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Portland Marathon
October 4, 1998
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
This year the Portland Marathon was held on Sunday, October 4, 1998.
This date has particular significance for me since it was my 69th
birthday. Never before in my string of 225 marathons and ultras had I
run one on my birthday. So, the race through Portland, Oregon, and
suburbs was my birthday gift. To give it extra significance I was
hoping for a sub-four hours for a finishing time although I had finished
over four hours in my previous five marathons. This included a 4:17:05
at Skagit Flats Marathon in Burlington, WA, three weeks earlier.
On race day we were blessed with ideal running weather. It was in the
low 60's and solidly overcast with light breezes. Mavis Lindgren from
Los Angeles, CA, wished us well at the starting line and did the official
countdown. Mavis, who is 91 years of age, always took a two hour early
start in years past and gave us an opportunity to say, "Hi, Mavis," as
we passed her. She is the only woman to complete a marathon at age 90
that I know about.
As I reached the first mile marker in eight minutes, I heard a voice
say, "Happy 69th birthday," and this was echoed by runners around me,
It was my friend Steve Pierce , 36, of Coeur 'd Alene, ID, on his way to
a sub 3:30 run. In the early miles there were a dozen or so running
friends who visited with me briefly as they passed.
At the 7-11 mile out-and-back the front runners were in a small pack.
Later we learned that Lucas Matala , 30, of Johannesburg, South Africa,
emerged as the winner in a time of 2:16:12. At one point in his trans-
continental travels he was headed for Portland, Maine, but made it to
the right Portland eventually. Matala had a comfortable 12 minute lead
over the second finisher. The first woman to cross the line was Kari
McKay , 29, of Spokane, WA, in a time of 2:45:55. McKay had never run
farther than 20 miles before and now has qualified for the Olympic Trials
in the Women's Marathon Event.
Friends who placed well in age class competition follow:
2:44:16 Glenn Tachiyama, 42, 2nd 3:36:22 Dick Stones, 60+, 3rd
2:57:00 Citiuck Camack, 52, 4th 3:40:42 Wiley Hurst, 62, 5th
3:22:17 Gunhild Swanson, 53, 2nd 3:57:00 Jack Swanson, 64, 9th
4:56:58 Diana Anderson, 61, 3rd
I felt fine for two thirds of the race but had wall problems after I
crossed the St. Johns Bridge. In the last 10K, every time I checked my
watch a sub-four-hour finishing time seemed to be out of reach. However,
I made it with a 3:58:23, a 9:05 pace with a finishing place of l,672
out of 4,600 starters and 2nd 65-69 male. At the awards ceremony Lenore
provided birthday cake for everyone who came by to visit and to talk
about marathoning.
A visit to Megan's 24-Hour Run at Lincoln High School in Portland, on
October 3 provided inspiration as we watched many of our friends circle
the track endlessly. In spite of intermittent, heavy rains, Jeff Hagen ,
51, of Yakima, WA, led at the finish by completing 129 miles. This was
Jeff's 6th consecutive win in a 24-hour race or 100 mile trail run.
Friends and acquaintances had superlative finishes as foIlows: 2nd, Randy
Stillman , 121 miles; 3rd, Eb Engelmann , 111 miles; 5th, Lynne Werner of
Seattle, 105 miles; Ron Nicholl , 10O miles; Joe Dana , 78 miles; Karen
King , 73 miles, 3rd woman; Bill McCracken , 67 miles; Linda Standal , 66
miles, 4th women; Max Jones , 71, of Leeds, England, 62 miles. Max was
pushing the pace as he was trying to break an age class record for United
Kingdom runners at the kilometers (62 miles) distance. I hope that he
made it. Another septuagenarian on the track was John Keston , 70+ of
McMinnville, OR. He was running swiftly trying to break a national record
for one hour in his age division. I hope these two reached their age
class goals.
Written by Bob Dolphin
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