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LEAVENTWORTH OKTOBERFEST MARATHON
October 1, 2005
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
On October 1, 2005, the inaugural Leavenworth Oktoberfest Marathon was held at Leavenworth, Washington, a town located on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains about 150 miles from Seattle.
What was once a struggling agricultural and logging community has transformed itself into a Bavarian Village with architecture to match on the many hotels, restaurants and shops in this picturesque place. It's a year-round mecca for tourists that reaches its peak at the Oktoberfest for two weeks in the fall.
This year a marathon and half marathon event was added to the festivities of music, parades, tours, shopping and fine food offered to the many visitors. The new Bavarian Lodge in the center of town was the headquarters hotel for packet pickup.
I always enjoy running in an inaugural event where it is a new adventure for all of the participants. On race morning we arose early so that Lenore could be a volunteer by 6:00 a.m. at the start/finish area in a park by the Wenatchee River. She helped with day-of-race registration and number pickup, and I assisted the timer for AA Sports as he released 14 walkers who took an early start at 6:30 a.m.
This area had an amphitheater with a stage and a restroom building. The park was a good place to socialize as 280 participants gathered for an 8:00 a.m. start. Of these, there were about 70 in the marathon and 210 in the half marathon.
As the race started, we crossed the timing mat to begin the first of two clockwise loops that had two intermediate out-and-back sections. At these places we saw some of the leaders and friends returning. The course utilized the relatively flat Icicle Valley that is adjacent to Leavenworth. By taking the runners to a secluded valley that has fields with some livestock and rural housing, it avoided the congestion of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The fall color of trees and shrubs in the nearby mountains was spectacular.
After we ran past the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, we climbed hills for a few miles along the Icicle Creek in an adjacent canyon. White water cascaded over rocks to provide a scenic attraction as we ascended to a turn-around. By contrast, the Wenatchee River that we crossed twice on each loop was placid, but interesting, as we ran near it on dirt trails close to the finish area. The populous town center was avoided by routing the course through the suburbs and outskirts of Leavenworth.
Well-stocked aid stations with helpful volunteers were located at approximately two mile intervals. More volunteers removed chips at the finish line, and some provided finishers medals, water, wet cloths and food.
The race was won by Clay Wing, 31, of Sedro Woolley with a time of 2:40:33. In second and third places were Robert Perry, 40, from Snohomish (2:55:36) and Gregg Walchli, 43, a Marathon Maniac (MM) from Seattle (3:07:02). Gregg's number one fan, his five year old son Dylan, ran the last 100 yards to the finish line with his dad.
In 6th place overall, MM Jennifer Yogi, 30, of Seattle ran a 3:15:02 to be the overall women's winner. Only two weeks earlier, she had won the women's race at the Lake Chelan Shore to Shore Marathon with a 3:11:45. Her dad, MM Guy Yogi, 51, of Seattle was a fellow runner who finished in 3:51:15.
Steve Supkoff, 40, of North Bend, maintaining a Marathon Maniac Image, had run two marathons the previous weekend. He braved the heat and humidity of the Midwest to run the Kansas City Marathon on Saturday, September 24, 2005, in 3:40:40. The next day he ran the hilly Omaha Marathon in 4:04:59 to add Missouri and Nebraska to his "State List."
Cliff Burgess, 66 of Hewitt, Texas, probably came the furthest distance to run the marathon. He's a 50 Stater and a member of the 100 Marathon Club North America that Lenore and I co-direct. We always welcome the opportunity to become acquainted with members.
Gunhild and Jack Swanson, MM's from Spokane, had just returned from Hawaii where they ran the Maui Marathon the previous weekend. They enjoyed that experience but would have preferred cooler conditions. At Leavenworth, Gunhild won her age division (60-64F) with a time of 4:06:06. Jack, with a 5:06:54, came in second to Mel Preedy's 4:32:24 in the 70+M division.
I enjoyed the marathon and appreciated the overcast and calm weather conditions with temperatures in the 50's to 60's. My running went better than usual and, as a result, I had a finishing time of 5:11:50, my best in 2005 by 12 minutes. I finished 59th of 69 marathoners and third of three in the 70+M age division.
It was good to see participants whom I hadn't seen for a few years. Daulot Fountain, 49, of Seattle ran a 3:24:22 for second place in his age division. In the past, he had helped promote many SRI Chinmoy races. Monty Robbins, 57, and his wife Jayne Robbins, 56, of Kennewick walked the marathon in 7:26:59.
Thanks go to Andrea and Kirk Hudson of Wenatchee, family members, who were our gracious hosts during the marathon weekend. We enjoyed getting better acquainted with them and their three children. The Wenatchee Marathon this past spring was Kirk's first marathon, and Portland on October 9th was scheduled to be his second. We hope that our Yakima River Canyon Marathon on April 1, 2006, will be his third!
Congratulations to co-directors Ted Finegold and Ian Crossland and their crew for providing something new for Oktoberfest….a successful marathon and half marathon event.
Written by Bob Dolphin
Partial Results - Leavenworth Marathon, October 1, 2005
2:40:33 Clay Wing, 31, Sedro Woolley, 1st in Age Division
2:55:36 Robert Perry, 40, Snohomish, 1st
3:07:02 Gregg Walchli, 43, Seattle, MM, 2nd
3:12:04 Jeff Haas, 39, Kent, 1st
3:13:31 Eric Jensen, 40, Athena, OR, MM, 3rd
3:15:02 Jennifer Yogi, 30, Seattle, 1st
3:17:57 Steve Yee, 46, Renton, MM, 1st
3:19:50 Steve Supkoff, 40, North Bend, MM
3:21:14 Tina Pettit, Stanwood, 33, 2nd
3:24:22 Daulot (Pete) Fountain, 49, Seattle 2nd
3:28:06 David Olsho, 54, Seattle, 1st
3:32:01 Kelly Schwarting, 40, Edmonds, 1st
3:44:59 Chris Marr, 51, Spokane, MM, 2nd
3:49:17 Michael Shiach, 55, Bainbridge Island, MM, 1st
3:51:15 Guy Yogi, 51, Seattle, MM
3:56:20 Bruce Quam, 50, Manchester
4:02:40 Lynne Werner, 54, Seattle, 1st
4:04:12 Jim Kunz, 56, Seattle, 2nd
4:06:06 Gunhild Swanson, 61, Spokane, MM, 1st
4:11:25 Paul Emmett, 59, Redmond, 3rd
4:12:22 Eddie Hahn, 39, Fort Lewis
4:32:24 Mel Preedy, 72, Ravensdale, MM, 1st
4:37:26 Cliff Burgess, 66, Hewitt, TX, 1st
4:55:53 Sue Fauerbach, 58, Renton, MM, 1st
5:06:54 Jack Swanson, 71, Spokane, MM, 2nd
5:11:50 Bob Dolphin, 76, Renton, MM, 3rd
7:26:59 Monty Robbins, 57, Kennewick
7:26:59 Jayne Robbins, 56, Kennewick
Partial Results - Leavenworth Half Marathon, October 1, 2005
1:17:27 Mark Donahue, 34, Seattle, 1st in age division
1:21:39 Nathan Shenk-Boright, 24, Seattle, 1st
1:24:47 Brent Biggar, 45, Wenatchee, 1st
1:29:22 Victoria Reinholz, 27, Seattle, 1st
1:31:21 Annie Warner, 25, Nine Mile Falls, 2nd
1:40:00 Megan Jackley, 29, Seattle, 3rd
1:43:30 Fred Durbin, 58, Carnation, 1st
1:45:34 Pat Warner, 60, Leavenworth, 1st
1:48:44 Bobbie Busch, 52, Gig Harbor, 1st
1:51:45 Steve Varga, 52, Ellensburg
2:14:57 Courtney Jones, 70, Ellensburg, 1st
2:20:49 Ralph Riddick, 73, Spokane, 2nd
2:35:32 Lenore Toms, 51, Seattle
2:35:32 Rebecca Waud, 52, Portland
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