VIRGINIA MASON SEAFAIR MARATHON Many months before the July 8, 2007, Virginia Mason Seafair Marathon I had signed up for this race. Because Lenore entered Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center hospital on July 4th with chest pains and fatigue, it soon became apparent that she would be hospitalized during the marathon weekend. I told her that I would withdraw from the marathon to be with her. However, on Friday, July 6th, she encouraged me to drive the 150 miles to Bellevue the next day to be able to participate in the event and return to Yakima after the race. This was possible because her pending open-heart by-pass surgery would be scheduled to take place on July 10th. After having Lenore accompany me to almost all of my marathons for 12 years, it seemed strange to be making this trip alone. When I arrived at the new race headquarters at the Bellevue Hilton, I was impressed by the spacious parking lot and the large packet pickup and Expo rooms. It was there that I met Richard Maher (director of the Eugene Marathon), Herb Allen, Greg Judge, Bernadette Langdon and other friends. They all had one question for me, “Where’s Lenore?” After I told them the status of her hospitalization, they wished her well and said that they’d miss her trademark finish line hug. This was the third running of the Seafair Marathon. It started and finished at Bellevue City Park and followed the same course as last year. In the pre-start period I visited with some Marathon Maniac friends and others. At 7:00 a.m. the race was started under overcast skies and air temperature in the 60’s…….good running conditions. It was nice to be greeted by friends as they passed me. After two miles, we reached my favorite part of the course, running the roads around the Bridle Trails State Park in Kirkland. The park is 482 acres in size, forested, and undeveloped except for a maze of trails that are used by equestrians, pedestrians and runners. I run and walk in this park often during training. The course has many up-hills and down-hills with a variety of grades and lengths. There are also some flat stretches with shade that is very much appreciated. When the skies cleared, the temperature reached 78 degrees. A light wind helped keep us comfortable, but it still took a toll on my running in the second half of the marathon. Due to leg and foot cramps, I couldn’t run the last 10K of the race, so I walked it at a 15:45 pace to finish in 5:50:45, 393rd of 402 finishers (473 starters), and first 75-79 Male. I missed my “Lenore Hug” but appreciated being greeted by the three Marathon Maniac founders, Steve Yee, Chris Warren and Tony Phillippi. I joined them in welcoming MM Larry Macon of San Antonio, Texas, and Jim Simpson of Huntington Beach, California, as they crossed the finish line a few minutes after I finished. It had been a good race in a favorite city (Bellevue) and its suburbs. Apparently my finishing time for a summer marathon is about an hour slower than the cooler spring marathons. I can accept that as I continue to have unique year-round marathon adventures. The winner of the 2007 Seafair Marathon was Paul Rugut, 33, of Seattle who ran this hilly course in 2:27:35. In second place was Fritz Van De Kamp, 27, of Holladay, Utah, who finished in 2:41:27. Finishing in third place was Ron Young, 27, of Oak Harbor with a 2:46:34. The first woman to finish was Larisa Mikhaylova, 38, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who set a new course record for women by six minutes with a time of 2:53:21. She finished in 7th place overall. Marlene Farrell, 31, of Leavenworth was second with a 2:58:48. She was the winner of the women’s race at the Yakima River Canyon Marathon in 2002 with a 3:10:00. Trisha Steidl, 30, of Seattle ran a 3:00:58 for third place. She was the 2006 Seafair Marathon women’s winner with a time of 2:59:48. Congratulations to Cliff Richards, 46, a Marathon Maniac from Maple Valley who won the 45-49 Male Age Division with a 2:53:06. He placed sixth overall and was the oldest runner of the first 22 finishers! The first Marathon Maniac woman to finish was Annie Thiessen, 36, of Tacoma with a time of 3:15:41. She was the fourth woman and 25th runner overall and placed second in her age group. Thanks to MM Leslie Miller for her concern and conversation that helped me through the final miles and to Bernadette Langdon, photographer Tony Phillippi and James Nolan for their encouragement as I walked to the finish. Special thanks to Jared Loranger for taking over the race director’s job this year and putting on a class event with the help of his committee, volunteers and local policemen. I’ll sign up early again for the next Seafair Marathon and hope that Lenore will be at the finish line in 2008. ……………………………………..Written by Bob Dolphin
Postscript: Lenore had open-heart triple by-pass surgery on July 10th. She was discharged from the hospital on July 18th but was re-admitted five hours later with some unexpected complications. Her “summer adventure” consisted of spending 20 consecutive days in the hospital! Her recovery has been slower than she anticipated, but she’s making progress and has the okay from her heart surgeon and cardiologist to travel again. That means that she’ll be accompanying Bob to his marathons soon!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Virginia Mason Seafair Marathon, July 8, 2007 – PARTIAL RESULTS 2:27:35 Paul Rugut, 33, Seattle, First Overall. First in Age Division |