YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON #10 The Yakima River Canyon Marathon that was held on Saturday, March 27, 2010, was special to those who run it or volunteer their services every year. In what has seemed a short lime, we reached our tenth anniversary with a record-breaking attendance. It seemed like it was our best marathon yet! On the morning of the race we gathered at the Days Inn in Ellensburg and stayed warm in their Conference Center Building visiting and resting during day-of-race packet pickup. As the starting time approached, we walked a third of a mile to the starting line where Joe Henderson conveyed information to the 540 participants as they gathered. Joe had been the guest speaker at our first two marathons and announced at the start and finish lines of these and several more of our races. We were glad that he could return to help us celebrate our tenth anniversary. Pastor Jim Erixson of Yakima’s First Presbyterian Church gave the invocation, and Fenny Roberts sang the national anthem as she has for a decade. At 7:55 a.m. the two-man wheelchair race began, and at 8:00 a.m. the familiar “train whistle” started the race for everyone else. The weather was ideal. The sky was calm and clear with a temperature of 40 degrees at the start that rose to 60 degrees later on. A minor headwind in the final miles had a cooling effect. Jerry Martin, 62, of Spokane added to his many wins in the Canyon by winning the wheelchair division in a time of 1:53:00. Richard Harris, 59, of Gallatin Gateway, Montana, finished in 2:50:00. Gilbert Ondusko, 41, of Poulsbo took an early lead in the marathon and kept it for many miles. In the second half Sean Meissner, 36, of Sisters, Oregon, closed the quarter mile gap to a few feet at the base of the Dam Hill. He caught and passed Gilbert on the lower slope and extended his lead in the 23rd mile uphill and the subsequent 5K downhill to the finish line. His training as an ultramarathoner and mountain runner paid off. Sean won with a time of 2:45:14, and Gilbert came in second with a 2:49:26. Chris Warren, 42, of Renton finished third with a 2:52:11. Jeff Hambleton, 38, of Anacortes ran a 2:55:51 for fourth position just ahead of Kenn Clark, 36, of Tumwater who finished fifth with a 2:55:56. Annie Thiessen, 39, of Tacoma became a repeat women’s winner with a 3:00:46 finish, 11th place overall. Iliana Sach, 32, of Bellevue was second with a time of 3:09:55. Close behind in third position was Lilia Paradis, 27, of Seattle with a 3:11:25. Four-time winner and women’s course record holder Mary Hanna, 48, of Maple Valley ran a 3:13:06 for 4th place, and Karen Kupp, 41, of Yakima was close behind with a 3:13:29 for fifth place. An outstanding performance was turned in by Sidney Shotwell, 11, of Battle Ground. She was the youngest competitor in the race, yet won the Female 19 & Under Age Group with a time of 4:15:40. Janelle Wagnild, 19, of Spokane Valley ran a 4:24:25 for second place in that group. I enjoyed running and walking the marathon from start to finish with my “adopted grandson” Michael Dutton, 39, of Marysville. We reminisced, enjoyed the scenery and the volcanic geology along the way. The two signs of spring that we saw were yellow flowered Sagebrush Buttercup and yellow flowered Fern Leaf Desert Parsley. After we entered the Canyon, I alternated between walking and running. By Mile 12 my “walk” was faster than my “run” so I walked the last 14 miles to a 7:09:14 finish, 525th of 532 finishers and first (and only) 80 year old male. “Thanks” to Linda Brown for the massage at the finish area that helped to rejuvenate me. And “thanks” to Nick Schultz for making things special with the “clothesline” of his TEN volunteer shirts to run under just before the finish line. For many of us the “marathon weekend” began on Thursday evening, March 25th, with “set-up” at the Selah Civic Center that was followed for some of us by a meal at the Old Country Buffet, a sponsor. Then it ended with the no-host breakfast at sponsor Howard Johnson Plaza’s Plum Room on Sunday morning, March 28th. In between there were events that involved meals as well. At the Friday night pasta feed Riley Jungquist, one of two winners of the 2009 Team Dolphin Boston Marathon Fund Award, presented checks and certificates to this year’s winners, Piper Peterson of Spokane and Judson Moore of Bellingham. A third winner, Sara Malcolm of Seattle, was unable to attend. Marathon Maniac Jon Gissberg of Seattle is a member of the 100 Marathon Club North America AND of the 100 Marathon Club of Japan. He sponsored me to become a member of the Japanese club and surprised me with a new member’s plaque and a set of the club clothing (pink jacket, singlet, shorts and cap). We had a full house at this pasta feed and were pleased to have two great speakers to complete this event. Don “The Rev” Kienz, a Marathon Maniac from Exton, Pennsylvania, did such a good job as a humorous speaker last year that we invited him back to be on the program again. He delivered big time! The awards ceremony/meal on Saturday followed the traditional pattern. There were framed pictures of the Canyon for the wheelchair winner and the first and second place male and female finishers. First, second and third place winners in all 5-year divisions were given acrylic awards while the fourth and fifth place winners received special ribbons. This year the 25 runners who had finished ALL TEN Yakima River Canyon Marathons were Steve Barrick, 47, Kent; Stanley Bostrum, 52, Yakima; Jim Boyd, 67, Seattle; Jerry Buchmann, 57, Ephrata; Karin Buchmann, 53, Ephrata; Larry Carroll, 70, Spokane; Neil Corrigan, 53, Kennewick; Bob Dolphin,
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
formed by Lenore and Bob Dolphin at the first YRCM, so it was a 10 year anniversary for the club of 275+ members. At the Friday meeting the total number of marathons tallied by Jeff Hagen of Yakima for this group was 9, 202……an average of 191+ marathons per member! Pins of achievement were given to the members who had completed more than 200, 300 and 400 marathons. 2. David Jones, 64, of Seattle for completing his 200th marathon on March 27th. His 100th marathon had been a YRCM as well. 3. Four runners who completed their 100th 26.2 mile race…..Ray Shaw, 52, Tacoma; Julia Thorn, 52, Australia; Diana Robinson, 43, Bellingham; and David Reid, 62, Crestline, California. 4. John Wallace, 66, 100 Marathon Club member from Longboat Key, Florida, for setting a new Guinness World Record in February of 2009. He was the first runner to complete a marathon in 100 different countries. Since then his count has advanced to 102, and #103 is planned. 5. Larry Carroll, 70, of Spokane for establishing a new 70-74 Male course record with a time of 3:48:12. The previous record was 4:03:37, set in 2008 by Dan Shuff. 6. Gunhild Swanson, 65, of Spokane Valley for setting a new 65-69 Female course record with a time of 4:02:09. The previous record of 4:44:00 was set in 2006 by Dolores Scott. 7. Maureen Edgar, 65, of Richland for completing her first marathon in a time of 7:36:47, walking the distance. She and Gunhild Swanson were the oldest women in the race, and she is the oldest “first-timer” at YRCM. 8. Becky Gullberg, 24, of Monroe who ran her first marathon in memory of her brother who had died on Mt. Hood in Oregon this past winter. This was to have been his first marathon, so she and two friends ran it in his memory, and her dad and a friend ran half of it as a memorial to him. SPECIAL THANKS TO:
At 80 years of age Lenore and I are fondly known as “The World’s Oldest Marathon Race Directors,” but on race weekend we were “just kids” compared to some of our volunteers. This year 87 year old Roelif Laughlin was joined by 89 year old Frank Dane as finish line volunteers, and 82 year old Bill Shepherd was the men’s shower monitor at Selah Junior High School. Ben & Eleanor Hayward, both 89, were captains of the Cascadian Hiking Club’s Aid Station #2 for the 10th year. They’ve set a precedent! We may continue being the “world’s oldest marathon race directors” for more races in our beloved Canyon. THANKS to the runners, volunteers, our Marathon Committee, the Hard Core Runners Club, our sponsors, our speakers, the law enforcement officers and many others who contributed their time and effort to make the 2010 Yakima River Canyon Marathon 10th anniversary a great event. As we start our second decade of providing “a marathon for runners put on by runners and running supporters,” we hope to break attendance records again on April 2, 2011. …………………………………Written by Bob Dolphin
|