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Birch Bay Marathon
December 11, 1999
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
The Birch Bay Marathon was more of a delight than usual. Early
Saturday morning of race day, December 11, 1999, we left our
son's home
at Mt. Vernon as heavy rain was falling and headed north for the
hour
drive to Birch Bay State Park. When we got there, the rain had
stopped,
the wind was not blowing, and the air temperature was in the
mid-forties
---an ideal day for a run and certainly atypical for the Birch Bay
Marathon
The field of veteran marathoners on the course enjoyed the great
weather.
These 15 runners had a combined total of approximately 1,845
marathons &
ultras. Steve Pierce ran his 200th marathon/ultra to join John
Bandur,
Stan Nakashima, and myself in the 200+ group. Steve runs 26 or
more
marathons/ultras every year and is gaining on the rest of us who
don't
run that many. Way to go, Steve!
My run went fairly well for about eleven miles. Because I hadn't
prepared properly for this marathon, I had early wall problems.
This
gave me another opportunity to work on my survival shuffle! I
walked
all of the hills in the second half of the race, and this helped
me to
be able to finish.
This is a great marathon with views of two bays, forest, and a
charming,
seaside village, Birch Bay. Fresh pavement with new tarred
shoulders
were welcome improvements this year where the road traffic is
heaviest.
Thanks to the volunteers: Sonia Preedy, Lenore Dolphin, and
others who
manned the mobile aid stations and worked at the finish line.
1. 3:22:41 Pete Hansen, 43, Birch Bay, WA
2. 3:26:20 Leland Wakelin, 40, White Rock, B.C.
3. 3:32:56 Brian Van Oene, 44, Kelowna, B.C.
4. 3:47:23 Dave Dutton, Race Director, 43, Conway, WA
5. 3:47:58 Ron Adams, 51, North Vancouver, B.C.
6. 3:56:02< Mel Preedy, 66, Ravensdale, WA
7. 4:00:08 John Little, 58, Vancouver, B.C.
8. 4:01:19 Sarah Gallazin, First (and only) Female, 47, Vancouver, B.C.
9. 4:12:37 Karl Jensen, Former Race Director, 50, Richmond,B.C.
10. 4:13:05 Steve Pierce, 37, Coeur d' Alene, ID
11. 4:14:39 Doug McKeever, 52, Bellingham, WA
12. 4:16:00 Stan Nakashima, 48, Mt. Vernon, WA
13. 4:17:26 John Bandur, 61, Federal Way, WA
14. 4:34:31 Bob Dolphin, 70, Renton, WA
15. 5:05:00 Ray Kent, 54, Mt. Vernon, WA
Congratulations to our friend Karl Jensen for his successful
completion
in 1999 of the LAST GREAT RACE. This title signifies that the
runner
has completed the below six 100-mile races in the United States
in one
year. These events and Karl's finish times follow:
Old Dominion (VA), 23:23:21; Western States (CA), 27:08:46;
Vermont, 26:07:42; Leadville (CO), 25:55:22; Wasatch (UT),
29:18:13; and Angeles Crest (CA), 28:01:46.
Written by Bob Dolphin
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