Race Information: Seattle Marathon

The “weather gods” smiled favorably on the runners at the Seattle Marathon on Sunday, November 25, 2001. At the 8:15 a.m. start near the Space Needle, the temperature was about 40 degrees and did not rise above 44 degrees on this drizzly day. The air movement didn’t exceed 10 mph, so we really lucked out. Three days later a wet snowfall, the first of the season, would have ensured running with cold, wet feet.

The near ideal weather likely was a factor in the course record that Uli Steidel, 29, of Seattle and Germany ran. Uli has run the present “new” course three consecutive times and has won it all three times. This year the graduate chemistry student at the University of Washington ran his best Seattle time of 2:24:37. Those of us who were well behind him going in the opposite direction on the I-90 floating bridge and later on the out-and-back section saw Uli run alone with a commanding lead. It was inspiring!

In second place was David Ruggles 36, of Kingston, Ontario, who ran a commendable 2:36:23 and held off Michael Little, 25, of Bremerton, WA, (2:37:17).

Another repeat winner was Joan McGrath, 39, of New Westminster, BC, who won the women’s race for the second year in a row with a time of 2:49:25. In second place was Anne Jensen, 34, of Kirkland, WA (3:08:56)……just ahead of Heather McLaughlin, 29, of Spokane WA (3:10:50).

Jerry Martin, 53, of Greenacres, WA (near Spokane) has won the wheelchair division at the Seattle Marathon many times in the past, and this year was no exception. He won again with a 2:49:54. David Whedbee, 34, of Seattle cranked his wheelchair with one hand to a 3:30:44 finish. I don’t have the name of the third place finisher, but he exhibited considerable courage. He competed with a regular wheelchair because his racing wheelchair was in the shop for repairs.

On the out-and-back sections, I saw many of my running friends. Those who received age class awards are listed below:

  3:21:20 Larry Carroll, 61, Liberty Lake, WA, 1st 60-64M 
  3:34:06 JimBoyd, 59, Seattle, 1st 55-59M 
  3:34:37 Roseann Bacon, 42, Yakima 4th 40-44F 
  3:35:31 Trish Hruby, 44, Everett, 5th 40-44F  
  3:36:41 Herb Allen, 59, Bainbridge Island, 2nd 55-59M  
  3:39:41 Gunhild Swanson, 57, Spokane, 2nd 55-59F
  3:49:23 Keith Wood, 72, Seattle, 1st 70-74M
  3:49:51 Mae Palm, 61, Whistler, BC, 1st 60-64F
  3:52:26 Lori Kory, 45, Spokane, 5th 45-49F
  3:56:51 Judy Fisher, 58, Auburn, 4th 55-59F
  4:00:23 Mel Preedy, 68, Ravensdale, 1st 65-69M
  4:01:53 Chris Ralph, 50, Kirkland, 2nd 50-54F
  4:22:25 Lynn Yarnall, 51, Edmonds, 5th 50-54F
  4:28:29 Jack Swanson, 67, Spokane, 3rd 65-69M

Age class information was extracted from a chronological listing of finishers by sex, so there may be errors or omissions.

The marathon walk started at 7:15 a.m., and the first to finish was our good friend from Salem, OR, Eb Engelmann, 59. He racewalked the course in a great time of 4:44:07. Recently he ran the Double Crossing of the Grand Canyon with a group of runners. He can still run on trails, but current physical problems limit his running on the roads.

My running was comparable to recent marathons. A cramp of my right hamstring appeared after four miles of running and prompted a brief stop and massage. I repeated this ritual at mile markers and as needed. I also walked the steepest grades from then on until I finished. My time was 4:47:13, two minutes slower than the previous week on a flat course at Tulsa, OK. I finished 1,307 of 1,670 overall and second of four in the 70-74M division.

Some fellow Yakima Hard Core Runner’s Club members and other Central Washington participants are listed below:
 3:09:13 Kenneth Yager, 33, Selah
 3:10:55 Eric Hansen, 34, Yakima
 3:19:48 Ron Hayden, 46, Kennewick
 3:40:52 Terry Cliett, 42, Selah
 4:37:36 Rich Rees, 34, Selah
 4:41:59 Casey Rice, 40, Yakima
 4:44:35 Nathan Nelson, 28, Yakima
 4:44:35 Timm Burke, 24, Yakima

Recently, cheating by a few runners has gotten publicity in the newspapers. The Seattle Marathon directors had virtually eliminated the opportunities for cheaters by the use of electronic chips and activator mats at the start, the 13th mile and at the finish. The 13 mile mark is at the farthest point from the start/finish on the back side of the Seward Park Peninsula. This should foil anyone looking for a shortcut.

We knew a lot of runners in the Half Marathon. Lynne Werner, 50, a well-known ultrarunner from Seattle, ran with her daughter Lauren Olsho, 27, who was visiting from Madison, WI. Both finished in 2:08:37. Lenore and I met Ron Skar, 48, of Portland at the starting line. He was wearing a YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON shirt, so we introduced ourselves. Ron had fainted after he finished our race and required facial stitches as a result of his fall. We are pleased that he has fully recovered and will be back at our marathon on April 6, 2002. Denny Brooks, 44, of Lacey ran a 1:59:21. He maintains the well-known website www.ontherun.com and provides us the website for our marathon…..http://www.ontherun.com/yrcm. We have received many compliments for our website and appreciate Denny’s efforts. Courtney Jones, a long-time friend from Ellensburg, ran a 2:15:36.

Our Seattle Marathon weekend began on Friday, November 23, when Lenore and I spent the day in the registration area passing out packets to the marathon runners. We enjoyed this activity because it gave us the opportunity to see many friends and acquaintances as they picked up their race numbers.

Our house guests for Saturday night were Salem, OR, participants, Eb Engelmann and Fenny Roberts (4:42:13) and Vancouver, WA, runner Jim Sheer (4:42:07). They added to the festive mood to make the Seattle Marathon weekend another memorable event.

Written by Bob Dolphin