SEATTLE ROCK ‘n’ ROLL MARATHON The second annual Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon was held on Saturday, June 26, 2010. On race morning I arose at 4:30 a.m. at our Renton home to be ready by 5:30 a.m. when our friend and neighbor Dick Ziehe picked up Lenore and me to drive me to the starting area in nearby Tukwila for the 7:00 a.m. start in the Gateway Corporate Center. There were over 27,000 runners and walkers in the combined fields of the marathon and half marathon who were distinguished by different bib colors. While waiting in my designated corral, I visited with Bernadette Langdon of Portland, Oregon…….who walks faster than many of us can run! I also saw Marathon Maniac (MM) Ric Hart of Monroe who has run most of our Yakima River Canyon Marathons and Ralph Riddick, a longtime running friend from Spokane. When the starting gun sounded, we began moving forward slowly and it took 27 minutes to get to the starting line. Considering the size of the field, that wasn’t bad. The sky was overcast, so it was an ideal day for running. The temperature was in the middle 50’s at the start and didn’t exceed 70 degrees at the race conclusion. The air was calm most of the time, but there was some moderate wind on the I-90 floating bridge. This scenic course is variable with flat-to-easy grades and a few moderate hills. I especially enjoyed running in the park along Lake Washington before we came to the out-and-back on the I-90 floating bridge to Mercer Island. As we left the lake, we went through a tunnel and had a striking view of Seattle buildings when we exited. Then we ran through Pioneer Square onto a ramp that took us to the elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct by Elliott Bay. It was there that distant mountains, an ocean liner, ferries, sailboats and small craft were in view. When I was walking in the 20th mile, I became apprehensive as sweep trucks in the opposite lane of Aurora Avenue at Mile 19 were dismantling the course, packing tables, refreshments and first aid supplies. I thought they might catch up with me and pull me off of the course. There were others behind me, and the sweep vehicles held back and let them set the pace. At Mile 23 we passed the Qwest Stadium finish area, and that presented a test in fortitude. We were near the finish line, but we still had 3.2 miles to go! It was a relief when I spotted an aid station ahead. It was the turn-around point, so I knew that after 1 ½ miles I’d hear John Bingham, “The Penguin,” congratulate me as I crossed the finish line and receive an attractive medal. My chip time was 6:43:32 and I was 3,957th of 4,080 finishers. I was the only one in the 80+ Male Division, so that makes me the oldest competitor in the race. It had been a good day for seeing friends along the way. Mel Preedy, MM from Ravensdale, and I greeted each other on the Mercer Island out-and-back. It was good to visit with Eugene DeFronzo, a 50 State Finisher from Cheshire, Connecticut….to meet John Kay of Renton who was running/walking his first marathon….to see Judy Sam of Edmonds who was running her second marathon….and to greet our Renton neighbor and friend, MM Janet Burgess. After I visited again with Judy Sam and others in the refreshment area on the ballfield, Ralph Riddick joined me for the walk to the Westin Hotel where my neighbor Dick, his wife Shirley and Lenore were waiting for me. The next day I read the marathon report in the Seattle Times newspaper. In the men’s race there were four elite Kenyans running together for 16 miles. At that time two of them fell back, and Jynocel Basweti and Mark Chepses continued to run together. In the 21st mile Jynocci surged with a five minute mile to pull ahead and then finish in 2:18:19. Mark came in second with a 2:18:51, and David Cheruiyot was third in a time of 2:21:28. The women’s winner was Sopagna Eap of Eugene, Oregon, who extended her lead during the race to finish in 2:43:05. In second was Kim Harding of Issaquah with a 2:56:43, while Stacia Kalineski of California ran a sub-three hour 2:59:48 for third place. My second Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is history. It was a good race as I completed marathon/ultra #470. When I crossed the finish line, John Bingham reminded me that he’ll be there to help me celebrate #500 on March 31, 2012, at the Yakima River Canyon Marathon. That’s my goal, and God-willing…..it will happen. ……………………………Written by Bob Dolphin
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2:18:19 Jynocel Basweti, 23, Kenya, OVERALL WINNER, First in Age Division 2:43:05 Sopagna Eap, 29, Eugene, OR, FIRST WOMAN OVERALL, 1st
3:11:13 Al Harman, 48, West Vancouver, BC, Marathon Maniac (MM)
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