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Seattle Marathon
November 28, 2004
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
Uli Steidl, a 32 year old German immigrant of Shoreline, continues to dominate the Seattle Marathon. This Edmonds-Woodway High School chemistry teacher ran unchallenged to win the marathon in a time of 2:29:36. He finished three minutes ahead of Gregory Crowther, 31, of Seattle (2:32:51) who wa
s followed by David Jackson, 28, of Victoria, BC, (2:35:10).
Uli came to Seattle as a graduate student at the University of Washington and ran his first Seattle Marathon in 1999. He won it with a 2:30:05. Since then he has been the winner every year for six consecutive wins to better the previous record of David Steffan's four wins between 1992 and 1997.
In 2001 Uli set the course record of 2:24:38 for the new course that was initiated in 1998.
This year Uli would have won an award for the best human interest story, if there were such a category. We learned from the newspaper last year that he had a girlfriend named Trisha Rosenberg who finished in second place with a 2:57:38 in 2003. Starting at Mile 12 and at intervals along the race course this year, he had placed yellow signs with bold black letters that stated: "Will"....."you"....."marry"....."me".
Trisha reported that she had seen some of the signs and figured out that someone
was getting married. Only when she crossed the finish line to find Uli holding
up a yellow sign with "Trisha" on it did she realize that the message on the
marathon course was for her! A long kiss in the finish are a demonstrated
her acceptance.....and then the media interviews took place. Congratulations
to Uli and Trisha! May you have a long and happy marriage.
There was another proposal of marriage at the Seattle Marathon this year, too. Larry Brown of Salem, Oregon, crossed the finish line, approached his girlfriend Christy Adams who was waiting for him nearby, and sank to one knee. No, it wasn't fatigue, it was a marriage proposal which was joyousl
y accepted. Congratulations to this couple who were our houseguests......and may they, too, have a long and happy marriage.
For Lenore and me, the Seattle Marathon weekend started on Friday, two days before the race. As we do every year, we volunteered at packet pickup which is located near the Expo at Race Headquarters in the downtown Seattle Westin Hotel.
For eight hours we had a good time locating packets and answering questions. A fringe benefit was visiting with our many friends who took the time to chat. We also talked with many runners whom we met for the first time and encouraged them to join us at our fifth annual YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARA
THON on April 2, 2005.
This socializing with runners was a marked contrast to my first Seattle Marathon in 1984 when I didn't know anyone in the race. In subsequent years the number of running friends increased as I joined the Marathon Achievers group and met many runners in western Washington.
On race morning, Sunday, November 28, 2004, the Marathon Walkers (222 finishers) left the starting line near the Space Needle landmark in Seattle Center at 7:15 a.m. They were followed by the Half Marathon Runners (5,799 finishers) at 7:30 a.m. Then the Half Marathon Walkers (1,167 finishers)
left at 7:30 a.m., and finally the Marathon Runners (2,262 finishers) started at 8:15 a.m. There was a grand total of 9,450 participants who crossed the finish line.
The weather was great for running. It was calm most of the time.....with air temperatures in the 40's and overcast skies that cleared by late morning. The 10 mph wind on the I-90 floating bridge on Lake Washington felt good.
In the women's race, Kami Semick, 38, of Bend, Oregon, won with a 2:53:09. She was followed by past-winner Joan MacGrath, 43, (2:54:09) of New Westminster, BC, who came in second and Sarah Williams, 38, (2:59:32) of Gold Beach, Oregon, who finished in third place. Trisha Rosenberg of Shoreline,
28, the new fiance of Uli Steidl, came in 4th with a 3:01:09.
The Marathon Maniacs were well represented at the Seattle Marathon with the three founders setting the pace of great (really, maniacal) accomplishments. Tony Phillippi, 43, of Tacoma ran a 2:59:13 for his 40th marathon of 2004 and his career 75th! Chris Warren, 37, of Renton ran a 3:40:48 for h
is 34th marathon of the year, while Steven Yee, 45, of Renton had a 3:44:35 at his 38th marathon of the year.
I had injured my left hip at Mile 2 of the City of Trees Marathon at Boise, Idaho, three weeks earlier, but I felt fine at the start of the marathon. I ran conservatively for the first six miles to the Mercer Island turn-around and walked/ran the hills. Even so, I couldn't run after the first 10K and shifted to a 15-16 minute per mile walk.
At the ninth mile on Lake Washington Boulevard, my pace slowed further. I limped through the Seward Park loop and started leaning to one side. My half marathon split was 3:52:52, and by Mile 14 I realized that it was time for me to drop out of my first 26.2 mile race EVER. I've had close calls
before but could always walk to the finish line in five to six hours.
I appreciate the support and concern of my friends and acquaintances, and I count my blessings. (1) I've finished 307 marathons (26.2 miles) that I started; (2) I ran my 20th consecutive Seattle Marathon in 2003; (3) My 350th marathon/ultra at the Marine Corps Marathon on October 31, 2004, went
well, and I finished in 2nd place in the 75+ M division; (4) Of the 22 marathons that I completed this year, I won my age group ten times, placed second three times, and came in third five times. I'm happy with that.
Now I plan to rest, heal, train and run (or walk) a few short races before I try another marathon.
Written by Bob Dolphin
Marathon Maniacs Results
2:59:13 Tony Phillippi, 43, Tacoma, 7th in Age Division
3:06:44 Ruben Contreras, 50, Stanwood, 3rd
3:09:30 Tony Covarrubias, 44
3:15:46 Mark Looi, 44
3:16:02 Jennifer Yogi, 29, Seattle, 5th
3:19:15 James Anderson, 47
3:20:07 Steve Supkoff, 39, North Bend
3:21:00 Annie Thiesen, 34
3:21:08 Kurt Lauer, 43
3:21:29 Brad Bleiwis
3:28:13 Kendall Kreft, 45
3:34:24 Dale Shoup, 57, 6th
3:40:40 Chris Warren, 37, Renton
3:42:26 Guy Yogi, 50, Seattle
3:42:47 Jim Morton, 46
3:44:06 Van Phan, 33
3:44:30 Diana Slug Robinson, 38, Bellingham
3:44:35 Steve Yee, 45, Renton, 7th
3:46:17 Marc Frommer, 52, Portland, OR
3:48:01 Steve Barrick, 42, Kent
3:48:53 Gunhild Swanson, 60, Spokane Valley, 1st
3:49:04 Steve Hanling, 36
3:51:16 David Jones, 58, Seattle
3:51:35 Earl Fenstermacher, 55, Seattle
3:52:50 Glenn Tachiyama, 48, Seattle
3:57:38 Tim Lofton, 38
4:03:40 Steve Fredrickson, 58, Kent
4:09:50 Dennis Spurlock, 42, Spokane
4:13:17 Michael Shiach, 54, Bainbridge Island
4:20:35 Herb Allen, 62, Bainbridge Island
4:24:39 David Knapp, 40
4:25:27 Richard Haase, 59
4:25:52 Cheri Gillis, 52, Woodinville
4:37:41 Susan Marshall, 58, Duncan, BC
4:37:58 Sue Fauerbach, 57, Renton, 5th
4:48:42 Jack Swanson, 70, Spokane Valley, 4th
4:59:16 Mel Preedy, 71, Ravensdale, 6th
5:02:10 Janet Burgess, 43, Renton
5:16:41 Ruth Balf, 50
5:17:39 Cyndie Merten, 48, Corvallis, OR
5:32:00 Fenny Roberts, 52, Salem, OR
5:32:00 Jim Scheer, 62, Vancouver, WA
5:39:31 Cathy Troisi, 58, Seneca Falls, NY
Partial List of Other Finishers
2:58:09 Mark Shorter, 47, North Vancouver, BC, 3rd in Age Division
3:04:33 Steve Israel, 52, Black Diamond, 2nd
3:05:24 Cliff Banister, 43, Pendleton, OR
3:18:01 Pete Hansen, 48, Birch Bay
3:20:20 Jill Banister, 45, Pendleton, OR, 1st
3:22:16 Neil Wakelin, 57, North Vancouver, BC, 2nd
3:25:59 Wendy Scott, 29, Mt. Vernon
3:29:28 Ken Bonner, 62, Victoria, BC, 2nd
3:33:10 Ron Hayden, 49, Kennewick
3:34:35 Janet Green, 51, Courtenay, BC, 1st
3:38:16 David Olsho, 53, Seattle
3:40:26 Trish Hruby, 47, 3rd
3:41:50 Paul Emmett, 58, Redmond
3:42:28 Connie Ridenour, 46, Spokane, 5th
3:42:59 Glen Mangianti, 47
3:44:05 Rob Toonkel, 29
3:47:03 Dave Dutton, 48, Mt. Vernon
3:46:27 Amy Yanni, 50, Rapid, City,SD
3:47:54 Dave Bridgeman, 55, Cle Elum
3:48:49 Jon Mahoney, 52, Vernon, BC
3:52:42 Keith Wood, 75, Seattle, 1st
3:53:02 Greg Judge, 56, Renton
3:53:04 Judy Fisher, 61, 2nd
3:55:24 Bill Voiland, 56, Spokane
3:58:26 Jim Kunz, 55, Seattle
4:00:30 Charlie Viers, 63
4:04:10 Ron Fowler, 57, Seattle
4:10:07 Lynne Werner, 53, Seattle, 5th
4:13:22 Diane Palmason, 66, Bellingham, 1st
4:15:58 Charles Hagensen, 39
4:17:55 Andrew Dunn, 46, Normandy Park
4:18:01 Ed Hansen, 58, Stayton, OR
4:20:45 Hanan Berman, 57, Kirkland
4:24:11 Paul Fouch, 70, Klamath Falls, OR, 3rd
4:24:58 Evan Fagan, 67, Victoria, BC
4:38:43 Pete Dawson, 65
4:39:31 Steve Varga, 51, Ellensburg
4:42:10 Bill Torsen, 55, Bellevue
4:48:09 Jon Gissberg, 61, Seattle (Barefoot Runner!!)
4:49:16 Jon Nevitt, 65, Burlington
4:55:49 Gina Cacchiotti-Sattler, 37, Yakima
4:58:53 Steve Pierce, 41, Coeur d' Alene, ID
5:07:17 Todd Byers, 41, Long Beach, CA (Barefoot Runner!!)
5:21:00 Tom Adair, 63, Arkadelphia, GA
5:21:33 Ultra Al Miller, 50, Coos Bay, OR
5:25:53 Bernadette Langdon, 51, Portland, OR (Walker)
5:37:44 Dan Chin, 50, Renton
5:40:34 Larry Brown, 65, Salem, OR
5:41:16 Al Homenchuck, 73, Burnaby, BC
5:45:56 Phyllis Sund, 46
5:45:56 Catherine Grunenfolder, 50
6:01:07 Lee Hoffman, 70
6:09:52 Donald Lang, 70, Glendale, CA
7:07:48 Rocky Holly, 51
7:07:51 Dottie Holly, 50
Just a Few Results from the Seattle Half Marathon
1:10:31 Ian Fraser, 30, Chimacum, Men's Winner
1:20:19 Lauren Groves, 25, Victoria, BC, Women's Winner
1:31:59 Nikko Skartvedt, 18, Seattle
1:38:54 Jack Carlton, 53, Yakima
1:42:49 Sylvan Smyth, 35, Victoria, BC
2:41:57 Slade Gorton, 76
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