COEUR d’ ALENE MARATHON It had been two years since Lenore and I had gone to Northern Idaho to be a part of the Coeur d’ Alene Marathon. This year the marathon, half marathon and 5K run/walk were held on Sunday, May 30, 2010. It was the 33rd running of the marathon that is traditionally held on Memorial Day weekend, and Mac Bohlman of Walla Walla, Washington, is the only runner who has completed all of them. I first ran this race in 1987 and have run it 20 times altogether with an initial string of 16 times. I had concerns about finishing the marathon under the six hour course closure time, so I signed up for the 5:30 a.m. Marathon Walk. The 60+ marathon and half marathon early starters crossed the starting mats on time. The participants walked or ran on Main Street in Riverstone, a new building complex, and proceeded a quarter of a mile to the nearly Centennial Trail. Here we walked north on a new part of the trail for a mile and a half to a turn-around. I enjoyed the scenery, but it was disturbing to me when I realized that I was walking in “last place.” From then on I tried to overtake walkers and managed to pass seven of them by the eighth mile in downtown Coeur d‘ Alene. I always enjoy this course by or near Coeur d’ Alene Lake as we follow the Centennial Trail. The weather was overcast with temperatures in the 50’s and mid 60’s, good conditions for walking or running. Strong lake winds of 30 mph were, thankfully, localized. It was great to be able to visit with others in the early miles. Steve Love, 56, of Mansfield, Washington, has a chronic injury but still manages to finish marathons at Coeur d’ Alene, Yakima River Canyon, Lake Chelan and others every year. 75 year old Mac Bohlman had a hip replacement operation two years ago and carried a cane with him as he walked/ran his 33rd consecutive Coeur d’ Alene Marathon! In the 10th mile three runners were chatting as they ran side-by-side. They were the first three male runners to pass me…..wiping out my 1 and ½ hour early lead! From then on until the end of my walk, there were runners to greet as they passed me going out and also on their way back from the turn-around. In the last four miles of the marathon we had a tour of the North Idaho Community College grounds. This was followed by a pleasant walk on another segment of the Centennial Trail to a park in Riverstone. Here I made my way to the finish line where Lenore was waiting for me. I finished with a 7:08:15, an average pace of 16:20 minutes per mile, well off of my run/walk pace in recent races. I was in 46th place of the early marathon walk field of 52. Of the early starters I was in 2nd place of two in the 75+M division. Mac Bohlman had finished in 7:04:34. It was good to be back in Coeur d’ Alene for another marathon, and we appreciate the hospitality of our good friend Bev Gibson of Spokane Valley for being a gracious hostess during the marathon weekend. ……Written by Bob Dolphin …….. Edited, Typed and Distributed by Lenore Dolphin PARTIAL RESULTS – COEUR d’ ALENE MARATHON, May 30, 20102:44:47 Kjell Schloeberg, 32, Hamburg, Germany, OVERALL WINNER, First in Division
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