It was a distinct pleasure to return to Craig, Alaska, to run the 5th annual Prince of Wales Island International Marathon (POW) on Saturday, May 29, 2004. Lenore and I were so impressed with the community involvement and support of this marathon and marathon relay (2, 4, or 8 member teams) that
we had to return to relive the experience. We weren't disappointed as we renewed acquaintanceships and made new ones in this seaside town of 1,400 people.
The POW Marathon was a "Destination Marathon for 2004," and Nelsen Petersen and Peter Williams of KIBO Productions in Lincoln, Nebraska, were there to film community activities and to film and interview the runners. Lenore and I were present when Nelsen and his crews filmed the Napa Valley Marathon in California on March 7, 2004, and the
YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON (YRCM) on April 3, 2004. At Craig the four of us were the guests of Dave Johnson, marathon adviser to POW, and his wife Pauline.
Peter Williams, originally from Wales, lives in the Fort Collins area of Colorado. He is an elite marathon runner whose best time is 2:18! Nelsen ran this marathon and interviewed runners while Peter filmed the participants. As busy as he was, Nelsen finished the race in 4:35:05.
Jered Johnson, our host's son, and his wife Erin of Seattle, Washington, returned to the family home to run their first marathon and to celebrate their second wedding anniversary. They ran well! Jered finished with a 3:33:03, and Erin had a 4:19:47. Their friends from college days, Justin and
Miriam Snider of Durham, North Carolina, competed as a two person relay team. Justin ran his half marathon distance in 1:19, and Miriam completed her half in 1:44 for a marathon time of 3:03 that was good for a division second place.
With a time of 2:59:30 Kyle Hebert of Douglas, Alaska, won the marathon and broke the 2:59:38 record (by 8 seconds!) that was set last year by his brother-in-law Aaron Prussian. He had the only sub three hour run of the day.
Recovering from a plantar fasciitis injury, Herv Ibara of Craig ran a 3:13:12 for second place and qualified for the Boston Marathon! Finishing third overall in a time of 3:16:42, Susan Doherty of Ketchikan had a great birthday performance as she won the women's race.
It was good to see Andrew Kotulski, 64, of Upper Montclair, New Jersey, again. We met him two years ago at the inaugural Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon in South Dakota and saw him again at the 2003 YRCM. Andy ran his 520th marathon at POW in 3:57:20 and received well deserved recognition for
his running accomplishments at the awards ceremony.
Alan and Loren Prosser were runners we met at POW in 2003, and they were on hand to somersault across the finish line again. Alan came from Anchorage to run a 3:54:56, and Loren, of Ketchikan, had a 4:09:04. Loren's friend Tara Connolly ran a 4:37:43. The brothers brought their mother Caroline
and their grandmother Sophie along.....so they had good family support.
Sheila Beardsley of Craig was busy volunteering when she wasn't running. She and local residents Lewis Hiatt and Jean Jackson crossed the finish line together with a time of 3:57:33.
Last year Lenore and I met Clark Davis of Ketchikan at the finish line. This year he introduced us to his brother and to Casey and Lisa Rice of Yakima, WA. Casey has run all four
YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHONS and is a member of the sponsoring Hard Core Runners Club.....but we had never met bef
ore! I followed these two runners in the late miles as Clark finished with a 4:45:39, and Casey finished just behind him with a 4:46:39.
There was good weather for the race with the air temperatures remaining in the 50's. The skies were overcast with a light rain falling, and winds were not a problem except in the last few miles by the seacoast.
As in 2003, I enjoyed the point-to-point course in the Tongass National Forest. There were views of forested mountains, Klawock Lake and many wildflowers. Flowering crab, lupine, buttercups, columbine, cow parsnip, bunchberry, and others were at their spring flowering peak and quite pleasing to
look at as I ran in the temperate rain forest.
Jeff Galloway, a noted authority on running, was the guest speaker at the pasta feed the night before the race and conducted a four-hour seminar the day after it. I followed some of his advice of walking periodically. On the hilly course when running the slopes became arduous, I used a run/walk
alternation pattern to reach the summits in good condition.
In the last 10K we ran on bluffs that provided views of the sea and small wooded islands. In the last mile we skirted Craig and ran to a small park by an inlet where I crossed the finish line in 4:47:24, 37th of 43 finishers. At age 74, I was the oldest runner in the marathon......and want to congratulate the youngest runner, 18 year old Jeffery Sheakley of Craig, for completing his FIRST marathon.
Dave and Pauline Johnson, race director Doug Rhodes, the race committee, the Prince of Wales Island Runners Club, the volunteers and the entire community made it another great marathon weekend for us. This was a "Destination Marathon for 2004"......and we hope that a lot of our running friends w
ill make POW their destination marathon for 2005.
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