EASTER MARATHON
March 22, 2008

The Easter Marathon starts and finishes in wooded Millersylvania State Park which is located about 15 miles south of the Washington State Capital in Olympia.  Race director Bob Green has four holiday marathons each year, and my plan was to run three of them…. the Valentine Marathon in February, the Easter Marathon in March and the Christmas Marathon in late December.

For days before the Valentine Marathon heavy snow and avalanches closed all three mountain passes in the Cascades at the same time.  Rather than drive 400+ miles via Portland to get to the west side of the state, we decided to stay in Yakima.  My first marathon of 2008 was canceled by me as a result, and my interval between marathons was extended for a longer time than I like.

As Lenore heard me scraping ice from the car’s windshield at our Renton home on the morning of the Easter Marathon, she decided that this wasn’t the kind of weather she should face for the day.  I drove the 75 miles to race headquarters at one of the park’s picnic shelters by myself, pleased that Lenore would continue her recuperation in a warm house.

After I explained to Bob Green why I had missed his Valentine Marathon, he told me that he had missed it, too!  A ruptured appendix kept him in the hospital for two weeks at that time.

It was great to see many friends before the start of this race.  Jim Boyd, Ron Fowler, Jim Kunz, Robert Lopez, Monte Pasqual, Fenny Roberts, Ray Shaw, Jim Scheer, Gregg Walchli and others were there, and most of us joined the 15+ runners who took the 9:30 a.m. early start.

The air temperature was in the 45-55 degree range, the sky was partly cloudy, and the wind was calm to light.  The double out-and-back course was flat to gently-rolling through forest, fields, and rural housing.  The village of Maytown was the only settlement along the route.

It was a good day to run or walk, so I did both by alternating at telephone poles throughout the race.  As always, it was nice to greet friends and other runners who passed as they were going in the same or opposite direction.  My only wildlife sighting was a black-tailed deer as it crossed the road in a brushy area.  Once, as I was approaching Maytown, I saw many lights ahead that were coming in my lane.  I moved to the road’s edge as 50+ motorcyclists passed by, and some honked a greeting.

As I entered the park for the halfway turn-around, I was pleasantly surprised to meet Larry Macon, a megamarathoner from San Antonio, Texas.  He introduced me to Cheryl Gross, his running companion from San Antonio.

In the last mile I ran with David Raines, a U.S. Army captain stationed at Fort Lewis (south of Tacoma).  He has served three tours in Iraq and a fourth trip there was imminent.  He’s an infantry officer who has earned a doctorate of jurisprudence degree and plans to practice law after he retires from the Army.  I enjoyed visiting with him and then meeting his wife and their young son Xavier after the race.  We crossed the finish line together.  His regular time start gave him a 5:22:17, and my early start gave me a 6:22:17.  I was the last, and the oldest, of the 34 marathon finishers.

The marathon was won by Frank Livaudale, 33, of Austin, TX, with a 3:13:30.  In second place was Gregg Walchli, 45, a Marathon Maniac from Woodinville whose time was 3:19:51.

The women’s race was won by Astley Reed, 29, of Seattle who ran a 3:39:30 and came in sixth overall.  Lorie Alexander, 49, of Coldstream, BC, was second with a time of 4:15:15.

There were many Marathon Maniacs in the race, and most of them said they’d see Lenore and me at our 8th annual Yakima River Canyon Marathon on the weekend of April 4-6.  I was ready for our YRCM now that I had my long run at the Easter Marathon!

……………………………………..Written by Bob Dolphin
                                                           Edited, Typed and Distributed by Lenore Dolphin

……………..The race results follow on Page #3………………..

EASTER MARATHON RESULTS – March 22, 2008

3:13:30  Frank Livaudale, 33, Austin, TX
3:19:51  Gregg Walchli, 45, Woodinville, Marathon Maniac (MM)
3:25:28  Andrew Murphy, 37, Dupont
3:28:32  John St. Clair, 41, Portland, OR
3:34:51  Rance Myers, 43, Phoenix, AZ
3:39:30  Astley Reed, 29, Seattle
3:39:40  Warren Reeser, 47, Portland, OR
3:43:50  Curt Shaw, 41, Beaverton, OR
3:45:03  Robert Lopez, 41, Seattle, MM
3:54:04  Andy Fritz, 41, Olympia, MM
4:06:18  Mins Chae, 52, Lynnwood
4:13:10  Denis McCarthy, 48, St. Louis, Mo
4:15:15  Lorie Alexander, 49, Coldstream, BC
4:15:15  Barry Hopkins, 54, Seattle
4:19:20  Jim Scheer, 60, Vancouver, MM
4:22:10  Sheila Johnson, 40, Tacoma
4:24:08  Jason Houser, 32, Ridgefield
4:26:16  Linda Walter, 56, Puyallup
4:33:39  Jeff Probasco, 49, Hillsboro, OR
4:41:33  Ron Fowler, 60, Seattle
4:41:33  Jim Kunz, 59, Seattle
4:44:50  Monte Pascual, 47, Federal Way, MM
4:46:40  Scott Taylor, 31, Dallas, TX
4:47:28  Marilyn Pyke, 46, Graham
4:48:28  Jim Boyd, 65, Seattle, MM
4:48:40  Corrine Austerman, 44, Okotoks, KS, MM
5:04:30  Donna Jacobs, 47, Boise, ID
5:20:20  Fenny Roberts, 55, Salem, OR, 55, MM
5:22:17  David Raines, 50, Seattle
5:39:03  Laurence Macon, 63, San Antonio, TX, MM
5:39:03  Cheryl Gross, 54, San Antonio, TX
5:49:55  Raymond Shaw, 50, Tacoma, MM
6:02:58  Russell Cheney, 66, Bellevue
6:22:17  Bob Dolphin, 78, Renton/Yakima, MM