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Royal Victoria Marathon
October 12, 2003
Race Report by Bob Dolphin
The second of my four marathons for the month was on October 12, 2003, at
Victoria, BC. The Royal Victoria Marathon is one of my favorites, and
this year Lenore and I arrived a day earlier than in previous years to be
able to attend the Celebrity Writers Breakfast at the Harbour Towers Hotel
and the Speakers Series at the Conference Centre on Saturday.
At the buffet breakfast, Rod McCrimmon introduced the trio of speakers.
Dick Beardsley who was a world-class runner in the early1980's made a
stimulating and dynamic presentation about his running career highlights
and of a farming accident that changed his life. These events are
portrayed in his book, "Staying the Course: A Runner's Toughest Race."
At the end of the session, we purchased a copy which Dick kindly
autographed for us. It is the kind of book that is hard to put down, and
I recommend it to runners and non-runners alike. Dick is a great guy, and
I'm glad that we had an opportunity to meet him. Later in the day at the
Speakers Series he described his Boston Marathon Race with Alberto Salazar
in 1982.
Joe Henderson, my favorite running author, reported on a revision of his
well-known "Marathon Training" book. I've been collecting Joe's books for
over 20 years and look forward to purchasing a copy of the revised edition
when it becomes available in the fall of 2004.
Joe's topic at the Speakers Series was "Running Your Best Race." As
always, Joe made an entertaining and informative presentation that
enlightened the audience. He then presented a copy of the book, "The Old
Man and the Road" (by Paul Reese with Joe Henderson) to the oldest runner
in the room. I was the recipient....and look forward to reading Paul's
third book to learn more about this renowned marathoner/ultramarathoner.
At age 73 he became the oldest runner to run from coast to coast crossing
12 states enroute. He completed a "run across each of the remainder of
the 50 states" by age 80 in 1997.
At the breakfast and at the series Bart Yasso of Runner's World Magazine
presented an entertaining slide show reflecting his worldwide travels to
participate in road races.......as part of his job!! The race that
impressed me the most was his running 146 miles in the inaugural Bad Water
Run from Death Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney in summer heat of 130+
degrees fahrenheit.
At 7:30 a.m. on race day, Lenore and I were at the starting line of the 8K
race to cheer for participant Joe Henderson. Then we walked to the joint
starting area for the half and full marathons.
This year the weather was unusual with rain and winds for most of the race
and temperatures from 55 to 59 degrees. A west wind of 15-20 miles per
hour was strongest along the coast but became inconsequential when the
course went inland for a few miles. The challenge of the day was running
into the wind while going uphill in the last 10K! There were several
miles of course changes this year, and it was interesting seeing new areas
of the Victoria suburbs.
My race went well, and I finished in 4:17:43, 1,556th of 2,655 overall and
first of three in the 70+ Male Division. This was faster than 12 of my
other 2003 marathons, so I was pleased with the outcome.
At the awards ceremony, I was asked by emcee Rod McCrimmon to be the
presenter of awards for the 60-64 male and female age groups. I was
pleasantly surprised to learn that the first place male award went to Eb
Engelmann, a long-time friend from Salem, Oregon. Injuries had caused Eb
to become a race walker in the past few years, so it is great to have him
back running races again.
It was interesting that eleven of us who ran the Royal Victoria Marathon
had also run the Portland Marathon a week earlier. Of these, over half
had faster times at Victoria.
Also of interest.....Marlene Farrell and Sam Saunders, female winners of
the 2002 and 2003 YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON placed third and first in
the 25-29F Division.
Congratulations to Phil Damon, 66, of Bellingham, WA, for winning the
first place award for the 65-69M Division. Phil was on the faculty of the
University of Hawaii teaching creative writing before retiring. It was a
pleasure to make his acquaintance at the awards ceremony and to visit with
him on the ferry to Tsawwassen, BC, the next day.
Our thanks go to race director Rob Reid, the board of directors, and the
many volunteers who make the Royal Victoria Marathon and associated races
a CLASS ACT. It's on our annual race calendar, so we'll be back in 2004
for another great marathon weekend.
Written by Bob Dolphin
Partial Race Results
Those who ran the Portland Marathon the week before
are noted with an asterisk (*).
1......2:27:09 Shingirai Badza, Zimbabwe, 1st 25-29M
2......2:32:12 Todd Howard, Victoria, BC, 1st 20-24M
3......2:37:36 Norm Tinkham, Maple Ridge, BC, 1st 40-44M
1......2:52:46 Joan McGrath, New Westminster, BC, 1st 40-44F
2......2:59:33 Brenice Vancaeyzeele, Winnepeg, MB, 2nd 40-44F
3......3:02:02 Carla Dunn, Nanaimo, BC, 1st 30-34F
2:56:13 Dick Beardsley, Detroit Lakes, MN, 6th 45-49M
3:02:40 Sam Saunders, Summerland, BC, 1st 25-29F
3:07:47 Marlene Farrell, Snoqualmie Pass, WA, 3rd 25-29F
3:09:42 Christopher Warren, Renton, WA, 35-39M
3:16:16 Tony Phillippi, Tacoma, WA 40-44M
3:16:39 Kevin Farrell, Snoqualmie Pass, WA, 25-29M
3:23:02 Tony Covarrubias, Auburn, WA 40-44M
3:23:06 Eb Engelmann, Salem, OR, 1st 60-64M
3:31:36 Leland Wakelin, White Rock, BC, 40-44M
3:33:21 Janet Green, Courtenay, BC, 2nd 50-54F
3:35:44 Peter Phillips, Calgary, AB, 50-54M
3:35:44 Bill Schnitzler, Calgary, AB, 55-59M
3:42:54 Greg Judge*, Renton, WA, 55-59M
3:44:02 Ken Bonner*, Victoria, BC, 4th 60-64M
3:46:48 Gunhild Swanson*, Spokane, WA 3rd 55-59F
3:48:15 Steven Yee*, Renton, WA, 40-44M
3:50:59 Phil Damon, Bellingham, WA, 1st 65-69M
4:03:27 Jim Kunz*, Seattle, WA, 50-54M
4:06:27 Herb Allen*, Bainbridge Island, WA, 60-64M
4:17:43 Bob Dolphin*, Renton, WA, 1st 70+M
4:35:46 Richard Andrews*, Mukilteo, WA, 60-64M
4:37:01 Jack Swanson*, Spokane, WA, 65-69M
4:59:13 Evan Fagan*, Victoria, BC, 65-69M
5:13:30 Albert Homenchuck, Burnaby, BC, 2nd 70+M
5:14:30 Ultra Al Miller, Deer Island, OR, 45-49M
5:16:30 Sue Fauerbach, Renton, WA 55-59F
5:19:59 Virginia Farneman, Powell, OH, 2nd 65-69F
5:25:39 Bernadette Langdon*, (Fast Walker), Portland, OR, 50-54F
5:30:23 Richard Preston, Burnaby, BC, 3rd 70+M
5:51:17 Clive Heatherington, Nanaimo, BC, 65-69M
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