Race Information: Seattle Marathon

The Seattle Marathon weekend turned out to be a busy and exciting time for Lenore and me. It started on Friday with nine hours of volunteering as supervisors for number pickup at registration1 continued with two Salem, Oregon, runners as our Saturday night house guests, and concluded with Sunday’s running of the marathon for me and over seven hours of volunteering at the finish line for Lenore.

Soon after we arrived at the Seattle Westin on Friday, Denny Brooks presented us with look-alike black, fleece vests with “Dolphin Marathon Team’t and a silver dolphin on the front and his logo, “ontheRuN.com”, on the back. What a pleasant surprise! We’ll wear these vests with pride.

Then it was time for a fun day of meeting runners, answering questions, and helping where we were needed. I was stumped by inquiries about the weather for race day. I would reply that it is raining now, and it rained big time for the last two marathons. A rainy Seattle Marathon is the norm, and one should be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t rain during the race.

When I arose on race day, opened the door, and peered into the early morning darkness, I looked up and saw stars gleaming betweeen the patchy clouds. The streets were dry, and the air temperature was in the mid- forties. Hey, we were going to run in nearly ideal conditions!

At 8:15 a.m. on November 28, 1999, a quiet Sunday morning, the runners started the marathon at the Seattle Center near the Space Needle. By the end of the race it became sunny, and the air temperature reached 600 F. It was good running all of the way.

Kudos to the race director, board of directors, and volunteers for putting on a classy event. This was the second year with a new course that is more cosmopolitan and scenic than earlier courses. It has changes and improvements over last year. Most of the concrete roadways were eliminated along with a long, steep hill in the last mile. Now at the end of the race when the Space Needle comes into view, the course runs to it and the finish area by a direct route—rather than the circuitous route of last year.

And kudos to the SRI Chinmoy group who manned an aid station and personally cheered my through their area. They sponsor good races in the Seattle area throughout the year, so it was great that they donated their time to this race, too.

The winner of the 1999 Seattle Marathon was Uli Steidl, 27, of Erlenbach, Germany, a graduate chemistry student at the University of Washington. At first, he was going to be a “rabbit” for a friend but then decided to enter the race as a real competitor. He won in a time of 2:30:05. He was followed by Paul Kodania (2:33:20) and Trond Ingvaldsen (2:38:34). The first woman to finish was Rebecca Gallaher, 25, of Silverdale who won the women’s race with a time of 2:54:22. The next two women were Natalie Butler (3:10:00) and Christina Carrigan (3:11:22).

Fellow Marathon Achievers on hand were: Chris Ralph, Judy Fisher, Rebecca Wallick, Lynn Yarnall, Cheri Gillis, Glenn Tachiyama, Eb Engel- mann, Bruce Katter (1st, 65-69M), Mel Preedy (2nd 65-69M), Ron Nicholl, Steve Frederickson, Steve Pierce (running his 199th marathon), Mac Bohlman, and Russ Akers.

Some of the Marathon Achievers had run the Seward Park 50K Race in Seattle the day before. Cheri, Chris, Rebecca, Lynn, Ron and Steve Pierce ran these back-to-back races—a remarkable endurance feat! Dave Olsho and his wife Lynne Werner were two more runners who completed these two events.

Other running friends and acquaintances participated in Sunday’s races, too. Among those who completed the Half Marathon were Larry Brown, our Salem houseguest, who ran a personal best, Courtney Jones from Ellensburg, and Gunhild Swanson, a great marathoner from Spokane who is recovering from an injury. Those who completed the marathon were: Herb Allen, Diana Anderson, Todd Byers, Terry Cliett, Ron Fowler, Ed Galiger, Jeff Giesbrecht, Ed Hansen, Davey Jones, Richard Ketchum, Jim Kunz, Joan Pribnow, Fenny Roberts (our other Salem houseguest), Carole Stuhly, Phil Weiser, Diane Wilcox, Ken Bonner, and Ole Bergset.

Rick Worley, 52, from Kingwood, Texas, was here to run his 188th marathon in 152 consecutive weekends. He’ll complete his “marathon of marathons” at #200 on January 16, 2000, at the Houston Marathon. Lenore and I will travel to Houston to participate in this big event.

Lenore was excited to be able to put a finisher’s medal on a 43 year old Spokane runner who looked great as she completed her first race ever—the Seattle Marathon!! Lori (Lehmbecker) Kory grew up in Renton as Lenore 5 next-door neighbor!

I enjoyed my run across and alongside Lake Washington, making a loop around Seward Park, and then heading back to the Seattle Center. I moved up in the field in the latter miles but dropped off of a 9:00 pace after 15 miles. With the Seattle skyline in view and only two miles to go leg cramps became a problem, and I lost a few minutes. I finished in 4:00:35 (9:11) in 830th position of about 2,000 finishers and 1st runner in the 70+M category.

My finishing time was my best in 1999 by a minute. When I crossed the line, my favorite finish line volunteer, Lenore, placed a finisher’s medal around my neck. She worked at all three races and stayed until the finishing chute was dismantled.

Our weekend was a great success!! This marathon had been my 16th consecutive Seattle Marathon—the one that was the most enjoyable.

At future races look for the “Dolphin Marathon Team” in their classy, new vests.

Written by Bob Dolphin