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Portland Marathon
October 5, 2003
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
The Portland Marathon is recognized as the "Best-Organized Marathon in North America" by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons. Their 32nd annual marathon was held on Sunday, October 5, 2003. It was my 19th consecutive Portland Marathon, and I can certainly attest to the Ultimate Guide's compliment.
Since Lenore and I became co-directors of the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON, I have become more conscious of race organization and management. Of the many races that I run, none is on a par with the marathon at Portland, Oregon......thanks to the efforts of race director Les Smith, his event committee of 100 volunteers and another 4,000 volunteers who perform the many functions associated with the weekend events. A profile of Les appears in the September issue of Northwest Runner Magazine.
On race day, there was good weather. It was overcast, air temperatures were in the 60's, and a light northwest wind was refreshing. After John Keston, world-class 78 year old runner from McMinnville, Oregon, sang the national anthem, the marathon started at 7:00 a.m.
We raced on 4th Avenue in downtown Portland to Chinatown and doubled back by the Willamette River on Front Avenue. I enjoy the early miles because I have a chance to visit with many running friends as they pass me.
Four of our friends from the 100 Marathon Club United Kingdom were in the race. We knew they were coming to the Portland Marathon, but I only had glimpses of them for a greeting at the out-and-back section of the marathon. We met later at the awards ceremony and at a post-event dinner.
In the 23rd mile, Mike Dutton, 33, of Everett, WA, (our adopted grandson) caught up with me. He was pushing a baby jogger transporting his 5 year old son Miles in his first marathon. Miles sported an official Portland Marathon T-shirt and gave me a high five as they ran on to earn their finishing medals in a tie at 4:14:14.
A short time later, I overtook my friend Herb Allen, 61, of Bainbridge Island, WA. Leg cramps were causing him some distress, but he persevered and finished in 4:36:13.
Another friend, Jimmy Smith, 63, of Bremerton, WA, had a dehydration problem in the marathon that necessitated a trip to Emanuel Hospital for treatment. After receiving two intravenous units, Jimmy recovered, released himself from the hospital and ran back to the marathon course to become the la
st finisher at 9:08:48.
Congratulations to Jed VanLoan, 35, of Grants Pass, OR, (4:26:44) and Debbie Paola, 40, of Gresham, OR (4:18:41) for completing their first marathon. I enjoyed my conversations with both of them at separate locations on the race course.
My race went well......being neither great nor a fiasco. I enjoyed the weather, the course and interacting with my many friends and acquaintances along the course. There were some leg cramps in the second half of the race, but they were manageable. I finished with a 4:22:05, (9:59), in 2,559th
position of 7, 011 participants and first of 7 in the 70-74M division. This was my 4th consecutive first place award.....due more to luck than to ability.
Mel Preedy, 70, of Ravensdale, WA, was out of contention due to a pre-race fall from a ladder at his home. A rib injury interfered with his breathing as he ran to a "personal worst." I hope he'll be back to his number one status for 70+ runners in the near future.
At the awards ceremony, Lenore and I were joined by 14 others at our round table. These were Jack and Gunhild Swanson (Spokane, WA), Mel and Sonia Preedy, Fenny Roberts (Salem, Oregon), Jim Scheer (Vancouver, WA), Diane Anderson (Enumclaw, WA), Dr. Jack Scaff (Honolulu, HI), Don Kern (Gilbert, M
I), Roger Biggs (Stevenage, UK), Big Dave Carter (Bedford, UK), Jack Brooks (St. Albans, UK), Peter Graham (London, UK), and Shirley Smith (Bremerton).
The emcee for the awards ceremony started by congratulating those who had run their first marathon....and then he had a contest to determine who had run the most marathons/ultras in their career. The runners at our table lasted the longest with a composite of over 2,000 marathons. My event tota
l of 321 came in second to Big Dave Carter's 557!!!
The four Brits, Don Kern, and I are 50 Staters. Other club members whom I saw at the race were Dan Archambeau and Lois Brown of Sidnaw, MI (and Florida), and Jim Boyd (Seattle). Don Kern has run in 49 states and will be a 50 State & DC finisher in November at the Oklahoma Marathon in Tulsa. He
'll complete his 100 marathon at the same time. Jack Brooks will complete his 100th marathon in December and join the 100 Marathon Club.
There was a surprise in the front ranks in the race. Akihiko Kanda, 28, and Yashiaki Kobayashi, 30, are friends from Japan who ran the Portland Marathon as a training experience for an upcoming ultramarathon. Running together they opened up a nine minute lead on the other elite runners and cros
sed the finish line in an arm-in-arm tie with a time of 2:23:05. The chip time determined that Akihiko was first by a second for a personal record. In third place was Ben Sauvage, 34 of Seattle with a 2:32:32.
The first woman was Megan Daly, 24, of Salem, Oregon, in 25th position with a 2:47:53. She's a medical student at Stanford Universtiy in California. Second and third in the women's division were Yonghong Li, 19, of China (2:54:07) and Julie Pittsinger, 38, of Wenatchee, WA (3:04:19).
Some of our friends ran well in the age division competition. Michael Wakabayashi, 55, of Spokane completed his 100th marathon and was first 55-59M by running a 3:14:48. Russ Akers, 70, of Walla Walla was 2nd 70-74M with a 5:06:48. Jill Banister, 43, of Pendleton, OR, was third 40-44F with a 3
:15:26....missing second place by three seconds. Gunhild Swanson, 59, was second 55-59F with a time of 3:51:14.
Lenore and I enjoyed visiting with Joe Henderson, West Coast Editor of Runners World, who serves as the announcer at the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON. This noted author, editor, columnist, and speaker on running subjects was on a panel at the Portland Marathon Event Directors' and Committee Memb
ers' Workshop on October 3-4, 2003. Joe also teaches a running class at the University of Oregon at his hometown of Eugene. A group of his students ran the marathon, and he cheered them on as they crossed the finish line. All of the students finished, and Joe was excited when the last one went
through the chute.
John "The Penguin" Bingham, author, speaker and column writer for Runners World was also on a panel at the workshop. At his booth at the Runners Expo he autographed and presented me his book "Marathoning for Mortals." It was a 74th birthday gift, and something that I'll treasure.
Pam Reed, director of the Tucson Marathon, sat in front of us at the workshop. For the second consecutive year, she was the winner of the Badwater 135 Mile Race on July 22, 2003, in Death Valley, California. In this race the air temperature peaked at an unbelievable 133 degrees!! Pam was featu
red on the David Letterman Show, and her picture appears on the cover of Ultrarunning Magazine for October 2003. She honored us by joining the 100 Marathon Club North America at the workshop.
It was a great weekend of marathoning and socializing in Portland. Now we have to wait a year before we can do it again!
Written by Bob Dolphin
Portland Marathon.......Partial Results...........
2:54:20 Clifford Banister, 42, Pendleton, OR...14th in age division
2:57:40 Chris Warren, 36, Renton, WA...10th
3:14:17 Laura Baird Devine, 34, Portland, OR...4th
3:14:48 Michael Wakabayashi, 55, Spokane, WA...1st
3:15:26 Jill Banister, 43, Pendleton...3rd
3:15:38 Steven Yee, 44, Renton
3:16:13 Ron Hayden, 47, Kennewick, WA...14th
3:19:18 Tony Philippi, 42, Tacoma, WA
3:21:50 Jim Klarich, 41, Wapato, WA
3:24:04 Pete Hansen, 47, Ferndale, WA
3:26:24 Steve Cole, 39, Yakima, WA 15th
3:39:01 Bill Volland, 55, Spokane, WA
3:39:09 Cotah Rose, 47, Poulsbo, WA
3:43:17 Ron Fowler, 56, Seattle
3:44:02 Jim Boyd, 61, Seattle
3:45:52 Jack Brooks, 51, St. Albans, UK
3:48:29 Connie Ridenour, 45, Spokane
3:49:17 David Jones, 57, Seattle
3:49:21 Steve Barrick, 41, Kent, WA
3:51:14 Gunhild Swanson, 59, Spokane, 2nd
3:51:47 Rory McVey, 43, Yakima
3:52:18 Paul Emmett, 57, Redmond, WA
3:52:19 Greg Judge, 55, Renton
3:56:46 Mike Lewis, 60, Enumclaw
3:57:56 Richard Bona, 65, Yakima...3rd
3:58:04 Jim Kunz, 57, Seattle
4:00:13 Don Kern, 47, Gilbert, MI
4:03:59 Lori Kory, 47, Spokane
4:09:32 Mary Klarich, 40, Wapato
4:12:55 Dennis Devlin, 54, Enumclaw
4:13:38 Valentino Fabela, 52, Toppenish
4:14:14 Michael Dutton, 33,
and Miles Dutton, 5, (in a baby jogger), Everett
4:14:41 Bill Torsen, 54, Bellevue, WA
4:14:46 Donald Groner, 78, Hubbard, OR...1st
4:16:07 Roger Biggs, 55, Stevenage, UK
4:18:41 Debbie Paola, 40, Gresham, OR
4:21:34 Ken Bonner, 60, Victoria, BC
4:21:37 Bob Gahoi, 40, Kailua, HI
4:22:05 Bob Dolphin, 74, Renton...1st
4:22:47 Ed Hansen, 57, Stayton, OR
4:26:44 Jed VanLoan, 35, Grants Pass, OR
4:33:46 Jack Swanson, 69, Spokane...9th
4:36:13 Herb Allen, 61, Bainbridge Island, WA
4:45:01 Lionel Wilridge, 68, Kent...11th
4:47:47 Richard Andrews, 60, Mukilteo, WA
4:51:38 Evan Fagan, 66, Victoria, BC
4:58:37 Peter Graham, 38, London, UK
5:06:48 Russ Akers, 70, Walla Walla...2nd
5:15:10 Mike Hendricks, 49, Yakima
5:20:27 Fenny Roberts, 51, Salem, OR
5:20:27 Jim Scheer, 61, Vancouver, WA
5:37:54 Bob Hansen, 61, Ellensburg, WA
5:45:43 Big Dave Carter, 49, Bedford, UK
5:48:19 Mel Preedy, 70, Ravensdale, 7th
6:15:20 Dan Archambeau, 69, Sidnaw, MI
6:21:56 Doug Groenig, 47, Moxee, WA
6:22:45 Larry Brown, 64, Salem
6:30:45 Diane Anderson, 66, Enumclaw...6th
7:06:10 Lois Brown, 57, Sidnaw, MI
9:08:48 Jimmy Smith, 63, Bremerton
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