Seattle Marathon Celebrates a Sunny 30th Birthday
The marathon, half marathon, walk and kid’s staged marathon draws over 10,000 participants
by Jennifer Colvin
Participants in the 30th annual Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday, November 28 got more than they bargained for this year. Prepared for rain and cold, runners, walkers and spectators were treated to a sunny, mild day with gorgeous views of the Olympic and Cascade mountains.
Uli Steidl, a chemisty graduate student at the University of Washington, thought he might win the marathon when he decided to enter the race just two days earlier. He was right. The Portland Marathon record-holder caught leader Paul Kodama near the halfway point at Seward Park. The two ran together to the Arboretum when Kodama fell off, and Steidl went on to finish with a time of 2:30:04.
At the first Seattle Marathon 30 years ago, not a single woman entered the race. This year, women made up a large number of the nearly 3,000 marathon finishers. The women’s winner, Rebecca Gallaher of Silverdale, finished in 2:54:20. Gallaher, who qualified for the Olympic marathon trials last year, found she had to face the hillier-than-expected course by herself at a couple points in the race.
“I was completely by myself at the halfway point,” she said. “It’s much easier with other runners around.”
Scott Jurek, who surprised many by winning the Western States 100 this summer, finished the marathon in 2:47:20. Although the ulta-marathoner usually takes a couple of months off in the winter, he’s found the weather in Seattle better for winter running compared to Minnesota where he previously lived.
“This was my first road marathon on cement in two years,” Jurek said. “I usually run on trails, and I could feel my muscles were tighter in the second half. But the pace is faster in a marathon, so that might have something to do with it, too.”
Miguel Galeana of Olympia won the men’s half marathon for the second year in a row in 1:08:10. Susannah Beck of Eugene won her first half marathon in 1:16:18.
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