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North Olympic Discovery Marathon
June 15, 2003
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
For the second consecutive week, Lenore and I were able to travel a short
distance from our Renton, Washington, home near Seattle to participate in
an inaugural marathon in our own state. A week earlier we had taken a
ferry to the San Juan Island Marathon, and this time we drove about 140
miles westward to Port Angeles for the North Olympic Discovery Marathon.
This small city is on the Olympic Peninsula, at the shores of the Strait
of Juan de Fuca and in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains.
The race was held on Sunday, June 15, 2003, and was point-to-point from
the town of Sequim west to Port Angeles on the Olympic Discovery Trail.
This trail is still under construction and temporarily follows city and
county roads in places. Other segments have a rails-to-trails origin.
The staging area for the start of the marathon was the Carrie Blake Park
in Sequim, and the finish area was at the City Pier in Port Angeles. A
half marathon that was concurrent with the marathon used the terminal
portion of the marathon course for an out-and-back race from the City
Pier. Adjacent to the pier was the race headquarters in the the Red Lion
Hotel. Packet pickup was at the hotel during the afternoon and evening
prior to the races.
Lenore had been in e-mail contact with some members of the organizing
committee and offered to be a volunteer at packet pickup and at the finish
line during the two races. Upon arriving at race headquarters on Saturday
morning we introduced ourselves to Larry Little, the race director, his
wife Michelle and to members of the race committee.
Larry was a former director of the well-established 12K Rhody Run at
nearby Port Townsend, so he brought a lot of expertise to the Port Angeles
events. A few unique things that one doesn't see in new marathons come to
mind. For example, all marathon participants received a dark, zippered
vest with the marathon name and a runner embroidered on it. (Vests are
usually sale items at marathons.) All of the many volunteers received
white, long-sleeved T-shirts with the race logo of a runner on a scenic
trail centered on them. (Volunteers get short-sleeved shirts at most
marathons.) At the conclusion of the race activites, the committee and
all of the volunteers were invited to a buffet dinner at the race
headquarters restaurant. (I've never seen this at an inaugural marathon
before.)
It was most appropriate for the participants to treat the volunteers well
because they all were friendly, supportive and knowledgeable. A unique
use of volunteers at the finish line was as "buddies." They greeted the
finishers, gave them their medals and caps, and then guided them to chip
removal, drop bags, first aid, massages, food and photos. Lenore was a
"buddy" who sought out runners whom she knew and made the acquaintance of
many whom she didn't know. She had also done this as a volunteer at
packet pickup the day before.
While she worked at packet pickup on Saturday, I drove the mountain road
to the Hurricane Ridge summit and interpretative center. It was spring in
the mountains, and there was a profusion of wild flowers.....glacier lily,
avalanche lily, creeping phlox, yellow wallflower, blue broad-leafed
lupine, red Indian paintbrush, yellow violet.....and the list goes on.
Views were of snow-covered peaks, mountain meadows, the settled lowlands,
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Vancouver Island, BC, from where many of
our Canadian running friends came for the marathon.
For a Saturday night carbo-loading dinner, volunteer coordinators Laurie
Wahlig and Carol Stevenson of Port Angeles invited us to dinner at a local
Italian restaurant. This was a treat! We learned that they ran their
first marathon together at the Royal Victoria Marathon on October 13,
2002, and would be running their second marathon side-by-side on the
following day. We enjoyed talking with them about running, training
programs, and experiences at marathons. Thanks to Tim Fonken of Seattle
for surprising the four of us with dessert at the end of the meal.
The next morning, buses took us to Carrie Blake Park in Sequim. That was
a pleasant setting to await the race start. While there, I saw Gary
Wright, a Marathon Achiever, who introduced me to his bride of several
months, Ellen Engelke. They planned to run the marathon together....and
did so.
I met Kevin Ryan and his son Sean. They were running their first marathon
and would reach their goal without difficulty. Being from Port Angeles,
Kevin had run the marathon course piecemeal, but he had never run it all
at once. Congratulations to this father/son team for running their first
marathon together!
There were the runners who ran the inaugural San Juan Island Marathon or
half marathon and then came to Port Angeles to run their second inaugural
race at about the same longitude on consecutive weekends. From the
Spokane area were Larry & Sharon Carroll and Jack & Gunhild Swanson. Sue
Fauerbach, Steven Yee and I came from Renton. Pete Hansen drove from
Ferndale, and Don Lang flew in from Glendale, CA.
There were many old friends whom I hadn't seen for awhile, and I
appreciated the opportunity to say "Hi" to them on the course or to visit
with them before and after the race. They are listed in the partial
results.
I found the first half of the race to be fairly easy. The temperature was
in the 60's, and we ran under partly cloudy or overcast skies on mostly
flat trails and rural roads. I visited with Jim Boyd, a 50 State & DC
finisher, as I ran with him for about five miles on a loop in and around
Sequim. Later, we ran separately, and he quickly went out of
sight....suggesting that he is well-recovered from his injuries.
Running well on Hendrickson Road near Sequim, I moved up in the field.
The road was flat, and the area was sparsely settled and rural. It was
pleasant running on the railroad bridge, a wooden trestle over the
Dungeness River, and on a raised wooden pathway through a shaded swampy
area. From then on, we ran mostly on a scenic, wooded trail that was
paved, graveled, or packed with dirt. In the last few miles, we ran along
the Strait on a trail atop a levee. Ferries, ships and distant islands
were in view on and beyond Discovery Bay and the open water.
The "wall" and leg cramps slowed me, but I eventually crossed the finish
line in 4:21:47 (9:59), two minutes slower than my best marathon so far
this year, 143rd of 228 overall, and 2nd 70+ Male. My "buddy" Lenore
welcomed me back and steered me to a chair in the shade so I could
recover.
I enjoyed the food and drink that was available and thought that the award
ceremony held near the finish area went well. Nice plaques were given
three-deep to the division winners.
Larry Little and the North Olympic Discovery Marathon committee promised a
high quality event that fully embraced the participants. They are to be
commended for keeping this promise by providing a great experience for all
at their inaugural race.....truly an "instant classic!"
Written by Bob Dolphin
Partial Results..North Olympic Discovery Marathon
(1) 2:35:56 Ian Fraser, 29, Port Townsend, 1st in age division
(2) 2:46:30 Matthew Simms, 34, Langley, 1st
(3) 2:50:36 Jeff Watson, 21, Chicago, IL, 1st
(4) 3:02:40 Matt Hannay, 22, Princeton, NJ, 2nd
(5) 3:04:01 Mike Morrison, 36, Seattle, 1st
(1F) 3:15:47 Jennifer Hansen, 25, Gig Harbor, 1st
(2F) 3:17:13 Deborah Fletcher, 33, Edmonds, 1st
(3F) 3:17:43 Emily Thiel, 26, Madison, WI, 2nd
(4F) 3:22:07 Suzanna Reid, 36, Seattle, 1st
(5F) 3:27:31 Natalie Thomas, 26, Spokane, 3rd
3:09:33 Christopher Warren, 35, Renton
3:21:08 Pete Hansen, 46, Ferndale, 3rd
3:26:17 Steven Yee, 43, Renton, 2nd
3:29:47 Tim Fonken, 37, Seattle
3:36:51 Larry Carroll, 63, Liberty Lake, 2nd
3:37:39 Janet Green, 49, Courtenay, BC
3:37:48 Ron Fowler, 55, Seattle, 1st
3:38:35 Eva Lust, 33, Yakima
3:44:39 Herb Allen, 60, Bainbridge Island
3:49:21 Gunhild Swanson, 58, Spokane, 1st
3:52:46 William Voiland, 55, Spokane, 3rd
3:56:34 Greg Judge, 54, Renton
3:57:41 Jim Kunz, 54, Seattle
3:59:33 Connie Ridenour, 44, Spokane, 1st
4:01:20 Tanya Hoff, 31, Yakima
4:07:25 Murray Andrews, 70, Vashon Island, 1st
4:08:05 Jim Tucker, 53, Selah
4:09:07 Jim Boyd, 61, Seattle
4:13:05 Mary Riehl, 35, Yakima
4:13:37 Sharon Carroll, 60, Liberty Lake, 1st
4:14:48 Laurie Wahlig, 42, Port Angeles, 2nd
4:14:48 Carol Stevenson, 32, Port Angeles
4:15:13 Edward Larson, 37, Aberdeen
4:21:47 Bob Dolphin, 73, Renton, 2nd
4:26:19 Kenneth Bonner, 60, Victoria, BC
4:29:01 Mark Konadi, 46, Seattle
4:39:12 Evan Fagan, 66, Victoria, BC, 1st
4:39:50 Sean Ryan, 22, Port Angeles
4:42:48 Kevin Ryan, 55, Port Angeles
4:46:51 Richard Andrews, 59, Mukilteo
4:47:56 Jack Swanson, 69, Spokane, 2nd
4:51:00 Ellen Engelke, 46, Renton
4:51:00 Gary Wright, 52, Renton
4:53:23 Bill Torsen, 53, Bellevue
5:19:12 Gene Bruckert, 68, Arlington Heights, IL, 3rd
5:28:18 Harvey Nelsen, 69, White Rock, BC
6:05:23 Andrew Dunn, 44, Normandy Park
6:17:16 Donald Lang, 68, Glendale, CA
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