Race Information: Oklahoma Marathon

When Lenore and I attended the Race Directors’ Conference associated with the Marine Corps Marathon at Washington, DC, in late October 2000, we met Bob Lehew, the director of the Oklahoma Marathon. He invited me to run this event which is held at Tulsa in mid-November. I told him that we had our marathon schedule set for 2000 but that we would try to make it in 2001. During the past year our paths crossed often as we ran the Marine Corps Marathon, the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON in Washington in March, the Coeur d’ Alene Marathon in Idaho in May, and the Park City Marathon in Utah in June. We visited often, and Lenore and I reaffirmed that we would be in Tulsa on November 17, 2001. Outside of our own YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON, it was the best marathon weekend that we had all year.

Bob is also the president of the 50 States Club, and the first membership meeting of the club was held as part of the marathon weekend. The audience for this meeting was composed of 100+ runners from all over the country (and world)…….and many hold joint membership in the 50 States & DC Group and the 100 Marathon Club North America.

There was a cap of 100 entrants for the race, but members of the three running clubs mentioned were exempted. Consequently, there were 212 starters in the field. It was remarkable that in this relatively small number of runners there were 48 states represented (all but Delaware and South Dakota.) The first person to register from a state received a special T-shirt and a singlet. On the front of each shirt was the name of the race plus the name of the state the runner came from. Since I was the only one from Washington state, I proudly wore my “Respresenting WASHINGTON” shirt. At the starting area on Saturday, November 17, 2001, those of us who wore these coveted shirts or singlets gathered for group pictures.

Amenities for the participants were many……a pre-race social hour and pasta meal at the race headquarters hotel (Hilton Inn Southern Hills), finishing medals, numbered finishing plaques for the first 50 runners to finish, a post race meal and get-together at the Lehew home, race results posted on-line and a race T-shirt to be mailed soon after the race. This unique shirt will have the names of all of the finishers and their states printed on the back.

The marathon was run under ideal conditions. The weather was in the high 50’s at the start and the low 60’s at the finish. We ran under overcast cloud cover with minimal sunshine…..and air movement from calm to 5 mph. The course was run on a paved hike/bike trail in a narrow park by the Arkansas River. It was an almost flat double out-and-back that had pleasant views of the river and the woodland along the shore. Just before the turn-around we crossed the river on a highway bridge. At the far side, our bib numbers were recorded. We had some refreshments and then reversed course. The nice thing about this layout is that you see so many runners so often. I enjoyed this because I have never been so far from home and have known so many people in the marathon. The majority of these were 50 Staters whom I am getting to know.

My race went fairly well although slower than I would have preferred. I managed a 9 minute pace for a few of the early miles, but then progressively slowed until I was running 12 minute miles near the finish. A brief stop at each mile marker for a quick massage of hamstring muscles or stretching helped considerably as did increasing my fluid intake at aid stations. I finished in 4:45:10, 130th of 204 finishers.

Peter Graham, secretary of the 100 Marathon Club UK, ran with me for 11 miles and provided moral support. It was good to see him again. He had been at the YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON and at the 2001 Marine Corps Marathon also. Peter had three fellow British runners with him, two of whom are 100 Marathon Club members.

At the pre-race dinner, the emcee acknowledged the top megamarathoners and the foreign visitors………..Norm Frank, 70, is one of the world leaders with 760 marathons/ultras. Wally Herman, 76, from Ottawa was the first person to complete the 50 state and DC cycle and has run 590 marathons. Don McNelly, 81, has run 590 marathons. KG Nystrom of Sweden has run 553. Rick Worley ran 200 marathons in 156 consecutive weekends. During that time span he ran three 50 States and DC cycles including one with the 13 Canadian provinces.

Big Dave Carter from England, a 50 Stater and member of the100 Marathon Club (UK and North America) has run 482 marathons. Roger Biggs of England ran his 200th 26.2 marathon at the Oklahoma Marathon. He has run 13 ultras also. Peter Graham from London has a total of 128 marathons. Jack Brooks from St. Albans, England has run 40+ marathons. Edwin Roth of Germany has a total of 62 marathons.

Ed Burnham, 82, of Kansas City, MO, has run over 110 marathons since he started running at the the age of 70. Brenton Floyd, 16, is the youngest runner to finish a marathon in all 50 states. He has run 123 marathons and plans to join the 100 Marathon Club North America.

The runners contributed over $4,000.00 to Rick Worley’s scholarship fund for Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch in Amarillo, TX.

Bob Lehew has not only reactivated and improved the discontinued marathon in Tulsa, he also has run 100+ marathons himself. This includes two successful completions of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in California.

As we ran outward, we saw the pack of four front runners coming back. On the second run going out, the pack had strung out, and the leader (who was the eventual winner) ran by. He was Chris Lipscomb, 43, of Temple, OK, and he finished in 2:47:45. In second place was Ryan Claborn, 22, from Oklahoma in a time of 2:53:52. Bill Gilmore, 41, of Janesville, WI, was third with a time of 2:56:36. The winner of the women’s race was Pamela Brust, 40, from California (3:36:13). Next was Dawn Murphy, 36, from Texas (3:37:35). In third place was Stephanie Sharp, 18, from Texas (3:39:54).

There are several observations of runners and walkers that I want to share……….Big Dave Carter ran with a large flag that read “Big Dave’s World Marathon Tour.” He dressed in a jester costume that had the British flag design incorporated into the garment. Don McNelly and Wally Herman took an early start and walked together, pleased that they finished in 8:09:35 and 8:09:36. Betty Mae Burrell, 57, grandmother of Brenton Floyd from Tennessee, has physical problems yet she walked the course in 9:06:21 to complete her 121st marathon. She has participated in all of these marathons with her grandson.

Ed Burnham, 82, ran a 7:31:25 at Tulsa. He ran the inaugural YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON this year and said that he’ll be back to run the next one on April 6, 2002. Tom (HiGuy) Matti, 44, from Illinois (3:52:53) had a propellor on the top of his hat, so he stood out. His goal is to be the first marathoner in history to run over 100 marathons/ultras in his first two years of marathoning. The Oklahoma Marathon was #97 since his first one on April 23, 2000. He expects to reach #100 on Dec. 8, 2001, at the Rocket City Marathon at Huntsville, AL. It looks like he will exceed his goal.

KG Nystrom, 63, from Sweden (4:57:02) is a 50 Stater whom I have seen at races for three years. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him on the course moving along on elbow crutches!! He has a congenital problem that affects one of his legs. This was his third time marathoning on crutches.

Bob Lehew and his wife Kathy are a marathon team. Bob had the directorship responsibilities while Kathy was in charge of registration and packets. She also cooked and baked for the post-race meal. There were many volunteers at the course aid stations, finish area firstaid station, and behind the scenes. They all contributed to making it a well-organized race. Bob had the course well-marked in miles and kilometers which was useful for all the runners irregardless of which system they prefer.

The Oklahoma Marathon was exceptional, and this was a very memorable weekend for Lenore and me.

Written by Bob Dolphin