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SHORE TO SHORE MARATHON
September 17, 2005
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
This was the fifth annual trip to Lake Chelan for the Shore to Shore Marathon for Lenore and me. In the past we visited our friends and gracious hosts, Hal and Patty Porter of Manson. This year they were traveling at the time of the September 17, 2005, marathon. They encouraged us to bring our friends and stay at their home. So we did!
The day before the race we were joined by the founders of the Marathon Maniacs and the first woman member, Steve Yee, Sue Fauerbach and Chris Warren of Renton and Tony Phillippi of Tacoma.
We picked up our packets at the Parks Office in Chelan, unloaded our gear at the Porter home at Manson, and went to dinner at the nearby Blueberry Hill Restaurant. This quaint restaurant is surrounded by orchards and provides scenic views…..along with great carbo-loading food and the best-ever homemade pies. This was the beginning of a "maniacal weekend" for our friends.
Sue and Steve's plans were to run the Shore to Shore Marathon for the first half of a weekend double, while Tony, Chris and Lenore planned to drive the course, take pictures and cheer the runners. The second half of the double was the inaugural Two Bear Marathon the next day (and hours away) in Whitefish, Montana! Tony and Chris left soon after the first marathoners finished, and Steve and Sue drove off as soon as the award ceremony was completed.
Because the Shore to Shore Marathon has a point-to-point course, bus service was provided to transport runners from Chelan to the start of the race. I joined 53 other runners at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning as we left the starting line near 25 Mile State Park. We ran an easy upgrade with a wooded mountain slope on our right and a down slope to Lake Chelan on our left. Several miles across the lake the uninhabited, steep north shore of the lake was in sight, and it added to the primitive aura of the early miles. It was a calm, cool morning with temperatures in the 50's and an overcast sky.
The numerous aid stations were well stocked with water and a sports drink and were manned by friendly volunteers. There was a roving ambulance to provide medical care for the participants. Later at the awards ceremony there were nice awards for the overall male and female winners and valuable drawing prizes for those in attendance.
The three races, 10K, half marathon and marathon, concluded in succession at a common finish line at Manson Bay Park in Manson. Here a good selection of food and drink awaited the finishers. Classy T-shirts and finishers medals were available at a nearby table. Similar medals were later awarded to the first, second and third place age division winners.
The nine Marathon Maniacs (MM) did well in the competition. With a time of 3:04:55 Gregg Walchli, 43, of Seattle was third overall and second in the 40-44M division. Jennifer Yogi, 30, also of Seattle, won the women's race and was first in the 30-34F group with a time of 3:11:45. The other four MM's who placed first in their age groups were: Lesa Overfield, 46, Tacoma, 3:47:28; Guy Yogi, 51, Seattle, 4:01:01; Sue Fauerbach, 58, Renton, 5:12:41; and Bob Dolphin, 75, Renton, 5:23:27. A second place award went to Steve Yee, 46, Renton, 3:34:21. Diana "Slug" Robinson, 38, Bellingham was third in her division with a 4:06:16. Al Harman, 44, was in a tough age group and placed fourth with a time of 3:25:50.
The overall winner of the marathon was Brandon Hogland, 28, of Wenatchee. His course record of 2:50:50 was the only sub-three hour race of the day. In second place was Bob Perry, 40, from Snohomish with a time of 3:02:26.
In second and third place for the women were Jennifer Hadfield, 33, of Vancouver, WA, (3:32:29) and Janine Stratton, 34, from Snohomish (3:42:55).
My first half of the race went well, and I reached the half marathon mark in 2:24:11 (11 minute pace). In the second half, under clear skies and with temperatures now in the mid 70's, I faded. I ran alone and had to walk/run the last 10K at a 13 minute pace. With an average pace of 12:26, I finished in 53rd place out of 54 runners, the only 70 year old in the race.
Congratulations to Scott Olin of Entiat for completing his first marathon. When he turned 45 at a recent birthday, he vowed to complete some objectives that he had previously made. He had run several half marathons at Lake Chelan and set a new goal to run the full 26.2 miles.
Steve Love, 52, of nearby Mansfield, has been a marathoning friend for 20 years. In spite of a shoulder injury, he finished in 5:16:55. Greg Firnstahl, 52, of Bellevue ran his 5th marathon that day. When he found out that I hoped to finish in five to six hours, it sounded good to him and he decided to run with me. However, on one of the early down hills we lost each other. The next time that I saw him was at the finish line when he was exuberant as he came in at 5:41:23.
As always, the natural history at Lake Chelan was interesting. Near the sixth mile I approached a doe and her two yearlings in the ponderosa pine parkland. On the lake were mallards, coots, ring-bill gulls and a horned grebe. Native plants in flower on the race course were yellow rabbit brush, white buckwheat, white tall buckwheat and sunflowers. Many other plants with European origins were also in bloom, and they added color to the arid fields and roadsides.
A month ago on our 4:00 a.m. drive from the Whispering Pines Motel on Highway 97 in southern Oregon to the starting line of the Crater Lake Marathon, Lenore and I saw a falling meteor, two dust devils, three deer on the road in front of us and an owl that flew directly in front of our windshield. Quite often in our travels we see deer and other dead animals by the side of the road.
The day after the Shore to Shore Marathon as we were driving home via Blewett Pass, we saw our "first-ever" elk fatality by the side of the road. Five days later we learned that it was "Mel's Roadkill." Mel Preedy and his wife Sonia had left their Ravensdale home very early in the morning on September 17th to drive to Lake Chelan for the marathon. It was 4:00 a.m. on this dark morning on Blewett Pass that this huge animal crashed through the windshield of their car. Thankfully, neither Mel nor Sonia was hurt, but their car was totaled.
There was no marathon for Mel that day. It's hunting season in our state, and Mel "bagged his elk" in a different way. Now we know why he's listed as a "no-show" on the official Shore to Shore results.
We missed seeing Mel and Sonia at the race and are grateful that they're okay. They plan to travel to the inaugural marathon at Leavenworth next weekend over Blewett Pass in the daylight!!
The fifth annual Shore to Shore marathon is history, and I'll remember it as the one where I reached a full year's worth of marathons, my 365th! I'm happy to be one of a few who have run all of these marathons, and I want to thank race director Jane Farris and her committee for providing a great event. The three races warrant our continued support and participation.
Written by Bob Dolphin
Shore to Shore Marathon Race Results, September 17, 2005
2:50:50 Brandon Hoglund, 28, Wenatchee, 1st in age division
3:02:26 Bob Perry, 40, Snohomish, 1st
3:04:55 Gregg Walchli, 43, Seattle, MM, 2nd
3:05:40 Daryl Wilson, 39, Woodinville, 1st
3:11:45 Jennifer Yogi, 30, Seattle, MM, 1st
3:18:48 Kevin Prentiss, 42, Edmonds, 3rd
3:25:50 Al Harman, 44, West Vancouver, MM
3:30:29 James Kopkowski, 46, Anacortes, 1st
3:32:39 Jennifer Hadfield, 33, Vancouver, 33, 2nd
3:34:00 Stacey Hanson, 25+, 1st
3:34:21 Steven Yee, 46, Renton, MM, 2nd
3:37:00 Leonard Glass, 42, Vancouver, BC
3:38:14 Doug Arcus, 58, Fort St. John, BC, 1st
3:42:55 Janine Stratton, 34, Snohomish, 3rd
3:44:21 Michael Stahl, 44, Anchorage, AK
3:47:28 Lesa Overfield, 46, Tacoma, MM, 1st
3:47:36 Bill Pech, 55, Bellingham, 2nd
3:50:59 Pollyann Keller, 32, Bacliff, TX
3:51:13 Gary Otheim, 62, East Wenatchee, 1st
3:53:09 Debbie Shawktee/Williams, 32, McCall, ID
3:53:11 Bob Wallace, 32, McCall, ID, 1st
3:58:40 Wendy Engblom, 37, Edmonds, 2nd
4:01:01 Guy Yogi, 51, Seattle, MM, 1st
4:01:30 Kristie Raney, 38, Seattle, 3rd
4:02:18 Mathias Sanders, 26, Seattle, 2nd
4:02:28 Lisa Russon, 33, Everett
4:02:59 Brooke Reynolds, 30, Everett
4:06:16 Diana "Slug" Robinson, 38, MM, Bellingham, 3rd
4:09:34 Lance Abelsen, 40, Stehekin
4:11:33 Sandra Volk, 49, Portland, 2nd
4:12:42 Lisa Verzi, 25, Tacoma, 2nd
4:18:47 Robert Cervero, 54, Lafayette, CA 2nd
4:24:42 Tasha Agostinelli, 31, Spanaway
4:24:44 Edward Miley, 44, Spokane
4:32:09 Edward Ellis, 46, Newport Beach, CA, 3rd
4:33:39 Peter Bennink, 51, Vancouver, 3rd
4:36:54 Joanna Farwell, 45, Selah, 3rd
4:38:24 Michael Bailey, 43, Leavenworth
4:40:41 Cheryl Hopkins, 46, Everett
4:40:41 Amy Isaac, 32, Moscow, ID
4:47:21 Charles Biebeer, 64, Clinton, 2nd
4:49:19 Cynthia Witman, 52, Walla Walla, 1st
4:58:08 Buffy Alegria, 30, Yakima
4:58:08 Brian Alegria, 30, Yakima, 2nd
5:02:35 Scott Hokins, 26, Wenatchee, 3rd
5:02:39 Thomas Hart, 59, Staten Island, NY, 3rd
5:08:13 Kara Ballif, 32, Greenacres
5:08:13 Blake Ballif, 35, Greenacres,2nd
5:09:31 Houston Osborn, 39, Walla Walla
5:11:48 Scott Olin, 45, Entiat, 3rd
5:12:41 Sue Fauerbach, 58, Renton, MM, 1st
5:16:55 Steven Love, 52, Mansfield
5:23:27 Bob Dolphin, 75, Renton, MM, 1st
5:41:23 Greg Firnstahl, 52, Bellevue
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