The Seattle Marathon was certainly an interesting race as it reflected
participant interests. Under cool, rainy conditions 9,000 runners and walkers
participated in four separate events at two distances on Sunday, November 26,
2000. Beginning at 7:15 a.m., groups of marathon walkers, half marathon
runners, half marathon walkers, and, finally, the marathon runners started in
separate waves from the Seattle Center near the Space Needle. For four and one
half miles everyone followed a common course on 5th Avenue in downtown Seattle
and I-90 to Lake Washington. Then the course split into the half and full
divisions.
Because sections of the present marathon course follow parts of the
original Seattle Marathon and Emerald City Marathons, pleasant memories of
those races of yesteryear came to mind as I ran on I-90, along the Lake
Washington shore, and then inland to the Arboretum. I really enjoyed the
out-and-back on the I-90 floating bridge to Mercer Island and back to the west
shore of Lake Washington. Yelling out greetings to running buddies going in
the opposite direction was a lot of fun.
The marathon winner for the second year was Uli Steidl, 28, the German-born
doctoral graduate student at the University of Washington. He ran a steady
pace to finish in 2:27:11 without a serious challenge. Joan McGrath, 38 , of
Vancouver was the women's winner in a fine time of 2:54:12.
Jim Boyd, 58, of Seattle ran a 4:13:37. This is remarkable considering that
he ran 107.59 miles a week earlier (November 18-19, 2000) at the San Diego
(CA) One Day (24 Hour) Track Run. He finished first in the 50+M division.
Our adopted grandson, Mike Dutton, 30, ran his FIFTIETH MARATHON at
Seattle, a marvelous milestone to reach in just a few years....in a time of
4:32:35. This was a marathoning weekend for Mike as he had run his 49th
marathon the day before at the Seward Park Marathon & 50K in Seattle.
Some other Marathon Achievers (MA) who did this weekend double were Ron
Richoll, 57, (4:32:35,) Dave Dutton, 44, (3:43:33,) Scott Krell, 40, (4:05:16,
) Chris Ralph, 49, (5:06:06,) Tom Ripley 51, (5:06:07,) and Steve Pierce, 37.
We had an interesting group of fun-loving marathoners stay at our home the
night before the marathon. Fenny Roberts, 48, of Salem, OR, ran 121 miles in
24 hours on a track in her hometown this year. She was hoping for a Boston
Qualifier but had to settle for a marathon PR of 4:34:42. Larry Brown, 61,
also of Salem had a PR in his second marathon. Eb Engelman, 58, our third
Salem guest, has won the Washington State University 100K (62 miles) as one of
many significant running accomplishments. He is racewalking these days as some
injuries heal. On October 8, 2000, he walked the royal Victoria Marathon in
4:40:20. At the Seattle Marathon, a tougher course, he racewalked the course
in 4:45:39.
As Lenore and I finished our day of volunteering at the Friday packet
pickup/Expo, we gave a Korean runner a ride to the local YMCA where he planned
to stay. Unfortunately, the dormitory wing has been razed, and they no longer
have facilities for overnight guests. So, we invited Byunghak Bae, 44, of
Taegu, South Korea, to stay with us. He is an interesting young man who owns a
nightclub in his home city. As a pastime, he participates in marathons and
triathlons in Asia. He is one of a few whom I have met who have successfully
completed the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon. A leg injury has slowed him down,
but he was happy with his 4:53:34 marathon time at Seattle. It was his first
trip to mainland USA, and he hopes to return to run our YAKIMA
RIVER CANYON MARATHON.
Mel Preedy, 67, of Ravensdale is in a tough age group, but he persevered to
finish in first place for the 65-69M division with a great time of 3:34:29.
Todd Byers, 37, (3:58:25) who has relocated to Long Beach, CA, was on hand. We
saw him at the Marine Corps Marathon a few weeks ago. He recently soloed the
Haney to Harrison Relay, a 100K distance. This is quite an accomplishment!
Lori Kory, 44, of Spokane (our former neighbor) was ecstatic a year ago
when she ran her first marathon in Seattle. This year, she was overjoyed to
run her third in a time of 3:57:58. Terry Cliett, 42, president of the Hard
Core Runners Club in Yakima, ran a respectable 4:00:36.
Steve Frederickson, 54, (3:47:28) passed me in the 12th mile in Seward
Park. He has run a marathon on all continents, including Antarctica. His last
marathon to reach this goal was in Mongolia earlier this year as he ran the
Mongolian Sunrise to Sunset 100K. The article describing this adventure was
published in the October 2000 Northwest Runner Magazine.
Mae Palm, 60, of Whistler, BC, is back and in a new age category. She had a
3:50:38 for first, and the only sub-four hour time, in the 60-64F division.
After a long layoff, it was good to see that Herb Allen, 58, our friend
from Bainbridge Island, was healed enough to take on another marathon. He
passed me in the 21st mile looking strong...and went on to a 4:11:27 finish.
Jerry Martin, 52, of Spokane won the wheelchair division, but his time is
not listed with the published race results. Lenore was delighted to present
him with his finisher's medal.
As so often happens, I had a reasonably good first half and then
dehydration led to a struggle in the second half, especially the hilly, last
10K. At times, I could walk some hills faster than I could run them, so I
walked....thankful for the excuse. The closer I got to the finish line, the
farther apart were the mile markers!! Eventually, I left the scenic Interlake
Trail and Road and could see the Space Needle, my TARGET. In the last mile, I
ran with Jerry Duncan, 56, MA, (4:09:25,) Herb Allen, Phil Weiser, 44,
(4:09:58,) and Ray Wold, 63, (4:11:04) as we found our way to the finish. I
finished with a 4:11:18 (9:36) and was first of six in the 70+M division by 32
minutes. Included in the 70+ group of runners was Senator Slade Gorton. Last
year he had run the half marathon.
In this year's half marathon Mark Bloudek, 26, of Seattle won with a time
of 1:12:32. Judith Leroy, 27, of Victoria, BC, was the first woman with a time
of 1:17:24. Our friend Gunhild Swanson, 56, of Spokane ran a 1:48:33 and, in
spite of injuries, was third in her age group.
The fastest listed time in the Marathon Walk was 3:51:44 by Jon Mahoney,
48, of Vernon, BC. Danita Jolly, 31, of Renton was the first woman in a time
of 4:41:13. These are excellent times for racewalking. I racewalked a five
hour marathon once, so I can appreciate the effort.
As always, I enjoyed my 17th consecutive Seattle Marathon. It provided a
nice tour of many of the scenic features of the Seattle area with minimal
disruption of vehicular traffic. Where else in the country can you run on an
interstate highway safely while it is being used by speeding cars on outer
lanes???
Our thanks to the many volunteers who make this event a success.
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