"After a hard run through Hanford, Gunhild and Jack Swanson choose to drink only Welch's fine beverages." Gunhild Swanson left, Jack Swanson on the right.

Jack Swanson, recently became the newest Inland Northwest runner to bag 100 marathons in a career at the Columbia River Gorge Marathon on May 31, 1998.

Swanson, 64, of Spokane, Washington, ran a 4:35 marathon - a time that typically would be the sweeper of many courses. However, due to the demanding hills in strategic locations along the course, Jack finished halfway through the pack of 260 starters (and 259 finishers!). Jack admits to being a slow climber. But the slower he climbed, the faster he must have blazed like a stallion on the downhills to Mosier, and the final 3.8 miles to the finish!

Some previous stories written about this mega-marathoner contended that Jack and his wife Gunhild weren't competitive with each other, or that Jack lets Gunhild beat him. This author has seen it differently. At the Clackamas River marathon, with the temperatures in the low 80's, Jack smoked past me on an out-and- back as we saw his wife coming toward us ahead. He said to me, "Make sure she finishes," and went on to beat us both by over 10 minutes with a time in the low 3:40's (he was 61 years old then). Jack runs many of his marathons in the 3:35-3:50 range. But when not racing on a weekend, the Swansons typically run a 12-16 mile training run. This regimen has continually given them 2000+ miles per year, when not injured. Gunhild's son Chris also races in the U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials.

Jack first met Gunhild (and first ran with her) on the old Spokane Heart Marathon course. Typical of Olympic finishes, the course passed 26 miles, then runs the final 7/32 of a mile along a track. This was also Gunhild's first marathon, and she passed her would-be husband in that final fraction.

Many Northwesterners know Jack & Gunhild for both their participation and their volunteer help, from Junior Bloomsday to seniors track meets, from short sprints to 50 miles and up (The Swansons both finished the 1996 Texas Trail Endurance Run - a grueling 50-mile run - where Gunhild still holds her age-group record for this event). They also visited the home of Gunhild's father in Burgholtstein, Germany - and ran a marathon there, too!

"This is a guy who you'll always find carrying a banana 10, 15, 20 miles into a marathon," insists fellow runner Bob Dolphin. But Jack is second banana to none.

Submitted by Steven A. Pierce
Thanks Steve for sharing !

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