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by Bob Dolphin
A special treat for Lenore and me was meeting Kha lid and Sandra Khannouchi at the New Balance Booth at the Boston Marathon Expo. Khalid, who is from Morocco, won the Chicago Marathon in 1997 and in second in 1998 even though injured. He is planning on running Chicago again this fall and hopes to be recovered from his foot injury. Last fall, after I learned that he collects dolphins and considers them his good luck charms, we began corresponding. It was exciting for us to meet Khalid and Sandra, his wife and coach. came Another treat this year was stumbling onto the area where the elite runners warm up by running on some residential streets in Hopkinton. The way the race course is laid out most of the field do not see the seeded men and women once the race starts. I didn't recognize many, but I did see Moses Tanui, the Kenyan who won in 1996 and last year, and his teammate Joseph Chebet, 28, runner-up in 1998--but the winner this year with a 2:09:52. Fatuma Roban, 27, the Ethiopian woman who won in 1997 and 1998 won for a third consecutive time on this date with a 2:23:25. She looked strong as she went through her paces. The sunny skies at high noon took a toll in dehydration and leg cramps for many. The Kenyan runner, Moses Tanui, dropped out at mile 22. Bill Rodgers, 51, four time winner in the 70's and early 80's was running after an eight year absence. He was trying to break the course record for 50 year olds but had to drop out in the 20th mile to be treated for dehydration. In anticipation of heat problems, I drank a lot of water and some sports drinks before and during the race. I also poured water over my head and shoulders and still had hamstring cramps in the second half of the race. I finished with a 4:36:31 (4:32:16, chip/watch), 10:24 pace, 9,828 of 11,292 finishers (13,000 starters.) Runners from Washington state were well-represented at the 103rd Boston Marathon. The fastest one was Matt Messner who was the 72nd finisher overall with a time of 2:33:22. Ben Sauvage was close behind with 2:34:35. Next was someone I've known for a few years, James Drew, (2:40:50.) Beating the three hour barrier were Todd Petrovich (2:58:06), Edward Hill (2:58:23), and Randal Theil (2:59:02.) Chuck Dooley's time of 3:00:12 may go under three hours when chip times replace and lower these gun-to-finish line times. Robert McNaught, 50+ of Seattle, ran a 3:03:12 and was listed 14th on the Men's Veterans list of 20. He was the only runner in the state to make one of these age class lists (masters, veterans, and seniors by gender.) Christina Ashby was the first woman finisher from Washington with a fine time of 3:05:28. Lenore and I struck up a conversation with Ken Moore of Walla Walla at the pre-race packet pickup Expo in Boston. He ran an impressive 3:05:29. A few of my friends and acquaintances were on hand and ran well: Jeff Giesbrecht (3:22:39) and Pat Hinds (3:41:22) of Vancouver, B.C., Kristin Kissel (3:29:46), Bill Torsen (3:46:05), Clark Nichols (4:14:58), Marathon Achiever Cheri Gillis, (4:16:26), and Steve Cackley (4:20:03), a Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run finisher from Oregon. The only friend I saw on race day was Melinda Moore, 45 of Puyallup, WA. We were in the same runners corral behind the starting line. She was running her 50th marathon (excluding five ultramarathons.) CONGRATULATIONS to Melinda for reaching this milestone in her native state in a time of 4:46:22, ahead of 1,000 official finishers. While heading for the parking garage in the Prudential Building after the race, Lenore and I met Kerry KruegerDevine of Stockton, CA, and her family. She was euphoric because she had finished her fourth marathon, the Boston Marathon, in less than four hours with a time of 3:58:40. We learned that she had formerly lived in Redmond, WA, and was a graduate of Redmond High School's class of 1981. Her class counselor is a good friend of Lenore's. It's a small world!! My seventh running of the Boston Marathon is history---and now I have a new goal. I'll try to run under 3:45 between now and October. After that I'll try to run a sub 3:50 as a 70 year old and run the Boston Marathon one more time.
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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After a week at Cape Cod, sightseeing in New England, and
visiting my
Mom, brother and sister-in-law, Lenore and I were ready to top it
off
with my seventh running of the Boston Marathon. With clear skies,
air temperatures in the upper 60's, and light winds on race day,
April 19, 1999, I expected a slow run in the 4:30 range. Since
qualifying is getting tougher for me, I treat a Boston Marathon
like
it will be my last one--since it might very well be just that.
It was
easy to qualify eleven years ago when I ran a 3:04 at Boston, but
now
a 3:45 qualifying threshold is out of reach some years.