mistake.

USA Swimming suspended Phelps for three months in the wake of the photo, and Kellogg Co. said it would not renew its endorsement deal with him.

The photo surfaced in a British newspaper, News of the World, on Feb. 1. The swimmer, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games, did not dispute its authenticity.

News of the World said the picture was taken during a party while Phelps was visiting the university. During that trip, he attended one of the school’s football games and received a big ovation when introduced to the crowd.

The party occurred nearly three months after the Olympics while Phelps was taking a break from training, and his actions should have no impact on the eight golds he won at Beijing. He has never tested positive for banned substances.

This isn’t the first embarrassing episode for Phelps after an Olympic triumph. In 2004, a few months removed from winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, the swimmer was arrested on a drunken driving charge at age 19. He pleaded guilty and apologized for the mistake.

The Tucson Realtor, spent the past three weeks securing more than $25,000 in pledges destined for charities.

The full amount will be contributed if he can complete 165 miles – 10 laps of the challenging 16.5-mile off-road course – within 24 hours.

This would make Alexander by far the most prolific charity fundraiser in the event’s history, said race organizer Todd Sadow.

Riders have collected about $100,000 for charities over the race’s nine-year history, Sadow said.

Alexander, who last year as a neophyte rode three laps as part of a four-person team, is concerned about more than just the sore legs – and sore butt – that come from long hours in the saddle.

“The ride will be the easy part,” he said with a laugh. Contacting the more than 200 people who made pledges – after he finishes riding for 24 hours – will be a daunting task, Alexander said.

He originally planned to do four or five laps this year as a solo competitor, but after he started his fundraising effort he upped the goal to 10 laps, or 165 miles.

“That’s longer than I’ve every biked before by a long way,” he said. “You take one pedal after another.”

He hopes long hours spent training on-road and off-road have given him the endurance, and savvy to allow him to reach his goal.

Navigating a winding dirt single-track trail on a speeding bicycle can be challenging during the day, but even more so during the inky blackness of the desert night.

Last year both of Alexander’s headlights failed with four miles to go on a nighttime lap. He finished the lap, but not without crashing.

Cold and damp conditions add to the challenge of riding through the night.

“It looks like we’re not going to be dry. That adds a whole new dimension,” he said. “What I’ve really worked on is trying different clothing combinations, and looked at what you eat and how do you stay comfortably clothed during the ride.”

But neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night should keep Alexander, 36, from his planned laps.

“Now that I have so much pledged per mile it’s going to be very hard to stop if the weather is nasty,” he said. “I’ll try to ride straight through. I don’t think I’ll go to sleep.

“I have motivation to go as far as possible. The worst case scenario is not making as much money for charity. There are too many great people and causes I am riding for.”

Dave Wiens’ legs may be in for a rude awakening when he pedals away from the starting line at noon Saturday.

“It will be a bit of a shock,” Wiens said Monday from his home in Gunnison, Colo. “I haven’t ridden my bike since mid-December.”

Wiens, 44, who spent almost 20 years as a pro mountain bike racer, saw his fame rise when he beat seven-time Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong to win August’s Leadville 100 mountain bike race in Colorado.

“I’m an older athlete with a lot of experience in my legs,” he said. “It will be a difficult race, but I hope I can hang in there and be consistent.”

Wiens, who retired as a full-time racer in 2004, will race on a four-person team, with riders taking turns riding laps of the course.

The race is so popular that entries closed Jan. 11 when the field cap of 1,650 was reached, said Sadow, president of Epic Rides and self-described “chief plate spinner” for the 24-hour event.

Wiens and a number of world-class athletes will ride, but many of the cyclists are local amateur riders, Sadow said.

Competing in the solo category – where one rider covers as many laps as possible during the event – will be 27 female and 172 male riders.

The remainder of the 1,650 riders will make up 580 teams ranging from two to 10 riders, Sadow said.

Teams have one rider on the course at a time, while the others rest, and switch off in the exchange tent where event officials keep track of race standings, he said.

Night riding requires lighting systems so cyclists can follow the trail, he said.

Eighty portable toilets will dot the site, he said.

The event kicks off with a Le Mans-style start, where cyclists sprint about 400 yards on foot to where their bikes are parked and jump on and start the race.

“It’s like a human stampede,” Sadow said. “Hundreds of people are looking for their bikes.”

He said spectators hoping to see the start should plan to arrive by 10:30 a.m. Saturday because the competitors run across the road to the site, which will temporarily be closed to traffic. The event features a temporary “24-hour town” that sprouted Thursday featuring tents and campers to house resting riders, their families and support crews.

Vendors selling food and drink and cycling-related exhibitors will be on hand, Sadow said.

The event is spectator friendly any hour of the day or night, he said.

“There is a lot going on. It’s really fun to go out there and get a feel for the event and watch the race,” Sadow said. “Upwards of 3,000 people stop in during the race.”

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CHARITIES DAMION ALEXANDER’S RIDE IS SUPPORTING

• National Multiple Sclerosis Society – Arizona Chapter

• The V Foundation for Cancer Research

• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

• National Alliance on Mental Illness

• Southern Arizona Chapter Red Cross

• Community Food Bank

• Casas De Los Niños

• KOTO-FM Community Radio, Telluride, Colo.

• Long Realty Cares Foundation

• Civano Community School

• Rose Petal Foundation

• The Glassman Foundation

• Humane Society Of Southern Arizona

• Telluride Ski And Snowboard Club

• Water For People

• Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

• Habitat for Humanity

• Habistore

• Tu Nidito

• The Nature Conservancy

• American Cancer Society

• Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson

• The Hearth Foundation

• Hillel

• MD Anderson Cancer Center

• Literacy Volunteers of Tucson

• Arizona Blind and Deaf

• New Beginnings for Women and Children

• Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson

• Jewish Federation of Tucson

• One on One Mentoring Partners.

———

BY THE NUMBERS

Number of hours: 24

Number of riders: 1,650

Number of portable toilets at race site: 80

Bike expo exhibitors: 25

Miles per lap: 16.5

Record number of laps ridden by male solo rider: 19

Record number of laps ridden by a female solo rider: 15

Record number of laps ridden by a team: 24

Number of years the event has been held: 10

———

IF YOU GO

What: Kona 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo mountain bike race

Where: northwest of Oracle (see map, Page 13A).

When: noon Saturday through noon Sunday

Venue admission: $5 and two cans of food for the Mammoth Community Food Bank

Food and beverages available for purchase at event site.

Dress appropriately: the venue could be cold, damp and muddy.