A few days before and after the Portland Marathon there were concerns about the irregular minor eruptions of Mt. St. Helens only 50 miles northeast of Portland in Washington state. Thankfully, the marathon was held on schedule as it started in downtown Portland, Oregon, at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 3, 2004.

For most of the race the temperature was in the 60's, and the skies were overcast until the sun came out in the late morning. There were no signs of volcanic activity that day!

Because I was running my 20th consecutive Portland Marathon, this event was more special than most. My birthday (October 4th) falls near the race date, so there was reason to celebrate during the race weekend. Thanks go to the friends who extended birthday wishes and to our friend Fenny Roberts of Salem, OR, who sang "Happy Birthday" to me from the stage at the Awards Ceremony. This was much appreciated.

Since the marathon was held on the day before my 75th birthday, it meant that I was the oldest one in the 70-74M division. I have four first place awards from this marathon in this age group, so I have no regrets that I finished in fourth place this year.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the marathon was won by 27 year old Chris Charles of Seattle, WA. During his college years, he ran on the Washington State University team. In this race he ran unchallenged and had a four minute lead at the finish. In second place was Brandon Reiff, 23 of Moscow, Idaho (2:29:53). Sassa Tsutomu, 30, of Tokyo, Japan, was third (2:30:22).

Jose Garcia, 35, of Yakima, WA, placed seventh overall and first in the 35-39M division as he finished in a time of 2:33:05. He holds the record for the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON, a time of 2:29:43.

The women's race was close. Liane Sullivan Rae, 31, from Portland ran in second position for most of the race. Azusa Nojiri, 22, of Tokyo, Japan, had developed a lead in the early miles, but Liane had a faster pace in the last 10K and passed her near the 26 mile mark. She finished in 2:49:48 to win.....and was 22nd overall. Azusa was second with a 2:50:04. Close behind was Sabrina Monro, 24, of Clancy, MT (2:50:58).

In the years that I have been running I have joined a number of running clubs. I was happy to see and greet some members of these clubs during the weekend. These included Marathon Achievers, 50 States and DC Marathon Group, 50 States Marathon Club, 100 Marathon Club North America, Marathon Maniacs, Hard Core Runners Club, Fort Steilacoom Running Club, Interurban Running Club and the Oregon Road Runners Club. Most of these runners are listed in the partial results.

Congratulations to Jay Johnson of St. Cloud, MN, who became a 50 States & DC Group FINISHER when he completed the Portland Marathon. Earlier in the year he had run the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON to add "Washington" to his state list. It was remarkable that he brought 16 club members from Minnesota to celebrate the occasion of becoming a state finisher. They all ran either the marathon or the 5 mile race that was available.

This weekend for the fifth time Lenore and I attended the Portland Marathon Race Directors Conference. At the Saturday luncheon we enjoyed hearing Oregon Congressman Eric Blumenauer speak about government participation in health and fitness. He is well known for his support of the Portland Marathon and is an annual participant of this great race.

At the conference it was interesting to hear event director Les Smith describe how he and his staff are discouraging cheats who are registered.....and unregistered runners who cheat by not registering. A cheater's shortcut had been eliminated by using monitors and relocating a chip activator mat in the 10th mile. Only registered runners were permitted to cross the St. John's Bridge over the Willamette River in the 18th mile. In the previous mile there were many signs warning the "turkeys," "bandits", and "unregistered cheats" that runners without bibs would be stopped.

My run went well, but as usual it was slower than the previous year. In the third mile I passed an 81 year old runner who was walking up the Jefferson Street hill. He re-passed me a short time later as we were running on Barbur Boulevard. Then I lost track of him. In the race results he was listed as Walt Washburn of Vienna, VA. He finished only one minute behind me in a time of 4:51:45 to set a new course record in the 80-84M age division. This was the first time that someone over 80 had run a sub five hour marathon in Portland. He was first of two in his age group and finished faster than the three in the 75-59M group and faster than seven of the eleven in the 70-74M group. What an accomplishment!! The second runner in his group was Willis Greenaway, 82, of Summerland, BC, who ran a 5:18:14 to beat the three 75-79M runners as well.

My walking breaks were minimal as I restricted them to the aid stations and the steeper upgrades. The last 10K went well, and leg cramps did not appear. However, I was ready to call it a day when I reached the finish line in 4:50:42, 3,379th of 5,838 finishers, 2,035th of 3,131 males, and 4th of eleven 70-74 males.

Congratulations to our friend Jack Swanson, 70, of Spokane for finishing first in this division with a 4:22:41. Special CONGRATULATIONS go to his wife Gunhild Swanson, 60, who ran a 3:36:11 to win first place in the 60-64F division and set a new COURSE RECORD for this group at the Portland Marathon.

I run about 20-24 marathons per year, and I don't know of any large marathon that I run that is so well organized. The course is not difficult, yet it has a variety of flat areas, grades and hills. The Willamette River as seen from the St. Georges Bridge and bluff from Mile 20-23 is attractive. Downtown Portland with large buildings, parks, suburbs and the University of Portland make for interesting viewing. Even a commercial area was interesting because there were four miles to view runners and walkers going in the opposite direction. I was able to greet many friends along this out-and-back portion of the race course.

My 20th consecutive Portland Marathon is history, and Mt. St. Helens is still unpredictable. One thing that IS predictable is that Les Smith, his staff and the many volunteers always host a great marathon!

...........................................................Written by Bob Dolphin

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Partial Results.........Portland Marathon..........October 3, 2004
100 MC = 100 Marathon Club North American Member; MM = Marathon Maniac

(1) 2:25:33 Chris Charles, 27, Seattle, WA
(2) 2:29:53 Brandon Reiff, 23, Moscow, ID
(3) 2:30:22 Sassa Tsutomu, 30, Tokyo, Japan

(1F) 2:49:48 Liane Sullivan Rae, 31, Portland, OR
(2F) 2:50:04 Azusa Nojiri, 22, Tokyo, Japan
(3F) 2:50:58 Sabrina Monro, Clancy, MT

Wheelchair Participant.....2:30:57 Jerry Martin, 56, Spokane Valley, WA, 4th, 100 MC

2:33:05 Jose Garcia, 35, Yakima, WA, 1st in Division
2:49:10 Cliff Richards, 43, Maple Valley, WA, 3rd
3:00:58 Gregg Walchli, 42, Seattle, WA, 13th, 100 MC, MM
3:11:52 Ruben Contreras, 50, Stanwood, WA, 4th, MM
3:12:26 Jay Johnson, 44, St. Cloud, MN
3:15:07 Doug MacLean, 52, Mercer Island, WA, 9th, MM
3:17:23 Alicia Britt, 42, Seattle, WA 4th, MM
3:17:24 Chris Warren, 37, Renton, WA, MM
3:21:36 Ron Hayden, 48, Kennewick, WA
3:23:24 Eric Gierke, 41, Shoreline, WA, MM
3:30:35 Marc Frommer, 52, Portland, OR, MM
3:33:26 Paul Emmett, 58, Redmond, WA, 100 MC
3:36:11 Gunhild Swanson, 60, Spokane, WA, 100 MC, MM
3:36:57 Michael Wakabayashi, 56, Spokane, WA, 100 MC, MM
3:40:39 Janet Green, 51, Courtenay, BC, 8th, 100 MC
3:44:17 Connie Ridenour, 46, Spokane, WA, 10th, MM
3:45:04 Jim Boyd, 62, Seattle, WA, 4th, 100 MC
3:47:01 Dietrich Hildebrandt, 20, Fairbanks, AK
3:52:23 Bill Voiland, 56, Spokane, WA
3:53:47 Susan Love, 56, Carmel, CA, 2nd
3:56:23 Mike Lewis, 61, Enumclaw, WA
3:58:13 Jim Kunz, 55, Seattle, WA, 100 MC
4:03:39 Rick Jensen, 43, Washougal, WA
4:05:54 Ron Fowler, 57, Seattle, WA, 100 MC
4:17:09 Laura Yasso, 44, Center Valley, PA
4:21:26 Ed Hansen, 58, Stayton, OR
4:22:18 Evan Fagan, 67, Victoria, BC, 10th, 100 MC
4:22:41 Jack Swanson, 70, Spokane, WA, 1st, 100 MC, MM
4:23:52 Michael Dutton, 34, Everett, WA
4:35:08 Andrew Dunn, 45, Normandy Park, WA
4:45:38 Earl Blumenauer, 56, Portland, OR
4:50:42 Bob Dolphin, 74, Renton, WA, 4th, 100 MC, MM
4:51:45 Walt Washburn, 81, Vienna, VA, 1st
5:04:20 Jon Gissberg, 61, Seattle, WA
5:16:20 Bernadette Langdon, 50, Portland, OR (Power Walker)
5:18:14 Willis Greenaway, 82, Summerland, BC, 2nd
5:22:36 Kyndall Hildebrandt, 22, Fairbanks, AK
5:24:12 Joan Loomis, 55, Eugene, OR
5:30:50 Gretchen Eickmeyer, 37, Yakima, WA (Walker)
5:34:50 Fenny Roberts, 52, Salem, OR, MM
5:34:51 Jim Scheer, 62, Vancouver, WA, MM
5:40:33 Steve Frederickson, 58, Kent, WA, 100 MC (Racewalker)
5:53:16 Cyndie Merten, 48, Corvallis, OR, MM
5:53:23 Robert Hildebrandt, 55, Fairbanks, AK
5:57:55 Jack Meteyer, 75, Auburn, WA, 3rd
6:03:02 Mike Hendricks, 50, Yakima, WA
6:18:57 Diane Anderson, 67, Enumclaw, WA
6:38:27 Carol Dellinger, 42, Spokane, WA, 100 MC, MM
7:11:15 Judy Powers, 62, Montlake Terrace, WA