My wife Lenore and I took in another new marathon in California as we made an annual trip there to visit friends and family. On October 31, 1999, I had the pleasure of running the 3rd Annual Silicon Valley Marathon at San Jose. The marathon adventure began the day before as our friends (and cheering section) from Sunnyvale, CA, Jim and Joan Smith, Lenore and I went to the Packet Picket Expo at the San Jose State University Event Center Arena. There I picked up my running number, timing shoe chip, race program, and goody bag. The Expo was well organized and had a lot to offer the visiting runners and families.

Being an alumnus of SJSU (class of 1958), it was great to be back to see how the university and city have changed. The only acquaintances that we saw were Richard Benyo, editor of one of my favorite journals “Marathon and Beyond,” and his wife Rhonda. We had met them at the recent Royal Victoria Marathon Expo.

The next day as we awaited the start of the marathon, the Smiths and Dolphins became acquainted with Trevor Lovoi, 15, of Saratoga, CA, a first-time marathoner who was somewhat apprehensive. We gave him some tips and told him to enjoy his once-in-a-lifetime first marathon.

At 7:30 a.m. 1,664 runners left downtown San Jose and ran through a residential area to rural fields and technological industry buildings. The course was flat with four minor overpass hills—mostly out-and-back with a few small loops in the turn-around areas. The weather was pleasant at the start—clear and calm with the temperature in the 50’s. However, it rose to the low 70’s by late morning. This was problematical when there wasn’t tree shade or a breeze. Water and other aid were available every mile, and this helped us to forge ahead to the finish line at the same place where we had started.

The race was highly contested. Simon Sawe, 25, from Albuquerque, NM, ran a 2:20:25 to beat Grzegorz Olszowik, 33, of Clarendon Heights, IL, by only three seconds. Veronica Kanga, 26, of Kenya won the women’s race in a time of 2:46:05. Carolyn Collman, 32, of Tucson, AZ, and Palo Alto, CA, came in second with a respectable 2:48:47, a time that qualifies her to run in the US Olympic Trials next year.

Washington runners on hand were as follows:

3:00:48 - Lucien Brush, 42, Mercer Island
3:02:02 - Jaquel Davenport, 36, Spokane, 5th Female overall
3:13:56 - Chris Klemczyk, 32, Renton
3:30:13 - Torben Syberg, 30, Seattle
3:45:37 - Teresa Kennedy, 38, Yakima
3:46:13 - Richard Schneider, 59, Port Ludlow
3:50:14 - Gail Fast, 45, Yakima

After the race we talked with 15 year old Trevor Lovoi in the recovery and refreshment area. He was elated with his finish time of 4:25:56 and was planning his next marathon with the hope of improving his finishing time.

My run went reasonably well. I walked the aid stations and drank a lot of water. I started out at an 8:30 pace and slowed to 10 minutes in the final miles. I finished in 4:04:55 (9:21), 738 of 1,610 finishers, 602 of 1,133 males, and first of four in the 70+M category with a course record for the age division.

In keeping with the Silicon Valley theme the plaques at the awards ceremony were 8 1/2 x11 simulated printed circuit boards (pcb’s) with a small engraved gold plate at the top and a clear plastic holder for a 5×7 picture in the middle. Those receiving awards had their pictures taken, and within ten minutes a print was available for mounting in the plaque. A novel idea!! Age class winners also received watches that had similar pcb dials.

It was a great marathon, and I am tempted to return to run it again next year instead of going elsewhere within California.

Congratulations to our running friend Khalid Khannouchi, formerly of Morocco and his wife and coach, Sandra, for Khalid’s outstanding performance at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 24, 1999. Khalid won with a world record time of 2:05:42, averaging a 4:48 per mile pace and improving the record time by 23 seconds!!! Moses Tanui of Kenya came in second in 2:06:16., the third fastest time in marathon history. Both marathoners had outstanding performances.

Written by Bob Dolphin