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Portland Marathon
October 3, 2004
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
A few days before and after the Portland Marathon there were concerns
about the irregular minor eruptions of Mt. St. Helens only 50 miles
northeast of Portland in Washington state. Thankfully, the marathon was
held on schedule as it started in downtown Portland, Oregon, at 7:00 a.m.
on Sunday, October 3, 2004.
For most of the race the temperature was in the 60's, and the skies were
overcast until the sun came out in the late morning. There were no signs
of volcanic activity that day!
Because I was running my 20th consecutive Portland Marathon, this event
was more special than most. My birthday (October 4th) falls near the race
date, so there was reason to celebrate during the race weekend. Thanks go
to the friends who extended birthday wishes and to our friend Fenny
Roberts of Salem, OR, who sang "Happy Birthday" to me from the stage at
the Awards Ceremony. This was much appreciated.
Since the marathon was held on the day before my 75th birthday, it meant
that I was the oldest one in the 70-74M division. I have four first place
awards from this marathon in this age group, so I have no regrets that I
finished in fourth place this year.
At the other end of the age spectrum, the marathon was won by 27 year old
Chris Charles of Seattle, WA. During his college years, he ran on the
Washington State University team. In this race he ran unchallenged and
had a four minute lead at the finish. In second place was Brandon Reiff,
23 of Moscow, Idaho (2:29:53). Sassa Tsutomu, 30, of Tokyo, Japan, was
third (2:30:22).
Jose Garcia, 35, of Yakima, WA, placed seventh overall and first in the
35-39M division as he finished in a time of 2:33:05. He holds the record
for the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON, a time of 2:29:43.
The women's race was close. Liane Sullivan Rae, 31, from Portland ran in
second position for most of the race. Azusa Nojiri, 22, of Tokyo, Japan,
had developed a lead in the early miles, but Liane had a faster pace in
the last 10K and passed her near the 26 mile mark. She finished in
2:49:48 to win.....and was 22nd overall. Azusa was second with a 2:50:04.
Close behind was Sabrina Monro, 24, of Clancy, MT (2:50:58).
In the years that I have been running I have joined a number of running
clubs. I was happy to see and greet some members of these clubs during
the weekend. These included Marathon Achievers, 50 States and DC Marathon
Group, 50 States Marathon Club, 100 Marathon Club North America, Marathon
Maniacs, Hard Core Runners Club, Fort Steilacoom Running Club, Interurban
Running Club and the Oregon Road Runners Club. Most of these runners are
listed in the partial results.
Congratulations to Jay Johnson of St. Cloud, MN, who became a 50 States &
DC Group FINISHER when he completed the Portland Marathon. Earlier in the
year he had run the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON to add "Washington" to
his state list. It was remarkable that he brought 16 club members from
Minnesota to celebrate the occasion of becoming a state finisher. They
all ran either the marathon or the 5 mile race that was available.
This weekend for the fifth time Lenore and I attended the Portland
Marathon Race Directors Conference. At the Saturday luncheon we enjoyed
hearing Oregon Congressman Eric Blumenauer speak about government
participation in health and fitness. He is well known for his support of
the Portland Marathon and is an annual participant of this great race.
At the conference it was interesting to hear event director Les Smith
describe how he and his staff are discouraging cheats who are
registered.....and unregistered runners who cheat by not registering. A
cheater's shortcut had been eliminated by using monitors and relocating a
chip activator mat in the 10th mile. Only registered runners were
permitted to cross the St. John's Bridge over the Willamette River in the
18th mile. In the previous mile there were many signs warning the
"turkeys," "bandits", and "unregistered cheats" that runners without bibs
would be stopped.
My run went well, but as usual it was slower than the previous year. In
the third mile I passed an 81 year old runner who was walking up the
Jefferson Street hill. He re-passed me a short time later as we were
running on Barbur Boulevard. Then I lost track of him. In the race
results he was listed as Walt Washburn of Vienna, VA. He finished only
one minute behind me in a time of 4:51:45 to set a new course record in
the 80-84M age division. This was the first time that someone over 80 had
run a sub five hour marathon in Portland. He was first of two in his age
group and finished faster than the three in the 75-59M group and faster
than seven of the eleven in the 70-74M group. What an accomplishment!!
The second runner in his group was Willis Greenaway, 82, of Summerland,
BC, who ran a 5:18:14 to beat the three 75-79M runners as well.
My walking breaks were minimal as I restricted them to the aid stations
and the steeper upgrades. The last 10K went well, and leg cramps did not
appear. However, I was ready to call it a day when I reached the finish
line in 4:50:42, 3,379th of 5,838 finishers, 2,035th of 3,131 males, and
4th of eleven 70-74 males.
Congratulations to our friend Jack Swanson, 70, of Spokane for finishing
first in this division with a 4:22:41. Special CONGRATULATIONS go to his
wife Gunhild Swanson, 60, who ran a 3:36:11 to win first place in the
60-64F division and set a new COURSE RECORD for this group at the Portland
Marathon.
I run about 20-24 marathons per year, and I don't know of any large
marathon that I run that is so well organized. The course is not
difficult, yet it has a variety of flat areas, grades and hills. The
Willamette River as seen from the St. Georges Bridge and bluff from Mile
20-23 is attractive. Downtown Portland with large buildings, parks,
suburbs and the University of Portland make for interesting viewing. Even
a commercial area was interesting because there were four miles to view
runners and walkers going in the opposite direction. I was able to greet
many friends along this out-and-back portion of the race course.
My 20th consecutive Portland Marathon is history, and Mt. St. Helens is
still unpredictable. One thing that IS predictable is that Les Smith, his
staff and the many volunteers always host a great marathon!
Written by Bob Dolphin
Partial Results
100 MC = 100 Marathon Club North American Member
MM = Marathon Maniac
(1) 2:25:33 Chris Charles, 27, Seattle, WA
(2) 2:29:53 Brandon Reiff, 23, Moscow, ID
(3) 2:30:22 Sassa Tsutomu, 30, Tokyo, Japan
(1F) 2:49:48 Liane Sullivan Rae, 31, Portland, OR
(2F) 2:50:04 Azusa Nojiri, 22, Tokyo, Japan
(3F) 2:50:58 Sabrina Monro, Clancy, MT
Wheelchair Participant.....
2:30:57 Jerry Martin, 56, Spokane Valley, WA, 4th, 100 MC
2:33:05 Jose Garcia, 35, Yakima, WA, 1st in Division
2:49:10 Cliff Richards, 43, Maple Valley, WA, 3rd
3:00:58 Gregg Walchli, 42, Seattle, WA, 13th, 100 MC, MM
3:11:52 Ruben Contreras, 50, Stanwood, WA, 4th, MM
3:12:26 Jay Johnson, 44, St. Cloud, MN
3:15:07 Doug MacLean, 52, Mercer Island, WA, 9th, MM
3:17:23 Alicia Britt, 42, Seattle, WA 4th, MM
3:17:24 Chris Warren, 37, Renton, WA, MM
3:21:36 Ron Hayden, 48, Kennewick, WA
3:23:24 Eric Gierke, 41, Shoreline, WA, MM
3:30:35 Marc Frommer, 52, Portland, OR, MM
3:33:26 Paul Emmett, 58, Redmond, WA, 100 MC
3:36:11 Gunhild Swanson, 60, Spokane, WA, 100 MC, MM
3:36:57 Michael Wakabayashi, 56, Spokane, WA, 100 MC, MM
3:40:39 Janet Green, 51, Courtenay, BC, 8th, 100 MC
3:44:17 Connie Ridenour, 46, Spokane, WA, 10th, MM
3:45:04 Jim Boyd, 62, Seattle, WA, 4th, 100 MC
3:47:01 Dietrich Hildebrandt, 20, Fairbanks, AK
3:52:23 Bill Voiland, 56, Spokane, WA
3:53:47 Susan Love, 56, Carmel, CA, 2nd
3:56:23 Mike Lewis, 61, Enumclaw, WA
3:58:13 Jim Kunz, 55, Seattle, WA, 100 MC
4:03:39 Rick Jensen, 43, Washougal, WA
4:05:54 Ron Fowler, 57, Seattle, WA, 100 MC
4:17:09 Laura Yasso, 44, Center Valley, PA
4:21:26 Ed Hansen, 58, Stayton, OR
4:22:18 Evan Fagan, 67, Victoria, BC, 10th, 100 MC
4:22:41 Jack Swanson, 70, Spokane, WA, 1st, 100 MC, MM
4:23:52 Michael Dutton, 34, Everett, WA
4:35:08 Andrew Dunn, 45, Normandy Park, WA
4:45:38 Earl Blumenauer, 56, Portland, OR
4:50:42 Bob Dolphin, 74, Renton, WA, 4th, 100 MC, MM
4:51:45 Walt Washburn, 81, Vienna, VA, 1st
5:04:20 Jon Gissberg, 61, Seattle, WA
5:16:20 Bernadette Langdon, 50, Portland, OR (Power Walker)
5:18:14 Willis Greenaway, 82, Summerland, BC, 2nd
5:22:36 Kyndall Hildebrandt, 22, Fairbanks, AK
5:24:12 Joan Loomis, 55, Eugene, OR
5:30:50 Gretchen Eickmeyer, 37, Yakima, WA (Walker)
5:34:50 Fenny Roberts, 52, Salem, OR, MM
5:34:51 Jim Scheer, 62, Vancouver, WA, MM
5:40:33 Steve Frederickson, 58, Kent, WA, 100 MC (Racewalker)
5:53:16 Cyndie Merten, 48, Corvallis, OR, MM
5:53:23 Robert Hildebrandt, 55, Fairbanks, AK
5:57:55 Jack Meteyer, 75, Auburn, WA, 3rd
6:03:02 Mike Hendricks, 50, Yakima, WA
6:18:57 Diane Anderson, 67, Enumclaw, WA
6:38:27 Carol Dellinger, 42, Spokane, WA, 100 MC, MM
7:11:15 Judy Powers, 62, Montlake Terrace, WA
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