Copeland, 78. of Richland, Washington, plans to run and finish this Sunday's 21st annual Coeur d'Alene Marathon. As a special bonus, it will be his 100th marathon finish when he runs the 26.2 mile distance back into Coeur d'Alene after a brief visit to the north end of Hayden Lake.

Copeland, who started running in 1974 at the age of 54, ran his first marathon in 1975 in Cheney, Washington. Since then, he has totaled at least one marathon every year. He ran the first edition of the Coeur d'Alene Marathon in its inaugural year in 1977, and has finished it every year it has been offered. The event was canceled in 1980 due to the Mt. St. Helens volcanic ash, but Harold & his wife were returning from another marathon on Maui, and couldn't get back to their home in Richland for at least a week.

Harold has participated in some of the most beautiful marathons the West has to offer - the Paavo Nurmi in Wisconsin and the Avenue of the Giants in California among them - but calls the Coeur d'Alene race his favorite.

Along with Harold, four others make up this club of finishing every Coeur d'Alene Marathon: Mac Bohlman and Russ Akers, both of Walla Walla, and Sylvia & Pat Quinn, both of Spokane. The group is not likely to disperse anytime soon.

More often then not, Harold has been the oldest finisher at this race in Idaho, as well as at many others, but this feat guarantees him a free entry for the following year's race. Being six months older than fellow marathoner Elijah Gallaway insures that. But the two running buddies also vie for age group awards, as well. The two expect to break the 5-hour barrier Sunday, along with more than 400 others, many of them first-timers.

"I wasn't sure of what I was doing when I started," Copeland said, "but I liked it."

Submitted by Steven A. Pierce
Thanks Steve for sharing !

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