VALENTINE MARATHON
February 11, 2007
For the first
time ever I ran two consecutive marathons on the same course in different
events. On December 23, 2006, it was
the Christmas Marathon starting and finishing at Millersylvania State Park
south of Olympia, Washington, and on February 11, 2007, I returned to run the
Valentine Marathon on the same course.
These are
holiday emphasized marathons directed by Bob Green. He also has a Halloween Marathon there in the fall, but the
Dolphin Marathon Team is off to Washington, DC, at that time for the Marine
Corps Marathon.
Due to
hitting the wall early and having to walk the second half, I ran one of my
slowest times of 2006 at the Christmas Marathon (6:11:16). I devised a new strategy for the Valentine
Marathon. Taking a 9:30 a.m. early
start, I decided to run a twelve minute mile (slower than usual) to see if I
could avoid or delay a mid-race slowdown.
While the problem wasn’t entirely eliminated, it was only in the last
five miles that I walked more than I ran.
My official finish time was 5:28:21, much better than my last three
times on this course.
The weather
was good with air temperatures rising from 45 to 55 degrees during the
event. It was overcast to partly cloudy
with intermittent light rain. At times
the 15 mph south wind was more of a hindrance than a help. After the 21st mile there was a
light tailwind as we headed for the finish on the
state
highway.
At the
one-hour early start a small group of marathoners and several half marathoners
ran out of the park and soon headed south on Tilley Road (State Highway 121) on
the scenic, rolling-to-flat, out-and-back course. In the early miles I visited with Jon Gissberg and Amelia Gailey,
both from Seattle, and Jon’s friend Hajimi Nishi, a megamarathoner from Tokyo,
Japan, who runs many American marathons. Jon, known by his Marathon Maniac (MM)
nickname as “Barefoot Jon,” wore thin, flexible sandals on this day because of
the gravel embedded pavement.
The next
runner whom I visited with has an interesting story. Richard Takata from the Toronto, Canada, area has run close to
380 marathons and ultramarathons. His
goal is to run 7 marathons on the 7 continents in 7 weeks to
establish a new world record. He began
this adventure on January 28, 2007, and has completed marathons in Germany,
Japan and Westport, New Zealand (the day before!) Marathons in Egypt, Antarctica and Argentina are upcoming to meet
his goal. He hopes to raise $120,000
for cancer research at the Prince Margaret Hospital.
The winner of
the Valentine Marathon was Ben Wessenyelen, 23, of Seattle with a time of
2:57:07. In second place was Kevin
Prentise, 44, of Edmonds with a 2:59:19.
These two were running together as they passed me in my 11th
mile. Coming in third was MM Gregg Walchli, 44, of Seattle. He looked strong as we greeted each
other. His finishing time was 3:02:37.
The women’s
race was won by Ann Armstrong, 44, of Poulsbo with a time of 3:10:07. Last year at the Yakima River Canyon
Marathon she was the second overall women’s finisher. MM Annie Thiessen, 36, came in second for the women with a
3:19:24. She was accompanied by MM Tony
Phillippi (3:19:33). Both are from
Tacoma. MM Christel Elliott, 28,
another Tacoma resident, was third with a time of 3:35:35. Congratulations to Christel for her new PR and
Boston Qualifying time! MM Mel
Preedy, 73, of Ravensdale ran a good time of 4:27:30.
It was a
pleasant surprise to see MM Jim Simpson, 65, of Huntington Beach, CA, and MM
Larry Macon, 62, of San Antonio, TX, on the course. Wherever we go for marathons, we always see old friends.
In
conclusion, I learned that I can run the Millersylvania State Park course
faster if I start out at a conversational pace and then run/walk the best that
I can in the second half of the marathon.
A continuous walk is relatively slow and needs to be delayed as long as
possible.
………………………………….Written
by Bob Dolphin
Edited, Typed and Distributed by Lenore Dolphin
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Complete Valentine
Marathon Results
2:57:07 Ben Wessenyelen, 23, Seattle, Firstt
Overall, First in Age Division
2:59:19 Kevin Prentise, 44, Edmonds, Second Overall,
1st
3:02:37 Gregg Walchli, 44, Marathon Maniac (MM), 100
Marathon Club North America (100 MC),
Third Overall, 2nd
3:05:20 Alex Swenson, 42, Vashon, 3rd
3:06:46 Kurt Kinney, 36, Dupont, 1st
3:07:59 Scott Loughney 36, Apple Valley, CA, 2nd
3:10:07 Ann Armstrong, 44, Poulsbo, First Woman
Overall, 1st
3:14:30 Eric Jensen, 42, Athena, OR, MM
3:15:20 Brian Zabriskie, 43, Moscow, ID
3:17:20 Rulsan Tkebuchaun, 26, Vancouver, WA, 1st
3:18:33 Annie Thiessen, 36, Tacoma, MM, Second Woman
Overall, 1st
3:18:33 Tony Phillippi, 45, Tacoma, MM, 100 MC
3:21:06 David Spooner, 38, Buckley, MM, 3rd
3:22:30 Laues Oshaughnessy, Jr., 47, Fort Wayne, IN,
1st
3:33:32 Steven Yee, 47, Seattle, MM, 100 MC, 2nd
3:35:35 Christel Elliott, 28, Tacoma, MM, Third
Woman Overall, 1st
3:35:44 John Bykonen, 50, Shelton, 1st
3:36:50 David Stout, 52, Renton, 2nd
3:38:50 Bob Cooper, 58, Seattle, 1st
3:44:02 David Lesh, 55, Gustavas, 2nd
3:45:46 David Jones, 61, Seattle, MM, 100 MC, 1st
3:53:28 Steve Walters, 26, Portland, OR, MM, 2nd
3:55:58 Ron Fowler, 59, Seattle, 100 MC, 3rd
4:04:02 Jessica Mullen, 32, Seattle, MM, 2nd
4:07:25 James Kondek, 51, Bainbridge Island, 3rd
4:08:30 Leigh Kochan, 36, Lake Oswego, OR, 2nd
4:15:05 Tim Lawson, 21, Seattle, MM, 2nd
4:15:50 Kurt Juengling, 19, Salem, OR, 1st
4:17:30 Jim Scheer, 64, Vancouver, WA, MM, 100 MC, 2nd
4:18:18 Jesse Nerius, 25, Mountain AFB, 1st
4:23:10 Corrine Austerman, 43, Okutoki, AB, Canada,
MM, 2nd
4:23:10 David Hamilton, 53, Seattle
4:23:10 Brian Pendleton, 52, Auburn, MM
4:25:21 Rick Haase, 61, Shoreline, MM, 100 MC, 3rd
4:27:30 Mel Preedy, 73, Ravensdale, MM, 100 MC, 1st
4:27:50 Timothy Middleton, 66, Anchorage, AK, 1st
4:28:21 Rick Smith, 50, Camas, MM
4:29:55 James Derby, 42, Spokane
4:30:10 Brian Burmaster, 50, Town and Country
4:30:15 Amanda Cohn, 38, Seattle, MM, 3rd
4:38:47 Janice Moyer, 50 Wellpinit, MM, 1st
4:38:47 James Simpson, 65, Huntington Beach, CA, 100
MC, 2nd
4:41:12 Jim Boyd, 64, Seattle, MM, 100 MC
4:44:37 Leslie Miller, 26, Bellevue, MM, 2nd
4:57:17 Richard Takata, 49, Toronto, ON, Canada, 3rd
4:57:17 Vivian Slomo, 41, Seattle, 2nd
4:59:21 Joe Cleary, 66, Georgetown, 3rd
5:00:14 Monte Pascual, 46, Federal Way, MM
5:13:04 Jesus Reyes, 26, Mountain Home, 2nd
5:19:03 Laurence Macon, 62, San Antonio, TX, MM, 100
MC
5:27:30 Greg Kuhl, 52, Calgary, AB, Canada
5:28:21 Bob Dolphin, 77, Renton/Yakima, MM, 100 MC,
1st
5:34:40 Jane Herzog, 43, Tacoma, 3rd
6:06:34 Hajime Nishi, 57, Japan, MM
6:09:44 Jon Gissberg, 63, Seattle, MM
6:09:44 Hiromi Hira, 34 Portland, OR, 1st