|
Breakers Marathon
October 22, 2005
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
The goal of the 50 Staters is to run a marathon in all 50 states, one or more times. What is a runner to do when a state doesn't have a marathon? This has been the case in Delaware and Rhode Island in recent years, and the dilemma has been resolved by the 50 States Marathon Club. It has organized a race in both of these states that is open to all runners. Steve Boone, treasurer of the club, who lives near Houston, TX, recently took the lead in developing the October 22, 2005, Breakers Marathon at Newport, Rhode Island.
Don Allison, publisher/editor of Ultrarunning Magazine, agreed to add a marathon to his Nifty 50K and Nifty 50Miler Race. He moved it from Coventry, RI, to Newport, and it filled in the gap left by the demise of the Ocean State Marathon near Providence.
Many of the megamarathoners welcomed the opportunity to run the Breakers Marathon on Saturday and then drive 60 miles to run the Mystic Places Marathon in East Lyme, Connecticut, the next day on October 23. Of the 234 marathoners in the race approximately 130 were 50 Staters , and about 70 planned to run the Rhode Island/Connecticut double.
For the Breakers Marathon, the Howard Johnson host hotel at nearby Middletown gave reduced rates to the runners and provided a room for packet pickup and socializing. A pre-race dinner was held at the Red Parrot Restaurant in the historic area of Newport. This was followed by a gathering at the hotel to listen to a program presented by Jonathan Williams from West Hartford, CT.
Jonathan is a 26 year old who ran from Newport Beach, California, to Newport, Rhode Island, during the summer of 2005. Running the marathon distance or more, day after day for over four months is hard to comprehend, but he did it with minimal assistance. Pushing a baby jogger that carried all of his supplies, he ran alone most of the time. Without an accompanying vehicle, he sometimes completed 50 miles per day to complete the 3,000 miles of his journey ahead of schedule! I was glad that my journey the next day was only 26.2 miles.
At the 7:00 a.m. start at Gaudet Middle School in Newport, the temperature was in the 40's and the sky was overcast. Later there was intermittent rain with some wind, and the temperature rose to the mid 50's.
We ran three counter-clockwise loops on flat to hilly terrain before finishing on the school track. The course took us through suburbs of cottages and mansions and past fields used for pasture or nursery stock. Views of the Atlantic Ocean with breakers lapping at sandy beaches were interspersed with masses of reeds up to 10 feet high in the coastal marshes. This was especially evident in a two mile out-and-back section in the Sachest Point National Wildlife Reserve as part of the first course loop.
A herring gull dropping a shell from a height of 30 feet above the pavement to break it and gain access to the inner meat was a memorable observation. The signs of autumn were everywhere. Fall color from the roadside sugar maples was beautiful, and white and lavender asters mingled with yellow goldenrods.
My run went well, and I ran my best time of 2005, a 5:08:51. I was 188th of 234, 4th of 6 in the 70-99M group, and the oldest runner in the race.
The marathon was won by Danny Gough, 37, of Middletown, RI, with a time of 2:48:27. In second and third places were David Principe, 38, of Cranston, RI, (2:49:23) and Stephen Hibbs, 33, of Brooklyn Park, MN (3:06:48).
The women's race was won by Amanda Kourtz, 22, of Blackstone, MA, with a 3:28:48. Coming in second and third were Sinthy Kounlasa, 49, of Dover, NH, (3:37:09) and Holly Courville, 35, of Brooklyn, CT (3:41:57).
There were 13 runners in the Nifty 50K race and 23 in the Nifty 50 Miler. Eugene DeFronzo, 69, of Cheshire, CT, and a member of the 100 Marathon Club, finished the 50K in 7:06:00.
The main complaint that I heard about the marathon was relative to the awards ceremony. Awards were given to the first three men and women. Then awards were given three-deep by gender to the 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-69 and 70-99 age groups. This disappointed top runners in the 20's, 30's, upper 60's and upper 70's who felt they earned an award. The uniform system in most U.S. and Canadian marathons is to give awards three or more deep in 5 year age increments.
Congratulations to Dietrich Hildebrandt, 22, from Fairbanks, AK, who completed a marathon in his 10th state at Newport and is now eligible to become a member of the 50 States Marathon Club! His first marathon was our Yakima River Canyon Marathon in 2003 when he was accompanied by his cousin Eddie Hahn and his father Bob Hildebrandt. It was another "Father and Son Race" at the Breakers Marathon. Dietrich was 8th overall with a time of 3:17:48, but didn't receive an award even though he was the first 20-24 year old finisher.
Partial results for the Breakers Marathon follow:
2:48:27 Danny Gough, 37, Middletown, RI, 1st overall
2:49:23 David Principe, 38, Cranston, RI, 2nd overall
3:06:48 Stephen Hibbs, 33, Brooklyn Park, MN, 3rd overall
3:17:06 Steven Yee, 46, Renton, WA, Marathon Maniac, 100 Marathon Club, 2nd in age group, Weekend Double
3:17:48 Dietrich Hildebrandt, 22, Fairbanks, AK, Weekend Double
3:19:20 Daniel Epstein, 41, Crystal River, FL, 1st
3:19:39 Greg Maurin, 40, Tampa, FL, 2nd
3:28:48 Amanda Kourtz, 22, Blackstone, MA, 1st overall woman
3:29:15 Ernie Chatman, 55, Brooksville, FL, 2nd
3:37:04 Sinthy Kounlasa, 49, Dover, NH, 2nd overall woman
3:41:57 Holly Courville, 35, Brooklyn, CT, 3rd overall woman
3:45:27 Francesco Criniti, 61, Philadelphia, PA, 100 Marathon Club, Weekend Double, 2nd
3:57:00 Craig Holcomb, 38, Garrettsville, OH, MM
3:58:14 Helmut Linzbinchler, 64, Harbor Springs, MI (and Austria), 100 Marathon Club
3:59:22 Bob Panzak, 36, Merrit Island, FL
4:11:34 Charotte Hartwig, 58, Salem, OR, 1st
4:11:43 Un Ha Lee, 56, Olympia, WA, 2nd
4:16:56 John Bozung, 52, Orem, UT, 100 Marathon Club, Weekend Double
4:19:14 Steve Boone, 56, Humble, TX, MM, 100 Marathon Club, Weekend Double
4:22:01 Ron Hartwig, 61, Salem, OR
4:22:42 Sue Fauerbach, 58, Renton, WA, MM, Weekend Double, 3rd
4:53:47 Layne Reibel, 49, Oviedo, FL, 100 Marathon Club
4:55:57 Charlie Gregory, 71, Marietta, GA, 3rd
5:04:57 Franceska Drozdz, 61, Litchfield Park, AZ, 3rd
5:08:51 Bob Dolphin, 76, Renton, WA, MM, 100 Marathon Club
5:09:32 Roseanne Jolly, 55, Overland Park, KS
5:11:02 Larry Macon, 60, San Antonio, TX, MM, 100 Marathon Club, Weekend Double
5:28:56 Dave Bell, 42, Highlands Ranch, CO, 100 Marathon Club, Weekend Double
5:33:40 Frank Bartocci, 58, Rochester, MN, 100 Marathon Club, Weekend Double
5:36:05 Cyndie Merten, 49, Corvallis, OR, MM, Weekend Double
5:37:32 Robert Hildebrandt, 57, Fairbanks, AK, Weekend Double
5:45:31 Henry Rueden, 55, 100 Marathon Club, Weekend Double
6:44:20 Don Lang, 71, Glendale, CA, 100 Marathon Club
7:03:44 Eugene Bruckert, 70, Arlington Heights, IL, Weekend Double
And the next day Lenore and I went to another marathon!!
We had made arrangements to volunteer at the Mystic Places Marathon in East Lyme, CT. On Sunday morning, October 23, 2005, we drove 60 miles from Newport to the start/finish area of the marathon at Rocky Neck State Park on the Connecticut coast.
I had run this marathon in 2004 while Lenore assisted as a volunteer. This time we worked together at day-of-race packet and T-shirt pickup for the marathon 5-person relay teams and the 10K race participants. It was a busy time, and then race director John Byscewicz reassigned us to monitor the buses taking relay runners to the exchange at the start of Leg 4.
The participants passed our position at about 15 miles into the race for a mile out-and-back to Niantic. We saw the front runners, early starters and most of the field run or walk by our area twice. After the first bus filled, we sent it to the finish area. Then we loaded the second bus and left after the last handoff occurred. At the tent city of the finish area we visited with friends, had refreshments and attended the awards ceremony before returning to Newport.
Some of our friends who ran the Weekend Double are listed in chronological order below with the Rhode Island time followed by the Connecticut time.
Steve Yee - 3:17:06, 3:24:53
Dietrich Hildebrandt - 3:17:48, 5:46:57
Francesco Criniti - 3:45:27, 4:01:54
John Bozung - 4:16:56, 4:10:27
Steve Boone - 4:19:11, 4:46:20
Sue Fauerbach - 4:22:42, 4:43:37
Larry Macon - 5:11:02, 5:13:48
Dave Bell - 5:28:56, 5:26:01
Frank Bartocci - 5:33:40, 5:26:50
Cyndie Merten - 5:36:05, 5:29:20
Robert Hildebrandt - 5:37:32, 5:48:57
Henry Rueden - 5:45:31, 5:41:31
Eugene Bruckert - 7:03:49, 5:48:41
Congratulations to Eugene Bruckert, Cyndie Merten and John Bozung who ran their second weekend race faster than their first. By running his second half faster than his first half, John was happy to have a "negative split." He has run at least one marathon per month for 145 consecutive months…..that's 12+ years!!
Paula Boone, 39, a 50 Stater from Humble, TX, volunteered as a course monitor at the Breakers Marathon on Saturday and then ran the Mystic Places Marathon on Sunday. Her time was 5:41:35.
Lenore and I ended our "weekend double" by visiting with Paula and her husband Steve. We let them know that we appreciate their efforts in organizing club marathons in Rhode Island and Delaware. They also set up quarterly reunion marathons in various parts of the country. We feel honored that our Yakima River Canyon Marathon has been selected for the second quarter reunion on April 1, 2006, and we hope many 50 Staters will join us then.
Written by Bob Dolphin
|
