Race Information: Portland Marathon

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