BIRCH BAY MARATHON
December 13, 2008
The Birch Bay (Ghost) Marathon was held on Saturday, December 13, 2008, at the northwest corner of the State of Washington and the United States. This race is the longest, continuously run marathon on the west coast, and I’ve run it most years since 1993.
It usually is a “weather-affected” event, and this year we were able to run “between two storms” on a cold and windy day. On race morning, Lenore and I drove north from our son’s Mt. Vernon home to Birch Bay 50 miles away for an 8:00 a.m. early start for me. The sky was overcast, and the temperature was in the 30’s. I like to run “light,” but on this day I wore several layers of clothing without removing any of them during the race.
This is a “frying pan-shaped” course with a double, 10 mile loop in the middle. Race director Scott Krell provides an aid station at Miles 13 and 23 and roving aid stations in vehicles on the course.
Every year I see something different and noteworthy on the loop. I always enjoy looking at Drayton Harbour near Blaine, Washington, at the International Border and viewing the mountains in the background of White Rock, BC. This year they were covered with snow.
For the first time, I saw a bald eagle at Birch Bay near the starting line and some Eastern Gray Squirrels and Douglas Squirrels on the course.
As always, I enjoy running this marathon, but I find that I’m running by myself most of the time. When I have the chance, I appreciate the conversations with other runners as they pass by. Ray Shaw told me that he was running his 54th marathon that day and hoped to reach a total of 57 by the end of the year. He’s running in “third place” for the most marathons run in 2008 by a Marathon Maniac. Larry Macon from San Antonio, TX, will end the year in first place while David Majors of England will be in second place.
Congratulations to Spencer Albin of Bothell who ran his first marathon at Birch Bay!
My race was not up to my expectations. In the first half, I walked the hills and ran the rest of the time for a 2:55:27. However, the second half was a different story. All that I could manage was walking at a 16 minute pace to finish in 6:21:00. I was thankful for a 30 mph tailwind in the last mile that helped me make it in and thankful for Lenore’s hug and the goodie bag and “finishers medal” that she presented.
Scott was there and provided me a comfortable seat in his heated van and served me the most delicious hotdog that I’d had in a long time. He’s the only marathon race director I know who serves hot soup and chili plus an array of potatoes, muffins, crackers, chips, cookies, drinks etc. at Miles 13 & 23 and lots of hot food at the finish line. These are great amenities, and they remind me of the food provided at the 44 ultras I’ve run!
There were 33 starters (and finishers) of the marathon and three runners who ran a half marathon. We all felt fortunate that we were able to finish the race before the next storm arrived. This winter, records other than marathon ones are being broken, so we’re lucky that we did this one “in between two storms!”
………………………………………….Written by Bob Dolphin
Edited, Typed and Distributed by Lenore Dolphin
3:13:10 Terry Sentinella, OVERALL WINNER, Marathon Maniac (MM)
3:23:18 Hunter MacLean, SECOND OVERALL
3:28:15 Craig Hanela, THIRD OVERALL
3:33:37 Shawna Wilskey, OVERALL WOMEN’S WINNER, MM
3:33:37 Tony Covarrubias, MM
3:34:00 Dave Robinson
3:36:40 Michael Rasmussen, MM
3:39:00 Olaf Weckner
3:39:02 Sarah Grue, SECOND WOMAN OVERALL, MM
3:39:42 Robert Jacobsen, MM
3:40:23 Nic Plemel
3:49:02 Van Phan, THIRD WOMAN OVERALL, MM
3:54:00 Shawn McTaggart
3:59:16 Matt Hagen, MM
4:00:08 Eric Barnes, MM
4:26:00 Angela Frye
4:36:36 Gilles Barbeau, MM
4:39:01 Betsy Rogers, MM
4:45:00 Jess Mullen, MM
4:45:00 Linda Barton, MM
4:46:01 Stan Nakashima, MM
4:48:00 Chris Vittoz
4:50:00 Sheila Dawe
4:56:06 Allison Moore
5:01:45 Leslie Miller, MM
5:03:00 Spencer Albin, MM
5:16:25 Jim Boyd, MM
5:17:01 Lindsay Felker, MM
5:17:01 Sharon Evans
5:32:21 Mike Pruyne, MM
5:32:41 Amy Begnal
5:33:35 Ray Shaw, MM
6:21:00 Bob Dolphin, MM