NORTH OLYMPIC DISCOVERY MARATHON On Sunday, June, 6, 2010, I ran my eighth consecutive North Olympic Discovery Marathon from Sequim, Washington, to Port Angeles, Washington. This year for the first time I took advantage of the early start available to walkers and runners who feel they need more than 5 ½ hours to complete the course. I’ve been walking marathons in 7+ hours and running/walking them in 6 ½ hours these days, so this was a good plan for me. On race morning Dick Ziehe, our Renton neighbor and friend, picked up Lenore and me at our Port Angeles motel to take us to the starting area at Carrie Blake Park in Sequim. At 7:00 a.m. I said “goodbye” to Lenore and Dick and joined 42 other early-starters as we crossed a timing mat to begin our point-to-point race that was on the Olympic Discovery Trail, for the most part. Much of this scenic trail has a rails to trails origin while the remainder is on town and rural road margins. It crosses creeks in wooded areas and is flat to rolling with several short, steep hills. The last four miles follow the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca with marine views of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I enjoyed visiting with Frank Bartocci of Rochester, Minnesota, early in the race. We see each other at marathons several times each year. He ran the Newport Marathon in Oregon the previous day and then drove to Port Angeles to run his 350th marathon the next day. In the sixth mile, after I had completed an initial loop, I ran through Sequim and greeted my cheering section, Lenore and Dick, by the restaurant where they had eaten breakfast. I ran with Marathon Maniac (MM) Cal Evans in the early miles. He reminded me that I had an encounter with a deer close to the finish line in 2009. I was walking when the deer crossed in front of me, panicked and ran into a chain link fence that was hidden by some brush. It reversed course and scampered away uninjured. An advantage of taking an early start is to be able to see other participants as they pass me. In mid-course a bicycle escort led Anthony Skuce, 46, of Vancouver, BC, as he sped by. This Canadian runner ran unchallenged to a 2:37:45 win. In second place was Jeason Murphy, 30, of Suquamish, Washington, with a 2:57:23. David Nelson, 32, of Bremerton came in third with a 3:01:42. A string of male runners passed me and offered greetings or words of encouragement. One of the first women runners said, “Hi, Bob” as she went on by. I responded, but it took a moment to realize that it was Regina Joyce, 53, of Lynnwood whom Lenore and I had talked with the day before. She had been accompanied by our mutual friend Janet Burgess, a Renton neighbor. Regina passed the woman leader at Mile 22 and extended her lead as she ran by the Strait to the finish line that was located by the race headquarters Red Lion Inn and City Pier. Her time was 3:24:46. In second place was MM Ginger Gruber, 40, of Port Orchard with a 3:32:17. Tiffany Crumbaugh, 32, of Bothell was in third place with a 3:36:35. At the halfway mark I had a 3:08:00 time and was passed by a male runner who appeared to be in my age division. After I crossed a bridge over McDonald Creek, I was able to pass him and then I ran/walked to keep ahead of my competitor. In the last 5.2 miles I walked to the finish line at a 16 minute pace and had a time of 6:28:26, 373rd of 396 overall and first early starter in the 70+ division. Lenore, Dick and his wife Shirley were volunteers at the finish line as “buddies.” They greeted individual finishers and provided them with a finishing medal, bottle of water or energy drink, took them to the chip removal volunteers and directed them to the checked baggage area and to the refreshments. After the race was over, the four of us attended the Volunteers Dinner in the race headquarters hotel. It was a good way to finish the eighth running of the North Olympic Discovery Marathon. As always, Race Directors Michelle and Larry Little and their organization put on a great event. …………………………………….Written by Bob Dolphin * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2:37:45 Anthony Skuce, 46, OVERALL WINNER, First in Division
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