YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON
April 4, 2009

It was reported by Scott Sandsberry of the Yakima Herald Republic newspaper that this year’s Yakima River Canyon Marathon (YRCM) was the “greatest of them all.”  Lenore and I agree wholeheartedly and appreciate Scott’s extensive human interest stories before the marathon and the post race articles about the winners of the wheelchair, men’s and women’s races and the front runners.

Of the many marathons that I run each year, none approaches this press coverage in comprehensive and interesting coverage.  I also like the race results page on which the first ten men and women plus the wheelchair athletes were highlighted and the times and places of all participants were listed in chronological order.

Kris Holland, photographer of the Herald Republic, captured the essence of the marathon in the eight photographs that accompanied the post-race article in the Sunday edition of the newspaper.

At the starting line of the marathon on Saturday, April 4, 2009, I joined 450 runners, walkers and  wheelchair athletes to listen to the announcements by Tony Sagare of the Marathon Committee and the Hard Core Runners Club, our parent organization.  He introduced Norm Buckley, a Yakima pastor, who gave the invocation and Marathon Maniac (MM) Fenny Roberts, a runner from Salem, OR, who then sang the national anthem as she has done for all of our marathons.

Shortly before 8:00 a.m. the wheelchair race began, and immediately afterwards a loud train whistle (from a semi truck’s cab) started the marathon participants. 

It was a day of sunny, clear skies…….calm most of the way with cooling 5-10 mph light winds in the later miles….. so the running conditions were ideal.  The temperature was 28 degrees at the start and rose to the mid 50’s later in the race.  This year’s early “Daylight Savings Time” probably contributed to the cool running conditions.

This is my favorite marathon, and I’ve enjoyed being a participant in all NINE of them.  The first three miles of running through a flat agricultural setting were pleasant, but the 23 mile river canyon was spectacular as the scenery changed constantly. 

The loss of 300 feet of elevation and the backsides of several major and minor hills provided many miles of easy downgrade running.  Perhaps this accounts for the many personal records and Boston Qualifiers that were set here.

A Bald Eagle, Mule Deer, and Bighorn Sheep were sighted during the race.  By running at the back of the pack, I settled for sightings of Common Merganser ducks, Black-billed Magpies, many Violet-green Swallows and Sagebrush Buttercups (in Mile 15).  All of these were pleasant to observe as I ran along.

I enjoyed running with MM Stephen Hamilton, 66, of Sun River, Oregon, in miles 7-10 until minor leg cramps forced me to stop briefly.  It was a treat to walk the last two miles of the course with our annual U.S. flag bearer, Jose Nebrida, 67, of Chicago, Illinois (8:29:37), MM Tim Bruce, 56, and his daughter, MM Jennifer, 20, of Sequim (6:29:43).  MM Rich Menzel, 66, of Everett finished in 5:41:47 but accompanied me in the last two miles as he has done in previous years.

I completed the marathon with a 6:29:40, 423rd of 443 finishers and 2nd of four in the 75-79M division.  Mel Preedy, 75, of Ravensdale was first with a 5:45:36; Alan Morton, 78, from Tywyn Gwynedd, Wales, was third with a 7:04:51; and Ray Scharenbrock, 75, of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was fourth with a 7:38:03.  All four of us are Marathon Maniacs.

Jerry Martin, 61, of Spokane, a member of the 100 Marathon Club North America, was the winner of the wheelchair race in a phenomenal time of 1:46:25 as he broke his own course record by four minutes in his sixth YRCM win.  In second place was Tim Clark, 47, of Puyallup whose time of 1:51:46 was only five minutes behind first place.

This year’s YRCM had the closest finish of all nine when Joe Darda, 21, a senior and team runner at the University of Washington in Seattle, ran his first marathon in a time of 2:35:12, the third fastest time on the course! 

Two-time winner and Central Washington University (CWU) student Manuh Santos, 29, of Ellensburg caught up with Joe in the 13th mile.  As Joe then ran two miles at a 5:40 pace, Manuh experienced a cramp in his lower abdomen.  Joe pulled away to a 200 yard lead, but Manuh closed the gap and finished in second place with a 2:35:32, only 20 seconds behind him.

Kevin Blount, 23, a graduate of Yakima’s Eisenhower High School and a team runner for CWU, finished third with a 2:42:44.

Listed among the first nine male finishers were four friends and fellow Marathon Maniacs (MM) who ran great times as follows:  5th overall - Cliff Richards, 48, Maple Valley, 2:54:10; 7th overall – Tony Phillippi, 47,  Tacoma, 3:00:54; 8th overall – Terry Sentinella, 44, Anacortes, 3:03:08; 9th overall – Gregg Walchli, 46, Woodinville, 3:04:55.

For the fourth time MM Mary Hanna, 47, of Maple Valley was the women’s winner with a 3:14:59.  Her finishing time of 2:58:06 in 2006 set the course record for women.  In this year’s tight race, Mary ran with Selina Danko, 40, of Wenatchee, and Amber Green, 23, a master’s candidate at CWU from Selah.  In the 19th mile she took the lead and held it to the finish.  Selina came in two minutes later with a 3;16:59, and Amber placed third with a time of 3:19:13.

A year ago Beth Davenport, 48, 5:01:11, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, requested bib #100 for our April 4, 2009, YRCM.  MM Cyndie Merten, 52, 5:21:54, of Corvallis, Oregon, let us know that her goal was to reach #100 on the same day.  So, her bib number was 99 in recognition of that many completed marathons.  Then, we received word that MMMichael Shiach, 58, 4:07:42, had the same goal in mind, so his race number was his MM number of 33.  David Olsho, 57, 3:50:09 has a separate list for his ultras and chose our race for his 100th 26.2 mile marathon.  

Because of health reasons Dan Archambeau, 73, of Sebring, Florida, was told by his doctor that his 200th marathon should be his last race of that distance.  He decided that his “farewell” would be at our YRCM, and we were happy to have him run with bib #200.

We were honored to have five participants meet their goals, so we enlisted some help to make this weekend extra special for all of them.  Ruth Laughlin, our “flower lady” from Shoreline, brought a bouquet of flowers for each one to be given to them as they finished.  Donna Nettleship (4:09:03), Hard Core Runners Club member and designer of our YRCM logo, made a poster for each one that was presented with the flowers.  Yakima’s Engravings Unlimited, supplier of our awards, made #100 and #200 pins and personalized medallions for all.  The medallions and pins were presented at the awards ceremony/meal and four new members were given 100 Marathon Club North America certificates by Lenore.  Congratulations to all!!!

SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS TO:

1. MM Doug MacLean, 56,  and his son MM Hunter MacLean, 26,  of Mercer Island who arrived at SeaTac Airport from a two-week business trip at 8:00 p.m. on Friday night, came to the race and placed second and third in their age groups with times of 3:22:48 and 3:24:15.  Doug is the owner of Talking Rain that provides the water and Power Ade for the marathon.
2.  MM Christina Bruce, 17, of Sequim who made this race her first Boston Qualifier.  With a time of 3:24:54 she placed first in the 19 and under women’s division, 5th woman and 39th participant overall. She holds the record for being the youngest woman to have finished the YRCM when she ran her first marathon here at the age of 14.
3. MM Claude Hicks, 49, of Fort Worth, Texas, who ran his fifth consecutive YRCM and had his fastest time by two minutes with a 3:50:25.  He and his wife Debie Johnson (the Bus Lady) come early every year to volunteer!
4. Keith Wood, 80, of Sultan for establishing a new course record by almost three hours!!!  His 4:18:36 was a Boston Qualifier with 41 minutes to spare.  Surely, this transplant from Australia must be one of the fastest 80 year old runners in the country.  His age graded time was 2:41:15. 
5. Preciliano Martinez, 17, and Ivan Zaragoza, 17, of Toppenish for completing their high school “marathon project” by running their first marathon in 4:32:05 and 4:32:19.
6. Bruce Stobie, 46, of Maple Valley, a blind runner and his sister Melissa Dunning, 43, of Silverdale, his “sighted guide,” for completing the marathon in 4:49:24.  Bruce hadn’t run a marathon since 1990, so this was quite a challenge and accomplishment.  His brother-in-law Ed Dunning, 59, of Silverdale ran the race in 5:00:12.
7. MM Don “The Rev” Kienz, 53, of Exton, Pennsylvania, for giving a humorous and inspirational presentation on Friday night and then running the marathon the next day in a time of 4:54:15.
8. Phil Brown, 65, of Yakima, three-time finisher of the Ironman Triathlon World Championships on the big island of Hawaii in the 1990’s made a training comeback that was very successful.  He finished the YRCM in a time of 5:44:47.
9. MM Steve Hamling, 40, of Auburn was hit by a car as he was riding his motorcycle last December and is recovering from a broken back.  To keep his string of completing all YRCM’s going, he walked 26.2 miles in a time of 7:07:42!!!  We still have 25 marathoners who have completed all NINE of our races.
10. Our good friend MM Ray Scharenbrock, 75, of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had a challenge to get to our race this year, and we’re so glad that he made it!  He finished marathon #623 in a time of 7:38:03.  He is one of the leading megamarathoners in North America.  He has completed NINE circuits of running a marathon in all 50 states and DC (more than anyone else) and will complete #10 this year.

The Marathon Maniacs Club was welcomed for their second Yakima reunion.  Over 120 Maniacs from the U.S., Canada and Wales registered to run, and most of them attended the club meeting on Friday afternoon, April 3, 2009.  They had special seating at the meals and enjoyed the presentation to a “full house” by Maniac #48, Don “The Rev” Kienz.

In addition to the YRCM medals at the finish line the next day, beautiful Marathon Maniac medals were given to all members.  At the awards ceremony/meal the three Maniac founders (Steve Yee, Chris Warren & Tony Phillippi) announced the new inductions into the Marathon Maniac Hall of Fame and presented awards to Mel Preedy, Van Phan and Bob (and Lenore) Dolphin.  What an honor!!

We look forward to seeing a lot of Maniacs at our 10th YRCM anniversary race on March 27, 2010, and we’re glad that “The Rev” has consented to be our guest speaker again.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

1. Paul Taylor, 39, of Yakima who ran his first marathon (4:15:38) carrying the American flag and a beautiful rose that he gave to the race director (Lenore) at the finish line.  It was the highlight of her weekend!
2. Mike Hendricks, 54, YRCM registrar from Yakima (5:41:15), who carried the blackberry that belonged to Denise Kliskey, 38, Auburn (5:24:38).  At the finish line she let Lenore know that she had lost her blackberry between Miles 12 and 17.  A short time later Mike appeared at the finish line holding the blackberry that he had carried from Mile 14!
3. Rosie Rifa, our next door neighbor in Yakima, who sang the blessing song at the awards ceremony/meal and to honor our Canadian friends, she sang their beautiful national anthem, “O Canada.”
4. Our supporters from afar:  Denny Brooks, webmaster from Lacey; Marty Wanless, Sportsmarketer from Vancouver, BC; Martin Rudow, editor of Northwest Runner Magazine from Whidbey Island; John Elliott from New York City (marathonguide.com);  Greg Price, Seattle (Outdoors Northwest); Jeff Stensland/Tara Edmonds & family, from Mt. Vernon (in charge of drop bags); Steve Christofferson, Bellingham, & Dave Rubert, Winlock….photographers; Ruth & Roelif Laughlin, from Shoreline (flowers); Debie Johnson/Claude Hicks, Fort Worth, Texas (set-up/take-down, merchandise sales, bus lady etc.); Lois Brown, Sebring, Florida (roving aid on course); Bonni Brooks, Seattle (timing & results);  Don “The Rev” and Pam Kienz, Exton, Pennsylvania (speaker etc.); Jose Nebrida, Chicago, Illinois (introduction of guest speaker); Fenny Roberts, Salem, Oregon (national anthem etc.); MM Jeff & Kim Raber, West Chester, Ohio (set-up, take-down etc.); Wherever needed:  MM Tony Phillippi, Tacoma; MM Jim Scheer, Vancouver, WA; MM Rich Menzel, Everett; Ron Fowler, Seattle, Bill Voiland, Richland
5. The YRCM committee, the sponsors, the volunteers, the participants and all who helped make the Yakima River Canyon Marathon #9 the “greatest of them all.”

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