Race Information: Tucson Marathon

For years I had wanted to run the Tucson Marathon, add Arizona to my state list, and learn more about the natural history of the Sonoran Desert. Last summer a former college roommate and good friend of Lenore’s, Ramona Pease, and her husband Joe invited us to visit them at their Tucson home. While participating in the Tucson Marathon, it was a good opportunity to see friends and fulfill some other goals at the same time.

The Tucson Marathon is a point-to-point race that starts at 4,800 feet in elevation and then drops 2,000 feet before the finish. It is well known as a place to run fast times. On Sunday, December 9, 2001, at the 7:30 a.m. start the sky was clear and the temperature was cool (about 40 degrees). Because of a 15 mph wind, it seemed colder. Later the temperature rose to 65 degrees as we ran into a headwind.

We started on a country road in an evergreen oak/mesquite area and ran on rolling terrain to the small town of Oracle. Soon afterward we ran on a state highway in a natural setting of giant cacti, mesquite and acacia trees, yucca, many kinds of cacti and thorny, evergreen shrubs. Housing was sparse and only near the finish at Las Conquistador Sheraton Hotel in the town of Oro Valley (near Tucson) did shopping centers, condominiums and light industry become common place. It was a great run!

For the third consecutive year, the Tucson Marathon was won by Bissimoro Soro, 32, of Tucson, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast in Western Africa. He led from the start and ran unchallenged to a 2:20:00 time (5:20 pace). He is training for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Periodic training stints in Kenya are expected to help him reach his goal. In second and third places were Scott Young, 32, of Tucson (2:28:35) and Drew Mumford, 29, of Prescott, Arizona (2:35:04).

The women’s race was closer than the men’s for the top three positions. The first woman was Miho Izumikawa, 29, of Japan who is a post-doctorate student at the University of Arizona located in Tucson. She took over the lead at 20 miles and ran on to win with a 2:52:33. Close behind was Molly Friel, 34, also of Tucson with a 2:54:19 and Erica Larson, 30, of Los Alamos, New Mexico.

While riding the bus to the starting line, I had the pleasure of sitting with long time friend Chuck Cammack, 55, of Albany, Oregon, and Surprise, Arizona. I have always admired Chuck’s running accomplishments in marathons and ultramarathons. On this visit I learned that he is an accomplished triathlete and has participated in the Hawaiian Ironman at Hilo twice and also in the Canadian Ironman at Penticton, BC. He also is an endurance swimmer and is planning on participating in a 26 mile swimming race at Tampa Bay, Florida, in the near future. He was hoping to run another sub-three hour race at Tucson. He accomplished that goal by running a 2:59:28 to beat the clock. He was 62nd overall and came in first in the 55-59M division.

Lenore and I were some distance from our home territory, but we met Chuck and his wife Sue, also an avid runner, at the Expo as Ramona Pease, our friend and hostess, was squiring us around the Tucson area. Our group was joined by Joe Dana, an Oregon runner now living in Tucson, and by Wiley Hurst and Jeff Trammel of Yakima, Washington. Wiley ran a 3:59:06, and I assume that he was pleased to run a sub-four. Jeff ran a 1:20 half marathon on a sub-three pace, but developed debilitating foot blisters and had to reluctantly withdraw.

At the Expo and the finish area we saw two women who are 50 Staters and had run the inaugural YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON on March 31, 2001, that Lenore and I co-direct. Lynda Petri, 45, of Huntley, Illinois, ran smooth and steady as she passed me in the last 10K to finish in 4:45:25. We had seen Lois Berkowitz, 52, of Riverview, Minnesota, at the Oklahoma Marathon several weeks earlier. Her time was 5:00:08.

Todd Byers, 38, of Long Beach, California (formerly from Seattle) was in the marathon. He helped in the reorganization of the registration process of the Seattle Marathon this year. In the second mile of the race, Phil Baechler, 53, of Yakima and I visited awhile until I stopped at an aid station. I really was impressed to learn that he designed the Baby Jogger and was a founder of the well-known Racing Strollers, Inc., located in Yakima. He ran a 4:50:54. Jerome Focosi, 54, of Spokane and I see each other often in marathons. I was glad to see that he ran a 3:58:20 race.

My race followed an all too familiar pattern like others in the past two months. I ran a nine minute pace for the first 10K, and then my right leg’s hamstring muscles cramped. With brief massages and stretches that I repeated often, I could continue running at a pace that became progressively slower. Some alternate run/walks in the last 10K on upgrades were required to finish out the run. I finished with 4:49:41, 1,356 of 1,600 and 4th of 7 in the 70+M division.

Our thanks go to Joe and Ramona Pease of Tucson (and Lakewood, WA) for providing their gracious hospitality. Ramona and Lenore met in 1947 as freshmen at Central Washington College of Education (now a university). Joe, a World War II veteran, was also an alumnus of this school. We really enjoyed the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, the Sabrino Canyon Park, the Saguaro National Park, and other local attractions that Joe and Ramona took us to.

Our thanks and appreciation also go to Pam Reid, race director, and her many volunteers who put on a fine marathon and half marathon in a magnificent, natural setting. Pam is a great marathoner herself and runs sub-three hour races. We had met her at the Portland Marathon Race Directors Workshop last September 28 and 29. It was good to see her again and to be able to participate in this exciting marathon.

Written by Bob Dolphin