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by Bob Dolphin
On Saturday, December 12, 1998, the 30th Birch Bay Marathon was run at Birch Bay, WA, in the northwest corner of the state. This, reportedly, is the longest, continuously held marathon in the Pacific Northwest. The course is flat to gently rolling with two major hills. When the race started, the rain was moderate, and temperatures were in the high 40's--good running conditions. However, in mid-race for two miles by the beach and during the last five miles, there were strong head winds of 20-40 miles per hour. These winds affected finishing times in varying degrees, so most everyone ran a little slower than usual. Because the field was small, I will add some biodata on each runner's accomplishments. 1. 3:25:03 - Jeff Giesbrecht, 30, Vancouver, BC, 10 marathons. This was Jeff's first Birch Bay Marathon, He ran a strong race on a windy day. 2. 3:57:53 - Steve Pierce, 36, Coeur d' Alene, ID, 171 marathons/ ultras, Marathon Achiever (MA), the most prolific marathoner in the Northwest. This was his 100th marathon/ultra event in the last four years. 3. 3:57:53 - Dave Dutton, 42, Mt. Vernon, WA, Race Director, 124 marathon/ultras, MA,"runs 16-17 marathons/ultras per year. Runs fast and long. 1-997 ORRC Autumn Leaves 50 miles in 7:18:12. 1997 Candlelight 24 Hour Run - 104 miles completed, 4. 4:05:05 - Mel Preedy, 65, Ravensdale, WA, 165 marathons/ultras, MA, the fastest 65 year old runner in the Northwest at all distances. Recovering from a leg injury, he improved his time by one hour over the October 4th Portland Marathon and by almost 25 minutes over the November 29th Seattle Marathon. 5. 4:05:48 - Stan Nakashima, 47, Mt, Vernon, WA, MA. In his 12th Birch Bay Marathon, Stan ran his 200th MARATHON/ULTRA!!! Congratulations to Stan on reaching this milestone. 6. 4:07:45 - Bob Dolphin, 69, Renton, WA, 231 marathon/ultras, MA, The oldest runner in the field felt like he had a good race for a change. At least it was 19 minutes better than the Seattle Marathon two weeks ago. 7. 4:14:46 - Karl Jensen, 50, Richmond, BC, 108 marathons/ultras, MA. former Race Director. Karl has been accepted as a participant in the 1999 Western States One Hundred Mile Endurance Run in the California Sierra Mountains and is running in most regional marathons/ultras. He completed Western States in 1993, and we wish him well for a repeat performance. 8. 4:16:48 - Lary Webster, 65, Des Moines, WA, 205 marathons/ultras, MA. Twenty years ago Lary ran his first marathon at Birch Bay. He is running well since his recovery from cardiac surgery. As evidence of his running prowess, he ran ORRC Autumn Leaves 50 Miles in 8:19:57. he has run many 100 mile trail runs. 9. 4:23:11 - John Bandur, 60, Federal Way, WA, 244 MARATHONS/ULTRAS, MA. John is the lead runner in the Northwest for total number of marathons/ultras. His excellence as a trail runner is well known. Over half of his events are ultras, many of which are 100 mile trail races. 10. 5:25:45 - Ray Kent, 53, Mt, Vernon, WA, 87 marathons/ultras. He took a one hour early start and walked part of the time. He is an accomplished and experienced marathoner. I felt privileged to run this challenging marathon with these out- standing runners--my friends, Marathon Achievers, and megamarathoners one and all. The 1998 Birch Bay Marathon was a great success, and the contributions of the five volunteers should be mentioned. Thanks to Jeannette and Trina Dutton, Rosann Giesbrecht, Sonia Preedy, and Lenore Dolphin. Their support, encouragement, and enthusiasm were appreciated by all participants. Addendum to the Seattle Marathon article: Gene Trahern and Janet Stadshaugh ran the Seward Park 50K on Saturday, November 28, 1998. They also ran well the next day in the Seattle Marathon in a back-to- back performance.
Thanks Bob Dolphin for sharing your report with us !
Have you got a human interest story about a runner you know or a race report to share ? OTR is happy to share stories like this with our readers. Send us your stories, your experiences!
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If you were told that the runners in the Birch Bay International
Marathon had collectively run a total of 1,545 marathons, what would
your guess be as to the size of the field? Would it be fifty, one
hundred, or two hundred runners? Most guesses would not be anywhere
near the correct answer. As unlikely as this seems, the answer is
ten runners!!! The winner, Jeff Giesbrecht was running his 10th
marathon, but the other nine participants were long time mega-marathoners who have each run 87-244 marathons and ultra marathons.
