01/02/10


THE ILLINOIS MARATHON
by Michael Zielinski
 
The second annual Illinois Marathon 
(www.illinoismarathon.com) is 
scheduled to take place on May 1, 2010 
at the University of Illinois in the 
downstate cites of Champaign and 
Urbana almost one-hundred years from 
the very first college homecoming at 
the University of Illinois in 1910.  
On this note, starting on January 1st, 
Dr. Stanley Ikenberry returns as the 
president of the University of 
Illinois after previously having 
served in this position from 1979 to 
1995.  From this date, there are four 
months to train for the various events 
of the May 1st Illinois Marathon that 
includes the marathon, half marathon, 
marathon relay, 5K and youth run that 
all will start outside of Assembly 
Hall and finish on the 50 yard line of 
the newly remodeled Memorial Stadium.  
The inaugural Illinois Marathon 
received much acclaim which could 
inspire a Spring drive south from the 
Chicago area on Interstate 57 past the 
bountiful corn and soybean fields of 
Central Illinois to the Champaign-
Urbana area at Interstate 74 before 
turning east to the University of 
Illinois whose motto is "Learning and 
Labor".  

The Illinois Marathon starts on the 
southwest corner of the University of 
Illinois campus just to the west of 
Assembly Hall, one of the world's 
largest edge-supported domes with 
maximum capacity for 17,200 that 
opened on Honors Day in 1963 and 
continues to be the site of basketball 
games, concerts, performances and 
commencement ceremonies.  The first 
mile of the marathon follows First 
Street north before turning east on 
Green Street and heading through 
Campustown on the approach to the 
University of Illinois. 

At the southeast corner of Green and 
Wright Streets is the Alma Mater 
Statue by sculpter Lorado Taft that 
has graced the northwest entrance of 
the Main Quadrangle to the University 
of Illinois which makes up a large 
part of the Liberal Arts and Sciences 
portion of the campus.  The statue is 
a woman in scholastic robes with her 
arms outstretched that includes an 
inscription, "To thy happy children of 
the future those of the past send 
greetings."  As the runners pass the 
Alma Mater Statue, just to the south 
they can also see Altgeld Hall, the 
home to the Chime Tower that contains 
fifteen bronze bells that someday will 
be complemented by the currently under 
construction McFarland Memorial Bell 
Tower, a 185-foot tall carillon bell 
tower on the South Quad.  To the other 
side of Altgeld Hall is the grave of 
John Milton Gregory (the first U of I 
president from 1867 to 1880) with the 
inscription, "If you seek his 
monument, look about you." 

The May 1, 2010 Illinois Marathon is 
slightly more than 200 years after the 
birth of Abraham Lincoln on February 
12, 2009.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln 
signed into law the Morrill Act that 
established public land-grant 
institutions that would include the 
University of Illinois.  As the 
runners continue past the Illini 
Union, several buildings to the south 
on the Main Quad is Lincoln Hall, 
appropriated by the state legislature 
in 1909 on the 100th anniversary of 
President Lincoln's birth.  Within 
Lincoln Hall is a bronze bust in the 
main entrance foyer that students rub 
for good luck while on the east 
exterior of the building terra cotta 
plaques depict scenes from his life 
with some of his quotations found on 
the sides.  A more recent quotation 
from the Illinois Marathon is, "I'll C-
U There!  Returning to the course 
route, the runners head east on Green 
Street past the Illini Union and go 
near Harker Hall, the oldest remaining 
classroom building on the campus and 
home to the University of Illinois 
Foundation.  Next door is the Natural 
History Building and in several more 
blocks, the two mile mark is reached 
just before Lincoln Avenue.

Continuing east on Green Street, the 
Champaign County Fairgrounds are about 
a mile to the north and about a half-
mile to the south is Urbana High 
School and next door Carle Park, the 
home to another Lorado Taft statue, 
Lincoln the Lawyer.  Prior to the 
three mile mark, the runners reach 
downtown Urbana with the historic 
Lincoln Hotel and Lincoln Square Mall 
on the National Register of Historic 
Places.  Abraham Lincoln made it to 
Urbana in 1854 and the community 
continues to be a government center.  
The next five miles of the marathon 
wind through eastern and southern 
residential Urbana before Meadowbrook 
Park (a favorite running place for the 
local Champaign-Urbana Second Wind 
Running Club) is reached at the eight 
mile mark.  Over a mile is then run in 
the park before turning north on Race 
Street just before the ten mile mark 
and heading this direction for a mile 
while being parallel to the University 
of Illinois owned "South Farms" a half-
mile to the west that includes the 
School of Veterinary Medicine, the 
Round Dairy Barns, and numerous 
agriculture and animal science 
facilities.

By mile eleven the course heads west 
on Pennsylvannia Avenue for about a 
half-mile several blocks north of the 
President's Home and Arboretum.
At the corner of Pennslyvania and 
Lincoln Avenue at Illini Grove park, 
the route heads north for another half-
mile.  Prior to making the turn, 
landmarks in the blocks to the west 
include the Institute for Genomic 
Biology established to advance life 
science research and stimulate bio-
economic development (bio-fuels) and 
next door are the National Historic 
Landmarks for the Astronomical 
Observatory and the Morrow Plots, 
country’s oldest experimental 
agricultural fields in continuous 
use.  Nearby is the College of 
Agriculture, Consumer and 
Environmental Sciences (ACES) and a 
block from here is the University of 
Illinois Library (the third largest 
U.S. academic library after Harvard 
and Yale).  In this immediate area 
there also is located the College of 
Education, the University of Illinois 
Law School, and the new College of 
Business Instructional Facility that 
is directly north of the Krannert Art 
Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, the 
second largest art museum in 
Illinois.  Finally at the Armory which 
was designed as a military drill hall, 
an athletic facility, and an assembly 
hall, is the next
 door Harding Band Building where John 
Philip Sousa willed his personal band 
music library to the University of 
Illinois.   

Returning to the marathon, the half-
mile north on Lincoln up to the twelve 
mile mark runs parallel to the main 
quad several blocks to the west with 
the the Foellinger Auditorium as the 
south anchor.  From Lincoln Avenue 
there is the nearby Hallene Gateway, 
the east entry to the campus that 
features the stone portal from the 
entrance to the former University 
Hall.  Nearby is the Campus Visitor 
Center and Alumni Center as well as 
the Spurlock Museum that evolved from 
the prior World Heritage Museum.  A 
block to the west is the Krannert 
Center for the Performing Arts, a 
complex that seats 4,000 on seven 
acres with four theaters and an 
outdoor amphitheater with 350 annual 
performances.  About a mile before 
completing a half marathon, the 
marathoners hopefully will not need 
the nearby University of Illinois 
College of Medicine. 

Miles twelve to thirteen head west on 
Green Street, the same street where 
miles one to two were run east.  On 
the north side of Green Street, the 
Beckman Quadrangle and the John 
Bardeen Quadrangle occupy the center 
of the Engineering Campus (ranked just 
below MIT, Stanford, and California-
Berkeley).  The Beckman Quadrangle is 
on the far north side of the campus 
and is primarily composed of research 
units and laboratories that would 
include the Beckman Institute for 
Advanced Science and Technology, the 
National Center for Supercomputing 
Applications (NCSA), and the Thomas M. 
Siebel Center for Computer Science.  
Just to the south is the John Bardeen 
Quadrangle with the Grainger 
Engineering Library Information Center 
being the north anchor to the College 
of Engineering.

Abraham Lincoln would be proud of his 
home state Morrill Act University that 
would evolve to produce 23 Nobel 
Prizes, 19 Pulitzer Prizes, and more 
than 80 current National Academy of 
Sciences Members.  In the high 
technology of mathematics, science, 
engineering and computers, Microsoft 
hires more U of I graduates than from 
any other university in the world 
while Intel hires more Ph.D's from the 
U of I than from any other university 
in the country.  Not to be outdone, 
the University of Illinois is 
currently helping to build the world's 
fastest supercomputer, "Blue Waters", 
that will be capable of performing one 
quadrillion calculations per second; 
three times faster than today's 
fastest supercomputer.  Perhaps all of 
this is why the University of Illinois 
was picked in 2008 by "PC Magazine" as 
the most wired college. 

When the marathon reaches the thirteen 
mile mark, at Green at First Streets, 
the runners will half done as they 
leave the U of I campus and they will 
not return until the Memorial Stadium 
finish.  The next mile crosses Logan 
Street, one block south of Chester, at 
the former Illinois Central railroad 
tracks by the Amtrak Station as 
downtown Champaign is reached.  This 
area has had the historic Virginia 
Theatre since 1921 and across the 
street is the more recent headquarters 
of "Marathon and Beyond", a bimonthly 
magazine tailored specifically for 
marathoners and ultrarunners located 
at 206 N. Randolph Street, Champaign.

The next twelve miles of the marathon 
is mainly in various residential areas 
of Champaign that include going by or 
near West Side Park and nearby 
Champaign Central High School at mile 
fourteen, Lincolnshire Fields Country 
Club and Robeson Park at mile twenty, 
Centennial Park with its Prairie Farm 
and Champaign Centennial High School 
initially at mile eighteen and again 
between miles 22-23, the Champaign 
Country Club at mile twenty-four, and 
Hessel Park at mile twenty-five.  As 
the runners continue east back toward 
the University of Illinois, Hessel 
Boulevard as it reaches Neil Street 
(U.S. 45), becomes Stadium Drive and 
then goes over the railroad tracks 
with Memorial Stadium in sight at the 
First Street twenty-six mile mark with 
the univeristy owned Willard Airport 
several miles to the south if the 
last .2 miles are too difficult to 
finish.  

Memorial Stadium was completed in 1923 
as a memorial to the Illinois men and 
women who died in World War I and 
later in World War II with the east 
and west sides of the stadium having 
200 columns that display the names of 
these men and women.  The stadium was 
officially dedicated on October 18, 
1924, when the University of Illinois 
football team hosted the University of 
Michigan and "Fighting Illini" 
Harold "Red" Grange scored four 
touchdowns against Michigan in the 
first twelve minutes before later 
running for a fifth touchdown and 
passing for a sixth.  George Halas (a 
University of Illinois graduate who 
helped found the National Football 
League in 1920 before owning the 
Chicago Bears) later brought Red 
Grange from the U of I to the Bears as 
well as bringing his Illini Orange and 
Blue colors to his Chicago Bears which 
to date have won nine NFL 
championships although another famous 
University of Illinois football 
player, Dick Butkus, never won a 
championship with the Chicago Bears.

Returning to the 50 yard finish of the 
Illinois Marathon on Zuppke Field in 
Memorial Stadium, the playing field is 
named for University of Illinois 
Football Coach Robert Zuppke who won 
four national championships in 1914, 
1919, 1923, and 1927 during his long 
coaching career from
1913 to 1941.  Memorial Stadium 
currently can seat 71,000 people and 
the stands are expected to be full for 
the hopefully resurgent Fighting 
Illini as the football season starts 
again in September 2010 along with 
another academic year part of the 
University of Illinois motto 
of "Learning and Labor".  This could 
even include about four months of 
training in preparation for the May 1, 
2010 Illinois Marathon.

01/02/10


49th Annual Washington Birthday 
Marathon in Greenbelt MD

Spread the word: The organizers of the 
49th Annual Washington Birthday 
Marathon in Greenbelt MD would like to 
extend a special invitation to members 
of the 50 State and DC Group. The 
registration fee is only $26.2 until 
February 1, with the race on Sunday, 
February 14, 2010.

We have reserved a block of room for 
$94/night at the Greenbelt Holiday Inn 
and will have a reception to welcome 
our out-of-town runners at 6 p.m.
in that Hotel.  For details, please 
visit:
http://www.racepacket.com/races/feb10/g
wmarathon.htm

Please spread the word to the members 
of the group.
Thanks,
Bob Platt
703-486-1466

01/02/10


hello 50&DC Members,
Medals4Mettle
 
Guidelines of the group.  Shelly 
Bydlinski and her local track club 
pledged $150 for ribbons! So far, I 
have about 15 donated medals but know 
with the help of the 50 and DC group, 
we can do a lot better! Please go to 
this web and look at it for QUESTIONS? 
  
Contact Shelly Bydlinski at 
shelly.bydlinski@medals4mettle.org 

Visit http://www.medals4mettle.org/ 
for more information! 

Thanks
Shelly 

01/03/10


Pigtail’s Flat Ass Marathon
December 19, 2009

In the past two years the Pigtails 
Flat Ass Marathon started in Renton, 
Washington, under the I-405 bridge and 
followed the Cedar River Trail 
upstream alongside the river and 
Highway 169.  This was an out-and-back 
course that had the thirteen-mile 
turnaround at the best part of the 
course where it was forested in a semi-
rural setting and the river had white 
water as it cascaded over boulders.  
It was peaceful and well away from 
vehicular traffic and bikers on the 
paved trail.

To avoid City of Renton’s new 
requirements and expenses for road 
closures and police assistance at two 
small roads, race director Van Phan 
relocated the marathon and 50K outside 
of Renton completely.  The course 
included the same trail in King County 
jurisdiction and had a different 
start/finish area thirteen miles 
southeast of Renton in Landsburg Park 
in Ravensdale.  

It followed the pea-graveled trail 
through a wooded forest setting with 
four bridge crossings over the scenic 
Cedar River.  After the initial three 
miles, the new course merged with the 
original course, and before long it 
passed under the Highway 18 overpass 
and went alongside Highway 169 on a 
paved surface.  It continued toward 
Renton in a northerly direction, often 
by the river.

There was a signal light at one 
intersection, otherwise underpasses or 
pedestrian tunnels avoided traffic at 
intersections.  Eventually, it reached 
the well-marked turn-around by Ron 
Regis Park.  It then reversed 
direction and headed to the 
start/finish area on this out-and-back 
course.

December 19, 2009, was a good day for 
running.  The air was calm with light 
rain and temperatures in the 40’s.  In 
the start/finish area I visited with 
many friends, and at the six mile aid 
station I talked briefly with Michelle 
Barnes.  She was part of a five-runner 
group that I followed for miles.  
Eventually, the entire field passed me 
as I was going out and they were 
returning.

In the second half I could walk faster 
than I could run, so I walked the last 
12 miles at a 17 minute pace.  I 
enjoyed stopping at an aid station at 
22 miles and visiting with the 
friendly volunteers.  It was there 
that I had a cup of hot chicken noodle 
soup, ate some snack food and filled 
my water bottle.  Then I walked along 
refreshed!  Eventually, the delightful 
scenery ended, but I could see the 
finish line ahead of me.  

I completed the marathon with a time 
of 6:33:37, last in a marathon field 
of 66…..and the oldest person (by 13 
years) in the race.  To top off the 
run/walk, hot soup and a variety of 
food were available in the finish area 
tent.  It was my 20th marathon of 
2009, so I’m still on schedule with 
458 marathons done and 42 to go by 
2012 at the Yakima River Canyon 
Marathon for my 500th celebration.

Thanks to Van and her volunteers for 
putting on a great marathon/50K.  
Thanks, also to King County 
administrators for acquiring the 
railroad right-of-way of the Seattle 
Coal & Transportation Company and 
refurbishing it to become a high 
quality running, walking and biking 
trail.
PIGTAIL’S FLAT ASS MARATHON RESULTS………
December 19, 2009

3:20:20 Scott Sebelsky, 48 
4:47:57 David Appelby, 37 
3:31:57 Will Thomas, 31	
4:54:15 Karen Wiggins, 50 
3:36:34 Brad Nelson, 41	
4:55:02  Heather Myers, 43
3:40:24  Eric Bell, 38	
4:55:09  Sherrie Marble, 47
3:44:28  Jae-Byung Jung, 39
4:56:36  Patrick Barnes, 61
3:45:31  Bob O’Brien, 52
4:56:36  Jim Boyd, 67, Seattle
3:46:01  Eric Gierke, 46
4:59:32  Jill Hudson, 47
3:54:41  Steve Walters, 29  
5:00:35  Takao Suzuki, 44
3:56:04  Stephanie Day, 45
5:01:59  Tory Klementsen, 44
3:56:45  Mark Looi, 49	
5:01:59  Brian Starkey, 44
3:57:43  Patty McKerney, 47
5:01:59  Marie Zornes, 46
3:58:23  Narvie Seals, 42
5:07:27  Jason Grose, 41
4:01:15  Eric Barnes, 53, Puyallup
5:11:47  Janelle Gilbert, 27
4:01:15  Steve Stoyles, 53, Puyallup
5:14:55  Christine Buchanon, 28
4:05:47  Heath Johnson, 43
5:15:00  Steve Duncan, 41
4:08:54  May Cheng, 44	
5:23:20  Katie Robinson, 30
4:09:04  Thomas Tan, 38	
5:27:35  Barry Hopkins, 56
4:10:51  BJ Farish, 36	
5:45:10  Robert Stretz, 41
4:10:51  Cody Hill, 36	
5:49:48  Oliver Chapman, 51
4:10:51  Bob Satko, 49	
5:54:27  Dawn Bellevue, 50
4:12:51  Lesa Overfield, 50
5:56:10  Michelle Barnes, 51, Puyallup
4:14:59  Rich Hieb, 36	
5:56:10  Abigail Brownell, 35
4:15:54  Val Beyer, 47	
5:56:10  Jessica Williams, 31, Puyallup
4:18:29  Jennifer Aldassy, 31
5:56:10  Jenny Appel, 36
4:18:29  Greg Manciagli, 49
6:11:22  Matthew Fleming, 34
4:22:34  Sarah Lynch, 31
6:11:37  Bret Bellevue, 51
4:27:27  Dan Whitaker, 48
6:13:29  Jon Yoon, 31
4:29:45  Adrian Call, 57, Brier
6:33:37  Bob Dolphin, 80, Renton/Yakima
4:29:45  Jerry Thayer, 55	
4:30:11  Marilyn Pyke, 48, Graham
4:35:52  Peter Corduan, 50
4:35:57  Vivian Doorn, 43
4:36:47  Steve Yee, 50, Renton
4:40:37  Stan Nakashima, Mt. Vernon
4:41:15  Bill Barmore, 57, Gig Harbor
4:47:57  Brian Pendelton, 55, Auburn
4:47:57  Marilou Russell, 47

Written by Bob Dolphin
Edited, Typed and Distributed by 
Lenore Dolphin			
			

01/03/10


SEATTLE MARATHON
November 29, 2009

Since 1984, it’s been a tradition for 
me to be at the starting line of the 
Seattle Marathon.  That’s where I was 
at 8:15 a.m. on the morning of 
November 29, 2009 when the race began 
near the Seattle Center.  Under 
overcast skies the temperature was in 
the high 40s, and there was a light 
breeze….good weather for running a 
marathon!

The course was interesting as it went 
through downtown Seattle on 5th 
Avenue, onto I-90, through a tunnel 
and onto the floating bridge over Lake 
Washington to Mercer Island and back.  
Then came the lakeshore run to a loop 
around the lake peninsula of Seward 
Park before it went north by the lake.

There were hills in the second half 
that took a toll, and I walked the 
last 10K when calf cramps interfered 
with my running.  Welcome sights in 
the last mile were volunteers Rich 
deCample of Renton, Rich Menzel of 
Everett and roving medic Mark Moody of 
Bellevue.  Fenny Roberts of Salem, 
Oregon, finished earlier and then ran 
back to escort me to the finish line 
where a group of friends had gathered 
for a “photo session.”  I finished in 
6:18:33, 2,188th  of 2,229 finishers 
and first 80+ male.

The 2009 Seattle Marathon was won by 
Charlie Sunderlage, 29, of 
Bellingham…..running his first 
marathon and leading the field with a 
time of 2:32:27.  During the race he 
pulled ahead of the others and 
finished a minute before the second 
place finisher, Jess Steyick, 27, of 
Olympia who ran a 2:33:33.  In third 
place was Brandon Fellows, 22, of 
Mercer Island with a 2:35:19.

Running her second marathon, Lauren 
Breihof, 20, also of Bellingham, won 
the women’s race with a 2:58:59.  In 
second place was Katrina Tucker, 28 of 
Vancouver, BC with a time of 3:08:23, 
and third place went to Catrin Jones, 
30, of Victoria, BC with a 3:03:28.

CONGRATULATIONS TO:  Kelsie Phillips, 
25, of Seattle for finishing her first 
marathon in 4:35:28.  She’s the 
granddaughter of Lenore’s longtime 
Renton friend, Judy Payseno.  Ruben 
Contreras, Marathon Maniac from 
Stanwood, for winning the 55-59M 
division with a 3:17:14……finishing 
before 73 others in his division!  
Jake Assink, 17, and Jose “Jojo” Pena, 
17, of Yakima for running their first 
marathons.  Jake’s participation was 
part of a senior class project, and he 
finished with a time of 4:05:42.  
Jojo’s time was 4:53:11.  Bill Iffrig, 
75, of Everett for running a 3:51:48 
for first place in the 75-79M 
Division.  He’s been an age class 
leader in Puget Sound Area races for 
many years.  Marathon Maniacs Cheri 
Pompeo and her daughter Maureen “Mo” 
Gillis of Woodinville for running 
together and finishing in 4:57:47.  
Cheri is the author of “Fifty Trail 
Runs in Washington.”

THANKS TO:  Terry Wood for 
interviewing me for the Seattle 
Times.  He wrote a great article that 
appeared in the November 27, 2009, 
Seattle Times and the Yakima Herald 
Republic newspapers……and on the 
homepages of the Marathon Maniacs and 
MarathonGuide.com websites.  Race 
director Louise Long, Seattle Marathon 
Association President John Kokes, 
their staff and the volunteers for 
making the 2009 Seattle Marathon 
another successful event.

I plan to be at the starting line 
again in 2010!!!

Written by Bob Dolphin
Edited, Typed & Distributed by Lenore 
Dolphin

PARTIAL RESULTS….SEATTLE MARATHON, 
November 29, 2009

3:02:42  Chris Warren, 44, Renton, 
Marathon Maniac (MM)
3:07:05  Hunter MacLean, 27, Preston, 
MM
3:13:36  Tony Phillippi, 48, Tacoma, MM
3:15:03  Riley Jungquist, 22, 
Ellensburg
3:16:33  Gregg Walchli, 47, Seattle, MM
3:17:14  Ruben Contreras, 55, 
Stanwood, MM, 1st in Age Group
3:18:34  Karen Kupp, 40, Yakima, 2nd 
3:19:27  Mary Hanna, 48, Maple Valley, 
MM, 1st
3:21:38  Eric Gierke, 46, Shoreline, MM
3:21:46  Doug MacLean, 57, Mercer 
Island, MM
3:30:05  David Spooner, 41, Buckley, MM
3:37:44  Guy Yogi, 55, Seattle, MM
3:39:05  Robert Lopez, 43, Seattle, MM
3:41:47  Melissa Williams, 26, 
Hillsboro, OR, MM
3:51:36  Sherry Mahoney, 45, Vernon, 
BC, MM
3:51:36  Jon Mahoney, 57, Vernon, BC, 
MM
3:51:48  Bill Iffrig, 75, Everett, 1st
3:54:30  Janet Green, 56, Courtenay, 
BC., 3rd
3:54:37  Gary Marr, 58, Snohomish, MM
3:55:08  Steve Barrick, 47, Kent, MM
3:55:26  David Jones, 63, Seattle, MM
3:56:16  Judy Fisher, 66, Auburn, MM, 
1st
3:56:32  Lesa Overfield, 50, Puyallup, 
MM
4:05:42  Jake Assink, 17, Yakima
4:07:00  Bill Voiland, 61, Richland
4:08:30  Gunhild Swanson, 65, Spokane 
Valley, MM, 2nd
4:12:47  Ron Fowler, 62, Seattle,
4:14:05  Tom Rogers, 64, Bellevue, MM
4:19:34  Matt Hagen, 38, Seattle, MM
4:23:19  Jim Scheer, 67, Vancouver, 
WA, MM, 3rd
4:26:19  Paul Emmett, 63, Redmond
4:28:12, Herb Allen, 67, Bainbridge 
Island, MM
4:31:43  Paul Gentry, 51, Belfair, MM
4:35:28  Kelsie Phillips, 25, Seattle
4:35:58  Jim Kunz, 60, Seattle
4:41:24  Max Walker, 67, Tacoma
4:45:51  Betsy Rogers, 46, Seattle, MM
4:46:03  Jim Boyd, 67, Seattle, MM
4:52:12  Ed Hansen, 63, Stayton, OR
4:53:11  Jose “Jojo” Pena, 17, Yakima
4:56:26  Robert Jacobsen, 51, Mt. 
Vernon, MM
4:57:34  Marie Zornes, 46, Gig Harbor, 
MM
4:57:34  Ken Briggs, 58, Spokane, MM
4:57:47  Cheri Pompeo, 57, 
Woodinville, MM
4:57:47  Maureen “Mo” Gillis, 
Woodinville, MM
5:07:31  Cyndie Merten, 53, Corvallis, 
OR, MM
5:08:04  Rick Haase, 64, Shoreline, MM
5:10:09  Fenny Roberts, 57, Salem, OR, 
MM
5:21:22  Todd Byers, 44, Long Beach, 
CA, MM
5:29:12  Mel Preedy, 76, Ravensdale, MM
5:40:59  Evan Fagan, 72, Victoria, BC
5:43:25  Larry Macon, 64, San Antonio, 
TX, MM
5:44:48  Jon Gissberg, 65, Seattle, MM
5:46:34  Monte Pascual, 49, Federal 
Way, MM
6:10:19  Steve Frederickson, Kent, MM
6:13:04  Ultra Al Miller, 55, Deer 
Island, OR
6:15:39  Terry Weimer, MM
6:18:33  Bob Dolphin, 80, 
Renton/Yakima, MM, 1st
6:19:26  Richard Hudson, 70, Kennewick

01/03/10


100 Marathon Club North America. 

 It will soon be on our website, 
www.100marathonclub.us, so if you 
can't access it now, you'll be able to 
get it there.
 
The second reunion of the 100 Marathon 
Club NA will be at the 10th 
Anniversary of the Yakima River Canyon 
Marathon in Central Washington State.  
There will be a meeting at the Selah 
Civic Center Race Headquarters, 216 
South First Street, Selah, at 4:00 
p.m. on Friday, March 26, 2010.  This 
will be followed by a group picture at 
5:00 p.m. and the pasta meal at 5:30 
p.m.  Joe Henderson and Marathon 
Maniac Don "The Rev" Kienz will be the 
guest speakers.
 
Tables will be reserved for club 
members and their guests for this meal 
and for the awards ceremony/meal at 
4:00 p.m. after the March 27, 2010, 
marathon.  There's a no-host breakfast 
at the Howard Johnson Plaze Hotel, 9 
N. 9th St., in downtown Yakima at 9:00 
a.m. on Sunday morning, March 28th.
 
Join us for a marathon weekend of fun 
with a race on an awesome course!
 
Let us know if you have questions, or 
if you need help with accomodations 
etc.
 
Bob and Lenore Dolphin, Co-Directors
Yakima River Canyon Marathon
100 Marathon Club North America 

01/13/10


CONGRATULATIONS 

John Van Steenbergh  Completed the 
First Light Marathon in Mobile, AL 
with a time of 2:58 flat and won the 
award for 7th overall.

01/17/10


BIRCH BAY GHOST MARATHON
December 12, 2009

Because we missed this race the year I 
ran the Honolulu Marathon and in 2004 
when a hip injury prevented me from 
running, the December 12, 2009, Birch 
Bay Marathon was our 15th in 17 
years.  

In the early years Lenore and Sonia 
Preedy volunteered as a “roving aid 
station” by driving the course with 
supplies for the runners and to assist 
race directors Karl Jensen, Dave 
Dutton and then Michael Dutton.

Scott Krell has been the director 
since it became the “Ghost” race, and 
he does a great job of providing hot 
and cold food and drinks on the course 
and at the finish line.

Most years the race was run in weather 
that was stormy, but this year we had 
a perfect winter day.  There was only 
a calm to light wind under overcast 
skies.  Some granular snow came down 
at the start, but it soon melted and 
left the pavement good for running.  
Even though the temperature went from 
the low 30’s to the upper 30’s we were 
able to keep warm while running.  
After we finished, there were heaters 
to help us get comfortable again.

The course is shaped like a “frying 
pan,” so it was out three miles from 
Birch Bay State Park to town, then a 
10 mile double loop and finally three 
miles back to where we started.

I’ve run the race 15 times on the same 
terrain, and I always enjoy the varied 
and scenic course.  I especially enjoy 
the chance to observe the many 
different birds along the way.  This 
year I saw Canada Geese, Mallards, 
Eagles, a Killdeer, a Raven, Crows, 
Stellers Jays, a Brown Creeper, Song 
Sparrow and Juncos.  (Lenore saw a 
Great Blue Heron at the three-mile aid 
station!)

There were 17 of us who took an early 
start at 8:00 a.m. for the half 
marathon+ distance and the full 
marathon, while the rest of the field 
began at 9:00.  As the last and oldest 
runner to cross the finish line (in 
6:16:50), I had a chance to visit with 
everyone on the course….as they passed 
me!

Congratulations to Jocelyn Sears of 
Yakima who ran her FIRST half marathon.

It was a great marathon, and we all 
appreciate Scott’s efforts for making 
it happen each year.  Thanks go to him 
and his volunteers….Delores and Richie 
Sentinella, Suzi Pearce, Luke Malcolm 
and Lenore Dolphin.  

I’ll be back in 2010 for my 16th Birch 
Bay Marathon.

Written by Bob Dolphin
                                      
Edited, Typed and Distributed by 
Lenore Dolphin

BIRCH BAY GHOST MARATHON RESULTS – 
December 12, 2009

3:06:00  Shawn Bussert		
3:15:42  Terry Sentinella
3:20:00  Jill Hudson
3:21:50  Bryan Robertson
3:34:49  Michael Rasmussen
3:36:36  Sara Malcolm

Birch Bay Ghost Half Marathon+ Results
3:37:12  Roger Riffle		
		
3:52:34  Tony Phillippi		
	2:15:00 Pablo Cabrera	
		
3:53:55  Matt Hagen		
		2:16:50  Jocelyn Sears
3:57:22  Christine Wright	
		2:24:36  Edouard Gebski
3:59:09  Becci Walkling		
	2:35:36  Dale Evans
3:59:11  Rob Jacobsen		
	2:38:47  Sara Guilfoil
4:04:45  Melissa Williams	
		2:43:05  Bill Walkling
4:08:48  Eric Barnes
2:44:42  Tamara Mackey
4:30:29  Kurt Lauer
2:58:31  Lori Gringler
4:42:54  Laura Johnson	
3:24:00  Sharon Evans
4:42:54  Dave Straube
4:46:16  David England
4:46:44  Betsy Rogers
4:52:20  Sue Glesne
4:52:20  Laura Morris
4:57:09  Gilles Barbeau
4:57:09  Wayne Lagroix
4:59:14  Craig Hanela
5:09:23  Jim Boyd
5:15:13  Michelle Barnes
5:15:13  Margaret Barrett
5:16:13  Dave Dutton
5:16:13  Rick Haase
5:16:13  Stan Nakashima
5:32:00  Max Welker
5:33:55  Takao Suzuki
5:34:33  Vicki Griffiths
5:34:33  Barbara Macklow
6:15:50  Bob Dolphin

01/26/10


MISSISSIPPI BLUES MARATHON - January 
9, 2010

Lenore and I like to fly to the “sunny 
south” in the winter so that I can add 
a southern state to my 50 States 
list.  This year we chose the third 
annual Mississippi Blues Marathon at 
Jackson, Mississippi, scheduled for 
Saturday, January 9, 2010.  Just 
before we left for SeaTac Airport on 
January 7th we were informed that a 
cold front was bringing sub-freezing 
air into the Gulf States, so I took 
along my winter running clothes.

The day after we arrived in Jackson we 
went to the Jackson Convention Complex 
where I picked up my bib, timing chip, 
short-sleeved cotton T-shirt, and a 
well-stocked goodie bag.  Included in 
the bag were a disk of Mississippi 
Blues artists and their music in 
keeping with the theme of the marathon 
and a harmonica etched with the 
marathon name and race date.  While at 
the Expo, we talked with Rob Simmons, 
one of the directors.  He and I 
briefly ran together at the Seattle 
Rock ‘n Roll Marathon on June 29, 2009…
and I was influenced by his 
recommendation to run this race.  

Before we left the Expo, we were part 
of a group that formed a 
temporary “reunion” of running friends 
that included 50 Staters, 100 Marathon 
Club members and Marathon Maniacs.  It 
was good to see Rich DeCample (who 
lives three miles from us in Renton, 
WA), Henry Rueden of DePere, 
Wisconsin, Thomas Kazaki of Southlake, 
Texas, Cheryl Murdock of Pensacola, 
Florida, and Peter Graham of London, 
England.  Peter brought me a jacket 
from the 100th Marathon Club United 
Kingdom, an 80th birthday gift.

Lenore and I returned to our nearby 
hotel, the Cabot Lodge, where we 
attended their evening social time in 
their great hospitality room.  In the 
morning, I dressed warmly for my 
intended two-mile walk to the starting 
line.  Before I could leave the 
parking lot, three runners in a heated 
van stopped me to ask for 
directions…..and then invited me to 
join them!  I gladly accepted their 
invitation and was happy to have a 
ride and a warm place to stay while 
waiting for the race to begin.

The starting area was in front of the 
Old Capitol Building at the State 
Street and Capitol Street 
intersection.  This original Capitol 
Building is now a museum and was 
replaced by the newer, larger Capitol 
Building a few blocks away.

The average temperature for this date 
in Jackson is 35 degrees minimum and 
55 degrees maximum.  For last year’s 
marathon the temperature peaked at 69 
degrees.  This year’s temperature went 
to the other extreme, so I was glad 
that I came prepared for cold 
weather…..16 degrees at the start and 
29 degrees at the finish!!!

At the 7:00 a.m. start the sky was 
clear, but by 8:00 a.m. intermittent 
winds of 20 mph appeared in the 
overcast sky to provide a wind chill 
factor at times.

In the first mile it was nearly light 
as almost 2,000 runners in the half 
and full marathons ran down a long 
grade through the city center.  Within 
a few miles we were on a divided road 
used for an out-and-back part of the 
course.

The course was well laid out, and it 
provided a tour of the City Center, 
commercial areas, several suburbs, 
exclusive housing and edges of 
forested parks.  The terrain was 
mostly flat with easy grades and some 
rolling and major hills.  The 
attractive forests we saw had pine and 
deciduous, hardwood trees.  Seeing two 
Black Vultures landing in the 
shoreline trees of the Pearl River by 
the halfway mat was my natural 
history “moment of the day!”

Leading the field was a pack of seven 
Kenyans which would include the 
eventual winner and other front 
runners.  Last year’s second place 
runner was this year’s winner.  Kenyan 
Jynocel Baswati, 23, who now lives in 
Santa Fe, NM, missed the course record 
by 22 seconds as he finished in 
2:19:15.

With a role reversal, last year’s 
winner, Edward Tarbut, 26, also of 
Santa Fe, finished second in 2:20:07.  
He holds the course record of 
2:18:53.  In third place was John 
Boit, 30, of Coon Rapids, MN, with a 
2:21:08.

With a time of 2:37:44, the women’s 
race was won by Janet Cherobon, 31, a 
Kenyan living in Rome, Georgia.  In 
second and third places were Divina 
Jepkogel, 25, of Chapel Hill, NC 
(2:45:18) and Barbara McManus, 51, of 
Worcestor, MA, my original hometown, 
(3:01:33).

Because of the weather conditions I 
dressed in “layers” to be sure I would 
be warm enough.  The last thing I put 
on was my new jacket with the “100 
Marathon Club” printed on the back.  
This led to a lot of questions early 
in the race.  As runners passed me, 
they wanted to know how many marathons 
I had run.  (This was #460.)

On the course I visited with David 
Reid of Crestline, California.  He 
will be closing in on a milestone on 
February 27, 2010, at the Tulsa Post 
Oak Lodge Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 
when he completes his 100th MARATHON 
and becomes a 50 STATES FINISHER.  We 
look forward to seeing him at the 
Yakima River Canyon Marathon on March 
27, 2010.

Then, Steve Hughes of Chicago slowed 
down and talked with me for awhile.  
He was a pacesetter for 5:30 runners.  
He finished with a 5:29:36….really 
close to his goal.  

Next, I met up with Yolanda Holder of 
Corona, California, who “walked” 
faster than I can run.  For the second 
year in a row she is the “Female 
Marathon Maniac of the Year.”  She won 
this recognition by completing 77 
marathons in 2009.

In a spacious residential area about 
15 miles into the run, Henry Rueden, 
Peter Graham and Davie Day of 
Rayville, Louisiana,  (whom I had met 
in the van ride to the start) ran with 
me for awhile.

Finally, it was nice to be able to 
visit with Jim Simpson of Huntington 
Beach, California, and Larry Macon of 
San Antonio, Texas, near the end of 
the race.  Larry received the same 
recognition as Yolanda for the second 
year in a row as he was named 
the “Male Marathon Maniac of the Year” 
for running 94 marathons in 2009.  
CONGRATULATIONS to both of them for 
this honor!

At 24.5 miles I passed our hotel and 
waved at Lenore who was all bundled up 
and waiting at the street to cheer me 
on as I went by.  A short time later 
as I walked the last mile, an 
ambulance passed me as it was going in 
the opposite direction.  The next day 
I read in the Clarion Ledger newspaper 
that a 40 year-old runner from 
Ridgeland, Mississippi, had collapsed 
and died from a heart condition in the 
last mile of his 10K relay leg.

After I saw the ambulance, I climbed 
the last hill of a series to finish in 
6:01:24, 519th of 558 who completed 
the marathon in less than 7 hours and 
2nd of two in the 75+M Group.  Unique 
guitar-shaped finishers medals, 
heatsheets and refreshments were given 
to the finishers, and seats were 
available in two heated tents….where 
Mississippi Blues music played.

The Cabot Lodge where we stayed 
provided a free morning breakfast and 
an evening social time in a large 
hospitality room.  This is where 
Lenore had breakfast with 8 
Mississippi judges while I was running 
the marathon!  After the race we met 
Dan Hay, 48, and his wife of 
Battlefield, Missouri, there.  Dan had 
finished 8th overall with a time of 
2:48:39 for first place in the 45-49M 
Division.  We also talked with Bob 
Nordman, 62, of North Hyde Park, New 
York, who ran a 4:08:15.  We hope 
we’re convinced him to run our Yakima 
River Canyon Marathon this year.

In spite of the cold weather, we had a 
great trip and we enjoyed the 
hospitality of the area as I 
ran “MISSISSIPPI” for my 38th state.

…….Written by Bob Dolphin……….Edited, 
Typed and Distributed by Lenore Dolphin

MISSISSIPPI BLUES MARATHON, Jan. 9, 
2010 – Partial Results 

2:19:15  Jynocel Baswati, 23, Santa 
Fe, NM, FIRST OVERALL, 1st in Age Group
2:20:07  Edward Tabut, 26, Santa Fe, 
NM, SECOND OVERALL, 1st 
2:21:08  John Boit, 30, Coon Rapids, 
MN, 1st  
2:37:44  Janet Cherobon, 31, Rome, GA, 
FIRST WOMAN OVERALL, 1st 
2:45:18  Divina Jepkogel, 25, Chapel 
Hill, NC, SECOND WOMAN OVERALL, 1st
2:48:39  Dan Hay, 48, Battlefied, MO, 
1st
2:59:02  Dane Rauschenberg, 33, Salt 
Lake City, UT, Marathon Maniac (MM)
3:01:33  Barbara McManus, 41, 
Worcester, MA, THIRD WOMAN OVERALL, 
1st 
3:27:07  Robert Bens, 48, Overland 
Park, MM
3:33:58  Sally Boles, 41, Mission 
Viejo, CA MM
3:39:49  David Bartholomew, 54, Walnut 
Creek, CA, MM
3:43:49  George Rehmet, 43, Daly City, 
CA, MM
3:48:56  Gary Schancer, 57, 
Albuquerque, NM, MM
3:52:28  John Leighton, 49, Newark, 
OH, MM
3:55:15  Peter Hudec, 39, Brooklyn, 
NY, MM
3:55:23  Thomas Okazaki, 52, 
Southlake, TX, MM
3:58:25  William Tichenor, 43, Dallas, 
TX, MM
3:58:28  Stephanie Arango, 24, 
Cincinnati, OH, MM
4:08:15  Robert Nordman, 62, North 
Hyde Park, NY
4:15:10  Larry Rubenstein, 61, Los 
Angeles, CA, MM
4:20:12  Kevin Brosi, 54, Flower 
Mound, TX, MM
4:20:32  Richard DeCample, 64, Renton, 
WA
4:21:55  Brent Schmitter, 32, 
Powderly, TX MM
4:24:57  Dave Bell, 47, Highlands 
Ranch, CO, MM
4:25:57  Laura Skladzinski, 24, New 
York, NY, MM
4:40:49  Steve Boone, 60, Humble, TX, 
MM
4:43:09  Jackie Ong, 48, Reston, VA, MM
4:46:18  Chris Oppenlander, 49, Troy, 
MI, MM
4:53:54  Mary Signorelli, 47, 
Castleton, NY, MM
4:54:21  Keith Whited, 57, Alexandria, 
VA, MM
4:57:56  Beth Davenport, 49, Santa Fe, 
NM, MM
4:58:54  Daniel Booth, 49, Monroe, LA
5:04:56  Kathy Kass, 53, New York, NY, 
MM
5:10:32  Tracey Newenhouse, 48, W. 
Long Branch, NJ, MM
5:12:00  Annette Wulffe, 49, Wheaton, 
IL, MM
5:15:22  Roxanna Lewis, 63, Gardena, 
CA, MM
5:18:18  Elisabeth Cooper, 60, 
Portland, OR MM
5:18:42  David Reid, 62, Crestline, 
CA, MM
5:22:10  Harold Jackson, 64, 
Riverside, CA, MM
5:23:01  Tami Harmon, 40, Yuma, AZ, MM
5:23:08  Gary Klawans, 49, Lake 
Zurich, IL, MM
5:25:59  Diane Bolton, 48, Nashville, 
TN, MM
5:28:02  Chris Thompson, 57 Escondido, 
CA, MM
5:29:36  Steve Hughes, 61, Chicago, IL
5:32:48  Frank Bartocci, 62, 
Rochester, MN
5:45:48  Carol Goslin, 64,  Kansas 
City, MO, MM
5:46:41  Nancy Pratt, 51, Defiance, 
MO, MM
5:48:59  David Day, 79, Rayville, LA
5:53:32  Henry Rueden, 60, DePere, WI, 
MM
5:54:21  Cheryl Murdock, 59, 
Pensacola, FL
6:01:24  Bob Dolphin, 80, 
Renton/Yakima, WA, MM
6:02:23  Marina White, 23, Irvine, CA, 
MM
6:02:51  Yolanda Holder, 51, Corona, 
CA, MM
6:05:52  Peter Graham, 44, London, 
England, UK
6:14:57  Jim Simpson, 68, Huntington 
Beach, CA
6:15:16  Larry Macon, 65, San Antonio, 
TX, MM
6:15:29  Michael Larkin, 62, Fountain 
Valley, CA, MM
6:22:05  Evelyn Smith, 49, Rockford, 
IL, MM
6:24:58  Charles Sayles, 72, Glendale, 
CA

01/26/10


FIRST CALL TO RUN MARATHON
January 1, 2010

One advantage of running the First 
Call to Run Marathon on January 1st at 
Bothell, Washington, is that it 
fulfills a New Year’s Resolution of 
the Marathon Maniac type.  I’m 
referring to the resolution that 
states that marathoners should run 
early and often in the New Year.

At 7:00 a.m. when  race director 
Adrian Call, the volunteers and the 
race participants started gathering 
for the marathon, half marathon and 
50K, it was still dark at Bothell 
Landing, a park by the Sammamish 
River.  Daylight arrived before the 
8:00 a.m. start of the races.  The 
registration 
area/start/turnaround/finish and 
recovery areas were all close to the 
tent that was the hot and cold/food 
and drink center.

I usually run “last and alone” so the 
time between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. 
was good for visiting with running 
friends.

The temperature was 40 degrees and 
there was a light rain when Adrian 
started the runners.  We ran a short 
distance to exit the park on an arched 
footbridge over the Sammamish River to 
the adjacent Sammamish River Trail.  
We turned left (south and upstream) 
and headed from Bothell to Woodinville 
and beyond approaching Redmond.  It’s 
a double out-and-back course that 
avoided vehicles with underpasses and 
running on the right side of a wide 
trail to avoid the few quiet bicycles 
that shared the trail.

Even though there are only 6.55 miles 
of trail used in each fourth marathon 
leg, there is a lot to see.  For 
example, the Sammamish River could be 
viewed from above as we crossed the 
footbridges by the Bothell Landing and 
less than a mile upstream.  Running 
under I-405 lanes high overhead with 
off ramps heading toward Bothell and 
Woodinville, we saw an architectural 
marvel.  

An underpass of Woodinville’s major 
thoroughfare led to an attractive park 
with curved walkways.  A few miles 
further the trail passed the Red Hook 
Brewery and the Ste. Michelle Winery, 
both of which have been used as 
start/finish areas for the popular 
Super Jock and Jill Half Marathon.

Then, after running under two road 
underpasses, we passed through a park 
under construction to the turn-around 
that used a wooden mile marker (3) 
post that was easy to spot.

The conspicuous birds that I saw on or 
near the river were Bald Eagles, 
flocks of many Canada Geese that feed 
in nearly fields and Gulls of two 
common species.  Swimming on the river 
were geese, Mallards and Common 
Mergansers.

A decided advantage of the course 
layout was being able to see runners 
in the 50K, marathon and half marathon 
as they passed in both directions.  It 
was great to be able to call out 
greetings, talk briefly and wish 
everyone a “Happy New Year.”  
I finished my run/walk in 6:36:37, 
38th of 38 to complete the marathon.  
Then I enjoyed the breakfast of 
pancakes, hot chocolate, juice and 
bagels that was served in the finish 
area.

The winners of the marathon were 
Jonathan Bernard with a time of 
3:36:11 and May Chang who finished in 
4:04:57.

Congratulations to Steele Spangler, 
11, for running his first marathon.  
He ran with his father, Scott 
Spangler, and they finished in 5:24:17.

Thanks to Adrian Call and his 
volunteers for putting on the second 
successful First Call to Run 
Marathon.  I look forward to running 
the next one on January 1, 2011.

A bit of trivia came to mind……..If 
someone were to ask me if all of my 
marathons and ultras were run on a 
Saturday or Sunday, I can reply that 
most of them were…..except for ten 
Mondays at the Boston Marathon and two 
Mondays at the Heart of America 
Marathon in Columbia, Missouri.  I ran 
the first Call to Run Marathon on 
Thursday, January 1, 2009, and the 
second one on Friday, January 1, 2010.

…………………………………Written by Bob Dolphin
                                       
              Typed, Edited and 
Distributed by Lenore Dolphin

                                       
         * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
* * * * * * * *
First Call to Run Marathon Results - 
January 1, 2010

3:36:11  Jonathan Bernard, FIRST 
OVERALL	
3:42:46  Eric Gierke		
			5:11:43  Tory 
Klementsen
3:52:52  Chris Porter		
			5:11:43  Marie 
Zornes
3:59:56  Paul David		
			5:24:17  Scott 
Spangler
4:00:01  Steve Jensen		
			5:24:17  
Steele Spangler
4:04:57  May Cheng, First Woman 
Overall 	5:34:57  Jim Boyd
4:17:35  John Anderson		
		5:47:07  Rick Haase
4:19:28  Will Burnside		
		5:47:07  Abi Brownell
4:28:25  Mike Kuhlmann		
		5:47:23  Rob Stretz
4:30:27  Sarah Lynch		
			5:47:23  
Margaret Barrett
4:37:38  Val Beyer		
			5:47:23  
Jessica Williams
4:40:32  Betsy Rogers		
			5:47:25  
Michelle Barnes
4:46:40  Paige Denison		
		5:47:25  Jenny Appel
4:47:28  Laura Johnson		
		5:47:25  Rob Hester
4:47:28  Kathleen Farrell	
			5:54:39  Bret 
Bellevue
4:53:20  Pat Barnes		
			5:54:39  Dawn 
Bellevue
4:53:56  Marilou Russell	
			6:01:07  
Matthew Fleming
4:53:56  Jill Hudson		
			6:36:37  Bob 
Dolphin
5:01:30  Mare Pyke
5:03:25  Jeff Loen
5:03:25  Tracy Brown

  

01/27/10


Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon

Below please find the link to the 
January e-Newsletter for the 2010 
Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon.   
We look forward to the opportunity to 
provide you with a first class running 
event!  

Please note the upcoming registration 
fee increase happening at the end of 
this month......Register Today!

http://illinoismarathon.com/newsletter/
January.pdf

Thank you for your support!
Mark Knutson
Go Far Events

01/31/10


CONGRATULATIONS

Raoul Gagne from North Carolina for 
finishing of the 50 and DC Marathon 
Circuit. Raoul finish his Marathon 
at the Maui Oceanfront Marathon in 
Maui, HI on 01/24/10. 
Great job Raoul!!!!!

02/01/10


100 MARATHON CLUB NORTH AMERICA

FOUNDING DATE:  March 31, 2001
CLUB ROSTER as of February 1, 2010

Tom Adair, Alpharetta, GA –  1st M, 
11/22/94, Atlanta….100th M, 11/23/01, 
Atlanta. 	President of the 50 
States Marathon Club.  Had 74 
consecutive marathon months
by November 2000.  Completed 250th M 
on 10/7/07 at Cologne, Germany.  300th
            M, 5/25/09, Darkside at 
Peachtree City, GA.
Michael Alsworth, Swindon Wiltshire, 
England – First Marathon, August 1985…
100th   
	M, February 1998, Las Vegas.  
230th M, 2008 Las Vegas.  
Daniel Archambeau, Sebring, FL – First 
M, August 1980, Paavo Nurmi…100th M,
	1998, Nanisivik, Canada.  
230th M, Dec. 2008, Las Vegas.  200th, 
4/4/09, Yakima
	River Canyon.
Newton Baker, Montpelier, Vermont
Gene Bandler, East Meadow, NY – First 
M, May 1996, Long Island, 100th M, 
October  
	17, 2004, Pacemaker, 
12/24/97.  All but 3 M’s since 
pacemaker.
Eugene Barker, Louisville, KY – Ran 
94.5 miles in Corn Belt 24 Hour Run.
Steve Barrick, Kent, WA –  1st M, Feb. 
1989, Trails End….100th M November 
2003,
	Seattle.  Race Director, Green 
River Marathon.  Has run two sub 3-hour
 marathons.
Andrew Bartczak, Apple Valley, MI – 
First M, 9/30/79, Warsaw…100th M, 
5/4/08 on 
	his 50th birthday, Lincoln 
National Guard. 
Dick Bartlett - Rock Hill, SC – 1st M, 
May 1977, Syracuse, NY…100th M, 
January 9,
	2000, Walt Disney World.
Frank Bartocci, Rochester, MN – First 
M, Dallas White, 12/4/83…..100th M, 
Mid City 
	Marathon, Rochester, MN, May 
2001….300th M, 7/24/09, Deseret News, 
Salt
	Lake City, UT.  FOUR time 50 
States FINISHER.
Dave Bell,  Highlands Ranch, CO – 
First M., Steamboat Marathon (CO), 
6/4/95…100th 
  	M, Steamboat, 6/5/05….200th M, 
6/1/08, Steamboat Springs.  FOUR time 
50
	States FINISHER.
Lois Berkowitz, Riverview, MI – First 
M, April 1990, Glass City…100th M, 
Avalon
	Benefit 50 Mile Run….300th M, 
4/26/09, Glass City, Toledo, OH.
Victor Bhatt, Sugarland, TX – First M, 
May 1972.
Roger Biggs, Stevenage, United 
Kingdom – Unique Record:  in 1996 did 
100th 10-Miler,
	100th Half Marathon and 100th 
Marathon in consecutive races.  First 
runner from 
	the U.K. to become a 50 States 
& DC FINISHER……at the Honolulu Marathon
	12/9/07.  500th M, June 2009, 
Deadwood Michelsen Trail, Deadwood, SD.
Robert (“Cowboy Jeff”) Bishton, Ft. 
Myers, FL – First M, October 2004, 
Baltimore,
	…100th, Snickers, Albany, Ga, 
3/7/09, 50 States & DC Finisher. 
Jim Bitwood,  Laurel, MD 
Paula Boone, Humble, TX – First M, May 
11, 1996, Antelope Island (Utah)…100th 
M,
	March 23, 2003, Dallas 
Trails.  200th M, 5/20/07, Delaware 
Marathon.  States 
	FINISHER twice.
Steve Boone, Humble, TX – Officer in 
50 States Marathon Club.  350th M and 
third time 
	states FINISHER, Humpy’s 
Marathon (AK), 8/19/07.  400th M, 2009.
Jim Boyd, Seattle, WA – 1st M, 
10/14/1978, Heart of San Diego….100th 
M, 4/5/97, 
	Santa Barbara….300th M, 
6/14/09, Light at the End of the 
Tunnel, North
	Bend, WA.  50 States & DC 
finisher, October 26, 1997.
Ray Boytim, Spring, TX – First M, 
January 1979, Houston…100th M., April 
24, 1994.
John Bozung, Orem, UT – First North 
American to do all 7 continents in one 
year 
	(1997) and 98 consecutive 
months streak as of November 2001.  
250th M,
	5/5/07, Wild, Wild West, Lone 
Pine (GA).  As of 2/25/09, 184 
consecutive 
	months of running at least 1 M 
per month.
Marv Bradley, Canon City, CO – First 
M, June 7, 1992, Steamboat….100th M, 
January 
	1, 2005, Texas, Completed 50 
States December 8, 2002, Honolulu.
Robert D. Britain (Doug), Wayzata, MN –
 First M, October 2001, Chicago…100th 
M, Niagara Falls, 10/26/08.  He’s run 
a sub 4 hour marathon in each of 
	the 50 states.  First 
Clydesdale to run each of the 50 
states with a sub 4:00 time..
Jack Brooks, St. Albans, Herts, UK – 
First M, 1990, London…100th M., 
December 17,
	2003, Majorca.  200th M and 
2nd Brit to complete all fifty states, 
4/20/09, Country
	Music at Nashville, TN.
Mike Brooks, Danville, ME – Completed 
50 States & DC June 21, 2003, Midnight 
Sun.
	First M, 10/15/95, Bay State…
100th M, US Air Force, Ohio, 9/20/03.  
Has 
	conquered Death Valley, run 
three marathons in every U.S. state, 
endured 24,
	48 and 72 hour races……and a 6-
day race.  Ran 491 miles in a 10-day 
race 
	starting 4/22/09.
Kevin Brosi, Flower Mound, TX – First 
M, 12/14/86, Dallas White Rock…100th M,
	Newport (Oregon), 5/30/09.
Lois Brown, Sebring, FL – First M, 
December 3, 1988, Blue Angel…100th M, 
	January 25, 2004, Las Vegas.
Ron Bucy, Bridgeport, WV – Completed 
50 States & DC December 9, 2001, 
Honolulu.
Cliff Burgess, Hewitt, TX – 3 
continents and 16 countries by the end 
of 2001.
Janet Burgess, Renton, WA – First M, 
May 1998, Vancouver, BC….100th M, 
October 4, 
	2009, Maine Marathon.  
Completed 100th Marathon AND finished 
50th state
	on the same day.  
Ed Burnham, Kansas City, MO – Ran 
first marathon at age 70 in 1994 at 
San Antonio…	
	100th M, Dec. 2000, White Rock 
at Dallas.  Last M, Oct. 2004, Des 
Moines, IA.
Betty Mae Burrell, Harrison, TN – Only 
female to walk a marathon in all 50 
states. 
	Betty Mae Burrell died on July 
28, 2007, after a fatal heart attack.
Peter Butler, St. Paul, MN – Has run 
25 consecutive Grandma’s Marathons (by 
March
	2003).  1st M, Oct. 1976, Land 
O’ Lakes, Minneapolis, MN….100th M, 
1982….
	200th M, 1987….300th M, 
1992….400th M….1998.  50 States 
FINISHER.  
	Current total 580+.  PR 3:02. 
Todd Byers, Long Beach,CA – 1st M, 
Emerald City, Seattle….100th M, 
Seattle.  
250th M, Frederick, Md.  Runs some 
marathons barefoot!
Tim Byrnes,Wichita, KS – First M, 
October 21, 1989, Wichita…100th M, May 
12, 2000,
	Halifax (Nova Scotia).
Chuck Cammack, Albany, OR – Ran a 100 
Miler in Vermont in 19 hours and 45
	Minutes.  200th M, 4/29/07, 
Eugene (OR).
Burt Carlson, Mound, MN – USATF 
National Championship Age Group Wins 
(by 
	January 15, 2002):  six 24 
hours, two 100K’s, one 50 mile trail 
run.  300th M,
	10/5/08 at age 83!
Bob Carpenter, Cana Point, CA
Big Dave Carter, Bedford Beds, 
England – Has a Yakima River Canyon 
Marathon 
	Logo tattooed on his thigh!
Marty Chalfin, Lake Mary, FL – By 
2002, one Ironman (November 6, 1999) 
and 6
	Continents.
Russell Cheney, Torrance, CA – 1st M, 
1990, Los Angeles….100th M, 1999, Los
Angeles….200th M, 9/10/05, Bismark, 
ND.  PR, 3:29:17.  Marathon/ultra
Total = 283.  Boston 3 times.  US 
Olympic Torch Bearer.  “Russell B 
Cheney”
50K, DE.  Co-founder of Marathon Drive 
Club.
Eliot Collins, Raritan, NJ – 1st M, 
Atlantic City Marathon, October 18, 
1998….. 
100th M, New York City, November 5, 
2006.  Has run Pikes Peak “double” 
(Marathon and Half Marathon on 
consecutive days) three times.  Total 
of 12.
John Connor, Newport, KY – First M, 
Louisville….100th M, March 31, 2007, 
Yakima 
River Canyon Marathon.  50 States 
FINISHER.
Harold Copeland, Richland, WA – 1st M, 
11/15/75, Cheney….100th M, 5/24/98, 
Coeur d’ Alene.  50+ Course Record, 
November 20, 1976, Cheney
	Marathon, 3:25:42.
Tony Covarrubias, Auburn, WA
Francesco Crinity – Philadelphia, PA, 
First M, November 19, 2000…100th M, 
April 18, 
            2005, Boston
Rich Cromwell, Ney, OH – First M, 
1989, Cleveland.
Harry Curtis, Cincinnati, OH – First 
M, 1980, Columbus…100th M, May 5, 
2002, 
	Flying Pig, Cincinnati
Susan Daley, Chicago, IL – 1st M, 
1991, Chicago…..100th M, 1997, 
Carolina M. in
	SC….200th M, 2000, Chicago.  
By June 25, 2003, 7 continents and 50 
states.
Beth Davenport, Santa Fe, NM, – First 
M, 10/19/92, Tour of Albuquerque
   	…100th M, Yakima River Canyon, 
4/4/09.  50 States FINISHER.
Rich DeCample, Renton, WA – 1st M, 
4/14/86, Emerald City, Seattle….100th 
M,
	 5/28/2000, Vermont City.  
Finished first 50 States & DC circuit 
at Sunburst on
	June 10, 2000…finished second 
one at Old Mulkey on October 25, 
2003.  By
	Nov. 2009, FOUR time States 
finisher and total of 238 M’s.
Eugene De Fronzo, Waterbury, CT – 1st 
M. 1961, New York City….100th M, 1998,
	Jacksonville.  By September 
26, 2001, had completed 50 States 
	twice and all Canadian 
provinces and territories.  M #300, 
Casper, WY, 6/5/06.  
	6 TIME 50 STATES FINISHER.  
Featured in Wall St. Journal article,
	11/18/09.
Carol Dellinger, Spokane, WA – At age 
35, 2nd youngest female to complete 
100 
	marathons.  #215 M, California 
International, Sacramento, 12/2/07.  
235 total.
Tom Detore, Unadilla, NE – First M, 
March 1986, Los Angeles…100th M, 
November
	2000, North Central Trail.  
300th M, Texas Marathon, January 1, 
2010
Don Dickmeyer, Omaha, NE – 25 
consecutive Lincoln Marathons.  
Lincoln was his 1st,
	25th and 100th marathon.
Brian Doherty, London, England – As 
director of the original 100 Marathon 
Club
	(London) inducted Bob Dolphin 
as the first American member in April 
1997.
Elaine Doll-Dunn, Spearfish, SD – 
Was “Mrs. South Dakota” at age 62….and 
ran 26.2
	Marathons that year as she 
represented her state!  Race director 
of the Leading
	Ladies Marathon, Spearfish, 
SD, in August.
Bob Dolphin, Renton, WA – Ran a 
3:00:12 PR at age 58, and as a former 
Marine was
	thrilled to be first of 47 in 
the 70+ Male age group at the Marine 
Corps Marathon
	when he was 74 (2003).  
Recipient of the 50 States & DC 
Group’s 2007 
	“Humanitarian Award.”  
Completed 400th M, 3/31/07, at Yakima 
River
	Canyon Marathon (co-director 
of this race).  From 4/29/07 he ran 7 
marathons
	in 7 consecutive weekends at 
age 77 in 2007.  Featured in John “The 
Penguin”
Bingham’s October 2007 Runner’s World 
article (p. 62).  Inducted into 
Marathon  Maniacs Hall of Fame, 
4/4/09.  Ran Portland M on 80th 
Birthday, 10/4/09.  Member #806 of 
Japan Joyful 100 Marathon Running 
Club.  Featured in Seattle Times 
article, 11/27/09.  Total M’s = 458.
Michael Dutton, Everett, WA – First M, 
Capital City (Olympia, WA), May 22, 
1994….
	100th M, Skagit Flats 
(Burlington, WA), September 10, 2006.
Steve Edwards, Ansty Nr Coventry, 
England.  As of 3/8/09 total M’s = 491.
Don Ellis, Memphis, TN – First M, 
October 1990, St. Louis
Eb Engelmann, Salem, OR – First M, 
1980, Trails End (Seaside, OR)…His PR 
is
	3:00:09 and that’s three 
seconds faster than Bob Dolphin’s.
Chuck Engle, Columbus, OH – 
MarathonGuide’s Male Outstanding 
Marathoner
	for 2006.
Rosemary Evans, Flemingsburg, KY – 
first and second marathons were on the 
SAME 
	WEEKEND!!  1st M, 10/11/97, 
Winston-Salem….100th M, 10/20/02, Mt.
	Desert Island (ME).
Evan Fagan, Victoria, BC, Canada – 
First M, October 1988…100th M, October 
2001, 
	Royal Victoria.
Virginia Farneman, Powell, OH – At the 
beginning of 2008…212 M’s and ultras.
	50 States finisher.
Sue Fauerbach, Renton, WA – First M, 
1999 Portland….100th M, 3/5/06, Little 
Rock.
Lauri Fauerbach-Adams, Philadelphia, 
PA, 10/21/70 – First M, 11/23/03, 
Philadelphia
	…100th M, Las Vegas, 12/7/08. 
Frank Fleetham, Bend, OR –  1st M, 
9/19/81, Royal Victoria….100th M, 
5/2/98, 
	Double Sunflower (Twisp, WA).  
Had stent put in rear coronary artery 
in
	1995….and still runs!  He has 
two stents now!!
Bob Fletcher, Fredericksburg, TX – 1st 
M, 2/5/77, American 
National,Galveston….100th
	 M., 1/19/86, Houston.  Ran 50 
Marathons in 50 weeks at age 50.  
Author of 
	“Spaghetti Every Friday.”
Brenton Floyd, Harrison, TN – Finished 
50 States & DC July 7, 2001, at Snow
	Mountain, Winter Park, 
Colorado, at age 16 years and 3 months 
making him the 
	youngest person to accomplish 
this feat.  He’s also the youngest 
member of our 
	club and has run over 200 
marathons.  In 2006, completed 300th 
M, did 1st
	100 Miler, won 3 ultras, ran 
22 M’s and 28 ultras, finished 50 
States & DC
for 2nd time.  M #350, Umstead 100 
(NC), 3/31/07.  100th ultra, Way Too 
Hot 50K,  Peach City (GA). 
Bill Fornoff, Jarrettsville, MD – 
Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, 
1994…
	Comrades, 1999.
Ron Fowler, Seattle, WA – “Evil 
Triplet”…First M, November 26, 1978…
100th M,
	October 1, 2000, Portland.  
Ran at least 1 mile per day for 25 
years….it
	happened on 3/18/08.  It’s now 
26 years!
Norm Frank, Rochester, NY – 1st M, 
4/17/67, Boston….100th M, 9/9/78, 
Erie.  Has
	RUN MORE MARATHONS than anyone 
else in the United States.  As of
	February 2003 had run one 
marathon (or more) per month for 216 
consecutive
	months (18 years).  900+ M’s.  
Member #100 of our club!  200th M, 
Midnight 
	Sun….300th M, Almost 
Heaven….400th M, 4/16/90, 
Boston….500th M,
	9/18/93….600th M, 5/26/96, 
Vermont City….700th M, 12/10/99, Rocket
	City….800th M, 12/14/0….900th 
M, Memphis, 2006.  Ran 30+ consecutive
	Boston Marathons.  World 
record for most marathon completions 
in 1994, 1995
	and 1996.  50 States 
finisher.   
 Steve Frederickson, Kent, WA – 1st M, 
October 1981….100th M, November 1999, 
	Seattle.  Course record 
holder, ultra De Panama (racewalk)
….50.4 miles across
	Isthmus of Panama.  Has run a 
marathon or ultra on all 7 continents.
	“Farewell to Marathoning” 
article in Dec. 2007 NW runner 
magazine.  Last
	marathon was Marine Corps 
Marathon, 10/28/07….due to back 
injury.  Update:
	he’s run a few more!  PR, 
3:03:30.
Gene Fritzel, Lutherville, MD – 1st M, 
Marine Corps, November 3, 1991…..100th 
M,
	Humpy, August 15, 2005.  
Completed 50 states on August 15, 
2005, too.
Steve Fuller, North Kansas City, MO – 
1st M, May 1979….100th M, May 1992, 
Andy
Payne, Oklahoma City.  Finished all 50 
States December 1986 and all seven 
continents October 2002.
Laura Garrett, Copperas Cove, TX – 1st 
M, San Diego Rock ‘n Roll, June 4, 
2000.  
100th M/Ultra, Patriot Run, Olathe, 
KS, 9/11/07.  50 States FINISHER.  
Finished a Marathan or longer in each 
of 7 continents.
Jon Gissberg, Seattle, WA -  “Barefoot 
Jon” runs most M’s barefooted!  First 
M, 
	6/18/77, Anchorage…100th M, 
11/25/07, Seattle. 
Deborah Gobins, Phoenix, AZ – First M, 
August 1986, Pikes Peak…100th M, 
October 
	1992, St. George.
Gayle Godfrey, Louisville, KY – First 
M, November 11, 1980, Louisville…100th 
M,
	September 27, 2003, Walker 
North Country.
Cecil Goudeau, Denham Springs, LA – 
First  and 100th Marathon, Mardi Gras, 
	February 15, 1987, and 
February 16, 2003.  Total of 138 M’s 
as of 9/10/07.
Peter Graham, London, United Kingdom – 
First M, London, 1990…100th M, Abingdon
	Oxfordshire, 1999.  Former 
secretary of the original 100 Marathon 
Club 
	(London).
Janet Green, Courtenay, BC, Canada – 
1st M, October 1988, Royal 
Victoria….100th M,
	October 2001,  Royal 
Victoria….200th M,  10/12/08, Royal 
Victoria.  Time for
	50% of her marathons is around 
3:30,and she usually places in her age 
group.  
Cheri Gross, SanAntonio, TX – 1st M, 
6/4/00, Rock & Roll, San Diego…100th M
	Sun Trust Richmond, Richmond, 
VA, 11/15/08.
Raef Guirges, Torrance, CA – Wannabe 
who runs with U.S. flag all over the 
U.S. 
Rick Haase, Shoreline, WA – First M, 
November 27, 1978, Seattle…100th M, 
June 4, 
	2005, Kettle Moraine 100 
Miler.  Has run at least one marathon 
per year since
	1978.  200th M, 6/14/09, Light 
at the End of the Tunnel, North Bend, 
WA.
Jeff Hagen, Yakima, WA – 1st M, Yakima 
Marathon, October 7, 1979……100th M, 
	Cle Elum 50K, September 2006.  
Total mileage for his 101 races (17 
marathons
	and 83 Ultras) is 8,289 miles 
which is equivalent to 316 
marathons.   Broke 7
	American 55-59 age group ultra 
records within a 16-month period.  
Overall
	winner of Across the Year 48 
Hour Race at Nordini Manor in Buckeye, 
AZ on
	1/14-15/08.
Eddie Hahn, Ontario, CA – First M, 
9/23/84, Portland (OR)…100th M, 
	4/26/08, Country Music.
Famida Hanif-Weddle, San Jose, CA – 
1st M, 7/21/85, San Francisco….100th M,
	6/7/03, Forest of Nisene 
Marks, Aptos, CA.  PR, 3:58:02.  Total 
= 155.
	Finished Western States 100 M 
Endurance Run 6/28/97. 
Randy Hansen, Estherville, IA – First, 
University of Okoboji…100th M, Jesus 
Run
	Colorado.
Jamie Harris, London, ON, Canada – 1st 
M, 5/19/78, National Capital (Ottawa)…
100th 
	M, 4/27/08, Waterloo (ON).  PR 
of 2:50:15.
Boonsom Hartman, Oak Forest, IL – 
Completed 50 States & DC December 14, 
2004,
	Honolulu and 100th marathon a 
few months later.  #150 M and 2nd time
	around FINISHER, 6/23/07, 
Mayor’s M, Anchorage, AK.
Mark Hartinger, Shoreline, WA – July 
11, 1998, FIRST OVERALL at 34.5 mile 
utra,
	Climb-a-Mountain, at Spokane, 
and set course record (till then) at 
4:56:02.
Kevin Hatfield, Hardwick, GA – 1st M, 
12/28/03, Light Marathon (Mobile, AL)… 
	100th M, 5/25/08, Burlington, 
VT.  PR of 3:29:51.
Roger Hauge, Excelsior, MN
Rick Hermelin, Thousand Oaks, CA – 
First M, 6/11/77, Palos Verdes M. 
(CA).  100th M
	12/2/06, Death Valley Borax 
M., Death Valley, CA
Wally Herman, Ottawa, ON, Canada – 1st 
M, 10/11/75, K-W Octoberfest Marathon,
	Kitchener-Waterloo, 
Ontario….100th M 6/14/81, Manitoba, 
Winnipeg, Man,
Ont….200th M, 8/4/85….300th M, 
9/29/89….400th M, 12/18/93.  PR, 
3:14:56.  Special 
accomplishment:   “Still living!”  As 
of a few years ago, he has run 
marathons or ultras on 7 continents 
and in 99 countries.
Jerry Herndon, Cabin Creek, WV – First 
M, 1975, Toledo.
Claude Hicks, Jr., Fort Worth, TX – 
1st M, 2/28/04, Cowtown…100th M, 
10/19/08,
	Louisville….all 26.2 M’s.  Add 
8 ultras for a total 108.  PR of 
3:50:36.
Bob Hildebrandt, Fairbanks, AK – 1st M 
Snowgoose, Anchorage, AK, Aug. 1993. 
	100th M Grandmas (MN), 
6/16/07.  50 states FINISHER, Oct. 
2007, Mt. Desert
	Island M., ME.
Harry Hoffman, Jr., Port Salerno, FL – 
First M, January 8, 1995, Disney 
(Orlando),
100th M Feb. 27, 2005, New Orleans; 7 
marathons in 7 states in 6 weeks; 3 
marathons in 7 days, 20 in one year.  
50 States FINISHER on 6/23/07.  Has 
run 
100 marathons in state of Florida.
Steven Holehan, Austin, TX – 1st M, 
1/17/99, Houston.  100th M. 5/6/07, 
Vancouver M 
	(BC).  He & his wife Parvaneh 
Moayedi became 50 states FINISHERS 
Oct. 2006
	Cape Cod M. (MA).
Richard Holmes, Durham, NC – 1st M, 
11/11/78, Calloway Gardens, GA….100th 
M, 
	11/24/01 N. Central Trail, 
Sparks, MD….200th M, 3/8/09, Umstead 
Trail, 
	Raleigh, NC.  PR, 3:18:34.  
TWO times 50 States & DC FINISHER.  
Canadian 
	Provinces/Territories and 
continents FINISHER.  Projected 
Goals:  Third time
	States Finisher, 2011; Second 
time Canada, 2011; Second time 
Continents, 
	3/7/10;  titanium level of 
Maniacs (top level), 3/7/10.  
Humanitarian of the Year
	Award (50 States & DC).
Allen Holtz, Oakdale, MN – 1st M, Oct. 
1994, Twin Cities…100th M, Same as #1,
	Oct. 2005.  Ran inaugural 
Yakima River Canyon Marathon, 
3/31/01.  50 States
	FINISHER.  PR of 3:20:55.  As 
of Feb. 2008, 116 M’s and 62 ultras.  
In 2008
	finished 8 races of 100 miles 
and was one of 6 to complete Grand 
Slam of Ultra
	Running.
Tom Hosner, Trabuco Canyon, CA – 1st 
M, 5/6/90, Long Beach, CA.  100th M, 
6/3/07, 
	San Diego Rock ‘n Roll M.  PR 
of 3:04.
Christian Hottas, Hamburg, Germany – 
Director of 100 Marathon Club Germany.
Raymond Hoyle, Watford Herts, UK –  
1st M, 1987, St. Albans, U.K…..100th M,
	9/22/1996, Polytechnic.  Ran 
the Yakima River Canyon Marathon for
	6 consecutive years, 2004-2009.
Peter Hudec, Wannabe whose 1st M was 
11/6/94, New York City.   
Tom Husman, Toledo, OH
Gerry Hynes, Canton, OH – 1st M, 
10/10/85, Nashua Johannesburg…100th M,
	10/12/08, Towpath.  PR of 
2:48:00.  Permanent #8900 for Comrades.
Deborah Ingram, Gainesville, FL – 
Wannabe whose 1st M was Walt Disney 
World, 
	1/9/05.  50 States FINISHER, 
10/3/09.
Angela Ivory, Nashville, TN – 1st M, 
4/28/01, Country Music M, Nashville.  
100th M
	8/20/06, Silver State M, Reno, 
NV.  Ran 36 M’s and 16 ultras in 2006….
	with 4 weekend doubles.  M 
Total for 8 years = 285.
Debbra Jacobs-Robinson, Granada Hills, 
CA 
Deo Jaravata, Granada Hills, CA – 1st 
M, March 1997, Los Angeles…100th M,
	November 2005, Long Beach.  PR 
of 3:30.  150th M, 6/1/08, Rock ‘n 
Roll, 
	San Diego.
Karl Jensen, North Vancouver, BC, 
Canada – Grand Slam, 1999. First 
Canadian to 
	Complete The Last Great Race 
of Ultramarathoning.
Cathie Johnson, Red Boiling Springs, 
TN – First M, Tennessee First, 
Memphis, 12/1/96
	…100th M, 4/25/-0, Country 
Music, Nashville, TN.  She’s run 5 
marathons in
	Europe.
Craig Johnson, Regina, Sask, Canada – 
1st M, Sept. 1990, Saskatchewan…100th M
	Trestle Valley, Minot, ND, 
4/25/09.
(William) Troy Johnson, Red Boiling 
Springs, TN – 1st M, 12/1/96, 
Tennessee First, 
	Memphis, TN…100th M, 4/25/09, 
Country Music, Nashville.  He’s run 
five
	Marathons in Europe.
Jay Johnson, Sauk Rapids, MN – First 
M, October 1994…100th M, October 2, 
2005, 
	Twin Cities.  Completed 50 
States October 2003.  Overall winner 
of three 
	Marathons.
David Jones, Seattle, WA – 1st M, 
3/27/83, Emerald City, Seattle….100th 
M, 5/5/03,
	Yakima River Canyon Marathon.  
On 2/18/08 had run at least 1 mile per 
day
	for 25 years.  It’s now 26 
years!
Greg Judge, Seattle, WA – First M, 
Skagit Flats (Burlington, WA), 1994…
100th M,
	March 3, 2002, Napa 
Valley.  “Evil Triplet.”
Gary Julin, Omaha, NE – By November 
23, 2002, had run 106 marathons under 
	THREE HOURS!!!
Chester H. Kalb, II, Key West, FL – 
1st M, 1/6/02, Walt Disney World…100th 
M,
	9/20/08, Krol’s Diner North 
Dakota Rough Rider…..All race walking 
with 	
PR of 4:42:32.  PR of 2:50:24 for 
prior running M’s.  Ran/walked 1,656 
miles from Cincinnati to DC to Cape 
Kennedy to Disney World.  50 States 
FINISHER.
Bruce Katter, Edmonds, WA – First M, 
Seattle, Nov. 25, 1989; 100th M, New 
Las 
            Vegas, Dec. 4, 2005; 50 
States Finisher, working on 
continents.  Ran his last
	race 3/31/07, Yakima River 
Canyon Marathon.  Bruce Katter died on 
11/11/07
	from lung/bone cancer. 
Don Kern, Grand Rapids, MI – 1st M, 
10/15/95, Chicago…100th M, 12/4/04, 
Memphis.
	Grand Rapids Marathon R.D.  50 
States FINISHER.  CONTINENTS FINISHER
	THREE TIMES.  Only person to 
run seven continents twice in one year!
	Total M’s, 166 + 3 ultras.  
Sharon Kerson, Culver City, CA – Has 
run in all Canadian provinces and 
territories,	on 3 continents, in 4 
countries, and all states for the 
second time around by 2000.
LeRoy Kessler, Turlock, CA – 1st M, 
SFO, 1986.  PR of 3:13.  Total of 104 
m’s and 51 
	ultras.  Has run all of the 
California m’s except two new  ones.
Annie King, Decatur, GA – 1st M, New 
York City, 11/5/89.  100th M 10/20/07, 
Green 
	Mountain (VT).  50 states 
FINISHER 6/17/06, Mayor’s Midnight Sun 
(AK).
	2nd TIME 50 States FINISHER, 
Cordova, AK, 7/12/08.
Helen Klein, Rancho Cordova, CA – At 
age 81, ran Napa on March 7, 2004, in 
	4:45:42 and a few weeks later 
on April 3rd ran the MORE Marathon for 
Women
	over 40 years old in 4:49 with 
a 25 mph headwind.  She’s WONDERFUL AND
	AMAZING!!!  By end of 2008…. 
she had completed 242 M’s and was 
oldest
	person  to complete a 100 mile 
run.  At age 66 was one of the first 
women to
	complete the Grand Slam (five 
100-mile mountain trail runs in a 16 
week period).
	At age 70, ran 145-mile stage 
race in Himalayas.  At age 72, 145 
stage race
	across Sahara Desert and 
participated in 370-mile Echo 
Challenge in Utah.  At
	age 74, ran 143-mile stage 
race across Peruvian Andes.  At age 
81, completed
	Tahoe Triple.  Oldest woman to 
have finished these 100 Mile Endurance 
Runs:
	Western States, Leadville 
Trail, Wasatch Trail, Old Dominion, 
Angeles Crest,
	Rocky Raccoon, Vermont.  First 
woman ultra marathoner elected to USAF 
Hall
	of Fame (2004).
Norman Klein, Rancho Cordova, CA – 
Former director of Western States 100 
Mile 
	Endurance Run.  With wife 
Helen coaches a middle school track 
and field team.
Ron Knecht, Newport, Or & Sunriver, 
OR – 1st M, Newport (Oregon), 5/31/03…
	100th M, Newport, 5/30/09.  
Qualified for Boston at 1st M a week 
after turning
	60.  finished 50 States at 
Honolulu 12/14/08.
Holly Koester, Walton Hills, OH – 1st 
M, Oct. 1995, Columbus (OH)…100th M,
	5/25/08, Buffalo.  First 
person ever, male or female, to race a 
wheelchair 
	marathon in all 50 States and 
DC!  One of 12 wheelchair athlete 
veterans on
	Cheerios Box (March 2008).
Al Kohli, Jr., Lomira, WI – 1st M, 
8/10/85, Paavo Nurmi…100th M, 9/21/08,
	Fox Cities.  50 States 
FINISHER.  PR of 3:30:56.
Dror Kopernik, Skokie, IL – 1st M Fox 
Cities, Appleton, WI, 9/26/99.  100th 
M….
	Mardi Gras, New Orleans, 
2/25/07.  Ran Tahoe Triple in 2004.
Andy Kotulski, Montclair, NJ – Has run 
over 600 marathons in 35 countries.  
Has run
	30 consecutive Boston M’s.
Scott Krell, Snohomish, WA – 1st M, 
Portland (OR), 9/27/87….100th M, 
CCC100, 
	8/28/05.  Race Director, 
Seattle Ghost and Birch Bay Ghost.
Steve Kruse, Platte City, MO - First 
M, November 5, 1994, Kansas City…100th 
M,
	March 27, 2004, Clearwater 
(Florida).
Juergen Kuhlmey, Oldenburg, Germany – 
1st M, 9/22/85, Karlsrube, Germany…
	100th M, 3/6/01, Dead Sea.  
200th M, 4/18/04, Hamburg.  Grand Slam…
	7 continents in 1 year plus 
North Pole M.  VP of 100 Marathon Club
	Germany.  “Snow-birds” to Fort 
Lauderdale, FL.
Jim Kunz, Seattle, WA- First M, 1981, 
Skagit Flats (Burlington, WA)…100th M, 
	2001 Honolulu.  “Evil Triplet.”
Don Lang, Glendale, CA – By the end of 
2002…completed all States & DC a third 
time.
	All were unrepeated events 
(done in different places).  Completed 
marathons at
the highest elevation and at the 
lowest elevation in the world.  Don 
died on 
May 8, 2008.
Bernadette Langdon, Portland, OR – 
First M Portland (Oregon), 9/28/97…
100th M
	Newport (Oregon), 5/30/09
Kurt Lauer, Seattle, WA – 1st M, Nov. 
1977, Hinsdale…100th M, 4/5/08, 
American 
	River 50 Miler.  PR of 2:40:17.
Unha Lee, Olympia, WA – 1st M, Skagit 
Flats…100th M, 5/18/08, Capital City.  
	50 States FINISHER. 
Bob Lehew, Tulsa, OK – 1st M, 1983, 
Dallas White Rock….100th M, 2001, 
Boston.  PR,
	2:51.    50 States FINISHER, 
2000.  Ran Western States 100 Miler, 
1992 and
1995.	Consecutive Bostons from 1987 
for 15+ years.  First president of the 
50
States Marathon Club.
Nita Kay LeMay, Hawthorn Wood, IL – 
First M, October 25, 1992, Chicago…
100th M,
	October 10, 2004, Chicago.   
Completed 50 States & DC November 15, 
2003, and	
	Canadian Provinces September 
12, 2004.  Australia FINISHER.
John Lent, Waltham, VT – First M, 
November 12, 1986, Philadelphia…100th 
M, April 
	10, 2005, Glass City. 
Completed all States and Canadian 
Provinces.  Completed
	all 50 state highpoints on 
July 4, 2001, on top of Kings Peak, 
Utah.
John Leonhart, Urbandale, IA – 1st M, 
April 1978, Drake Relays Marathon, Des 
	Moines….100th M, Sept. 18, 
2005, Des Moines Marathon.  50 States 
& DC 
	Finisher. 
Mark Lidman, Gladstone, MO – First M, 
June 5, 1978, Marathon Marathon (Terre
	Haute, IN).
Helmut Linzbichler, Austria & Harbor 
Springs, MI – First M, October 26, 
1985, Graz
	(Austria)…100th M, October 11, 
1998, Graz.  Amazing athlete, mountain 
climber,
	ultramarathoner etc.  
Completed all 50 state highpoints and 
photographs of all 
	state capitols plus DC.
Gina Little, London, UK – 1st M, 
4/17/83, London…100th M, 11/16/97, 
Kent Coast.
	278 total M’s as of 5/16/08.  
Record holder Isle of White M (UK).
Phil Little, Apopka, FL – First M, 
January 1983, Mt. Doud, FL.
Bob Livitz, Houston, TX – First M, 
November 4, 1979, Marine Corps…100th M,
	July 2000, Dave’s 
Ohio/Michigan Run (Sylvania, OH).  50 
States & DC 
	FINISHER 10/5/02, New 
Hampshire M.
Robert Lopez, Seattle, WA – 1st M, 
Portland (OR), 2001.  100th M, 3/31/07,
	Yakima River Canyon (WA).  PR 
of 3:38.  200th M, Little Rock, 
3/15/09.
Scott Ludwig, Peachtree City, GA – 1st 
M, March 1979, Florida Relays.  100th 
M, April, 
	2003, Boston.  200th M, March 
2009, Albany.   2003 – Badwater 6th 
overall. 
	2002 – 24 Hour Masters 
Champion.  2006 – Western States 
finisher.  Running 
	streak 31+ years.  Author of 
two running books.  PR, 2:48:41.
Bill Mack, Defiance, OH – First M, 
1980, Columbus…100th M, 1998 Midnight 
Sun.
Larry Macon, San Antonio, TX – First 
M, November 10, 1996, San Antonio…
	100th M, March 7, 2004, Little 
Rock.  Runs 75+ M’s per year! 10 TIMES 
50 
	States FINISHER.  Set Guinness 
World Record of running 105 M’s in one 
year 
	(2008).
Steven Madrid, Albuquerque, NM – 1st 
M, Bandelier M, 4/29/95.  100th M, 
Turtle M
	9/3/07.
Jon Mahoney, Vernon, BC, Canada – 
First M, November 25, 1994, Seattle.  
#200 was 
	at Seattle on 10th anniversary 
of #1.  #300 was at Victoria, BC, on 
10/12/08.
Dave Major, Moulton Northampton, 
United Kingdom – 1st M, London, 1996.  
100th M
	Longford M. (Ireland), August 
2004.
Jerry Martin, Spokane Valley, WA – His 
PR for a marathon is 1:50!!! 
Wheelchair 
	participant whose first 
marathon was in 1982 at Coeur d’ Alene 
(Idaho), and his
	100th was at Portland in 2000.
Tom “HiGuy” Matti, Arlington Heights, 
IL – Ran 96 marathons in first two 
years. 
	Holds world record for running 
123+ M’s in sandals. 
Dave McGillivray, North Andover, MA – 
First M, April 1972.  1978 Run Across 
	America, 1981 Run up East 
Coast, 2004 Relay Across America, 
Boston Marathon
Race Director.  Total M’s of 123, 
including 37 Bostons.  The last 21 
were run at night after his RD duties 
were completed.  Career total of 
130,000 miles.
Don McNelly, Rochester, NY – 1st M, 
4/21/69, Boston….100th M. 11/21/81, 
JFK….200th
	M, 6/7/87, Lake Ontario….300th 
M, 9/30/91, Albequerque….400th M,
	7/3/94…Namsuck….500th M, 
2/1/98, Ocala.  Marathons on 5 
continents and 18
	countries.  As of October 2002 
had run 323 marathons and ultras since 
turning
	70….and 27 since turning 80!  
Celebrated 89th birthday 11/11/09….and 
he’s still
	completing marathons!!!
Kay McVey, St. Peters, MO – First M, 
October 1992, Chicago….100th M, 
October 2009,
	Chicago.  Ran 13 marathons in 
2008. Finisher of 3 Ironman Triathlons.
Sean Meissner, Sisters, OR – PR of 
2:51:11.  1st M, Coeur d’ Alene (ID), 
May of 1995.  
	100th M, Chuckanut 50K, 
Bellingham, WA, 3/17/07.  Four time 
winner of
	Tahoe Triple. Winner of 2006 
Bighorn 50 Miler, 2006 Autumn Leaves 
50K, 2005 
	Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler.
Cyndie Merten, Corvallis, OR – 1st M, 
12/7/97, Tucson…100th M, 4/4/09, Yakima
	River Canyon.
Leslie Miller, Newcastle, WA – 1st M., 
5/5/02, Cincinnati Flying Pig…100th M, 
7/19/08,
	Crescent Forest Trail.  At age 
28, she’s the youngest female to 
complete 100
	M’s.  PR of 4:03:19.
Ultra Al Miller, Deer Island, OR – 
300th M, Portland (Oregon), 10/4/09.
Phil Min, Mt. Olive, AL – 1st M, 
9/3/2000, Tupelo….100th M, 12/12/09, 
Rocket City.  94 
	Marathons, 6 ultras. 
Parvaneh Moayedi, Austin, TX – 1st M, 
11/5/00, San Antonio.  100th M, Austin,
	2/18/07.  50 states FINISHER 
October 2006, Cape Cod M. (MA) with
	her husband Steven Holehan.  
150th M, 4/20/09, Boston.
Gina Moore, San Marcos, TX – First M, 
February 28, 1998, Smoky Mountain…
100th M, 
	April 18, 2005, Boston.
Paul Morgan, Altamonte Springs, FL – 
First M, October 23, 1993, Marine Corps
	…100th M, November 23, 2000, 
Atlanta.
Dennis Mori, San Leandro, CA – 1st M, 
7/12/98, San Francisco….100th M, 
2/1/09,
	Surf City.  Has run 11 
international marathons.  Total = 117.
Alan Morton, Tywyn-Gwynedd, Wales – By 
age 70 had run marathons in 35 
different
	countries.
Dana Mosell, Walnut, CA – First & 
100th M, 1998 & 2006, L.A. Marathon. 
50 States
	& DC Finisher.
Janice (Kay) Moyer, Wellpinit, WA – 
1st M, October 1997, Spokane…100th M, 
4/5/08,
	Yakima River Canyon Marathon.  
PR of 4:00:41.
James Munson, Costa Mesa, CA – First 
M, February 3, 1994…100th M, May 2001,
	Wyoming.  James Munson died in 
November 2005.  He finished a total of 
160 
Marathons (40 running and 120 
walking).  He was walking half 
marathons a      few months prior to 
his passing. 
Cheryl Murdock, Pensacola, FL – First 
M, 1994 Disney World, Orlando…100th M, 
	2/19/06, Pensacola Marathon.  
50 States Finisher.
Stan Nakashima, Mt. Vernon, WA – First 
M, September 29, 1979, Skagit Flats 
	(Burlington, WA)…100th M, 
September 12, 1998, Skagit Flats.  
300th M, 9/13/09,
	Skagit Flats.
Jose Nebrida, Chicago, IL – 1st M, 
October 1986, America’s Marathon, 
Chicago….100th
	M 10/22/2000, Chicago.  After 
September 11, 2001, he pledged to run 
with old
	Glory in a marathon in all 50 
states plus DC.  Seven months later 
after completing
	#12, his heart attack and 
subsequent surgery put a stop to his 
goal only for a short 
	time.  He’s a HERO to many!!  
Featured in 12/4/09 Chicago Tribune 
article.
Stan Neumann, Timonium, MD – First M, 
April 10, 1983, Maryland…100th M,
	October 22, 2000, Marine Corps.
K-G Nystrom, Sjuntorp, Sweded – Ran 
400 meters in 49 seconds in 1959.
Wally Oakes, Little Lever, Bolton, 
England – 1st M, August 1982, Bolton, 
U.K…..100th M, 1994, New York….200th 
M, 2000, New York.  PR, 3:14.As an 
unpaid tour leader for Sports Tours
	International, he gets to run 
New York City Marathon each year as he 
takes
	approximately 300 people each 
year on tours of New York City.  In 
total they
	bring about 2,000 runners and 
family members to this marathon each 
year.
David Olsho, Seattle, WA – 100th 26.2 
M, 4/4/09/ Yakima River Canyon.
Stuart Olson, Chuluota, FL – 1st 
M,12/17/94….100th M AND 50 States & DC 
Finisher
	10/13/02, Providence, RI.  PR 
4:43:10.  Total knee replacement 
4/1/09.
Ken Ornellas, Elbert, CO - 1st M, 
Winter Park (CO), 7/11/01.  100th M, 
10/14/07, 
	Denver.  50 states FINISHER 
10/22/05.
Rosemarie Ornellas, Elbert, Co – 1st 
M, Winter Park (CO), 7/11/01.  100th 
M, 9/30/07,
	Boulder Backroads M.  50 
states FINISHER 10/22/05.
Jim Ottinger, Vestavia, AL – 1st M, 
New York City, 1987.  100th M, 
Mercedes,
	Birmingham, AL, 2007.
William Ouchark, Bradenton, FL – 1st 
M, 3/19/2000, Shamrock Sportsfest.  
100th M
	Twin Cities, 10/7/07.
Mae Palm, Garibaldi Highlands, BC, 
Canada – 1st M, 1982, Whistler (British
 Columbia)….100th M, 2002, Vancouver.  
In age 60-64F group, first place in 
Ironman Canada  in 2000, 2001, and 
2002, first place in Ironman World 
Championship in Kona, HI, in 2001 and 
second in 2002.  Western States 100-
Miler, 1994 in 29 hours, 54 minutes.
Pamela Penfield, Highlands Ranch, CO – 
First & 100th M, Marine Corps Marathon,
	11/7/82 and 10/26/03.
Dean Peterson, Appleton, WI – First & 
100th M, Fox Cities, Appleton, WI, 
Oct. 1999.
	and 9/9/09.  50 States & DC 
FINISHER, May 2006.
Russell Petelle, Derby Line, Vermont – 
1st M, August 1977, Paul Bunyan, 
Bangor, ME
	…100th M, 5/24/09, Vermont 
City.  PR, 3:08.
Lynda Petri, Marengo, IL – received 
grant from Balance Bar in fall of 2002 
with all
	running expenses (flight, 
meals, car rental, entries) paid 
between October 2002
	and January 2003.
Van Phan, Maple Valley, WA – 1st M, 
Portland (Oregon), September 30, 
2001…..
100th M, Tri Cities (Richland, WA), 
October 29, 2006.  She ran 53 
marathons in 2006 and was Trail Runner 
Magazine’s Trophy Series Ultra and 
overall points winner.  Marathon Guide 
#5 Female Outstanding Marathoner of 
2006.  Ran 51
M’s in 2007.  Total of 70 M’s and 90 
ultras by mid-2008.  Race Director of 
	Pigtails Flat Ass Marathon and 
Lake Youngs Ultra.  Inducted into 
Marathon
	Maniacs Hall of Fame, 4/4/09.  
Tony Phillippi, Tacoma, WA – A 
Marathon Maniacs founder.  First M, 
Portland (OR), 
10/4/98…100th M, Haulin Aspen (Bend, 
OR), 9/14/05.  Holds world marathon 
record of  2:53:37 for wearing sandals 
instead of shoes in race.  Director of
Tacoma City M and webmaster for 100 
MCNA.
Cheri (Gillis) Pompeo, Woodinville, 
WA – On cover of March 2002 Northwest 
Runner
	Magazine.  1st M, September 
22, 1984, Skagit Flats (Burlington, WA)
….
100th M, May 10, 2002, Capital City 
(Olympia, WA)
Mel Preedy, Ravensdale, WA – 1st M, 
3/27/83, Emerald City, Seattle….100th 
M 6/3/95,
Clackamas River Canyon, Estacada, 
OR….200th M, 9/30/01, Portland.  PR,
2:55:08.  At age 59 First Overall at 
Birch Bay Marathon on December 5, 1992.
Ran 70 miles for his 70th birthday, 
April 8-9, 2003.  Inducted into 
Marathon
Maniacs Hall of Fame 4/4/09.
Kendel Prescott, Decatur, GA – 1st M, 
11/3/90, Marine Corps…100th M, Nov. 
1999, 
	Vulcan (Birmingham)…200th M, 
Nov. 2005, Gobbler Grind.  Finished 
all 
	continents.  FOUR times 50 
States & DC finisher. 
Walt Prescott, Decatur, GA – 1st M, 
1/8/95, Walt Disney World…100thM, 
10/11/03
	Lake Tahoe…200th M, 6/1/07, 
Ridgerunner.  Finished all 
continents.  THREE 
	Times 50 States & DC 
finisher.  Completed ten 100 Mile 
Ultras.
Ray Prizgintas, Los Angeles, CA – 
First M, February 1978, Hidden Valley 
(LA)…
	November 1994, St. Louis.
Bruce Purdy, Manchester, MI – 1st M, 
November 1982, Columbus (OH)…100th M, 
	9/19/98, Lake Shore 50K.  PR 
of 2:29:45.  As of 4/17/08, totals of 
178 M’s,
	and 209 ultras (grand total of 
387).
Karen Queally, Millbrae, CA – 1st M, 
5/20/84, Yonkers, NY….100th M, 9/20/09,
	Yonkers, NY.  She’s run M’s in 
Bermuda, Rome and Dublin.
Steve Radigan, Fremont, CA – Only 
person to have run every Napa Valley 
Marathon.
Chris Ralph, Kirkland, WA – Four time 
Iditasport finisher, foot division.  
Ran across
	Panama, first woman, 9:07:59, 
September 5, 1998.
Dane Rauschenberg, Salt Lake City, UT –
 1st M, 11/11/01, Harrisburg…100th M, 
	8/16/09, Pikes Peak.  PR, 
2:49:36.  52 Marathon Races in 52 
consecutive weeks in 
	2006, Average 3:21.
Elbert Reed, Omaha, NE – First, 
September 14, 1980, Omaha…100th, 
October 21, 2001,
	Louisville.
Pam Reed, Tucson, AZ – 1st M, 1988, 
Phoenix….1st Ultra, July 1990, Elkhorn 
100K.
PR, 2:59.  OVERALL WINNER Badwater, 
2002-2003.  Tucson Marathon race
director.
Layne Reibel, Oviedo, FL – First M, 
December 17, 1994, Jacksonville, FL…
100th M,
	April 7, 2001, Umstead 50 
Miler, NC.
Anne Rentz, Marietta, GA – 1st M, 
10/27/96, Marine Corps….100th M, 
12/19/09, 
	Florida Marathon.  PR 
4:53:28.  Total includes 39 ultras.
Guillermo Rios, Ventura, CA – 1st M, 
11/21/93, New York…100th M, 6/27/09,
	Running with the Devil.
Tom Ripley, Sammamish, WA – 1st M, 
3/27/83….100th M, 5/22/04, Watershed  
Reserve 12 Hour.  Five Alaska 
Iditasport finishes, 1996-2001.  Yukon
Arctic Ultra, 2002.  108.5 miles in 
Green Lake 24 Hour 1985. PR, 3:03:40.
Fenny Roberts, Salem, OR – 1st M, 
Portland (Oregon), October 
1998…..100th M,
	Pacific Crest Trail 50K Trail 
Run, July 2006.  She ran 121 miles 
(6/30-7/1, 2000)
	in 24 hour run at Salem, OR, & 
124½ miles (6/13/-14/2008) at same 
race.
Diana Robinson, Bellingham, WA – 1st 
M, 1996, Honolulu…100th M, 2007,
	Lean Horse 100 Mile.
Edwin Roth, Koeln, Germany – 1st M, 
April 1993, Koeln, Germany.  Silver 
Buckle at
Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, 
1999.  50 states FINISHER, 6/21/03.
Henry Rueden, De Pere, WI – 1st M, 
10/30/88, Chicago….100th M, 11/18/95, 
Tulsa….
200th M, 5/28/2000, Rochester, MN.  M 
#400,  July 2005, San Francisco…
M #500, 5/20/07, Green Bay, WI….M 
#600, 5/17/09,  Green Bay.  50 States 
FINISHER 8 TIMES.  Completed all 
Canadian provinces.  Finished all
	7 continents.  Completed an 
inaugural marathon in all 50 states & 
DC.
Edson Sanches, New York, NY – 1st M, 
10/27/85, New York City….100th M,
12/14/91….200th M, 11/02/97, New York 
City….300th M, 12/08/01, 
Palermo, Sicily, Italy.  Finished 50 
States & DC for third time in Richmond,
	VA, November 9, 2002.  2nd 
time Australian FINISHER. 
John Schaap, Louisville, KY – First M, 
February 26, 1989, 3rd Olympiad 
Memorial 
	Marathon, St. Louis.
Ray Scharenbrock, South Milwaukee, WI –
 1st M, October 1982, Lakefront,
Milwaukee….100th M, 5/16/92, Ice Age 
50 Mile Trail Run, South Kettle,
WI….200th M, 9/24/95, East Lyme, 
CT….300th M, 3/13/99, A. P. Trail Run,
Littleton, CO….400th M, 5/16/92, Great 
North American Tim Tam, Ames, IA.
Ran his 500th marathon on April 3, 
2004, at the Yakima River Canyon 
Marathon.
Has completed TEN 50 States & DC 
Circuits!!!  Has completed a M and a ½ 
M on all 7 continents.
Del Scharffenberg, Milwaukie, OR – 1ST 
M, 11/30/74, Sauvie Island (Portland,
 OR)….100th M, 11/26/94, 
Seattle….200th M, 4/23/95, Falls to 
Gasworks.
 Longest race, New Astley Belt SIX-
DAY, April 1985, 384 miles.  Also a 
 multi-sport competitor.
Jim Scheer, Vancouver, WA – First M, 
October 28, 1979, Portland…100th M, 
Portland,
	2000….300th M, 12/19/09, 
Christmas Marathon.
Steve Schumacher. Orange, CA – 1st M, 
December 1978, Fiesta Bowl…100th M  
1999,
	Fort Wayne.  Has run every day 
for 29+ years.
Frank Searfus, Coos Bay, OR
Suzy Seeley, Houston, TX – First M, 
1995 Houston….100th M, Houston, 
1/15/06.
Terry Sentinella, Anacortes, WA – 1st 
M, 6/16/03, Inaugural North Olympic 
Discovery,
	Port Angeles…100th M, 6/7/09, 
North Olympic Discovery.  Overall 
Winner of 10
	Marathons.  Race Director of 
Skagit Flats Marathon.
Clay Shaw, York, PA – 1st M., July 
1979, San Francisco….100th M, 5/31/98, 
Russian
River, Ukiah, CA.  Completed a 
marathon in each of 13 Canadian 
Provinces and
	Territories.  PR, 2:53:51.  
Overall winner 1993 Wyoming and 2000 
Nunayut
(Canada).  1/31/01, Inducted into York 
Sports Hall of Fame (Pennsylvaina).
Michael Shiach, Bainbridge Island, WA –
 1st M, 1978, Seattle…100th M, April 
4, 2009,
	Yakima River Canyon Marathon.
Dan Shuff, San Antonio, TX – 1st M, 
Nov. 1992, San Antonio….100th M, July 
2003.
Myron Sidloski, Dallas, PA – 1st M, 
11/25/84, Philadelphia….100th M, 
3/19/06, Los
	Angeles.  Total = 109 
(Recovering from knee & back 
surgeries.) 	
Jim Simpson, Huntington Beach, CA – 
First M, March 6, 1988, Los Angeles…
100th M,
	March 1, 1998, Los Angeles.  
500th M, Baltimore, 10/13/07.  NINE 
time 50 states
	FINISHER.  Has stayed in a Wal 
Mart parking lot in all 50 states!
Myron Sidloski, Dallas, PA – 1st M, 
Philadelphia, 11/25, 1984…100th M, Los 
Angeles,
	3/19/2006. 
Arthur Stanger, Boca Raton, FL – 1st 
M, November 1988, New York City….100th 
M,
August 2001, Pocatello….200th M, 
6/16/07, DuluthRan Four Marathons in a
nine-day period.  Attempting to be 
first U.S. dentist to have run a 
marathon in all
50 states & DC and first to have run 
100 or more marathons!  PR, 3:31:30.
Mark Stodghill, Duluth, MN – 1st M, 
Grandma’s (Duluth), 6/24/78.  100th M, 
Twin 
	Cities 10/3/99.  Completed 3 
100-milers in 2000 (Old Dominion, 
Leadville,
	Wasatch).  200th M, 5/25/08, 
Mid City.  Completed 50th State at 
Choteau, MT,
	8/1/09, Grizzly Marathon.  
Working on continents.  Total M. = 230
Pete Stringer, Osterville, MA – 1st M, 
Boston, 1978.  100th M, Hyannis (MA), 
February 
	1999.  First Cape Cod resident 
to run 100 M’s.
Jerry Sullivan, Metairie, LA – First 
M, October 14, 1997, Chicago…100th M, 
	August 10, 2002, Resurrection 
Pass 50 Miler.
Dianna Sulser, Denison, TX – 1st M & 
100th M, Dallas White Rock Marathon, 
12/1/92
	and 12/11/05.
Seth Sundin, Vancouver, WA – First M, 
April 13, 1986, Emerald City, Seattle…
100th 
	M, October 22, 2000, Marine 
Corps.
Craig Swanson, Plymouth, MN – 1st M, 
Twin Cities (MN), 10/5/97.  100th M, 
Boston, 
	41706.  50 states FINISHER.  
PR of 3:27:36.
Gunhild Swanson, Spokane, WA – At age 
57, overall woman winner of Inaugural
	Whidbey Island Marathon.  
200th M, Tacoma City (WA), 5/13/07.
 Jack Swanson, Spokane, WA – First M, 
May 1979, Coeur d’ Alene (Idaho)…100th 
M,
	May 31, 1998, Columbia River 
Gorge.  200th M, Seattle, 11/25/07.  
Jack lost
his battle to Chronic Lymphocytic 
Leukemia on September 19, 2008.
Michael Swanson, Plymouth, MN – 1st M, 
10/05/97, Twin Cities…100th M, 11/16/08
	Rock ‘n Roll San Antonio.
Annie Thiessen, Tacoma, WA – 1st M, 
November 1995, Seattle…100th M, 
5/31/08, 
	Newport (OR).  She set her PR 
of 2:56:12 at her 100th Marathon….AND
	was the overall women’s winner 
that day!  After her 4/5/08 YRCM win, 
she 
	was the winner at her next 
four marathons (Whidbey Island, 
Tacoma, Capital
	City & Newport).  That’s 5 
wins in 5 consecutive races (4/5/08-
5/31/08).  Was
women’s winner of 2008 Seattle 
Marathon, her 8th in 2008 and 30th of 
her career. 
Ralph Thompson, Akron, OH – First M, 
May 1984, Revco…100th M, June 1995,
	Mayors Midnight Sun.
Julia Thorn, Brighton, Victoria 
AUSTRALIA  - 1st M, 5/3/97, Rotorun 
M., New 
	Zealand….100th M, 12/114/08, 
Honolulu.  PR 3:28:43.  Will be first
	Australian woman to complete 
100 26.2 mile M’s on 3/27/10, at Yakima
	River Canyon Marathon.
Robert Toonkel, Arlington, VA – 1st M, 
9/20/98, Yonkers…100th M, 2/4/07, 
Pacific 
	Shoreline.  PR of 3:19:56.  50 
States FINISHER.  121+ M’s.
Gene Trahern, Sisters, OR – First M, 
June 24, 1979, Homestead (Roseburg, OR)
…
	100th M, November 15, 2000, 
Seward Park 50K (Seattle).  Of first 
110 marathons,     
	21 are 26.2 races, and 89 are 
ultramarathons.

Cathy Troisi, Seneca Falls NY – 1st M, 
1992, Boston Marathon Jimmy 
Fund….100th M
8/2/02, Around the Lake, Wakefield, 
MA.  Has run the Boston Double (start 
at	
Boston to Hopkinton to Boston).  Has 
been a companion to Achilles Athletes
(runners with some type of disability).
Ginny Turner, Hillsboro, OR – 1st M, 
9/19/90, Portland…100th M, Vina del 
Mar, Chile, 
	12/10/06, 50 States FINISHER, 
7-Continents FINISHER TWICE…Guinness 
	Book of World Records for the 
shortest overall time to complete a 
marathon 
	on each of the seven 
continents by a woman…in 113 days….. 
and for shortest 
	overall time to complete a 
marathon on each of the seven 
continents and the
	North Pole by a woman…in 324 
days.
 Zach Van Black, Colorado Springs, CO -
 First M, Austin…100th M, Steamboat 
Springs,
	(Colorado)
Dave Vent, Spokane, WA – 1st M, 
11/24/79, Seattle….100th M, 4/20/92, 
Boston.  Ran
TWO different marathons in one day, 
THREE  marathons in three days, SIX
 marathons in 16 days.
Charlie Viers, Natchitoches, LA – 1st 
M, October 1976, Festival Marathon, 
Shreveport, 
	LA….100th M, 2000, Ridge 
Runner WV .
Bill Voiland, Richland, WA – 1st M, 
May 1991, Coeur d’ Alene…100th M, 
October
	2007, Bellingham.  
Michael Wakabayashi, Spokane, WA – 
First M, July 24, 1983, Capital City 
(Olympia,
	WA)…100th M, October 5, 2003, 
Portland.
Neil Wakelin, North Vancouver, BC, 
Canada – Ran three marathons in 8 days 
to make	
	Vancouver #100 in 2004.
Gregg Walchli, Seattle, WA – First M, 
November 28, 2981, Seattle…100th M, 
	November 30, 2003, Seattle.  
MarathonGuide #7 Male Outstanding 
Marathoner
	For 2006.  50 States FINISHER.
John Wallace, Longboat Key, FL – 1st 
M, Sept. 1982, Silver State, Reno, 
NV….100th M, 
April 1996, Boston.  PR, 2:58:03.   
FINISHER 50 & DC, Canada, 7 continents
and all 51 countries in Europe.  
Current total:  over 311 M’s and 100 
countries.
TWO TIME STATE FINISHER.  Set WORLD 
RECORD on 2/8/09 by running
a marathon in 100th country at French 
Polynesia Island of Moorea.  Country 
#101, Singapore M in 4:43.
Ross Waltzer, Tulsa, OK – 1st M, 1978, 
Tulsa.  Ran 100 mile trail runs at 71 
years of age
in Vermont and Arkansas…..108 miles at 
age 65 in 24 hour runs in Florida & 
California.
William Watson, River Ridge, LA – 
First M, 1982, Mardi Gras…100th M, 
2001, 
 	Portland (Maine).
Darwin Weimer, Emerald Park, 
Saskatchewan, Canada – 1st M, 9/23/03, 
Inaugural 
	Queen City, Regina, SK…100th 
M, 6/7/09, Mickelson Trail, Deadwood, 
SD.
Carol Westerman, Louisville, KY – 
Enjoys the 100 Marathon Club 
newsletters!
Bill Whipp, Harrison, OH – 1st M, 
2/27/94, ORRRC Marathon….100th M, 
3/31/01,
Martian.  199+ marathons/ultras on 
total knee replacement.  
	TWO time States  & DC FINISHER.
Lou Wilson, The Woodlands, TX – 1st M, 
9/27/98…100th M, 5/16/09, Brookings 
(SD)
	13 marathons in 13 weekends 
with streak ending two weeks before 
70th
	birthday.	  
Jay Jacob Wind, Arlington, VA – First 
M, 1978 Marine Corps Marathon….100th, 
2004
MCM.	Winner of 1980 Delaware 
Minuteman Marathon and 2000 East Coast
USATF 1,500 Meter Championship.
Mike Wojcio, Kenilworth, NJ – 1st M, 
September 1978, Sacramento…100th M,
	November 2006, New York City.  
PR of 3:17:05.  Has carried two 
American
	flags in about 95 M’s.   
Ray Wold, Lebanon, OR – 1st M, 
2/25/78, Trails End….100th M, 5/19/92, 
Capital City.
In 1988 to do something different, he 
ran two miles in nine different states 
in 22
hours and 55 minutes.  The states were 
Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and 
Wyoming.
Rick Worley, Kingwood, TX – 1st M, May 
1982, Fun Fest.  Completed 200 
marathons in
159 CONSECUTIVE  weekends with no 
weekends off!!!  Is in the Guinness 
Book of World Records.  Completed all 
50 states within calendar year 3 years 
in a row, 1997-1999.  Completed all 50 
states & all 13 Canadian 
Provinces/Territories within a 
calendar year, 1998.
Amy Yanni, Rapid City, SD – 1st M, 
9/6/03…100th M, 6/1/08, Steamboat 
Springs.  Has 
	Placed 1, 2 or 3 in her Age 
Group in 96 of 104 M’s and has been 
overall 
	women’s winner in some.
Lynn Yarnall, Edmonds, WA – 1st M, 
9/23/84, Portland….100th M,9/27/97, 
Cle Elum
Ridge 50K.  PT, 3:12.  As of the end 
of 2002…..12 successive Western States
	100 Mile Endurance Runs 
winning SEVEN silver buckles and age 
group four 
	times.  Silver buckle at 
8/22/93 Leadville Trail 100.
Steven Yee, Renton, WA – First M, 
October 16, 1983…100th M, December 12, 
2004,
	Honolulu.  Ran 41 marathons in 
2004 and  52 in 2005.  A founder of 
Marathon	Maniacs.
Dale Zanchi, Louisville, KY – First 
overall in the North Dakota Marathon.
Sandra Zanchi, Louisville, KY – First 
M, November 1994, Columbus…100th M,
	September 27, 2003.
John Zelenznikow, Victoria, Australia –
 Spends an average of one month per 
year in the  
	U.S.  1st M, July 1972, 
Victorian Country…100th M, 8/26/02, 
Lonford, Ireland.  
	Total = 
153+.                                  
    		

02/12/10


Snowmegeddon Marathon -
OR the "Saint Valentines Day Massacre 
Marathon"

THIS Sunday, Feb 14, 2010
Columbia, MD

Were you scheduled to run the 
cancelled Washington's Birthday 
Marathon in Greenbelt MD?

Are you sick of being cooped up 
indoors all week and want to get 
outdoors and run in a winter 
wonderland?

We've got just the race for you!
We are putting together the final 
details of a FREE (no cost), low-
keyed, SELF-SUPPORTED (or minimal 
support), Fat-Assed type marathon in 
Columbia, Maryland, for Sunday, Feb. 
14, probably starting at about 8am, or 
thereabouts. Our intention is to have 
this marathon meet the requirements to 
be counted as a Maryland Marathon for 
the 50 States Marathon Club, but it is 
open to everyone (except whiners :)

Please forward this to anyone you know 
who might want to be a part of this 
event. Email your interest to 
RunninglongNH@yahoo.com and I will 
keep you in the loop, and advise you 
of details ASAP.

Thanks for your interest. We hope to 
make this a fun event!

Walt Prescott
Race Director
Inaugural Snowmegeddon Marathon
RunninglongNH@yahoo.com

Hosted by the Howard County Striders

"If you lack the courage to start, 
then you are already finished."

02/21/10


CALL OF THE WILD PRESIDENTS DAY 
MARATHON
February 15, 2010

For several days I waited patiently 
for the Call of the Wild Presidents 
Day Marathon that was scheduled for 
Monday, February 15, 2010.  I hadn’t 
run a marathon since the Mississippi 
Blues Marathon on January 9, 2010, and 
I felt under-trained with a steady 
loss of fitness.

On race morning I awakened at 4:30 
a.m. and left our Renton home an hour 
later.  As I drove onto I-405, I was 
amazed at the amount of traffic on a 
race morning.  Then it dawned on me 
that there were people who had to work 
on this holiday, and I was part of 
Monday morning rush hour traffic.

By 6:00 a.m. I arrived at the parking 
lot of Bothell Landing Park.  I was 
the first to arrive, but soon Rich 
Menzel, Mel Preedy, Francesca 
Carmichael, Cheri Pompeo, Monte 
Pascual and others arrived    Cheri 
announced that she and Gregg Walchli 
had married over the weekend.  She 
received congratulations from all of 
us.

We made our way to the start/finish 
area and checked in with race director 
Adrian Call.  He described the double-
out and back course that the 
marathoners would follow.  We would 
cross a nearby footbridge over the 
Sammamish River and turn left to go 
upstream for a mile before we crossed 
to the eastside of the river.  We 
would run by Woodinville and Redmond 
to the 9.15 mile chalk mark and then 
return to the starting line.  Then we 
would run downstream on the Sammamish 
River Trail to the Burke Gilman Trail 
that would take us beyond Kenmore’s 
Logboom Park by Lake Washington.  From 
the turnaround, we would return to the 
finish line at Bothell Landing.

Daylight had just arrived at 7:00 a.m. 
when Adrian began the race for the 
Early Starters of the marathon and the 
50K.  It was a good day for running.  
Initially the temperature was in the 
mid 40’s with thin fog and no breeze.  
By mid morning the temperature rose to 
the mid 50’s, the skies became clear 
and a light wind appeared when we were 
near Lake Washington.

There were 28 marathoners, six 50K 
participants and 36 half marathoners 
for a total of 70 participants.  The 
majority of them were Marathon 
Maniacs, so there were many familiar 
faces to see as they passed in both 
directions.  

I was impressed by the number of 
Maniacs who were running marathon 
triples.  Congratulations to Marie 
Zornes who completed her first triple 
at this race.  Others who also ran  
triples were Monte Pascual and Steve 
Walters.   

Another “maniac” accomplishment for 
the weekend was 76 year old Mel 
Preedy’s triple set of events.  On 
Saturday he ran as a member of his 
Snohomish Track Club’s 70+ team that 
participated in the 8K National Cross 
Country Meet in Spokane.  He carpooled 
to this race, so he was able to sleep 
on the way home to Ravensdale.  On 
Sunday he got up at 4:00 a.m. and 
drove to Poulsbo to run the 50K  
Fishline Trail Run there.  Monday saw 
him up at the same time so that he 
could drive to Bothell   to make 
it “Three Races in Three Days,”  He 
accumulated a total of 108K for the 
weekend.  (In layman’s terms, that 
about 67 miles.)

In the early hours of the race it was 
interesting to see Common Goldeneyes, 
Lesser Scaup and Ring-billed Ducks 
diving for fish in the river.  

My race followed a familiar pattern.  
I ran most of the early miles, 
ran/walked the middle miles and walked 
the second half of the marathon.  
Walking into the wind near Lake 
Washington in the last 10K gave me a 
feeling of hypothermia.  When I became 
aware of this, I put on a Ty-Vek 
jacket and this eliminated the 
problem.  I appreciated the company of 
Marilyn Pyke who walked the last mile 
with me.  This helped me make it to 
the finish line….in a time of 6:32:25 
and last of 28.  This was four minutes 
faster than my time for the New Years 
Day First Call to Run Marathon.

Thanks to Adrian and his wife for 
providing me with hot soup, hot 
chocolate and a cold drink as I sat 
and recovered in the finish area.   
Thanks, also to them and their 
volunteers for putting on this race, 
my fourth of this series in 14 
months.  

…………………………………..Written by Bob Dolphin
                                       
                Edited, Typed and 
Distributed by Lenore Dolphin

           * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
* * * * * * * * *
CALL OF THE WILD PRESIDENTS DAY 
MARATHON RESULTS – Feb. 15, 2010

3:28:22  Eric Bell		
			4:23:20  
Jessica 
Bienvenue                              
    
3:41:36  Terri Gray		
			4:26:20  
Valerie Beyer
3:43:10   Alex Bennett		
		4:32:46  Sarah Lynch
3:43:50  Cody Hill		
			4:32:46  Frank 
Gradyan
3:43:50  Bob Satko		
			4:33:18  Susie 
Ro
3:45:44  Andre O’Donnell	
			4:44:24  Cheri 
Pompeo
3:48:30  Courtney Willson	
			4:48:42  
Vivian Doorn
3:51:55  Steve Walters		
		4:56:36  Brian Starkey
3:56:15  May Cheng		
			5:03:39  Linda 
Walter
3:56:36 Brian Pendleton		
		5:32:25  Marilyn Pyke
4:02:58  Matt Hagen		
			5:37:24  Rich 
Menzel
4:04:20  Mike Satko		
			5:48:42  Marie 
Zornes
4:08:48  BJ Farish		
			6:23:59  Monte 
Pascual
4:10:13  Rusty Willson		
		6:32:25  Bob Dolphin


50K RESULTS
				
	
4:16:18  Robert Towne		
	
4:34:06  Malcolm Clement	
		
4:59:25  Holly Goodwin Chattendon
5:34:24  Francesca Carmichael	
	Two friends who completed the 
half marathon
5:54:08  Marilou Russell	
		were:  Doug MacLean 
(1:16:14) and
7:25:25  Mel Preedy		
		           Steve Yee 
(1:38:15).

02/21/10


ATLANTA'S GEORGIA MARATHON, PEACHTREE 
ROAD RACE, and ATLANTA MARATHON by 
Michael Zielinski

Atlanta's Georgia Marathon, Peachtree 
Road Race, and the Atlanta Marathon 
can be a runner's destination by car 
via Interstate 75, "The Midnight Train 
to Georgia", or flying into Hartsfield-
Jackson Atlanta International Airport; 
the world's busiest airport.  Yet 
almost 150 years ago, Atlanta was in 
ruins from the 1864 Civil War Battle 
for Atlanta before adopting a 
generation later as its official 
symbol a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Today this is almost an understatement 
with Atlanta as Georgia's capital and 
its largest city being the 33rd 
largest city in the country having 
about 540,000 people with its fast 
growing metropolitan area that is over 
100 miles from North to South having 
almost 6 million people to be the 
nation's tenth largest metro area.  
Much of this growth has occurred after
1966 when the NFL expanded by adding 
the Atlanta Falcons professional 
football team and the Major League 
Baseball team Milwaukee Braves 
relocated in the same year to become 
the Atlanta Braves.  Atlanta made the 
news in 1974 when Hank Aaron broke 
Babe Ruth's home run record and the 
Atlanta Braves later won 14 straight 
division championships between 1991 
and 2005 along with winning the World 
Series in 1995.  In 1990 Atlanta 
surprised the world when it was 
awarded the Centennial Olympics that 
successfully took place in 1996.  
Atlanta is now the social, cultural, 
and economic capital of the American 
south as a top business city and 
transportation hub.  It is the world 
headquarters of the Coca-Cola Company 
and Delta Air Lines with the 
surrounding area containing additional 
corporate headquarters including Home 
Depot and UPS.  Atlanta has the 
country's third largest concentration 
of Fortune 500 companies along with 
Chicago inside city boundaries, and 
more  than 75 percent of the Fortune
1000 companies have a presence in the 
Atlanta metropolitan area.   

The 4th annual Georgia Marathon is 
scheduled for March 21st and it is 
larger in size than all other Georgia 
marathons in the state combined with 
an appropriate Start and Finish at 
downtown Centennial Olympic Park 
(named for when Atlanta in 1996 hosted 
the 100th anniversary of the modern 
Summer Olympics) in the heart of 
downtown Atlanta.  The park is 
surrounded by many major Atlanta 
Landmarks with the Georgia World 
Congress Center, Georgia Dome (home of 
the NFL Atlanta Falcons), Philips 
Arena (home of the NBA Atlanta Hawks, 
NHL Atlanta Thrashers, plus concerts) 
and the CNN Center on the west side of 
the park and the Georgia Aquarium (the 
world's largest) and the new World of 
Coca-Cola on the North side of the 
park.  In 2012, the College Football 
Hall of Fame and the Center for Civil 
and Human Rights are scheduled to open 
near Centennial Olympic Park.  On the 
southern portion of the park is Andrew 
Young International Boulevard, named 
for the former  Atlanta mayor and U.N. 
ambassador.  A key feature of the park 
is the Fountain of Rings interactive 
fountain which features computer-
controlled lights and 251 jets of 
water that go 12 to 35 feet in the air 
synchronized with music played from 
speakers in light towers surrounding 
the fountain along with flags 
representing the host countries of 
each Summer Olympics preceding the 
1996 games and columns reminiscent of 
ancient Greece along with a splash pad 
for anyone wanting to cool off on hot 
Atlanta summer days; including runners.

The first two miles of the Georgia 
Marathon are in and around downtown 
Atlanta and go by or near Five Points, 
Underground Atlanta, Georgia State 
University, and Boisfeuillet Jones 
Atlanta Civic Center.  Between miles 
three and four in the Sweet Auburn 
historic district is the Martin Luther 
King Jr. National Historic Site that 
includes the house where Dr. King was 
born, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the 
Martin Luther King Center which also 
is the final resting place for he and 
his wife.  Several blocks south of 
here is Oakland Cemetery where many 
famous people from Atlanta and the 
former Confederacy are buried.  About 
a mile more to the south on the same 
note in Grant Park is the Atlanta 
Cyclomara, a large panoramic painting 
of the Civil War Battle of Atlanta.  
The easier marathon continues through 
the Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park 
neighborhoods on the way to eclectic 
Little 5 Points.  By mile six the 
runners approach the Jimmy Carter 
Presidential  Library and Museum along 
with the The Carter Center prior to 
turning north on the Freedom Parkway.  
The route then heads east through the 
Poncey-Highland neighborhood, Candler 
Park neighborhood, and then goes on 
historic Ponce de Leon Avenue for 
miles nine and ten near the Fernbank 
Museum of Natural History and the 
Fernbank Science Center before leaving 
Atlanta.

In the suburb of Decatur along College 
Avenue between miles twelve and 
thirteen is Agnes Scott College campus 
prior to reaching quaint Decatur 
Square near the halfway point.  About 
ten miles away in the distance is 
Stone Mountain Park, the largest 
granite outcropping in the world with 
the stone carvings into the mountain 
of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee 
and Stonewall Jackson along with 
Jefferson Davis, the Confederate 
president.  An hour from here is the 
University of Georgia at Athens with 
its school song, "Glory, glory to old 
Georgia!"  Returning to Atlanta, miles 
15-16 are on the Emory University 
campus near the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), a United 
States federal agency under the 
Department of Health and Human 
Services to protect public health and 
safety on developing and applying 
disease prevention and control 
(especially infectious diseases), 
environmental health, occupational 
safety and health, health promotion, 
prevention and education activities 
designed to improve the health of the 
people of the United States that could 
also include running a marathon.  The 
Georgia Marathon continues through the 
Druid Hills neighborhood  past the 
house featured in the movie Driving 
Miss Daisy and by the historic 
Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.  The 
twenty mile mark is reached in the 
Virginia-Highland neighborhood with 
mile 22 in Piedmont Park, Atlanta's 
largest park and the home to the 
Atlanta Botanical Garden that is 
especially pretty in Spring with the 
dogwoods and azaleas.  The next two 
miles are in Midtown before crossing 
Interstate 75 again, this time heading 
west and completing the next mile on 
the Georgia Tech Univesity campus 
(rated the nation's 4th best 
engineering school after M.I.T., 
Stanford, and California-Berkeley with 
our Univesity of Illinois just behind 
at #5).  The final mile returns to 
downtown and finishes at the start in 
Centennial Olympic Park.

The early finishers of the March 21st 
Georgia Marathon will have the 
opportunity to be at the start to 
register for the annual 4th of July 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree 
Road Race 10K with the online 
registration opening at 1:00 p.m. on 
Sunday, March 21, 2010 at 
www.ajc.com/peachtree.  The first 
45,000 out 55,000 total entries will 
be accepted through the online 
registration that sells out within 
hours.  For those unable to secure one 
of the first 45,000 online entries or 
people who prefer mailing in their 
payment with a registration form, a 
race application will appear in the 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution on 
Sunday, March 28, 2010 for the event's 
remaining 10,000 entries that will be 
selected at random from all 
applications mailed and postmarked by 
Monday, April 5, 2010.  The Atlanta 
Track Club prohibits any transfer of a 
number to another runner but does 
allow anyone registered who can not 
run to return their number in exchange 
for a card  guaranteeing placement in 
next year's race.  Anyone ten years 
old or older is welcome to apply.

The Peachtree Road Race is a 10 
kilometer run in Atlanta started in 
1970 by the Atlanta Track Club and 
held annually on July 4th, 
Independence Day.  This televised 
event was until recently the world's 
largest 10 kilometer race with 55,000 
participants.  The event also includes 
a wheelchair race which precedes the 
footrace.  The race is divided into 
multiple different starting groups 
with the first group the top-seeded 
runners.  The starting groups are so 
large that it takes approximately an 
hour and a half from the first group 
starting until the last group starts, 
as the groups are started in twelve-
minute intervals.  150,000 observers 
line both sides of the entire course 
to cheer and support the runners with 
some of them  wearing patriotic 
costumes for the 4th of July.  The 
official race t-shirt each year is a 
different design chosen through a 
contest sponsored by the Atlanta 
Journal-Constitution newspaper with 
the  t-shirts only available to  
runners who finish the race to become 
a small status-symbol among Atlanta 
culture.  

The Peachtree Road Race begins in the 
Buckhead area of Atlanta, about five 
miles north of the downtown.  Buckhead 
is nicknamed "The Beverly Hills of the 
South" and within its area is the 
Georgia Governor's Mansion and the 
Atlanta History Center and Swan 
House.  The run starts on Peachtree 
Road at Lenox Square Mall and Phillips 
Plaza with the course route continuing 
south down Peachtree Road with the 
mainly uphill mile 4 (near Piedmont 
Hospital) receiving the 
nickname "Cardiac Hill".  After mile 
5, the race turns east onto 10th 
Street with the finish line next to 
Piedmont Park.    Approximately 3,000 
volunteers are needed to work the race 
with water provided at each mile that 
includes approximately 500,000 cups 
and 120,000 gallons of water.  Many 
runners utilize MARTA (Metropolitan 
Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) to 
travel to the start site and back from 
the finish line due to the large 
crowds, limited parking and road 
closures.

In 2007 five separate races were held 
on July 4 (one in Kuwait, three in 
Iraq, and one in Afganistan) with a 
combined total of 3,000 participants 
with The Atlanta Track Club sending 
the race supplies, including T-shirts, 
to the runners.  This was also the 
year the race hosted the USA Men's 
10K  Championship while on a more 
infamous note, three men were caught 
sneaking into the Peachtree Road 
Race.  In addition to a $1,000 fine, 
each was banned from the Peachtree 
Road Race for life.  Even worse, for 
the 2008
running due to the entire north 
Georgia region facing historic severe 
drought conditions with record low 
water levels on Lake Lanier created in 
1956 from the Buford Dam on the 
Chattahoochee River, water 
conservation measures were enacted 
prohibiting outdoor watering of plants 
and lawns.  As a result of the 
watering ban, the City of Atlanta 
decided to prohibit large festivals 
(over 50,000 people) from using 
Piedmont Park in 2008 in order to 
protect the grass lawns which could 
not be watered.  This meant that the 
race did not have its traditional 
downhill finish on 10th Street into 
Piedmont Park but had instead an 
uphill finish on the city streets.   
This unpopular course lasted one year, 
after which the course returned to its 
regular finish that included for the 
first time, the ChronoTrack D-Tag 
transponder system, a disposable tag 
system. 

The Weather Channel Atlanta Marathon, 
to be held November 25th on 
Thanksgiving, is the oldest marathon 
in the Southeast and one of the ten 
oldest in the country.  2010 will be 
its 48th anniversary of when it began 
in 1963, one year before the founding 
of the Atlanta Track Club.  It is also 
the only U.S. marathon run on an 
Olympic course with approximately 90% 
of the route the same as that run by 
the world’s best at the Atlanta Games 
in 1996.  The loop course begins and 
ends at Turner Stadium (the former 
Olympic Stadium now named after Ted 
Turner) and goes north on Piedmont 
Avenue with the first and last mile 
past the Atlanta State Capitol with 
its dome having gold from Dahlonega 
located about 60 miles north of 
Atlanta.  The course heads northeast 
toward near the Chamblee MARTA Station 
which also is the start of the half 
marathon that then heads south down 
Peachtree (Atlanta has numerous 
different Peachtree streets) before 
returning back to Piedmont for the 
finish.  Both streets are appropriate 
names for Atlanta since Georgia is 
the "Peachtree State"
and Atlanta with a hilly elevation of 
1,050 feet is at the Piedmont of the 
Appalachian Mountains.

The return trip of the Atlanta 
Marathon on Peachtree in Midtown goes 
near the heart of Atlanta's arts scene 
that includes the High Museum of Art,  
the Woodruff Arts Center, the Atlanta 
Symphony, and the Alliance Theatre 
Company.  Less than a mile away 
further south,  Margaret Mitchell 
wrote her classic Gone with the Wind 
in the basement apartment of a 
boarding house at the corner of 10th 
Street and Peachtree.  That home is 
now a museum and is located across 
10th Street from the Federal Reserve 
Bank of Atlanta which serves the 
southeastern United States.  Once 
again less than a mile further down 
Peachtree is the Bank of America 
Plaza, located just south of the 
famous Fox Theatre and at 1,023 feet 
it is Atlanta's tallest building and 
the nation's 8th tallest with only 
structures in New York City and 
Chicago taller.  
In Downtown, 191 Peachtree Tower, 
Georgia-Pacific Tower, Westin 
Peachtree Plaza and SunTrust Plaza 
(Atlanta's second-tallest building at 
871 feet) all line Peachtree on the 
way to the finish at Turner Field.  
Here the U.S.A. last hosted the Summer 
Olympics in 1996 with an assist from 
the Atlanta Track Club that is 
dedicated to inspire and engage the 
community to achieve health and 
fitness through running.  A reminder 
of this visit to Atlanta is to listen 
to Ray Charles singing "Georgia on my 
Mind."  
 

02/24/10


Illinois Marathon & Half-Marathon
Champaign/Urbana, IL USA
May 1, 2010

We are having a booth there so stop by.
Jerry Schaver

02/26/10


100 MARATHON CLUB NEWSLETTER #20
February 24, 2010

Upcoming Events	

March 26-28, 2010 – Second Reunion of 
the 100 Marathon Club North America at 
the Yakima River Canyon Marathon.  
March 26, 2010, there will be a 
meeting at the Selah Civic Center 
(just north of Yakima) at 4:00 p.m., 
followed by a group picture and a 
pasta meal (with reserved tables and 
guest speakers, noted author Joe 
Henderson and Marathon Maniac Don “The 
Rev” Kienz.    On March 27, 2010, the 
marathon (on an awesome course) will 
start at 8:00 a.m. in Ellensburg……and 
the awards ceremony/meal will be at 
the Selah Civic Center at 4:00 p.m.  
The next morning (Sunday, March 28, 
2010) there will be a no-host 
breakfast at Howard Johnson Plaza 
Hotel in downtown Yakima at 9:00 a.m.  
www.yakimrivercanyonmarathon.com

May 2, 2010 – Tacoma City Marathon, 
www.tacomacitymarathon.com, directed 
by club member Tony Phillippi.  It’s a 
Marathon Maniac reunion.  Register 
early…..and plan to have dinner with 
Dick Beardsley!

100 Marathon Club Merchandise

Check the website, 
www.100marathonclub.us.  T-shirts and 
pins will be available for purchase at 
packet pickup at the YRCM on March 
26th.  Medallions may be ordered then, 
also.  If you plan to come to the 
reunion race and want to save the 
postage charge, let me know soon and 
your order will be waiting for you.  
The cost for personalized medallions 
is $20.00 (without the $3.00 postage 
fee) and for the short-sleeved, teal T-
shirts and long-sleeved, white T-
shirts it’s $15.00 (without the $3.00 
postage fee).

WELCOME TO 17 NEW MEMBERS

Newsletter #19 listed our total 
membership at 254.  Add the names of 
the recent new members and the total 
becomes 271!

We’re happy to welcome our neighbor as 
a new member.  Marathon Maniac (MM) 
#74, Janet Burgess lives less than a 
mile from our Renton, Washington, 
home.  She ran her first marathon in 
May of 1998 at Vancouver, BC.  With 
super planning she completed two goals 
in one day when she ran Marathon #100 
AND became a 50 States FINISHER on 
October 4, 2009, at the Maine Marathon 
in Portland, Maine.

The Los Angeles Marathon in March of 
1990 was the first for MM #662 Russell 
Cheney of Torrance, California.  Nine 
years later that race became #100 for 
him.  On September 10, 2005, he ran 
his 200th marathon, the Bismark Y, in 
North Dakota.  At the end of 2009 his 
total count was 231 marathons and 52 
ultras for a grand total of 283.  His 
special accomplishments list is:  
Boston three times; US Olympics Torch 
Bearer, “Russell B Cheney” 50K, DE; co-
founder of the Marathon Drive Club.

God’s Country Marathon in Galeton, 
Pennsylvania, on June 13, 1987 was the 
first for Jim Collins of Sarasota, 
Florida, and the Ocala Marathon in 
Ocala, FL, on January 31, 2010, was 
#100.  His PR is 3:07:12.  As of 
October 4, 2008 he became a 50 States 
FINISHER at Bristol, New Hampshire.  
Another “special accomplishment” of 
his is that he’s best friends with 
club member Claude Hicks and his wife 
Debie Johnson from Fort Worth, Texas.  
Good choice!  They come from Texas 
each year to race and to volunteer at 
our YRCM.

MM #515 Tom Craven of Honolulu is our 
first member from Hawaii.  The 
Honolulu Marathon on December 17. 
1974, was his first, and the Redding 
Marathon on January 17, 2010, was 
#100.  He holds the 60 year age 
division course record for Bandera 50K.

MM #1616 Paul Fournier from Gurnee, 
Illinois, ran the Lakefront Marathon 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as his first 
on October 7, 1990.  He became a 50 
States FINISHER on his 50th birthday, 
December 18, 2005, when he ran 
marathon #80.  For #100 he traveled to 
Australia to run the Gold Coast 
Airport Marathon on July 1, 2007.   
Africa is the only continent left for 
him to run a marathon to become 
a “Continents Finisher.”  On May 22, 
2004, he met his future wife running 
the Great Wall of China Marathon.  
They honeymooned in Australia when he 
ran the Gold Coast Airport Marathon on 
July 1, 2007.

It was on July 21, 1985 that Famida 
Hanif-Weddle of  San Jose, Californai, 
ran the San Francisco Marathon, her 
first.  The Forest of Nisene Marks 
Marathon on June 7, 2003, was #100.  
She finished Western States 100 Mile 
Endurance Run on June 28, 1997.  Her 
current total is 155 (65 marathons and 
90 ultras).

The “Dolphin Marathon Team” traveled 
to South Carolina for the February 14, 
2009, Myrtle Beach Marathon.  While we 
were there, we met MM #1776 Richard 
Holmes from Durham, North Carolina.  
He has a PR of 3:18:34.  With a total 
of 222 marathons and 7 ultras, he’s 
well on his way toward his 300th 
marathon.  His first was the Calloway 
Gardens Marathon in Georgia on 
November 11, 1978, and his 100th was 
the North Central Trail Marathon at 
Sparks, Maryland, on November 24, 
2001.  The Umstead Trail Marathon in 
Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 8, 
2009, was #200.  Rich is a TWO TIME 50 
STATES FINISHER with a third time 
finish projected for 2011.  He has 
completed a marathon in ALL CANADIAN 
PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES with a 
second time projected finish in 2011.  
He’s a goal setter and plans to reach 
the Marathon Maniac Titanium Level 
(top one) on March 7, 2010.  He 
received the 50 States & DC 
Humanitarian of the Year Award for 
2010 for raising $10,000.00 for 
fighting cancer in kids (see 
http://www.50statesanddcmarathongroupus
a.com/awards.cfm).  He’s attempting to 
resurrect a marathon in the Canadian 
Territory of Nunavut  There is none 
currently, so Canada cannot 
be “finished.”  (See 
http://www.canadianarcticholidays.ca/no
rthwest_passage_
marathon.html for information or 
contact him at Rich-Holmes@nc.rr.com.

On July 27, 1986, Leroy Kessler of 
Turlock, California, ran the San 
Francisco Marathon as his first.  He 
has a total of 155 (104 marathons and 
51 ultras) and his PR is 3:13.  He’s 
run all of the California marathons 
except two new ones.

The first marathon for Scott Ludwig of 
Peachtree City, Georgia, was the 
Florida Relays Marathon in March of 
1979.  He ran #100 in April of 2003 at 
Boston and #200 in March of 2009 at 
Albany.  His total now is 206 (160 
marathons and 46 ultras), and he has a 
PR of 2:48:41!!  His special 
accomplishments are:  2002, 24 Hour 
Run, Masters Champion; 2003, Badwater, 
6th place; 2006, Western States 
Finisher; 31+ streak runner (began 
November 30, 1978); founder and 
president of Darkside Running Club, 
Peachtree City, GA;  author of two 
books on running.

The 1992 Chicago Marathon was the 
first for Kay McVey of St. Peters, 
Missouri, and the same marathon was 
her 100th in October of 2009.  She 
learned how to swim in 2003, went on 
to complete many triathlons including 
THREE IRONMAN TRIATHLONS.  She became 
a 50 States and DC FINISHER in June of 
2007.

We have another “husband and wife” 
membership.  After their marriage in 
Hawaii (in conjunction with the 
Honolulu Marathon) MM #497 Sherry 
Mahoney and her husband Jon have been 
traveling all over the world to run 
marathons together.  Jon just 
completed his 300th marathon at the 
October 11, 2009, Victoria Marathon.  
Sherry completed her 100th marathon in 
Maui on January 24, 2010 just five 
years since her 1st marathon in Las 
Vegas on February 1, 2005!  The 
Mahoneys live in Vernon & Vancouver, 
BC, and in Palm Desert, California.

When MM #454 Dr. Philip E. Min (Dr. 
Phil) of Mt. Olive, Alabama, crossed 
the finish line of a marathon last 
December, his friend Catherine 
Thompson was there from Birmingham, 
AL, to surprise him with a 100 
Marathon Club Medallion that read “In 
Recognition Of 100 MARATHONS…PHIL 
MIN...Rocket City 
Marathon...Huntsville, AL...December 
12, 2009.”  Dr. Phil’s first marathon 
was the Tupelo Marathon on September 
3, 2000.  This is a quote from his 
registration, “I am a Band Director 
and have been teaching since 1977.  I 
have taught every level from 5th grade 
through University level, and am 
presently teaching at Bragg Middle 
School in Gardendale, Alabama.  I 
began running in January of 2000, 
while I was working on my 
dissertation.  I lost 70 pounds in 7 
months.  It is a great honor for me to 
have achieved membership in the 100 
Marathon Club!”

The San Francisco Marathon on July 12, 
1998, was #1 for Dennis Mori of San 
Leandro, California, and the Surf City 
Marathon on February 1, 2009, was 
#100.  He has run 11 international 
marathons (excluding Canada) and has a 
total of 117 (this includes one ultra).

MM #502 Dean Peterson of Appleton, 
Wisconsin, ran his first marathon and 
his 100th marathon in his home 
town….the Fox Cities Marathon in 
Appleton in October of 1999 and ten 
years later in September of 2009.  He 
became a 50 States FINISHER in May of 
2006 at the Mid City Marathon in 
Rochester, Minnesota.

When Karen Queally of San Bruno, 
California, moved form “Wannabe” 
to “Regular Member,” of this club at 
the September 20, 2009, Yonkers 
Marathon in New York, she was featured 
in a story in the Yonkers Journal 
News.  Like her first marathon on May 
20, 1984, her 100th  was at her 
hometown of Yonkers.  On January 1, 
1997, a few months after her twin 
girls were born, she made a New Year’s 
Resolution to run every day.  She 
hasn’t broken this record, and it was 
4,649 days later that she ran Marathon 
#100!  In 2005 she kept her record 
intact during mastectomy surgery and 
the following chemotherapy!  In 
addition to her 100 marathons, she’s 
completed four ultras and has run 
marathons in Bermuda, Rome, Italy and 
Dublin, Ireland.

The Marine Corps Marathon on  October 
27, 1996 was #1 for Anne Rentz from 
Marietta, Georgia, and the Florida 
Marathon on December 19, 2009, was 
#100.  This total includes 39 ultras.  

Myron Sidloski of Dallas, 
Pennsylvania, ran his first marathon 
on November 28, 1984, in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, and his 100th on March 
19, 2006 in Los Angeles.  Injuries 
occurred after marathon #109 at Boston 
on April 21, 2008.   He’s still 
recovering from knee and back 
surgeries, so his future marathons 
are “on hold.”

Julia Thorn from Brighton, Victoria, 
Australia, will run her 100th 26.2 
mile marathon on March 27, 2010, at 
the Yakima River Canyon Marathon when 
she will become the first woman from 
Australia to reach a total of 100 
marathons of this distance.  She ran 
her first marathon on May 3, 1997, the 
Rotorua Marathon in New Zealand.  Her 
100th marathon/ultra was the Honolulu 
Marathon on December 14, 2008.  She 
has a total of 24 ultras.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
* 
The 17 page 100 Marathon Club North 
America Roster has been updated.  For 
the club members who don’t have e-
mail, we send the Newsletters via 
snail mail but not the roster.  If you 
want to see it, it will be necessary 
for you to go to the website 
www.100marathonclub.us.

The 100 Marathon Club North America 
has no dues but meets its expenses 
from donations and through a small 
profit made on the sale of club T-
shirts, pins (in increments of 100) 
and personalized medallions.  Please 
contact us if you’re interested in 
making any purchases…..and let us know 
about your activities.

We look forward to seeing many of you 
at the Yakima River Canyon Marathon 
next month.  If you can’t join us, 
send your greetings……and we’ll share 
them with everyone.

Bob and Lenore Dolphin
10519 126th Avenue S.E.
Renton, WA 98056

(425)226-1518, Renton
(509)966-0188, Yakima
(425)681-0154, Cell

02/26/10


WHERE THE 100 MARATHON CLUB MEMBERS 
ARE FROM…….

UNITED STATES……..
Alabama – 2; Alaska – 1; Arizona – 2; 
California – 26; Colorado – 6; 
Connecticut – 1; Florida – 15; 
Georgia – 7; Hawaii – 1; Illinois – 8; 
Iowa – 2; Kansas – 1; Kentucky – 8; 
Louisiana – 4; Maine – 1; Maryland – 
4; Massachusetts – 2; Michigan – 3; 
Minnesota – 12; Missouri – 5; 
Nebraska – 4; New Jersey – 3: New 
Mexico – 3; New York – 5; North 
Carolina – 1; Ohio – 10; Oklahoma – 2; 
Oregon – 15; Pennsylvania – 5; South 
Dakota – 2; Tennessee – 5; Texas – 20; 
Utah – 2; Vermont – 3; Virginia – 2; 
Washington – 44; West Virginia –2; 
Wisconsin – 4.

CANADA………..
British Columbia – 5; Ontario – 2; 
Saskatchewan – 2.

AUSTRALIA – 2; AUSTRIA – 1; GERMANY – 
3; SWEDEN – 1; UNITED KINGDOM – 12.

03/10/10


Renaissance at Colony Park Half 
Marathon to your race calendar.

It will be held on June 12, 2010 in 
Ridgeland, MS - the state's largest 
half marathon.

www.racethehalf.com

Thank you,

Mark Simpson, Director 
Marathon Makeover, LLC
Office: 888-64START ext. 805
Cell: 601.594.1486

10/02/09


Running Forever 
 
Mabel Velge is an active 82 year old 
Rock Island, Illinois resident.  She 
enjoys working in her big yard and has 
an extensive network of close friends, 
which amounts to a pretty good social 
life.  She also runs marathons. 
 
Yes, at 82 years, Mabel runs marathon 
races - well, "only" halves since 
2004.  Even for most people in the 
prime of life, 13.1 miles (and most 
certainly 26.2) is a distance 
typically covered by car, not on 
foot.  But for Mabel, her age does not 
define her.  In fact she might as well 
be 28.  In running, "I've found the 
fountain of youth," she says.  "I 
don't feel my age." 

Mabel discovered running when she was 
preparing to retire in 1985 from the 
Rock Island Arsenal.  While on their 
daily lunchtime walk one day, the 
young man she was training as her 
replacement suggested that she could 
be a runner.  The idea stuck with her, 
and she hasn't stopped running 
since.  "Running has been the best 
thing to happen to me," reflects 
Mabel. 
 
Just two years after starting to run, 
Mabel completed her first marathon in 
Milwaukee.  "At the finish," she 
recalls, "I thought I could do 
anything.  I thought I could run 
forever."  And apparently she can.  
Mabel ran her 20th and final full 
marathon in Anchorage, Alaska in 2002, 
but she continues to participate in 
half marathons and tries to "do 
nothing less than 5 miles a day." 
 
Recently, Mabel has battled some 
health problems, but running helped 
her to overcome them by giving her 
something to look forward to.  Now, we 
can all look forward to Mabel's 
participation as a half-marathon 
runner in the Waddell & Reed Kansas 
City Marathon on October 17th.

10/10/09


From Hajime Nishi

I have a great news for members of 50 
and DC Marathon Group.

The world's first ZERO EMISSION 
ECOMARATHON INBA, 
ECO INBA will be organized near Tokyo-
Narita International Airport,
NRT on Sunday, Apr. 3, 2011 by 
Ecomarathon International,
a Non-Profit organization.

ECO INBA for slow, but GREEN runners 
who love to clean the 
course and the planet for future 
generations.

ECO INBA will be perfect for those 
who'd never been to Japan or
never run marathon before because of 
convenient location, just
10 minutes train ride from NRT and 9 
hours time limits for early
starters at 5 A.M.

The start and finish of ECO INBA will 
be in front of the Inba Nihon
Idai station and the course will be 
mostly flat lake shore bike paths.

Please check our official website at 
ecomarathon.org and click
2011 ZERO EMISSION ECO INBA for 
information, FAQ and
course map in both English and 
Japanese.

I hope you'll bring members of 50 and 
DC Marathon Group.
I'm ready to help you and your members 
who don't interested in
qualification for BOSTON MARATHON,  
but are interested in
running GREEN runner-friendly fun-
oriented Japanese marathon
in the most gorgious season of the 
year with Cherry blossams in
bloom.

I'll leave for Canada and US on 
Thursday, Oct. 8 to run, report and 
promote ECO INBA in Ottawa and North 
Carolina.

Have a wonderful day and looking 
forward to hearing from you again.
Deep bow,

Hajime Nishi, 
an Ecomarathoner, author and Event 
Director of ECO INBA.
050-3448-9523 hajimenish@gmail.com 
ecomarathon.org   
***************************************
1000 marathons, 250 countries, one goal
One People, One Planet

10/15/09


CONGRATULATIONS

Jim Simpson from California for 
finished the 50 and DC Marathon 
circuit for the 9th time. Jim finish 
his Marathon at the Clarence Demar 
Marathon in Keene, NH on 09/27/09. 
Great job Jim!!!!!

10/15/09


CONGRATULATIONS

Deborah Ingram from Florida for 
finished the 50 and DC Marathon 
circuit. Deborah finish her Marathon 
at the New Hampshire Marathon in 
Bristol, NH on 10/03/09. 
Great job Deborah!!!!!

10/20/09


PORTLAND MARATHON
October 4, 2009

Prologue (by Lenore Dolphin) – In the 
past three years I’ve had health 
crises that have presented many 
challenges for me.  After my open-
heart triple by-pass surgery on July 
10, 2007, Carol Westerman, a 100 
Marathon Club North America member 
from Louisville, Kentucky, sent me a 
special wristwatch with hearts on the 
dial and wrist band.  When I called 
her on the phone to thank her, she 
said, “Lenore, God has plans for 
you.”  And I said, “Carol, when you 
find out what they are, let me know.”

For many years we celebrated Bob’s 
October 4th birthday at the Portland 
Marathon’s awards ceremony.  When I 
realized that his 80th birthday would 
actually be on the day of this great 
race, I began making plans for the 
celebration.  In November of 2008 I e-
mailed Race Director Les Smith asking 
that he save race #80 for Bob.  As 
soon as I could, I registered him for 
the marathon and then started letting 
everyone know that there would be a 
special celebration in Portland, 
Oregon, for Bob’s 80th birthday.

Martin Rudow, editor of Northwest 
Runner Magazine, offered to have 
adjoining rooms with us at the Race 
Headquarters Hilton Hotel and also 
helped with the design of the special 
T-shirts that were made for the 
occasion by Jim Alexander of Selah who 
makes the shirts for the Yakima River 
Canyon Marathon.

Our daughter Jan Stensland came early 
from Kensington, California as did 
Fenny Roberts from Salem, Oregon, and 
Jim Scheer from Vancouver, 
Washington.  With their help we were 
ready for the big celebration.

How many people are fortunate enough 
to be able to run a marathon on their 
80th birthday?

I have no recollection of past 
birthdays, but I will never forget 
running my 23rd Portland Marathon on 
Sunday, October 4, 2009, my 80th 
Birthday.  Many running friends and 
others with ties to the running 
community helped to make it a special 
day for me and my family.

Lenore had worked for weeks to set up 
a birthday party for October 3rd at 
the Hilton Hotel Race Headquarters.  
She sent out notices and invitations, 
designed a T-shirt for the occasion, 
selected the birthday cakes and 
advised Race Director Les Smith of our 
pending celebration   She also 
accepted the offers of our daughter 
Jan Stensland and friends Fenny 
Roberts and Jim Scheer to help with 
party preparations.

During the afternoon and evening there 
was a steady stream of friends and 
acquaintances visiting in the two 
adjoining rooms.  They came to wish 
me “Happy Birthday,” eat birthday 
cake, socialize and get their T-
shirt.  About 100 visitors joined us 
for this special occasion.

The two who traveled the farthest were 
Marathon Maniac (MM) Alan Morton from 
Wales and Raymond Hoyle from England.  
They’re members of the 100 Marathon 
Club of North America and of the 
United Kingdom who have run the Yakima 
River Canyon Marathon for five 
consecutive years.  MM Dave Goodrich, 
his wife Cindy, MM Dave Bates and his 
wife Lisa came from Houlton, Maine.  
Others who weren’t “locals” were 
Malcolm Anderson of Yorkes, Ontario, 
in Canada, Marty Wanless from 
Vancouver, BC, Al Harmon of West 
Vancouver, BC, Susan Daley from 
Chicago, Illinois, and Beth Davenport 
of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  

On hand were many Marathon Maniacs, 50 
Staters, 100 Marathon Club members and 
three Evil Triplets (Paul Emmett of 
Redmond and Ron Fowler and Jim Kunz of 
Seattle.)  Lenore and I appreciated 
seeing everyone who shared our special 
weekend of October 3-4, 2009.

On race morning Lenore, Jan and I had 
breakfast in our room and then left 
the hotel to walk several blocks to 
the starting line.  It was dark and 
cool as 9,000 runners and walkers 
found their corrals.  Being 
optimistic, I lined up in the 
barricaded area marked “5 ½ Hours.”  
Soon I was joined by Jim Boyd of 
Seattle, Mark Hartinger of Shoreline 
and Scott Krell of Snohomish who 
indicated that they wanted to run with 
me.  I welcomed this overture, and I 
enjoyed their company.

At 7:00 a.m. the race started, and it 
only took us ten minutes to greet 
Lenore near the starting arch and 
cross the timing mats.  The first mile 
was a pleasant run as we proceeded on 
an easy downgrade on Broadway, the 
main street of downtown Portland.  
Within a few miles the darkness turned 
to daylight and the temperature warmed 
gradually from 46 degrees to 64 
degrees under overcast skies.  The 
running conditions were good.

It was a great day to socialize and 
exchange greetings and high fives on 
the out-and-back section between miles 
7 to 11.  This is where I saw MM Dave 
Goodrich, MM Mel Preedy of Ravensdale 
and many more friends and 
acquaintances.  Other runners I saw 
who were going in the same direction 
were Mac Bohlman of Walla Walla, MM 
Carol Dellinger of Spokane, MM Fenny 
Roberts (race-walking), MM’s Tim Bruce 
and his daughter Jennifer of Sequim, 
and Ultra Al Miller of Deer Island, 
Oregon, who was running his 30th 
consecutive Portland Marathon AND his 
200th marathon.

The steepest hill on the course is in 
the 17th mile.  It takes us to the St. 
Johns Bridge high above the Willamette 
River with spectacular views of the 
river stretching toward the distant 
city of Portland.

Mark Hartinger and Scott Krell had run 
with me for the first three miles, but 
Jim Boyd stayed with me for the entire 
race to take pictures along the way.  
In the last four miles, Jim and I 
teamed up with MM friends Brent 
Bellevue of Buckley and Michael 
Wakabayashi of Spokane.  Michael had 
already finished and had come back on 
the course to look for a member of his 
Team in Training group.  As the four 
of us passed the 26-mile marker, a 
group of Marathon Maniacs who had 
finished earlier joined us to escort 
me to the finish line.  I appreciated 
their thoughtfulness.

Jim finished ahead of us to take 
pictures as I crossed the finish line, 
and Lenore was there to give me a hug 
and a kiss…..and to put my finisher’s 
medal around my neck.  As the oldest 
person in the race, I had completed my 
452nd marathon in 6:12:12 (chip time) 
and placed 6,795 of 8,091 finishers 
and first of one in the 80-84 Male 
Division.

Later, Lenore took me to the nearby 
VIP tent where I thanked Les Smith for 
putting on a great race and for 
providing me with bib #80.  Dr. Jack 
Scaff, cardiologist from Honolulu, HI, 
and his wife Donna had attended the 
party on Saturday, and it was good to 
see them again in the VIP tent.  Jack 
has had a coaching program for many 
years to prepare runners for the 
Honolulu Marathon.  Donna had just 
completed the Portland Marathon, but 
still looked fresh!  Riley Jungquist 
from Mt. Vernon and Ellensburg stopped 
by to thank us again for the support 
he received as an April 4, 2009, 
winner of the Team Dolphin Boston 
Marathon Award.

The marathon was won by Jason Fitch, 
32, of River Falls, Wisconsin, with a 
time of 2:24:13….. after a 2 ½ year 
layoff from racing.  In second place 
was Greg Mitchell, 30, of McMinnville, 
Oregon, with a 2:26:02.  The third 
place finisher was Satoshi Emoto, 37, 
who had a time of 2:26:36.

The women’s winner was Yuri Yoshizumi, 
23, of Osaka, Japan, who passed Danita 
Erickson in the last 200 yards to 
finish with a 2:55:59.  Danita was 
second with a 2:56:08, and Nikki 
Rafie, 47, of Portland was third with 
a time of 2:56:47.

In the wheelchair division Jerry 
Martin of Spokane came in second.  He 
is the wheelchair winner of many 
Yakima River Canyon Marathons.

I want to thank everyone who made this 
weekend celebration the most memorable 
birthday of all!

Epilogue (by Lenore) – Bob’s birthday 
party was the best ever!!  From noon 
until 7:00 p.m. on October 3, 2009, 
about 100 people stopped by to wish 
him “Happy Birthday,” sign the guest 
book, eat some birthday cake, get the 
special T-shirt and visit.

The Maine Maniacs and their wives had 
put this party (and marathon) on their 
schedules months ago…
as did the Brits who attended.  It was 
exciting to have so many race 
directors there when Wally Kastner 
(Big Sur Marathon), Les Wright (Lake 
Tahoe Marathon) and Clark Gilbert (San 
Juan Island Marathon) arrived at the 
same time.  It was fun having a 
special birthday cupcake for Piper 
Peterson (Spokane) for her October 2nd 
birthday, and great to see Dave 
Deigan, owner of AMF/nc (Advanced 
Flexible Materials) who provides the 
Heatsheets for races… and to have 
Bonni Brooks from Team in Training 
take time from her busy weekend 
schedule to stop by.

In the middle of the afternoon when I 
received a phone call from MM Wayne 
Wright (Melbourne, Florida), I was 
excited that we’d see him in a few 
minutes.  WRONG!!  He was in a hotel 
in Portland, Maine!!  (I mailed his T-
shirt.)

Bob’s 80th birthday party was a 
complete success.  His goals are to 
keep running 20 marathons per year 
with #500 to be run at the 2012 Yakima 
River Canyon Marathon…and to be in 
Portland for the marathon when he 
turns 90.

I haven’t heard from God or from Carol 
Westerman as to what the plans for me 
will be…but I hope to be here in 10 
years to help with another great 
celebration.

Written by Bob Dolphin
                                       
Edited, Typed and Distributed by 
Lenore Dolphin

10/20/09


ROYAL VICTORIA MARATHON
October 11, 2009

On October 9, 2009, Lenore and I again 
returned to Victoria, the capital of 
British Columbia on Vancouver Island 
in southwestern Canada, for the 30th 
Royal Victoria Marathon.  Since 1990, 
this is an annual tradition that I’ve 
followed for 20 years, including one 
year when I was injured and came as a 
spectator.

For years it was my favorite marathon, 
and in many years I ran my best time 
of the year in Victoria.  However, 
after the Yakima River Canyon Marathon 
that Lenore and I direct (and I run) 
was initiated in 2001, that marathon 
became my “favorite” and this one 
slipped to a “near-favorite second.”

The drive from Renton to the ferry at 
Tsawwasen, BC, south of Vancouver, was 
a nice one with lots of fall colors to 
admire.  But the wait at the ferry was 
longer than usual due to a generator 
fire that morning on the newest and 
largest ferry in the fleet.  On this 
busy, Canadian Thanksgiving weekend 
the waiting time doubled from what it 
usually was, but we still made it to 
Victoria in time to go to the 
Conference Centre to get my bib, 
timing chip and technical long-sleeved 
T-shirt…..and to visit with our 
friend, sports marketer Marty Wanless 
from Vancouver, BC.

On Saturday Lenore and I returned to 
the Conference Centre for the 
afternoon speaker sessions.  Dr. 
Pushpa Chandra had a remarkable story 
to tell about her 100+ marathons and 
ultramarathons as she always “pushed 
her limits” in desert, mountain, and 
near the North and South Poles.

In the “Age Unlimited” presentation 
Ken Bonner of Victoria and Rose Marie 
Preston of Burnaby, BC, were panel 
members who have run all previous 29 
Royal Victoria Marathons and would be 
running the next day to keep their 
unbroken string intact.  Joe Henderson 
of Eugene, Oregon, former chief editor 
of Runners World Magazine, had much to 
offer on the titled topic drawing from 
his extensive experience as runner, 
writer, speaker and coach.

Other running icons who talked 
about “Marathon Mania” were Rod Dixon, 
Olympian from New Zealand (winner of 
the 1983 New York Marathon), Dick 
Beardsley from Austin, Texas (winner 
and near-winner of many marathons, 
author, speaker and training camp 
director) and Bruce Deacon (well-known 
runner in British Columbia who has won 
many events including the Royal 
Victoria Marathon in 1999 and 2004 and 
now teaches students how to improve 
their running).  Steve King from 
Penticton, BC, long-time road racer 
and announcer led these interviews, 
while Rod McCrimmon was the emcee for 
all of the sessions.

On Saturday evening we attended the 
30th Anniversary Carbo Gala Dinner at 
the Fairmont Empress Hotel in the 
Crystal Ballroom.  Lenore and I were 
pleased that Joe Henderson joined us 
as we had our annual get-together with 
Bill Schnitzel and his wife from 
Calgary, Alberta.  As always, the meal 
was excellent, and it’s rated by us as 
the “best marathon pre-race meal 
anywhere.”  Emcee Steve King 
introduced Rod Dixon who had a short 
motivational address and Dick 
Beardsley who gave a special 
presentation.

The next morning I got up early enough 
to open the door of our room at the 
Embassy Inn to watch the early 
starters of the marathon begin their 
race at 6:30 a.m.  At 7:15 a.m. I 
could watch from our room as the 8K 
road race runners started their event 
in front of the Parliament Buildings.  
Then at 7:30 a.m. the large field of 
half marathoners started alongside the 
hotel in early light.  Including the 
children’s race, there were over 
10,000 participants in the four events 
with 5,571 registered in the half 
marathon.

At 8:00 a.m. Lenore and I left the 
hotel to join the runners who were 
gathering for the marathon’s 8:30 a.m. 
start.  In the beginning I enjoyed 
running around the Parliament 
Buildings with our “adopted” grandson 
Michael Dutton from Marysville.  In 
the second mile Ken Bonner ran my pace 
for awhile to give us a chance to 
visit.  Then in Beacon Hill Park I 
visited with Mo Gillis of Woodinville, 
a new Marathon Maniac whom I just met 
at the September Skagit Flats Marathon 
in Burlington.  I enjoyed the park, 
the offshore scenery and the suburban 
housing.  

For miles it was a pleasure to see the 
main marathon field running toward 
Victoria while I was running toward 
Oak Bay.  There were many greetings 
and high fives along the way.  At 
eleven miles I looked back from a 
hilltop and saw only one runner.  
After I reached the halfway mat, I 
passed an early starter and several 
others before I came to the 14-mile 
turn-around.  From then on to the 
finish I passed about 25 people who 
were moving slower than I.  In the 
25th mile I caught up with my friend 
Evan Fagan from Victoria, and we ran 
to the finish together.  It was a 
treat to run and talk with Evan and 
cross the finish line side by side.

My 5:23:32 gun time and 5:22:19 chip 
time placed me at 2,362 of 2,571 
finishers overall and first of one in 
the 80+ Male Division.  My time was 21 
seconds slower than last year, but 
this year’s 5:22:19 set a new course 
record in my age group.  So far, it 
was my best time by eight minutes in 
2009, and it was 50 minutes faster 
than my time at Portland the previous 
week!

The race was won by Hillary Cheruiyot 
of Kenya in 2:19:26.  Three-time past 
marathon winner Steve Osaduik of 
Langley, BC, pushed the second half 
for a negative split to finish second 
with a time of 2:22:42.  Lameth Mosoti 
of Kenya came in third with a 2:24:43.

The women’s race was won by the 2008 
winner, Cheryl Murphy of Victoria, 
with a 2:49:01.  Katherine Moore of 
Vancouver came in second with a 
2:47:29 improving her third place 
finish of 2008.  Suzanne Evans, a 
three-time winner of Victoria from New 
Westminster, was third with a 
2:48:20.  There was a strong women’s 
field with the first nine finishers 
running sub-three hour races.

The total of 2,571 finishers was an 
increase of 25% over last year.  There 
seemed to be more walkers this 
year…..with the last one finishing in 
7:49:59.

Thanks go to Race Director Rob Reid, 
his committee and the volunteers for 
putting on another great marathon.  
All of the events were well organized, 
and the weather cooperated!

Written by Bob Dolphin
                                       
Edited, Typed and Distributed by 
Lenore Dolphin

PARTIAL RESULTS – Royal Victoria 
Marathon, October 11, 2009
2:19:26  Hillary Cheruiyot, 25-29M, 
Kenya, FIRST OVERALL, First in Division
2:22:42  Steve Osaduik, 30-34M, 
Langley, BC, SECOND OVERALL, 1st
2:24:43  Lameth Mosoti, 25-29M, Kenya, 
THIRD OVERALL, 2nd
2:44:01  Cheryl Murphy, 40-44F, 
Victoria, BC, FIRST WOMAN OVERALL, 1st
2:47:25  Katherine Moore, 30-34F, 
Vancouver, BC, SECOND WOMAN OVERALL, 
1st
2:48:18  Suzanne Evans, 35-59F, New 
Westminster, BC, THIRD WOMAN OVERALL, 
1st
3:03:52  Mickey Allen, 50-54M, Tacoma, 
WA, Marathon Maniac (MM)
3:15:23  Mary Hanna, 45-49F, Maple 
Valley, WA, MM, 2nd
3:26:49  Jeffrey McKay, 45-49M, 
Eugene, OR, MM
3:37:40  Paul Grove, 30-34M, Kent, WA 
MM
3:39:36  Erika Van Flien, 45-49F, 
Fairbanks, AK, MM
3:39:54  Jon Mahoney, 55-59M, Vernon, 
BC, MM
3:40:55  Bill Schnitzler, 60-64M, 
Calgary, AB
3:44:46  Rebecca Lamendola, 30-34F, 
Renton, WA, MM
3:45:46  Robert Jacobsen, 50-54M, Mt. 
Vernon,WA, MM
3:45:55  Janet Green, 55-59F, 
Courtenay, BC, 3rd
3:50:22  Andy Lin, 25-29M, Bellevue, 
WA, MM
3:51:46  Sherry Mahoney, 45-49F, 
Vernon, BC, MM
3:58:37  Tanya Warkentin, 40-44F, 
Surrey, BC, MM
4:03:47  David Appleby, 35-39M, 
Langley, BC, MM
4:10:20  Cat Schwartz, 45-49F, 
Puyallup, WA, MM
4:11:26  Marla Pemberton, 50-54F, 
Vancouver, BC, MM
4:12:56  Marilou Russell, 45-49F, 
Olympia, WA, MM
4:14:58  Mark Stewart, 50-54M, 
Puyallup, WA, MM
4:17:20  Mae Palm 65-69M, Squamish, 
BC, 3rd
4:18:21  Cliff Richards, 45-49M, Maple 
Valley, WA, MM
4:19:07  Ken Bonner, 65-69M, Victoria, 
BC
4:23:42  Sheila Dawe, 45-49F, Nanaimo, 
BC, MM
4:24:58  Michael Dutton, 35-39M, 
Marysville, WA, MM
4:32:32  Dan Cumming, 60-64M, 
Vancouver, WA
4:32:53  David England, 50-54M, 
Richmond, BC, MM
4:37:05  Kevin Brosi, 50-54M, Flower 
Mound, TX, MM
4:38:18  Cheri Pompeo, 55-59F, 
Woodinville, WA, MM
4:45:01  John Schmuck, 55-59M, 
Victoria, BC, MM
4:48:07  Angela Frye, 45-49F, Nanaimo, 
BC, MM
4:51:26  Maureen “Mo” Gillis, 25-29F, 
Woodinville, WA, MM
5:09:56  Debby Wilson, 45-49F  
Bellevue, WA, MM
5:22:19  Bob Dolphin, 80+M, 
Renton/Yakima, WA, MM, 1st
5:23:13  Evan Fagan, 70-72M, Victoria, 
BC
5:32:59  Philip King, 50-54M, Oak 
Harbor, WA, MM
5:37:22  Tamara MacLaren, 40-44F, 
Mission, BC, MM
5:39:55  Jerry Lawrence, 70-74M, New 
Westminster, BC
6:07:16  Rose Marie Preston, 65-69F, 
Burnaby, BC

10/21/09


CONGRATULATIONS

Bob Ross from Tennessee for 
finished the 50 and DC Marathon 
circuit. Bob finish his Marathon 
at the Portland Marathon in Portland, 
OR on 10/04/09. 
Great job Bob!!!!!

10/21/09


CONGRATULATIONS

Steve Engel from Wisconsin for 
finished the 50 and DC Marathon 
circuit. Steve finish his Marathon 
at the Amica Marathon in Newport, RI 
on 10/18/09. 
Great job Steve!!!!!

10/30/09


Garden Spot Village Marathon (& 1/2), 
New Holland, PA

50 & DC members, A Marathon and 1/2 
Marathon in Lancaster County, PA. 

It's a stunningly beautiful run. Past 
farms, meadows and through Amish 
Country. (With the occasional horse 
and buggy passing by!)

The link below includes registration 
information and routes.

http://gardenspotvillagemarathon.org/

Look forward to see you here.

Thank you,
Andrea

11/09/09


From Michael Zielinski

     Never a runner, Kimi Puntillo 
discovered a passion for running long 
distances after training for the New 
York City Marathon.  The results - 
increased energy, a more positive 
attitude, and being in the best shape 
of her life - overwhelmed her original 
reluctance to embrace the sport.
    A marathon in Antarctica quickly 
inspired her to lace up her sneakers 
again, because she was fascinated by 
the continent since childhood after 
seeing icebergs on the cover of 
National Geographic Magazine.  There 
Kimi learned that a man had completed 
a marathon on every continent of the 
world, but a woman had yet to achieve 
that feat. Determined to become that 
woman, she raced around the world, 
achieved her goal, and was published 
in the Guinness World Book of Records.
    Combining a love of travel and 
running took her to adventurous and 
exotic places. The Mount Everest 
Marathon included a 3-week trek to the 
starting line at 17,007 feet. Wine 
from the best French chateaux was 
served every 3 miles to runners during 
the Marathon du Medoc, near Bordeaux.  
She even found a course completely run 
on the Great Wall in China, a 1,000 
year old structure, with 60,000 steps 
of all shapes and sizes. Sharing these 
races and her incredible experiences 
with runners was the inspiration for 
writing “Great Races, Incredible 
Places - 100+ Fantastic Runs Around 
the World”.   The book describes runs, 
ranging from several miles to ultra-
marathons, found both close to home 
and half-way around the world.

    Kimi currently works as a 
journalist and lives in New York City 
with her yellow lab,  Beethoven.  Her 
adventure racing stories have been 
published in The New York Times, The 
Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and other 
media.

11/09/09


MARINE CORPS MARATHON
October 25, 2009

Prologue by Lenore Dolphin – Soon 
after Bob and I were asked to be co-
directors of the new Yakima River 
Canyon Marathon in 2000, Marty 
Wanless, sports marketer from 
Vancouver, BC, suggested that we 
attend the Race Directors Workshop 
held early in October in conjunction 
with the Portland Marathon.  We took 
his advice and participated for five 
consecutive years.  We’ve also had the 
privilege to attend two Race Directors 
Conferences at the Boston Marathon and 
many at the Marine Corps Marathon 
(MCM) since then.

At these events we’ve met race 
directors from many races, both big 
and small, and have had good 
experiences from all of our 
participation.  The most memorable day 
was the first one at Portland in 2000 
when we “adopted” Rick Nealis, MCM 
Race Director, into our family.

It was the tenth consecutive year that 
Lenore and I have made the west coast 
to east coast trip from Seattle to 
Washington, DC, so that we could 
participate in the Marine Corps 
Marathon at Washington, DC, and 
adjoining Virginia.

It’s a big event for us, and we 
enjoyed visiting with Rick Nealis, his 
staff and many members of the running 
community who gathered at the 34th 
running of this marathon on Sunday, 
October 25, 2009.

We arrived in Washington, DC, on 
Thursday evening and went to our usual 
motel in Alexandria, Virginia.  The 
next day we drove to downtown 
Washington to the Expo and Packet 
Pickup that was held at the Walter E. 
Washington Convention Center for the 
first time.  It’s a large, modern 
facility, but it lacks a good parking 
garage for patrons who drive to the 
Center.

Later in the evening we attended the 
MCM Hall of Fame awards dinner and 
reception at the Washington Post 
Building.  Lieutenant Colonel Alex 
Heatherington was inducted to this 
prestigious group as a member of the 
Class of 2009.  Following many tours 
in Iraq and Afghanistan, he is now 
attached to a Marine Light Attack 
Squadron at Camp Pendleton in 
California.  He had served eleven 
years with the all-Marine Marathon 
Team and was its captain for eight 
years.  In the 1995 MCM he finished 
10th overall with a PR of 2:29:30.

Kenny Moore was also inducted as part 
of the Class of 2009.  He was 
recognized for being the winner of the 
first MCM in 1976 with a time of 
2:21:18.  He has had a long career as 
a competitive runner, screen writer 
and journalist at “Sports Illustrated.”

On Saturday afternoon we met Marathon 
Maniac Don “The Rev” Kienz and his 
wife Pam from Exton, Pennsylvania at 
our motel in Alexandria.  Don was the 
guest speaker at the Yakima River 
Canyon Marathon this year.  He’ll be 
joined by famous author Joe Henderson 
at our 10th anniversary race on March 
27, 2010, as a speaker at our pasta 
meal the previous evening.

Don introduced us to their friends, 
Chris and Kim Ihms of Avon Lake, Ohio, 
and the six of us drove to the Hyatt 
Regency Washington Hotel Race 
Headquarters for the Carbo Dining In.  
We enjoyed the buffet meal and the 
good entertainment. 
Katherine Switzer of New York City was 
the featured speaker.  She described 
her exploits of being the first woman 
to finish the Boston Marathon in the 
1967 race.  She was a pioneer in 
encouraging women to become distance 
runners and gaining entry into the 
sport.  As always, Ken Berger retired 
Marine major, did a fine job of 
emceeing the evening activities.  We 
attended a reception following the 
Carbo Dining In briefly and were happy 
to meet and visit with JoAnn Nealis.

The next morning we three couples met 
again and drove to Fort Myer where we 
were able to park our cars near the 
Rosslyn gate for easy access to the 
nearby start/finish area for the MCM.  
We walked through a marathon tent city 
near the Marine Corps Memorial and 
found the VIP tent where we socialized 
and had breakfast.  

After daybreak, the air temperature 
crept upward from 50 degrees to 60 
degrees, and the runners left the tent 
to walk on a paved trail alongside 
Arlington Cemetery to the Starting 
Line’s red and yellow arch over the 
timing mats.

Wearing Bib #80 I could have lined up 
with the front runners, but this year 
I chose to move well back in the field 
of over 20,000 runners.  The cannon 
sounded at 8:00 a.m.,  and I crossed 
the start mat five minutes later.  

The first two miles went uphill 
through the city of Rosslyn, Virginia, 
so I walked the steeper second mile.  
Don and Chris were running well and 
passed me in the 4th mile.  As I moved 
onto the Key Bridge over the Potomac 
River, to my pleasant surprise 
John “The Penguin” Bingham called my 
name in greeting.

My race improved in about the 10th 
mile as we came to better conditions 
by the Potomac River.  A cooling 
breeze, shade trees and flat terrain 
in West and East Potomac Park were 
most welcome.  Later, circling The 
Mall is always a pleasure as we pass 
many monuments and Government 
buildings that define our country.  

Although I became preoccupied with 
finishing under six hours, the last 
10K went fairly well.  In the 24th 
mile my run/walk wasn’t working well, 
so I walked exclusively for the last 
two miles at a 14:30 pace.  Climbing 
the last short hill at Mile 26 was a 
struggle, but I got to the finish line 
in 5:55:31, 18,892nd of 20,882 
finishers and 6th of 16 in the 75 and 
over Male Division.  

I was the oldest male finisher and the 
second to the oldest finisher.  
Anneliese Monniere, 82, a registered 
nurse of Pleasant Valley, Connecticut, 
was the oldest participant as she 
finished in 6:39:47.

As soon as I made it to the VIP tent, 
I found Chris Ihms, 53, a former 
fellow Marine, and congratulated him 
for finishing his first marathon in a 
time of 5:44:21.  He has a history of 
heart and kidney problems, so we’re 
proud of him as he took on this 
challenge and met his goal of 
completing the Marine Corps 
Marathon.  “The Rev” accompanied him 
and gave him encouragement during the 
entire race.

Because the MCM does not offer prize 
money, the international pros go 
elsewhere and other runners have a 
chance of winning or placing.  
Military servicemen who are good 
marathoners usually do well at the 
MCM.  This year the winner was 
Lieutenant Commander John Mentzer, 33, 
of the U.S. Navy and Kittery, Maine.  
He took the lead early and widened it 
to over three minutes before he 
persisted through the difficult final 
miles to a 2:21:47 first place 
finish.  

Captain Jacob Johnson, 32, of the U.S. 
Air Force and Sherwood, Arizona, took 
over second place with a half mile to 
go and finished with a time of 
2:25:02.  Sergeant Salvadore Miranda, 
38, of the Mexican Military, a 2004 
Olympian, held second place until he 
was passed and then finished third 
with a 2:25:24.

Muliye Gurmu, 25, of Ethopia won the 
women’s race in 2:49:48.  She drafted 
on other women and then out-sprinted 
them in the last windy mile.  Major 
Jamee Marty, 42, of the U.S. Air Force 
who resides in Sacramento, California, 
ran in third place for much of the 
race but took the lead at Mile 23.  
She then came in second after Muliye 
passed her.  Her time of 2:50:15 set a 
Women’s Masters Course Record.  Close 
behind in third place was Kyla 
Barbour, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia, who 
finished with a 2:50:47.

My tenth consecutive MCM is history, 
and our thanks go to Rick Nealis and 
his staff for putting on another great 
marathon.  In our ten trips east for 
this MCM we’ve had the opportunity to 
visit the monuments, the capitol, MCM 
Headquarters and the Marine Corps 
Museum in Quantico and to spend time 
with old and new friends.

This year we enjoyed a dinner in 
Alexandria with Renee Dexter and 
Michaela Gaaserud from Rainmaker 
Publishing in Oakton, Virginia.  We 
first met them on our trip East in 
2005 after they had asked me to write 
a chapter about the Yakima River 
Canyon Marathon for their book, “From 
Fairbanks to Boston…50 Great U.S. 
Marathons.”  They gave us an 
autographed copy of their newest 
book, “From Kona to Lake Placid…50 
Great U.S. Triathlons.”  Both books 
are available at:  Rainmaker 
Publishing LLC, P.O. Box 3102, Oakton, 
VA, 22124-3102.  
www.rainmakerpublishing.com.

We look forward to the 35th running of 
the Marine Corps Marathon on October 
31. 2010.  Semper fi!

Epilogue by Lenore – When Bob and I 
arrive at an Expo for another 
marathon, we always wonder “which 
friend or acquaintance will be the 
first person we see.”  As we were 
looking for a parking place in 
Washington, DC, we spotted Marty 
Wanless on the street corner, and once 
inside the Expo it was Connie Sayers 
from the MCM Staff who saw us.  From 
that time on, it was “old home week 
for us.”

At the Carbo Dining In meal, emcee Ken 
Berger introduced Bob as a runner who 
had just completed Marathon #452 at 
the Portland Marathon on October 4th, 
his 80th birthday…..and Heidi Baise, 
former MCM staff member, gave us hugs 
and said she’d be running her first 
marathon the next day.  (She did it in 
3:05:20!!)

The next day at the VIP tent after the 
race had started, Connie Sayers and 
Ken joined me for breakfast, and 
John “The Penguin” Bingham had lunch 
with me.  For the 10th year in a row 
Kirsten and Bob Elling from 
Schenectady, New York, were there to 
celebrate their wedding anniversary.  
Known as “The Newlyweds,” they were 
married at the MCM in 1996.  John 
Elliott from Marathon Guide got race 
results for me, and MCM staff members 
Marc Goldman and Meghan McGarvey “took 
good care of me” all weekend.

The MCM has been good to us, and we 
have great memories from our ten 
visits.  It’s here that we met 
Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas who 
later invited us to dinner at the 
Governor’s Mansion when Bob ran the 
Little Rock Marathon.  One year I 
visited with Mike Reagan, President 
Reagan’s son, as we waited for Bob and 
his wife to finish the marathon.  He 
asked to have his picture taken with 
Bob! 

It was a thrill to introduce former 
Marines Chris Ihms just before he ran 
his first marathon and Wally Kastner, 
Race Director of Big Sur Marathon, who 
has run many marathons…..and to see 
the camaraderie between the two of 
them.  

It was here that we saw Roadkill 
Johnson of Craig, Alaska, last year as 
he ran his last marathon less than two 
months before he died.  He had honored 
his father, an Iwo Jima survivor, in 
2007 and 2008 at this race to give him 
memories he’ll never forget.

Another memory to cherish is 
remembering the 2007 MCM when Gunhild 
and Jack Swanson were with us.  As a 
former Marine, Jack wanted this to be 
his last marathon…..and it was.  He 
lost his battle to cancer eleven 
months later.

Little did we realize how much Marty’s 
suggestion to attend the 2000 Portland 
Marathon Race Directors Workshop would 
change our lives.  It was there that 
we added Rick Nealis to “our 
family”….and this led us to become 
part of the “MCM Family.”  We’ll be 
forever grateful to Rick, his staff 
and all who make the Marine Corps 
Marathon such a great, annual 
experience for us.

Written by Bob Dolphin
                                       
Edited, Typed and Distributed by 
Lenore Dolphin

11/09/09


CITY OF OAKS MARATHON
November 1, 2009

A treat for Lenore and me when we 
participate in the Marine Corps 
Marathon in Washington, DC, and 
northern Virginia each year is to add 
a new marathon to my 50 States list.  
This year we left Alexandria, 
Virginia, several days after this race 
to drive south to Raleigh, North 
Carolina, for the third annual City of 
Oaks Marathon on Sunday, November 1, 
2009.

Participants of the weekend races were 
given a discount at the Comfort Suites 
Arena where we stayed for four nights 
enjoying the accommodations.  On 
Friday afternoon we went to packet 
pickup and the Expo that was held in 
the McKimmon Center on the North 
Carolina University campus a few miles 
from our hotel.  While there, we 
talked with 50 Stater Ed Peters and 
Isolde Davis.  Ed planned to run the 
marathon and Isolde would do the half 
marathon.  

On race morning I left the hotel in 
darkness and drove about five miles in 
steady rain to the start/finish area 
at another site on the university 
campus.  I followed the signs to race 
parking and was pleased that a large, 
parking garage was available to the 
runners at no cost.  This sheltered 
facility was about 100 yards from the 
start line.  It was there that I met 
Matt Jenkins, 28, of Boone, NC 
(4:18:53), a Marathon Maniac who asked 
me about my recent 80th birthday run 
at the Portland Marathon a month 
earlier.  He had read about the event 
when it was posted on the Maniac home 
page.

There were about 2,713 runners on hand 
for the 7:00 a.m. combined start of 
the marathon and half marathon.  The 
613 marathon finishers wore orange 
colored bibs, and the others had green 
ones.  The temperature was about 55 
degrees at the beginning and 65 
degrees when the race ended six hours 
later.  It rained most of the time, 
and there were some winds up to 20 
mph.  I wore my TyVek jacket and 
gloves during the entire race and was 
comfortable.

The course consisted of loops and out-
and-back sections that took us through 
the campus, to suburbs, to the city 
center and out to the rural 
countryside.  In the second half of 
the marathon we ran up and down long, 
steep hills on paved streets and dirt 
trails of Unstead State Park.  There 
we saw a variety of trees, all in fall 
color from yellow to orange to red to 
purple.  In this setting, James 
Mandrin, 72, of Annapolis, Maryland, 
caught up to me and we visited awhile 
before he ran ahead to finish 2nd in 
the 70-74 Male Division with a 
5:07:43.  Participating in triathlons 
is one of his favorite sports.

Later, as we were nearing Raleigh, I 
talked with a Shirley McKenna, 52, of 
Scotland and Raleigh who had run may 
pace until then.  She finished 
stronger than I did with a time of 
5:38:38.

A young, bare-chested runner seemed to 
be enjoying himself as we passed each 
other back and forth in the last 10K.  
It was Simon Everett of Charlotte, 
North Carolina, who was running his 
first marathon.  He asked me how old I 
was…..and said that I was his 
inspiration.  He did well in his first 
marathon and finished in 5:51:44.  I 
met his parents at the finish line and 
told them that I enjoyed meeting and 
talking with their son on his special, 
first marathon day.

After negotiating one final hill, I 
crossed the finish line in 5:42:07 
(chip time), 590th of 613 finishers 
and first in the 80-84 Male Division.  
I missed the course closure by 18 
minutes!  There was no award ceremony, 
so I’m hoping that my award will 
arrive in the mail.

Thanks go to race director Jim 
Micheels, his staff, the volunteers, 
the medics and the police for putting 
on a well-organized race.  

NORTH CAROLINA is now on my list 
of “Finished States”……and that brings 
my total to 37…..with 13 to go.

Written by Bob Dolphin
                                       
Edited, Typed and Distributed by 
Lenore Dolphin

 
PARTIAL RESULTS – City of Oaks 
Marathon, November 1, 2009

2:33:03  Patrick Reaves, 24, Durham, 
NC, FIRST OVERALL, First in Age 
Division
2:38:23  Orinthal Striggles, 38, 
Elgin, SC, SECOND OVERALL, 1st
2:39:37  Nicholas Robin, 32, Durham, 
NC, THIRD OVERALL, 1st

2:48:50  Elena Kaledina, 43, Eugene, 
OR, FIRST WOMAN OVERALL, 1st
2:54:12  Svetlana Baygulova, 34, 
Hebron, KY, SECOND WOMAN OVERALL, 1st
2:59:54  Monica Joyce, 51, Ann Arbor, 
MI, THIRD WOMAN OVERALL, 1st
4:18:53  Matt Jenkins, 28, Boone, NC, 
Marathon Maniac (MM)
4:57:57  Ed Peters, 58, Norwalk, CT
5:07:16  James Mandrin, 72, Annapolis, 
MD, 2nd
5:38:38  Shirley McKenna, 52, Raleigh, 
NC
5:42:07  Bob Dolphin, 80, 
Renton/Yakima, WA, MM, 1st
5:51:44  Simon Everett, 25, Charlotte, 
NC

11/11/09


Tuesday, November 10, 2009
  
RR - Fort Worth
Sun, Nov 8/09
Fort Worth Marathon
Fort Worth, TX
Marathon #320
3:55:22 – 1 AG

As mentioned at the end of my previous 
race report (Ottawa Marathon) I 
figured that since no body parts had 
fallen off or hurt during that race I 
needed to schedule another marathon in 
Nov as part of my training program to 
regain my ‘marathon shape’. But where 
to go? Since the Boulder Marathon had 
been too hot and the Ottawa Marathon 
too cold and both courses too hilly I 
needed a location where the course 
would be flat and the weather 
pleasant? And the whole USA was open 
to me since I had a ‘free’ airline 
ticket! When I was forced to cancel 
Boston (Marathon) in April because of 
the mystery injuries US Airways kindly 
offered me (after heated negotiations) 
a full credit for future travel – with 
the caveat that I use it before Dec 
09 - or lose it! I selected the Fort 
Worth Marathon for three reasons: 
1) the race was in early Nov when the 
weather is normally nice in TX
2) the course was mainly on bike 
trails along the Trinity River and flat
3) my brother lives about 10 miles 
from the start/finish of the race. I 
could stay with him and he volunteered 
to be my temporary Sports Manager so 
my only expense for the race was the 
entry fee!
Thus I left Sarasota early on Fri so I 
could have some ‘Q’ time with my 
brother Doug and his wife Darlene. 
Race registration was only a few miles 
from his house so we picked up the 
race packet on the way home from the 
airport so I didn’t have to worry 
about anything until ‘M’ day on Sun.

The race started and finished at 
LaGrave Field – a sports stadium near 
downtown Fort Worth. There were 4 race 
events and the marathon started first 
at 7:30 am. I lined up with about 200 
runners. The weather was pleasant as 
expected but a wee bit warmer than 
forecast with a temp of 58F. 
Fortunately the skies were cloudy and 
stayed overcast through the entire 
race so the temps never rose above the 
mid 60s! The course was a 13-mile out -
and -back loop that left the stadium 
and dumped on to a series of paved and 
dirt bike trails along the Trinity 
River.

I had researched the race results from 
last year to learn that the winning 
time in my AG was 3:54. I decided 
before the race that I had three goals:
1) to finish under 4 hours. Since I 
had been able to complete two weeks of 
speed workouts since my last race I 
was confident that I could beat 4 hrs.
2) to run the first 20 miles as a time 
trial i.e. run those 20 miles as fast 
as I could remembering that I would 
still have to struggle through the 
final 10K.
3) to win my AG! I figured if I 
accomplished 1) & 2) then 3) should 
follow?

I started fairly fast and dropped in 
behind a small group of runners that 
included a lovely young lass (half my 
age or less?) with a firm bod and cute 
butt. Heh – what better view and 
motivation can one have for 26 miles? 
But alas – when she dragged me through 
3 miles in 24:43 I had to accept the 
cold,hard truth. There was no way in 
Hell I could follow that cute butt at 
that pace (8:15/mile) for 26 miles! So 
reluctantly I had to let that cute 
YOUNG butt leave my sorry OLD ass 
behind in the dust! (That would never 
have happened in the good old days!) I 
slowed my pace and settled into a 
smooth/comfortable 8:45min/mile pace 
by the time I passed mile 5 in 42:58. 
I had run many sections of the 
trail/course on previous visits to my 
brothers’ so the course felt familiar 
which helps. There was only one hill 
on the course – around 7 and 18 miles. 
After climbing the hill I passed mile 
10 in 1:25:42 and reached the turn-
around at the Half in 1:53:17. Oh-oh – 
a wee bit too fast and I considered 
slowing the pace but I had noted an 
old fart on the return leg and he had 
about a 3-minute lead on me. I decided 
that I needed to hold my pace as long 
as I could and hope that the old fart 
faded or crashed before I did? I did 
OK until I climbed the one hill again 
at 18 miles where my legs started to 
feel very heavy and tired and I knew 
trouble was not too far ahead! I 
passed mile 18 in 2:36:42 but my split 
had slowed to 9:01! I was determined 
to achieve goal #2 so I continued to 
push the pace as hard as I could and 
reached mile 20 in 2:55:25 – but a 
split of 9:27! And I was in trouble! 
My legs were tired and sore! I was 
forced to start playing mind games.

All runners know what I mean. The 
final 10K of a marathon is 90% mind 
games and willpower! At first I tried 
denial – denial that I was in trouble! 
I was just a ‘wee bit tired’ and if I 
slowed down just a wee bit for the 
next few miles the legs would have a 
chance to rest and recover and I could 
hammer the final 5K. Right!!! I 
plodded/struggled along at a 9:25 pace 
and passed mile 23 in 3:24:08 and a 
9:52 split. At that point I played the 
anger game – pissed off at myself for 
being such a wimp! That worked for a 
few minutes and then I struggled to 
reach mile 24 in 3:33:37 and there was 
nothing left in my legs and the game 
changed to ‘survival’! Now I had to 
convince myself to keep the old, 
wasted legs moving – “one step at a 
time” to the next mile marker. When I 
passed mile 25 in 3:43:44 and a split 
of 10:06 – my worst split of the race -
 I had had enough of the whining and 
feeling sorry for myself. Maddog 
screamed at me “any old fool can hurt 
for one measly mile”! He was right! I 
sucked it up – ignored the pain and 
screams from my legs – and pushed as 
hard as I could for the final mile to 
cross the finish line in 3:55:22!

The screams stopped as soon as I 
crossed the finish line – but not the 
pain! My legs immediately tightened 
and were very sore - I can’t remember 
how long it has been since my legs 
were that stiff and sore at a finish 
line? We stayed around long enough to 
confirm my finish time and place 
(while watching the medical staff 
revive a man who suffered a heart 
attack after finishing the 20-mile 
run). The ‘unofficial’ time posted was 
3:54:06. That did not match my watch 
time and I later confirmed 
my ‘official’ time on the race results 
was 3:55:22 and 1st place in my AG. 
The old fart who beat me by 5 minutes 
was a youngster (only 60 years old!).

I was very satisfied with both my time 
and performance. I had accomplished 
all three goals and it had been a very 
good/valuable training run. I ran a 
fast/successful 20-mile time trial and 
then (re)taught the old bod how to 
cope with pain and exhaustion through 
the final 10K – both necessary 
ingredients for that fast and complete 
race that lies ahead in my future. 
Once again no body parts fell off or 
hurt (injury-wise) during the race. 
And I got a good reading of the gauge 
or level of my marathon fitness – OK – 
but not great – and certainly not 
competitive with the top runners in my 
AG! Any improvements in time from this 
point on will come in small amounts 
with large amounts of pain! But I am 
willing to expend the effort and hard 
work and accept the pain to get to the 
next level. My biggest concern is that 
I now have to be cautious and manage a 
very fine line between speed and 
injury to get my finish time below 
3:45. After that I will re-evaluate my 
goals!

I have already decided the race 
strategy for my next marathon. It will 
be a long, SLOW training run because 
the weather will be brutally hot and 
humid in S. Asia in Dec!

Stay tuned!

11/12/09


CONGRATULATIONS

Debbie Lazaroff from Michigan for 
finished the 50 and DC Marathon 
circuit. Debbie finish her Marathon 
at the Marshall University Marathon in 
Huntington, WV on 11/01/09. 
Great job Debbie!!!!!

11/13/09


MICHIGAN MARATHONS
by Michael Zielinski

The recent 333 mile Chicago Yacht Club 
Race on Lake Michigan from Chicago to 
Mackinac (pronounced Mack-ih-naw) 
Island in Michigan took place on July 
18, 2009 and it was the 101st running 
of 'the Mac,' the world’s longest 
annual freshwater sailing distance 
race.  For the walkers, the 52nd 
annual Mackinac Bridge Walk is 
scheduled for September 7, 2009 over 
the world's third longest suspension 
bridge from St. Ignace (at the north 
end of the Mackinac Bridge in the 
Upper Peninsula) to Mackinaw City (at 
the south end of the bridge in the 
Lower Peninsula).  The five mile long 
Mackinaw Bridge opened to traffic on 
November 1, 1957 and the Mackinac 
Bridge Walk has taken place every year 
since 1958.  There is no fee or 
registration to participate in the 
walk that begins at 7:00 a.m. with the 
Michigan Governor's party leading the 
start.  With nearly 65,000 people 
participating, start times continue 
until 11:00 a.m. on the only day of 
the year that people are allowed to 
walk across the bridge with the two 
east lanes on the bridge used by 
walkers until 9:30 a.m. and the two 
west lanes by vehicular traffic.  
After 9:30 a.m., only one east lane is 
available to the walkers who should 
know that the average length of time 
to walk the bridge is about two hours 
and that there are no restrooms on the 
bridge.  The walking  participants are 
also allowed if applicable to use baby 
strollers, wheelchairs, and seeing-eye 
dogs but no other animals are allowed 
along with any signs, banners, 
umbrellas, bicycles, roller skates, 
skateboards, and wagons.  In addition, 
except for pre-qualified, pre-
registered participants in the 
Governor's Council on Physical 
Fitness, (www.michiganfitness.org) no 
running or jogging is permitted.  All 
finishers of the Mackinac Bridge Walk 
receive a numbered bridge walk 
certificate at the completion the walk 
and school buses are provided for the 
journey back to St. Ignace, at the 
starting point.  

Several months ago, Michigan's spring 
marathon season started on April 5, 
2009 with the Martian Marathon that 
took place in Dearborn with the start 
and finish by the Dearborn Country 
Club and the Henry Ford Community 
College on a course route that went 
along wooded suburban roads near the 
Middle Rouge River.  Several miles 
away is the Ford Rouge Factory plus 
the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield 
Village.  Almost three weeks later on 
April 25th, western side of Michigan 
closest to Illinois, the National City 
Half Marathon was part of the 30th 
anniversary of the Borgess runs in 
Kalamazoo with the motto of, "Run for 
the Health of it."  This event started 
and ended at the Borgess Health & 
Fitness Center with a course that went 
through the campus of Borgess Medical 
Center and the downtown  Kalamazoo 
Mall.  Crossing back to eastern 
Michigan, on April 26th, the  Running 
Fit Trail Marathon had the trail 
runners going along the winding single-
track trails inside Michigan's 
Pinckney State Recreation Area (the 
wilderness area known to locals as 
the "Protto" and to the rest as the 
Potowatami Trail) fifteen miles to the 
northwest of Ann Arbor.  The double 
loop dirt trail starts and finishes at 
Silver Lake and follows a 13.1-mile 
loop route through the wooded forest 
lands of lower Michigan, and past a 
number of lakes and streams prior to 
the lake finish.  

Michigan's first spring marathon by 
one of the Great Lakes was the 27th 
annual Traverse City Bayshore Marathon 
held on May 23rd that had most of the 
run along the East Arm of Grand 
Traverse Bay in Lake Michigan.  The 
out and back course started at 
Northwestern Michigan College and 
finished on the track at Traverse City 
Central High School.  Throughout the 
race, the crystal blue waters of Lake 
Michigan are on one side with the 
beautiful homes and Traverse City’s 
famous cherry trees on the other side. 
Traverse City recently hosted the 
National Cherry Festival from July 4-
11 and it is known as the "Cherry 
Capital of the World."  This beautiful 
area is also near the Sleeping Bear 
Dunes National Lakeshore.  Returning 
to the eastern part of the state, the 
36th annual Dexter-Ann Arbor Run was 
held on May 31st.  This half marathon 
is from Dexter along the winding
Huron River Drive to Ann Arbor, home 
to the University of Michigan.   
While this event coincides with the 
Taste of Ann Arbor, on June 13th, 
Battle Creek, Michigan had its annual 
World's Largest Breakfast Table that 
is listed in the Guiness Book Of World 
Records.  At one time, Battle Creek 
was home to the original Kellogg's, 
Post, and Ralston cereal factories to 
be rightfully known as the "Cereal 
City Capital of the World."
 
Michigan's first summer marathon was 
the June 27th Run Charlevoix Marathon 
with the start and finish by 
Charlevoix's downtown draw bridge for 
this out-and-back course.  The route 
begins by proceeding in a mostly 
northward and eastward direction from 
downtown, taking runners out for long 
stretches along the Lake Michigan 
beaches before turning inward toward 
town and passing the Charlevoix 
Country Club before meeting the bike 
trail at the intersection with Highway 
31.  The participants then run for the 
next 3 miles along the bike trail 
before reversing at the turnaround 
point near the beach.  Heading north 
to the Upper Peninsula, the Grand 
Island Trail Marathon near Munising 
took place on July 25th and it is the 
only marathon in the UP. The start is 
at Williams Landing and the course 
then follows the perimeter trail of 
the island counterclockwise up past 
Murray Bay and Duck Lake.  At three 
miles the course heads eastward into 
the Tombolo, up into the  island's 
thumb and then back along Trout Bay 
where runners enjoy a spectacular Lake 
Superior shoreline.  The runners then 
head up the eastern shore of the 
island with views of the Pictured 
Rocks National Lakeshore.  The 
northern half of the island features 
300 foot sandstone cliffs and the 
remote and exotic North Beach.  The 
return trail on the island’s western 
shore features remarkable vistas of 
Lake Superior. Much of the trail is 
shaded by lush hardwood forests with 
cool breezes coming off Lake 
Superior.  If possible, a trip to the 
Upper Peninsula could also include a 
visit to Tahquamenon Falls State Park 
and Isle Royale National Park. 

The next day on July 26th back in the 
Lower Peninsula is the Carrollton 
Education Foundation Festival of Races 
that includes a marathon.
Carrollton is located just north of 
Saginaw (a historical timber capital) 
and south of Midland (Dow Chemical) 
and Bay City on Lake Huron.  The 
marathon starts and ends at Carrollton 
High School and is composed of 8 out-
and-back loops plus a short 1st loop.  
Another smaller Michigan marathon 
takes place next month on August 15th 
near Grand Rapids north of Lowell at 
Fallsburg Park on beautiful country 
roads, gravel roads, and on the North 
Country National Scenic Trail.  Next 
week on August 22nd in a more urban 
setting is the 33rd anniversary of the 
Crim 10 Miler in Flint.
For the next two weeks, a break from 
the running can be found in Detroit at 
the Michigan State Fair from August 28 
to September 7.  This is the oldest 
State Fair first held in 1849, only 
twelve years after Michigan attained 
statehood.  Michigan is a bountiful 
state growing a wide variety of 
commodity crops, fruits, and 
vegetables making it second only to 
California among U.S. states in the 
diversity of its agriculture. 
The September 5th Beaver Island 
Marathon starts and ends on the beach 
in the beautiful downtown area of 
Beaver Island, a Lake Michigan island 
32 miles north of Charlevoix.  Time 
slows down on Beaver Island with its 
serene and relaxed life-style on the 
most remote inhabited island in the 
Great Lakes, with a year-round 
population of 600.  The marathon is an 
out and back that loops the lighthouse 
and head out of town on a paved bike 
path to a clay, dirt and gravel road 
that goes along Lake Michigan, sand 
dunes, and forest.  After the runners 
cross the finish line on Beaver 
Island's Main Street, the pristine 
waters of Lake Michigan are nearby to 
cool off in prior to summer becoming 
autumn.

The seasons begin to transition at the 
time Frankenmuth in eastern MI (also 
the location of Bronner's, the World's 
Largest Christmas Store) has its 
Oktoberfest from September 17-20.   
During this time in western MI the 
North Country Trail Run takes place on 
September 19th in Manistee. 
This is a marathon and 50 mile race 
which is run entirely on a single-
track trail in the Manistee National 
Forest.  In a more urban setting is 
the September 27th Capital City River 
Run in Lansing.  The 5K course 
features several great views of the 
Capitol Complex from the State Capitol 
Building to the Hall of Justice.  The 
half marathon starts off heading east 
on Michigan Avenue to the Michigan 
State University campus passing within 
view of the football stadium and the 
Jack Breslin Student Events Center, 
going directly past the famous Sparty 
statue.  After leaving MSU, most of 
the remaining course is an out and 
back on the Lansing River Trail back 
to downtown Lansing, and then run on 
city Streets into Riverfront Park on 
the west side of the Grand River, 
crossing back over to the east side of 
the river to a finish on the Lansing 
River Trail behind the Lansing 
Center.  Three hours to the north on 
the same day, the Boyne 2 Boyne 
Marathon takes place on September 
27th.  Starting at the Little Traverse 
Township Hall, just down the road from 
Boyne Highlands, the runners have a 1 
mile down hill run which overlooks 
Petoskey Bay on the way to Petoskey 
State Park and along the bay with 
historic residences in downtown 
Petoskey.  Continuing past the marina, 
and over the Bear River, the half way 
point is reached prior to going above 
Walloon Lake.  The finish approach is 
along Boyne Mountain Road lined with 
great pines before entering the Boyne 
Mountain Resort for a finish right at 
the base of Boyne Mountain nestled in 
the  mountain village.  

From northwest MI to southwest MI, the 
6th annual Grand Rapids Marathon is 
scheduled for October 18th.  The 
marathon starts and ends in downtown 
Grand Rapids where the participants 
will run past the convention center, 
the Amway Grand Plaza, and the Gerald 
R. Ford Presidential Museum.  The 
course then heads south along the 
Grand River for a beautiful West 
Michigan fall color tour in the parks 
and residential neighborhoods before
returning downtown.   Grand Rapids is 
Michigan's second largest city and the 
Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland Combined 
Statistical Area is also the
second largest behind only Detroit and 
its major metropolitan area.  
Detroit's 32nd annual Marathon 
scheduled for October 18th starts and 
ends in downtown Detroit near 
Renaissance Center (General Motors), 
Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers) and 
Ford Field (Detroit Lions).  Two miles 
into the marathon, the runners begin 
to cross the Ambassador Bridge into 
Winsdor, Canada.  This bridge is the 
single busiest border crossing in 
North America handling over a quarter 
of all trade between the United States 
and Canada.  About 4 miles of the 
marathon are in Windsor, Ontario 
before returning to the United States 
via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel also 
known as the "Underwater Mile."  The 
Detroit Marathon is the world's only 
marathon that crosses an international 
boundry twice.  The last highlight 
prior to finishing is crossing the 
MacArthur Bridge at mile 19 and again 
at mile 22 to Belle Island, an island 
in the Detroit River that is a park 
and home to the Detroit Zoo.  The 
return to downtown is along the 
revitalized Detroit riverfront.  
Detroit's superlative Motown music 
sounds even better after finishing 
26.2 miles.  About one month later, 
Detroit celebrates with one million 
spectators on the original 1924 route 
along Woodward Avenue for "America's 
Thanksgiving Parade."

Michigan with four of the five Great 
Lakes is named after Lake Michigan 
meaning "large water" or "large lake", 
but it should be pointed out that the 
correct lake should be a one lake 
combination of Lakes Michigan and 
Huron since they both are at the same 
577 foot elevation and the deep five 
mile channel at the Straits of 
Mackinac connects them with the water 
flowing in both directions.  Note how 
this compares with the 601 to 579 
elevation drop between Lakes Superior 
and Huron by the Soo Locks in Sault 
Ste. Marie.  Michigan has the longest 
freshwater shoreline of any political 
subdivision in the world with more 
lighthouses that any state and it is 
the only state to consist entirely of 
two peninsulas.  The appropriate State 
Motto is, "If you seek a pleasant 
peninsula, look around you" and the 
state border goes all the way to 
Illinois where the two states meet in 
Lake Michigan. 

11/13/09


THE OHIO STATE BIG 10 MARATHONS
by Michael Zielinski

The Ohio Division of Travel and 
Tourism created in 1984 the 
slogan, "Ohio, The Heart of It All" 
since Ohio is a very populous state 
with many activities and the State 
resembles a heart in shape.  By the 
early 2000s, the Ohio Division of 
Travel and Tourism created a new 
slogan, "Ohio, So Much to Discover," 
which would also include the following 
ten marathons beginning with the Last 
Chance for Boston Marathon.  This 
event took place on February 15th in 
the heart of Dublin, a northwest 
suburb of Columbus, on a 1 mile flat, 
fast, loop course with 26 
fluid/support stations.  The race web 
site states, "After you qualify, we'll 
even hand-deliver your Boston 
application to the Post Office!"

Returning to the average marathoners 
since only about one in ten qualifies 
for Boston, a trip to Athens in 
southeastern Ohio on April 5th would 
have been for the 42nd annual Athens 
Marathon with the start at Ohio 
University's College Green.  About a 
mile and a half into the race, the 
course heads northwest on the Hocking 
Adena Bikeway, a flat bike path along 
the scenic Hocking River.  
Approximately 13 miles into the race, 
the runners turn around and then head 
back on the bikeway and finish on the 
track at Pruitt Field, home to the 
Bobcats' field hockey team.  It is 
named in honor of Dr. Peggy Pruitt, a 
key figure in Ohio Athletics from 1975 
to 2001.  The multi-purpose facility 
features a top-of-the-line artificial 
playing surface and it also 
encompasses Goldsberry Track, the home 
to Ohio University's track and field 
teams.

Two weeks later on April 19th was 
Gambier's 3rd annual Earth Day 
Challenge Marathon.  The first Earth 
Day was held on April 22, 1970 as an 
environmental teach-in on widespread 
environmental degradation that would 
have included during this era when on 
June 22, 1969, an oil slick and debris 
in the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 
Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national 
attention to environmental problems in 
Ohio and elsewhere in the United 
States.  Returning to the present, the 
Earth Day Marathon had its start at 
the Kenyon Athletic Center on the 
campus of Kenyon College that then 
included a 4 mile loop through 
historic Gambier with a portion run on 
Kenyon's tree-lined Middle Path.  
After the Gambier loop, the runners 
for the remainder of the race were on 
the picturesque Kokosing Gap Bike 
Trail along the Kokosing State Scenic 
River as it goes through the Knox 
County countryside.  The return finish 
at the the Kenyon Athletic Center was 
a short walk from downtown Gambier.  

One week later on April 26th was the 
33rd annual Toledo Glass City 
Marathon.  The run began with a 3 mile 
downtown loop highlighting many 
landmarks of Toledo including the Old 
West End, The Toledo Museum of Art, 
and Fifth Third Field (home of the 
Toledo Mud Hens Triple-A Minor League 
Baseball team).  From here, the river-
bank loop course route crosses the 
Maumee River and then follows the 
river southwest along city and country 
roads through Toledo, Rossford, and 
Perrysburg before once again crossing 
the Maumee River at mile 14.  The 
marathon then returns to the start 
heading northeast along the river 
through Maumee and Toledo before 
finishing in downtown Toledo.  The 
Glass City Marathon takes place on the 
4th Sunday in April with the 34th 
annual running scheduled for April 
25th.

Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon, the 
largest in Ohio, takes place on the 
first Sunday in May.  The 11th annual 
in 2009 took place on May 3rd with the 
2010 version to take place on May 
2nd.  The start is between the Ohio 
River and Paul Brown Stadium, home to 
pro football's Cincinnati Bengals.
After several blocks, the run goes by 
the National Underground Railraod 
Museum prior to crossing the Ohio 
River near Newport's Aquarium.  After 
two miles, the route returns back to 
downtown Cincinnati with miles four 
and five near Fountain Square and the 
next few miles on the bluffs in Eden 
Park overlooking the Ohio River.  The 
course then heads east of the city 
prior to returning downtown.  Near the 
finish, the marathon is on Pete Rose 
Way where he also is honored at the 
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame with 
4,256 baseballs three stories high for 
each one of his hits.
About a mile from the finish, the run 
went near Bicentennial Commons at 
Sawyer Point with its Flying Pigs 
Sculpture.  At one time 
Cincinnati, "Porkopolis", was once the 
world's pork packing capital with 
excess fat used for soap production 
which later was the start of Procter 
and Gamble.
The finish of the Flying Pig Marathon 
is near the Great American Ballpark, 
home to the Cincinnati Reds who were 
the first professional
baseball team who later evolved into 
the "Big Red Machine."   

Two weeks later, the 32nd annual 
Cleveland Marathon took place on May 
17th with the 2010 event scheduled for 
May 16th in Ohio's largest metro area. 
The course starts in front of the 
Galleria Mall downtown, and sends 
racers immediately towards Lake Erie 
and past the Rock and Roll Hall of 
Fame,  Great Lakes Science Center, and 
the Cleveland Browns Stadium.  Prior 
to leaving the downtown area and 
heading west through Ohio City, the 
runners also pass the Gateway Sports 
and Entertainment Complex that 
includes Quicken Loans Arena (the home 
of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers) and 
Progressive Field (the Major League 
Baseball stadium for the Cleveland 
Indians of the American League).  Once 
the course route reaches its western 
point near Edgewater Park, the 
marathoners run west to east and have 
a runner-friendly 9-mile stretch along 
and near the Lake Erie shoreline with 
prevailing winds at runners' backs 
from about mile 7 to mile 16 at Gordon 
Park.  After a couple of miles to the 
south with University Circle nearby, 
the runners reach Rockefeller Park 
around the twenty mile mark.  
University Circle is the cultural, 
educational, and medical center of 
Greater Cleveland, and is located on 
the east side around the campus of 
Case Western Reserve University and 
also includes the Cleveland Museum of 
Art, Cleveland Museum of Natural 
History, Cleveland Botanical Garden, 
Cleveland Play House, and the home of 
the Cleveland Orchestra.  Returning to 
the marathon, the course route goes by 
Cleveland State University and other 
Cleveland landmarks  prior to 
finishing in downtown near the 
Cleveland Browns Stadium on the shores 
of Lake Erie.

After taking a summer break from the 
marathons that would include the Ohio 
State Fair from July 29th to August 
9th, Ohio's first autumn marathon is 
the Road Runner Akron Marathon 
scheduled for September 26th in 
the "Tire City" that is the "Rubber 
Capital of the World".  The marathon 
starts downtown near the National 
Inventors Hall of Fame that highlights 
men and women whose patented 
inventions, life-saving tools, labor-
saving devices, and technological 
innovations have become the basis of 
the American economy and society.  
Although the Hall is currently closed 
for construction of the National 
Inventors Hall of Fame School Center 
for Science, Technology, Engineering 
and Mathematics Learning, the less 
important marathon heads north across 
the All-America Bridge, a Y-bridge 
which offers a spectacular views of 
the Little Cuyahoga River and the 
Valley nearly 300 feet below.  Runners 
pass the one-mile mark near the north 
end of the bridge and find themselves 
in the North Hill section prior to 
reaching the two-mile mark as they 
start their return trip south over the 
Y Bridge back to downtown Akron by 
mile three.  During the course route, 
Firestone can be found at the five-
mile mark in front of the Firestone 
Akron Headquarters and Firestone Park 
is at mile seven.  The course then 
heads back toward downtown via the 
University of Akron that includes the 
Zips’ athletic facilities along with 
the brick walkways of the University’s 
Buchtel Commons passing the center of 
the campus between the Goodyear 
Polymer Center Building and E.J. 
Thomas Performing Arts Hall.  From the 
ten-mile mark back at the starting 
line, the next mile descends into the 
Valley and after crossing the 11-mile 
mark at the historic Mustill Store, 
the next four miles are on a crushed 
limestone path that is part of the 
Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and 
the next three miles are on the Sand 
Run Parkway.  The most famous landmark 
in West Akron at mile 22 is Stan Hywet 
Hall & Gardens built by industrialist 
and Goodyear co-founder F.A. 
Seiberling.  Closer to the present, at 
mile 25 is the alma mater of 
basketball player LeBron James, St. 
Vincent-St. Mary High School.  The 
finish is in Canal Park, the AA 
baseball park.  Speaking of pro 
sports, the Professional Football Hall 
of Fame is in nearby Canton.  

The 18th annual Towpath Marathon in 
Cuyahoga National Park between 
Cleveland and Akron is scheduled for 
October 11th has been described by 
Runner's World as "one of the most 
beautiful race courses in America" 
since most of the route is on the 
historic Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath 
Trail with its crushed limestone 
surface surrounded by peak fall 
foliage.  The entire marathon is in 
the National Park with most of the 
running done on the Towpath Trail on 
an out and back course starting at the 
Boston Mills Ski Resort with the 
northern turnaround north of the 
Station Road Bridge before heading 
south and finishing at the Boston 
Store near the start.  The Towpath 
Marathon was established in 1992 to 
introduce the Towpath Trail as a new 
recreational amenity and to promote 
the establishment of the Ohio and Erie 
Canalway when the Towpath Trail was 
completed through the Cuyahoga Valley 
National Recreation Area prior to it 
becoming Cuyahoga Valley National Park 
in 2000.
 

Returning to 2009, one week later on 
October 18th is the 30th annual 
Columbus Marathon.  Columbus is named 
after Christopher Columbus and the 
city has evolved to be both the 
capital and largest city in Ohio.  The 
marathon start is in downtown near the 
Ohio Statehouse and then heads east on 
Broad Street past the Columbus Museum 
of Art and Franklin Park's 
Conservatory to Bexley prior to 
returning to south of the downtown in 
German Village.  Miles 11 to 15 head 
north on High Street past the Ohio 
Statehouse at Mile 13 in downtown on 
the way toward Ohio State University.  
The course route then goes through the 
OSU campus and by the unique Ohio 
Stadium with its double-deck horseshoe 
design on Woody Hayes Drive, named 
after the former Ohio State football 
coach Woody Hayes who won five 
national titles and 13 Big Ten 
championships in 28 years at Ohio 
State University.  The marathon course 
route heads back toward downtown 
through Upper Arlington, Grandview  
Heights, and the Victorian Village 
prior to finishing by the Nationwide 
Arena in the Arena District.  Nearly 
20 percent of the 2008 field qualified 
for the Boston Marathon – making the 
flat and fast Columbus Marathon one of 
the top marathons in the United 
States.  
 
Ohio - where the phrase "Birthplace of 
Aviation" is etched on license plates -
 was where flight was born, Buckeyes 
claim, because the Wright brothers 
made their plans and constructed their 
aircraft in their Dayton bicycle 
shop.  From this theme, the 13th 
annual United States Air Force 
Marathon will take place on September 
19, 2009, at Wright-Patterson Air 
Force Base in Dayton.  The USAF 
Marathon is always held in September 
to commemorate the founding of the Air 
Force as a separate military service 
on September 18, 1947 with the first 
official marathon held on September 
20, 1997 to celebrate the 50th 
anniversary of the Air Force.  Each 
year one aircraft is chosen to be 
highlighted during the marathon and on 
the unique finisher's medal.  Prior to 
the events that include the marathon, 
wheelchair marathon, half marathon, 
and 10K, a 5K will take place on 
September 18, 2009, at Wright State 
University, the location of the 
September 17 and 18 Sports & Fitness  
Exposition in the Ervin J. Nutter 
Center with all Marathon and Expo 
events open to the public.  The 
marathon course route traverses 
historical places on Wright-Patterson 
Air Force Base, including the National 
Museum of the United States Air Force, 
the Air Force Institute of Technology, 
Headquarters Air Force Materiel 
Command, the Wright-Patterson AFB 
flight line, Huffman Prairie Flying 
Field, and the Wright Brothers 
Memorial Monument.  Ohio is also the 
state that has produced the second 
most U.S. Presidents with seven and 
the most astronauts, 24 in all, that 
includes John Glenn, the first 
American astronaut to orbit the earth 
in 1962 who later became a Ohio U.S. 
Senator before returning to space one 
last time in 1998 at age 77 as the 
oldest space traveler.  Ohio native 
Neil Armstrong also became on July 20, 
1969 the first person to set foot on 
the moon almost 40 years ago.  Happy 
4th of July.

11/13/09


INDIANA RUNS WITH HOOSIER HOSPITALITY 
ACROSS THE CROSSROADS OF AMERICA by 
Michael Zielinski

This year’s 200th anniversary of 
Abraham Lincoln’s birth on February 
12th is also a reminder that he lived 
in Indiana during his formulative 
years commemorated at the Abraham 
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, a 
United States Presidential Memorial in 
Lincoln City that preserves the farm 
site where Abraham Lincoln lived for a 
quarter of his life from 1816 to 
1830.  From this theme, on April 4th, 
the Circle of Life IU Mini Marathon 
took place on one of the nation's most 
beautiful college campuses at Indiana 
University in Bloomington with the 
start and finish of the half marathon 
near Assembly Hall and Memorial 
Stadium.  The out-and-back course took 
runners on a clockwise loop through 
the campus and the neighboring city 
streets.  Many of the university 
buildings are built from Indiana 
Limestone or Bedford Limestone which 
is a common term for the Salem 
limestone quarried in south central 
Indiana between Bloomington and 
Bedford; the highest quality quarried 
limestone in the United States that 
has been used in the Empire State 
Building, the Pentagon, Washington 
National Cathedral and 35 of the 50  
state capitol buildings including the 
Indiana State Capitol.  Hoosier state 
landmarks seen during the IU Mini 
Marathon include the Sample Gates on 
Indiana Avenue and the John Mellencamp 
Pavilion near the starting and finish 
lines.  The finish near Assembly Hall 
brings back memories of Bobby Knight's 
3 NCAA Men's Basketball championships 
in 1987, 1981, and 1976 (the last time 
a team went undefeated (32 - 0) as 
well as the Hollywood movie Hoosiers.  

Later in April, the 58th annual Little 
500 took place at Bill Armstrong 
Stadium on the Indiana University at 
Bloomington campus.  This event on 
the "World's Greatest College Weekend" 
is the largest collegiate bike race in 
the United States.  The bicycle riders 
competed in four-person relay teams in 
separate races for men on April 24th 
and women on April 23rd around a 
quarter-mile track with 200 laps 
(50.98 miles) for the men and 100 laps 
(25 miles) for the women.  Thirty-
three teams were selected in 
qualifications trials to compete in 
the main race that places fraternities 
and sororities, residence halls and 
independent teams in competition with 
the winner sometimes determined in the 
final 100 yards and the final tenths 
of a second.  The events of the Little 
500 are shown in the 1979 movie 
Breaking Away which has an underdog 
group of Bloomington townies who enter 
the race as the "Cutters" (from the 
local Indiana limestone stonecutters) 
to defeat the  favored fraternity 
team.  Even 7 time Tour de France 
Champion Lance Armstrong has 
said, "The coolest event I ever 
attended was the Little 500."

Returning to running and the Indiana 
capital city of Indianapolis, the 33rd 
500 Festival Mini-Marathon was held on 
May 2nd.  The Mini has now sold-out 
for the past eight years and with 
35,000 registrants it is the largest 
half-marathon in the U.S. and one of 
the largest U.S. running events.  
Runners World has also listed the 500 
Festival Mini-Marathon as one of "A 
Half Dozen Hot Halfs" in the world.  
The 13.1-mile Mini-Marathon course 
stretches from downtown Indianapolis 
to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and 
back.  In Speedway, participants will 
enter the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 
at Gate 2 (the Speedway's main 
entrance) and complete one full 2.5-
mile lap around the track before 
exiting the track and returning to 
downtown Indianapolis at Military Park 
located several blocks to the west of 
the Indiana State House.  The free 
post race party of nearly 90,000 
people is open to both the race 
participants and the general public.  
The 34th Running of the 500 Festival 
Mini-Marathon is scheduled for 
Saturday, May 8, 2010 and is expected 
to sell out prior to the new year.  
Over Memorial Day weekend of 2009, The 
Indianapolis 500 also known as "The 
Greatest Spectacle in Racing", had its 
93rd running on Sunday May 24th 
marking the 64th consecutive year of 
uninterrupted occurrence having grown 
to have permanent seating capacity for 
more than 257,000 people and infield 
seating that raises capacity further 
to an approximate 400,000 making it 
the largest single-day sporting event 
in the world.

After all of the above larger events, 
a smaller southern Indiana marathon 
but one of the toughest in the country 
is the June 13th Indian/Celina 
Challenge Trail Marathon located near 
Leopold in the Hoosier National 
Forest.  The event size is limited to 
150 participants and has nearly 6,300' 
of elevation gain during the race that 
compares with the 7,815' elevation 
gain from Colorado's Pikes Peak 
Marathon.  The Indiana race starts and 
finishes at the Courthouse Square 
Rickenbaugh House located on the banks 
of Lake Celina in northern Perry 
County with southern Indiana hills 
along much of the route.  In contrast, 
the two smaller marathons in northeast 
Indiana are both run through flat 
agricultural farmland located about a 
half hour south the Amish area.  The 
first of these is the September 12th 
three loop Lake City Marathon in 
Winona Lake and the other one located 
only 20 miles west of Fort Wayne in 
Columbia City on November 14th is the 
first annual  Veterans Marathon in 
honor of those heroes and servicemen 
and servicewomen throughout the state 
and nation. 

The State of Indiana comes together 
for its largest event with the 153rd 
annual Indiana State Fair from August 
7-23 in the capital city of 
Indianapolis.  This area also has its 
first full marathon in neighboring 
Lawrence on October 17th with the 
Indianapolis Marathon that starts with 
a loop through historic Fort Benjamin 
Harrison (named after the 23rd U.S. 
President Benjamin Harrison whose home 
was in Indianapolis) along the tree-
lined Fort Parade Grounds.  The course 
then heads north for a loop through 
Fort Harrison State Park and continues 
through the State Park to Fall Creek 
Parkway on a beautiful, flat, tree-
lined, creek side, out and back 
stretch along Fall Creek Corridor Park 
before retuning back to the finish 
line at Fort Benjamin Harrison.

Three weeks later on November 7th is 
the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon 
with the start near the downtown 
Indiana State Capitol Building.  Other 
downtown landmarks on the route 
include Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the 
Indianapolis Colts), Conseco 
Fieldhouse, and the Eli Lilly $1 
billion biotech campus at the Lilly 
Technology Center.  The course route 
then heads north of the downtown and 
goes by the State Fairgrounds, Butler 
University, and the Indianapolis 
Museum of Art before returning again 
around Monument Circle where the 
Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Monument is a 284 feet tall limestone 
and bronze monument in the center of 
Indianapolis to honor Hoosiers who 
were veterans of the Revolutionary 
War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-
American War, the Civil War, and the 
Spanish American War.  On a less 
somber note, the Indianapolis 
Monumental Marathon has its finish 
near the Indiana State Capitol. 

In December, Indiana has a trail 
marathon in both the southern and 
northern part of the state.  On 
December 6th, near Bloomington, Lake 
Monroe, and Brown County State Park is 
the scenic and challenging Tecumseh 
Trail Marathon with a total 3,500' 
vertical climb where the participants 
are shuttled by bus from the 
Yellowwood Lake finish area in the 
Yellowwood State Forest to the 
starting line, near the Morgan-Monroe 
State Forest office.  The marathoners 
may run or walk, but must maintain a 
17 minute per mile average through the 
hilly terrain.  13 days later on 
December 19th in northern Indiana is 
the HUFF 50K Trail Run near 
Huntington, the location of the Dan 
Quayle Center home of the United 
States Vice Presidential Museum.

The HUFF 50K is one of North America's 
10 largest ultramarathons and is 
mainly a wooded three loop course on 
the Kekionga Trail as it circles three 
times the part of the Wabash River 
that is J. Edward Roush Lake from the 
west side Huntington Reservoir Dam.  
The start and finish of the HUFF is at 
the Kil-So-Quah campground; Kil-So-
Quah was the granddaughter of Chief 
Little Turtle whose portrait is shown 
on the HUFF logo.  This location was a 
historical site of the Miami Indians 
and near West Lafayette 100 miles to 
the west is the Tippecanoe Battlefield 
where Indiana Territorial Governor 
William Henry Harrison (the future 9th 
U.S. President) defeated Tecumseh and 
his brother the Prophet.  Although 
Indiana means "Land of the Indians", 
modern West Lafayette is home to 
Purdue University where John Wooden 
played basketball prior winning 10 
NCAA Men's Basketball championships in 
12 years at UCLA and where Neil 
Armstrong graduated with an 
engineering degree prior to becoming 
the first man on the moon almost 40 
years ago on July  20, 1969. 

Returning to the present, June 6th is 
the 26th annual Sunburst Marathon in 
South Bend.  The race starts downtown 
at the College Football Hall of Fame 
and then goes through South Bend and 
Mishawaka parks and neighborhoods 
along the St. Joseph River prior to 
the last mile on the University of 
Notre Dame campus with the finish on 
the 50 yard line of the Notre Dame 
Football Stadium.  This is a fitting 
end because Notre Dame has won 11 
national football championships which 
is more than any other college.  The 
view from the east side of the Notre 
Dame Stadium includes the famous 
landmarks of the Basilica of the 
Sacred Heart, the Golden Dome atop the 
Administration Building, and the 
Hesburgh Library with the mural 
of "Touchdown Jesus".  "Back Home in 
Indiana" is now just a memory of "On 
the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away." 

11/13/09


APRIL'S EARTH DAY HALF MARATHON AND 
MINNESOTA'S MARATHONS

The small town of Blue Earth, 
Minnesota which has as its 
motto, "Earth so rich the city grows," 
also is home to a 60 foot statue of 
the Jolly Green Giant.  This bit of 
trivia is the introduction to Earth 
Day and the 10th annual Earth Day Half 
Marathon in St. Cloud, Minnesota 
scheduled for April 18th.  The first 
Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970 
as an environmental teach-in on 
widespread environmental degradation.  
Over 20 million people participated 
that year, and Earth Day is now 
observed each year on April 22nd by 
more than 500 million people and 
national governments in 175 
countries.  Up to 5,000 participants 
are expected to participate in St. 
Cloud's Earth Day Half Marathon along 
with the 20 Mile Eco-Challenge, Earth 
Day 5K, and Earth Day 1K.  All races 
will start and finish on the campus of 
St. Cloud State University with the 
half marathon taking the runners on an 
out-and-back tour of the city's 
neighborhoods and parks including 
crossing the bridge across the 
Mississippi River that goes through 
the heart of the city.  If time 
permits, about a half hour away to the 
northwest is Sauk Centre, the 
birthplace of Sinclair Lewis, a 
novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize 
in Literature.  Sauk Centre served as 
the inspiration for Gopher Prairie, 
the fictional setting of Lewis's 1920 
novel Main Street while Charles 
Lindbergh from Little Falls, a half 
hour to the northeast, also achieved 
world fame in 1927 when he flew non-
stop in a single engine plane from New 
York to Paris.

Returning to small town Minnesota, the 
Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon is 
scheduled for May 9th about a half 
hour to the northwest of St. Cloud.  
Lake Wobegon is a fictional town in 
Minnesota, said to have been the 
boyhood home of Garrison Keillor.  He 
reports the "News from Lake Wobegon" 
on the radio show A Prairie Home 
Companion, a live variety show, 
broadcast live every Saturday 
afternoon over Minnesota Public Radio 
and public radio stations throughout 
the U.S.  Returning to the marathon, 
the event starts at the Holdingford 
High School in Holdingford and after 
one mile the course is on the scenic 
Lake Wobegon Trail until the finish at 
the Trail Facility in St. Joseph.  The 
trail is a ten foot wide asphalt bike 
trail on a former railroad track that 
opened in 1998.  The flat and fast 
trail is primarily rural except as it 
passes through the four small towns of 
Holdingford, Albany, Avon, and St. 
Joseph along the route.  One runner 
commented on the event that could also 
apply to Minnesota in that, "This Lake 
Wobegon Tail Marathon is one of the 
most scenic courses I have seen.  From 
small towns, to lakes, to farms, to 
trees, to streams." 

A continuation of this theme is at the 
inaugural Stillwater Marathon 
scheduled for May 24th at 
the "Birthplace of Minnesota" in the 
beautiful St. Croix River Valley.  
Stillwater is located at the eastern 
edge of the Twin Cities metro area 
along the St. Croix River at the 
Wisconsin border.
During the second half of the 19th 
century, lumbering was the predominant 
industry in the St. Croix River Valley 
and for many years logs were sent down 
the St. Croix River on the way to the 
sawmill.  The easier marathon first 
goes south and then north of 
Stillwater along or near the St. Croix 
National Scenic Riverway prior to 
returning to a finish at Lowell Park 
in downtown Stillwater.  

Ninety miles to the southeast on the 
same day, Rochester's Med-City 
Marathon is also on the calendar for 
May 24th.  Rochester became famous 
from the Mayo brothers, Dr. Charles 
Horace Mayo and Dr. William James 
Mayo, who with the help of their 
partners, co-founded the Mayo Clinic.  
The Med-City Marathon starts to the 
west of Rochester in Byron before 
heading into Rochester on Country Club 
Road.  The course then heads through 
downtown and onto the bike paths along 
the river and through the woods. The 
first eight miles are rolling hills 
and the rest is mostly flat on the way 
to the finish at the Rochester Family 
YMCA. 

One week later on May 31st, the 
inaugural Minneapolis Marathon is 
scheduled to start at The Depot, the 
renovated Milwaukee Road Depot that 
has enhanced the revitalization of the 
Minneapolis Riverfront District.  The 
first six miles are a circular route 
that crosses the Mississippi River at 
the three mile mark to the north 
heading east and then two miles later 
to the south heading west on the Stone 
Arch Bridge with Nicollet Island, St. 
Anthony Falls, and Father Hennepin 
Bluffs Park in between and the 
University of Minnesota a mile to the 
southeast.  The final twenty miles are 
an out-and-back route that follows a 
beautiful course along the west side 
of the Mississippi River ten miles 
southeast to the Minnesota River 
before returning the same way to 
downtown Minneapolis with the finish 
at Gold Medal Park.  Along the way, 
Miles 13-18 are near the Minneapolis-
St. Paul Airport, Mile 14 is by 
Historic Fort Snelling at the 
confluence of the Mississippi and 
Minnesota Rivers, and Miles 15-17 
circle Snelling Lake with Mile 16 the 
turn around area that is also several 
miles to the east of Bloomington's 
Mall of America.  Near Mile 20 is 
Minnehaha Creek, a tributary of the 
Mississippi River that extends from 
Lake Minnetonka 22 miles in the west 
with the famous 53 foot Minnehaha 
Falls located near the creek's 
confluence with the Mississippi by the 
entrance to Minnehaha Park. 

In the following month, Duluth's 33rd 
annual Grandma's Marathon is scheduled 
for June 20th; one day before the 
first day of summer which also is the 
longest day of the year during the 
summer solstice.  The run which 
initially received its name from the 
Duluth-based group of famous Grandma's 
restaurants has since grown to be the 
12th largest U.S. marathon.
Grandma's Marathon is a point-to-point 
course beginning just outside of Two 
Harbors, Minnesota and is run on 
scenic Old Highway 61 along the 
beautiful north shore of Lake Superior 
on the way to Duluth.  The finish is 
in Duluth’s Canal Park, near Grandma's 
Restaurant, which is next to the 
highly visible Aerial Lift Bridge 
located at one of the most important 
Great Lakes ports where coal, iron 
ore, and grain are shipped from the 
harbor. 

Three weeks later on July 11th, the 
Half Voyageur Trail Marathon is on  
the calendar for a 6:00 a.m. start 
from the Duluth Lake Superior Zoo 
parking lot west to Carlton via a 
point-to-point trail run over rough 
woodland trails.  The trail rises 
gently but steadily into forest-
covered hills for the first two miles 
and provides a spectacular view of 
Lake Superior down a ski lift, the 
only view of the lake for the entire 
race. Along the route there are some 
long, very steep rises and descents 
which along with Grandma's three weeks 
before provide warm-up training runs   
for the Full Voyageur 50 Mile Trail 
Ultra Marathon that will be run two 
weeks later as an out and back race on 
the same course. 

After all this running, a Minnesota 
summer break could include watching 
the Minnesota Twins Major League 
Baseball team and attending the 
Minnesota State Fair between August 
27th and Labor Day.  This state fair 
of agricultural, commercial and 
educational exhibits is one of the 
nation's best and largest that had 
almost 1.7 million visitors last year.
Minnesota is also the "Land of 10,000 
Lakes" with the Boundary waters and 
Voyageurs National Park in the 
northern part of the state.

It is in this area of the Superior 
National Forest where the Moose (it 
could also be gray wolf or black bear) 
Mountain Marathon is on the calendar 
for September 12th.  The marathon is 
on part of the Superior Hiking Trail; 
one the country's most scenic 
footpaths that follows the rocky 
ridges above Lake Superior in 
northeastern Minnesota from Two 
Harbors to the Canadian border.  The 
course route is a point-to-point run 
starting at the Cramer Road trailhead 
on the Superior Hiking Trail and then 
goes through Temperance River State 
Park before finishing near Caribou 
Highlands Lodge in Lutsen.  On the 
same day, the Superior Trail 50 Mile 
Run starts at Finland, MN and the two 
day Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail 
Run from September 11-12 starts at the 
Gooseberry Falls State Park Visitor 
Center prior to both finishing in 
Lutsen.

September is also the month for the 
Walker North Country Marathon that is 
located about forty miles from the 
source of the Mississippi River in 
Lake Itasca.  The run starts and ends 
at the local high school in the 
quaint, lakeside town of Walker along 
the borders of Leech Lake (the 3rd 
largest lake in Minnesota).  After the 
runners leave the small town, the 
route winds through the beautiful fall 
colors of the Chippewa National Forest 
along the North Country, Paul Bunyan, 
and Heartland trails.  Less than five 
miles of the marathon course is on 
paved road as the runners traverse 
lakes, hills and backwoods bridges 
along grass trail, paved trail, and 
gravel roads at the time of the autumn 
equinox.

The following month is the October 4th 
Twin Cities Marathon, the annual 
marathon in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul 
area that has grown to be the 10th 
largest in the United States and it is 
often dubbed "The Most Beautiful Urban 
Marathon in America."  The start is in 
downtown Minneapolis near the Hubert 
H. Humphrey Metrodome which is most 
famous as the home of the Minnesota 
Vikings National Football League 
team.  Returning to the run, about 
nineteen miles of the course are in 
Minneapolis with the final seven in 
St. Paul.  Along the way, miles three 
to four are along the west side of 
Lake of the Isles with Cedar Lake just 
to the west.  The next two miles go 
along the west and south side of 
larger Lake Calhoun and are followed 
with the course route along the north 
and east side of Lake Harriet.  The 
Minnehaha Parkway is reached by mile 
eight as the runners head east toward 
the Mississippi River.  From miles 
eleven to fourteen, the marathoners 
leave the parkway as they go south, 
east, and north along Lake Nokomis 
before returning to the parkway with 
smaller Lake Hiawatha to the north.  
The Minnehaha Parkway from miles 
fourteen to fifteen goes through 
Minnehaha Park near Minnehaha Falls 
prior to reaching the Mississippi 
River.  The next four miles follow the 
west bank of the river to the north 
and then the Mississippi River is 
crossed on Franklin Avenue into St. 
Paul with about two miles south along 
the east side of the river.  Miles 21-
25 are a gradual uphill from the river 
along Grand and Summit Avenues with 
the final mile past the Cathedral of 
Saint Paul with the finish at the 
grounds of the Minnesota State 
Capitol.  Both of these buildings are 
on the U.S. National Register of 
Historic Places.
After 26.2 miles, the marathoners can 
see on the Capitol's south portico the 
Daniel Chester French sculpture that 
has four horses, two women and a man 
with an appropriate name, The Progress 
of the State.

Minnesota's winter marathon is the 5th 
annual St. Olaf College Women's Track 
& Field Team Zoom! Yah! Yah! Indoor 
Marathon scheduled to take place 
January 10, 2010 in Northfield.  The 
marathon will consist of 150 laps on 
the upstairs running track with the 
runners changing directions every 30 
minutes while music is played for the 
entire event.  There is a lottery for 
this marathon and a waiting list due 
to limited space.  A much bigger crowd 
is at the February St. Paul Winter 
Carnival; the nation's oldest and 
largest winter festival that includes 
parades, cultural celebrations, 
skiing, toboggans, snow shoeing, a 
blanket tossing contest, and push 
ball; a game played with giant balls.  
The ice and snow sculptures include 
the famous ice castle.  Further north 
on the Canadian border, International 
Falls is often listed as the coldest 
city in the contiguous United States 
and it has as a nickname the "Icebox 
of the Nation."  Enough about winter, 
Spring began on March 20th when the 
Sun crossed the Equator in preparation 
for the April 9th Passover and the 
hope for rebirth to be celebrated on 
April 12th for Easter. 

11/13/09


WISCONSIN'S 17 MARATHONS AND BEYOND 
FOR 2009 by Michael Zielinski

In 2009, the "Badger State" of 
Wisconsin is scheduled to have 
seventeen 26.2 mile marathons 
throughout "America's Dairyland".  The 
first of these was the January 17th 
InStep Icebreaker Indoor Marathon at 
Milwaukee's Pettit Center next to the 
Wisconsin State Fairgrounds in West 
Allis.  In what was billed as 
the "largest indoor marathon in the 
world", 69 runners completed the first-
time event by going just over 95 laps 
on Wisconsin's largest indoor running 
track around the Olympic Ice Oval that 
included 381 turns.  This winter 
marathon was held indoors in a 
temperature of 55 degrees steps away 
from an ice rink filled with skaters 
and hockey games that also is home to 
many ice sports and a training site 
for U.S. Speedskating.  The Pettit 
National Ice Center is also the 
official home of the Badgerland 
Striders, Wisconsin's largest running 
club.  During this time of year, the 
runners take a back seat to the 
January 15-18 46th annual World 
Championship  Snowmobile Derby in 
Eagle River and the February 21st 36th 
annual American Birkebeiner; North 
America's largest cross-country ski 
marathon of 53K and 50K between Cable 
and downtown Hayward.

As Spring comes to Wisconsin, the 
marathons return with three scheduled 
April runs.  The first is on April 4th 
in Waukesha for the Trailbreaker 
Marathon that has an out-and-back 
course consisting approximately of 
four miles on city streets and 
sidewalks, 15 miles on improved trails 
(including the Glacial Drumlin Trail), 
and seven rugged miles on the Ice Age 
Trail in the Kettle Moraine State 
Forest that includes the turn-around 
after climbing the 40' Lapham Peak 
Tower to the highest point in Waukesha 
County.  After the bell is rung, the 
descent begins back to the start and 
to the next marathon in three weeks 
with the Jailbreak Marathon on April 
25th at the Waushara County 
Fairgrounds in Wautoma.  This event is 
a fundraiser to support the sheriff's 
department's canine program with the 
marathon course starting on the 
fairgrounds and then following a 
clockwise route south of town before a 
half mile finish on the fairgrounds 
track.  Also on April 25th is  
Medford's Pine Line Trail Marathon.  
The course route begins at the Medford 
City Park and the runners then head 
north on the Pine Line Trail (named 
for both the white pine that was 
shipped along the railroad line that 
once ran along the trail as well as 
for the pine trees that line the trail 
today) before turning around at a 
halfway point to follow the same route 
back to the finish line at the Medford 
City Park. 

After three scheduled marathons in 
April, Wisconsin has seven on the 
calendar for May with three for the 
first weekend.  The first of these on 
May 2nd is the inaugural Wisconsin 
Marathon in Kenosha with much of the 
run along the Lake Michigan 
lakefront.  The run begins at Harbor 
Park before heading north into 
downtown Kenosha and then looping 
around Simmons Island Park after the 
first mile before continuing north 
through Carthage College prior to 
turning around and heading back the 
same way to downtown.
The marathon route then heads south 
passing Southport Park and continuing 
into the town of Pleasant Prairie to 
Prairie Harbor Yacht Club's harbor 
with the southern turnaround point 
close to the Illinois border before 
returning to Harbor Park.

On the next day, May 3rd, Wisconsin 
has two more inaugural marathons.  The 
first is in "Eau Claire," which is 
French for "Clear Water."  The Eau 
Claire Marathon route is clockwise 
from Carson Park to about halfway 
toward Chippewa Falls along the 
beautiful lakes, rivers, and parks of 
Eau Claire on the way to the finish at 
Carson Park.  The other Wisconsin 
marathon on the same day is part of 
the La Crosse Fitness Festival. 
The La Crosse Marathon begins by 
Pettibone Park and then crosses over 
the Mississippi River into downtown La 
Crosse prior to heading south.  The 
southern leg of the marathon parallels 
the Mississippi River and the northern 
leg parallels the scenic river 
bluffs.  From the Myrcik Park halfway 
point, the marathon route continues 
across the La Crosse River and its 
marsh on roadways and bike trails into 
the City of Onalaska that has  
spectacular views of "God's Country" 
from the bluffs.  From Onalaska the 
course returns across the river marsh 
to finish in Myrick Park. 

The following weekend on May 9th, 
Wisconsin has two more marathons; the 
Journeys Marathon in the north woods 
of Eagle River and the closer to home 
Lake Geneva Marathon.  The Journeys 
Marathon is a point-to-point run that 
begins in Boulder Junction and makes 
its way through the forest and lake 
country of northern Wisconsin to the 
finish south of the bridge after 
crossing over the Eagle River into 
Riverview Park.  In southern 
Wisconsin, the Lake Geneva Marathon 
starts at Lakefront Bridge in 
downtown, Lake Geneva, in front of the 
Riviera building.  The course then 
follows a clockwise, southwesterly 
route around the lake's perimeter past 
Big Foot State Park before heading 
south close to the Illinois border and 
then going north and east through the 
Villages of Fontana and Williams Bay 
with the final miles proceeding east 
along the lake on an ancient Indian 
trail back to Library Park in Lake 
Geneva.  In May, it is also possible 
to cool off in Lake Geneva, nine miles 
long and 170 feet deep, spring fed, 
and clear; "one of the Great Blue 
Lakes of the World." 

Eight days later on May 17th, is the 
10th annual Green Bay Marathon.  The 
run starts near Lambeau Field and then 
goes through the west and south sides 
of Green Bay before crossing the De 
Pere Bridge and then heading six miles 
north on the Fox River Trail.  The 
asphalt trail runs along the river 
from De Pere, through Allouez, to 
downtown Green Bay before crossing the 
Walnut Street bridge.  The marathon 
then continues through more Green Bay 
neighborhoods before returning to 
Lambeau Field where the runners get to 
enter the storied stadium and "touch 
the tundra" as they take a lap around 
the field prior to finishing 26.2 
miles.  Back in the 1960's, the Green 
Bay Packers under Coach Vince Lombardi 
won five football world championships 
for Wisconsin with the trinity mind 
set of "God, Family, and the Green Bay 
Packers."

Returning to the present, Madison's 
Mad City Marathon is scheduled for May 
24th in the Wisconsin capital city of 
Madison that also is home to the world 
class University of Wisconsin.  This 
year, the marathon begins and ends at 
Alliant Energy Center instead of 
starting on Capitol Square.  The new 
course will be run in the reverse 
direction from past races with the 
route taking runners on a trip through 
the Vilas Park area and the UW 
Arboretum prior to reaching the 
University of Wisconsin campus.  The 
route then parallels Lake Mendota up 
to Maple Bluff before returning near 
the State Capitol to the finish at 
Alliant Energy Center.  The day before 
the marathon on all four sides of 
Capitol Square is the Dane County 
Farmers' Market, the largest producer-
only farmers’ market in the country
(held every Saturday from April 18th 
to July 4th and July 18th to November 
7th) that is a reminder of Wisconsin's 
bountiful agriculture.

On June 6th, Stevens Point has the 
Walk Wisconsin Marathon on National 
Trails Day.  From the National Park 
Service out of the U.S. Department of 
the Interior, the "American Hiking 
Society's signature trail awareness 
program, National Trails Day inspires 
nearly a million trail enthusiasts at 
thousands of events nationwide to 
flock to their favorite trails to 
discover, learn about and celebrate 
trails while participating in 
educational exhibits, trail 
dedications, gear demonstrations, 
instructional workshops and trail work 
projects.  It also provides an 
opportunity to thank the volunteers, 
land managing agencies, and outdoor 
minded businesses for their support in 
developing and maintaining trails. 
Trail clubs, outdoor retailers, 
federal agencies, municipal parks, and 
land trusts come together the first 
Saturday of each June to celebrate 
trails, recognize volunteers, and 
maintain local trails."  At the 
Stevens Point level, Walk Wisconsin 
has a full, half, and quarter marathon 
that are all non-competitive and take 
place on the beautiful Green Circle 
trail system.  Participants for each 
walk will begin and end their event at 
Pfiffner Park along the Wisconsin 
River in downtown Stevens Point.  The 
marathon route will be open for ten 
hours as the runners make a semi-
circle south, east, and north of the 
start and then return the same way on 
a route that crosses the Wisconsin and 
Plover Rivers four times each before 
returning to Pfiffner Park.

During the warm summer weather months, 
one can take a break from the 
marathons in Milwaukee, "The City of 
Festivals."  From June to August, 
Milwaukee has Polish Fest, Summerfest, 
Festa Italiana, German Fest, African 
World, Irish Fest, Mexican Fiesta plus 
the Milwaukee Brewer home baseball 
games at Miller Park and the annual 
Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis.  
Other family destinations include the 
Wisconsin Dells, Door County, the 
Oskosh Air Show, and Hayward's World 
Lumberjack Championships.  Distinctive 
Wisconsin foods include the local 
brews, flavored milk, cheese curds, 
cream puffs, Racine kringles, 
Sheboygan bratwurst, cranberries, wild 
rice, fish boils, frozen custard, and 
fish fries.

To work off the good life, the Paavo 
Nurmi Marathon is scheduled for August 
8th on the second Saturday of the 
month and it is Wisconsin's oldest 
running marathon having taken place 
every year since 1969.  The marathon 
is run from the main street of the 
small community of Upson and concludes 
several hours later on Silver Street 
in Hurley after having run its course 
through forests and fields, along 
rivers and lakes.  This event is named 
after Finland's Paavo Nurmi, the 
winner of nine Olympic Gold Medals.  
It is appropriate that the finishers 
of the Paavo Nurmi Marathon feast on 
mojakka Finnish stew.

Wisconsin's final summer marathon, the 
Saptember 20th Fox Cities Marathon, is 
almost on the first day of autumn.  
The 26.2 mile route makes its way 
through the country's largest paper 
producing area beginning in Appleton 
and then going through Kimberly, 
Little Chute, Kaukauna, Combined 
Locks, Darboy, and Menasha before 
finishing 26.2 miles later on the 
shores of Lake Winnebago at scenic 
Riverside Park near downtown Neenah.  
The Fox Cities Marathon has been 
ranked in the Top 10 by The Ultimate 
Guide to Marathons in the categories 
of Best Organized, Best Crowd Support, 
Fastest Midwest Marathons, and Fastest 
Seasonal Marathons.  These accolades 
could also apply to most of the 16 
listed 2009 Wisconsin marathons. 

Besides changing leaves and 
Octoberfests, Wisconsin in autumn also 
has three marathons.  Milwaukee's 
Lakefront Marathon is the state's 
largest with registration already open 
for the October 4th event and it once 
again is expected to fill to 
capacity.  The Lakefront Marathon 
starts in the far north metro area in 
front of Grafton High School.  The 
point-to-point course then travels 
south through rural countryside, quiet 
northshore neighborhoods and finishes 
along the shores of Lake Michigan just 
north of the Milwaukee Art Museum at 
Veterans Park.  With the Road Runners 
Club of America selecting the 
Lakefront Marathon as its 2008 Road 
Race of the Year from about 15,500 
races run in the U.S., perhaps "The 
Best Times Really Are in Milwaukee."

The following week on October 10th is 
Ashland's WhistleStop Marathon.   
This point-to-point course begins two 
miles east of Iron River and much of 
the run is held on the Tri-County 
Corridor, a rail-trail paved with 
limestone gravel, on the way to the 
finish at Railyard Park in Ashland 
near the south shore of Lake 
Superior.  Along the course route 
there are ten re-decked railroad 
trestles, wetlands, trout streams, 
Chequamegon National Forest woodlands, 
and dairy farms.  This fall marathon 
also has  some of the nation's finest 
autumn colors. 

Wisconsin's last scheduled 2009 
marathon is the second annual Rails to 
Trails Marathon scheduled for November 
1st in Norwalk.  The out and back 
course on the Elroy-Sparta bike trail 
from the Norwalk Village Park features 
two trips through the dark 3/4 mile 
former railroad tunnel.  2009 appears 
to be the year for Wisconsin marathons 
because the state has never had so 
many in one year.

In the spirit of "Marathon and 
Beyond", a listing of Wisconsin's 2009 
ultras include the John Dick Memorial 
50K (this article is dedicated to the 
memory of Walter "Bud" Dick, an 
Arlington Cardinal and for many years 
a part-time north woods Wisconsin 
resident) that was held February 7th 
in the Southern Kettle Moraine State 
Forest.  The next ultra is Madison's 
MadCity 50k and 100k scheduled for 
April 4th at the University of 
Wisconsin Arboretum.  Later in the 
month on April 25th is the Chippewa 
50K at Chippewa County in Northwestern 
Wisconsin.

Some of the more popular Wisconsin 
ultras for the Arlington Trotters are 
at the Southern Kettle Moraine State 
Forest for the May 9th Ice Age 50 
(mile and km.) and the June 6th Kettle 
Moraine 100 (mile and km.) while the 
Northern Kettle Moraine has its 
Glacial Trail 50 (mile and km.) on 
October 2nd.  Wisconsin's ultra season 
closes with the October 24th Door 
County Fall 50 Mile Run starting from 
Gills Rock at the northern tip of Door 
County and then heading south by 
following the scenic western shoreline 
of the Door peninsula through Ellison 
Bay, Sister Bay, Ephraim, Peninsula 
State Park, Fish Creek, and Egg Harbor 
on the way to the Sturgeon Bay finish. 
    
Although Madison's Ironman Wisconsin 
(Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, and 
then run a 26.2 mile marathon) for 
September 13th is sold out, the word 
Wisconsin (the name comes from an 
American Indian word meaning "meeting 
of the waters") can apply to the 
gathering of the runners along with 
the state song "On Wisconsin" and the 
state motto "Forward."

11/13/09


TORONTO'S 2 MARATHONS
by Michael Zielinski

Labor Day in the United States is a 
Federal holiday observed on the first 
Monday in September with all 50 states 
additionally making Labor Day a state 
holiday.  This same day on September 
7, 2009 across Canada is also observed 
as Labour Day to celebrate the 
symbolic end of summer with worker 
solidarity and the new school year.  
Following this same line of thought 
with the approach of autumn, it is 
still possible to do a marathon in a 
world-class North American city even 
with the Chicago, Washington, D.C. 
Marine Corps, and New York City 
Marathons already filled up, if one 
looks north of the border to Ontario, 
Canada since the 20th annual Toronto 
Waterfront Marathon is scheduled for 
September 27th and the 15th annual 
Toronto Marathon is on the calendar 
for October 18th.  Toronto is 
currently a sister city with Chicago 
under the terminology Partnership City 
and recently celebrated its 175th 
anniversary in 2009 one year after 
Chicago.  From Chicago, a passport is 
now needed for the journey that takes 
a day by car or train and less than 
two hours on a flight to Toronto.
  
Toronto is the provincial capital of 
Ontario and it became in 1998 Canada's 
largest city from the combination of 
East York, Etobicoke, North York, 
Scarborough, and York with Toronto to 
have 2.5 million residents.  It is 
also the largest metropolitan area 
with 5.5 million and it is part of a 
densely populated region in Southern 
Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, 
which is home to over 8 million 
residents that has approximately 25% 
of Canada's population.  As Canada's 
economic capital, Toronto is 
considered a global city and is one of 
the top financial centers with The 
Toronto Stock Exchange (the world's 
seventh largest) headquartered in the 
city along with a majority of Canada's 
corporations while at the same time 
being one of the world's most livable 
cities.
This includes being home to the 
National Ballet of Canada, the 
Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto 
Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Stage 
Company, and the Art Gallery of 
Ontario (one of the largest art 
museums in North America).  The 
production of domestic and foreign 
film and television is a major local 
industry with many movie releases 
screened in Toronto before wider 
release and the Toronto International 
Film Festival is one of the most 
important annual events.  Toronto also 
has over 2,000 buildings above 300 
feet in height, which is second only 
to New York City in North America.  
Defining the Toronto skyline is the 
1,815 foot CN Tower, the world's 2nd 
tallest freestanding structure and the 
tallest tower in the western 
hemisphere.  On a smaller scale, 
Toronto also has two excellent autumn 
marathons.

The Toronto Waterfront Marathon 
scheduled for September 27th starts 
and finishes at Nathan Phillips 
Square, an urban plaza that forms the 
forecourt to Toronto City Hall in the 
heart of downtown near the Toronto 
Eaton Centre, Canada's third largest 
shopping mall plus an office complex 
that has one million visitors per 
week.  Most of the run is parallel to 
Lake Ontario with the exception of 
being on Bay Street through the 
downtown to the lakefront.  Just 
before the lake is the Air Canada 
Centre, a multi-purpose arena home of 
the Toronto Maple Leafs of the 
National Hockey League (Toronto is 
home to the Hockey Hall of Fame) and 
the Toronto Raptors of the National 
Basketball Association.  At city's 
harbor, the Toronto Islands are a 
chain of small islands located in Lake 
Ontario just offshore from downtown 
and they are a popular recreational 
destination connected to the mainland 
by several ferry services for the 
visitors to enjoy an amusement park, 
trails, swimming beaches, and 
boating.  Meanwhile the marathon heads 
west past the CN Tower and Rogers 
Centre (formerly known as SkyDome), a 
multi-purpose stadium home to the 
American League's Toronto Blue Jays, 
the Canadian Football League's Toronto 
Argonauts, and it also hosts other 
large-scale events such as 
conventions, trade shows, concerts, 
and fairs.  This venue is also noted 
for being the first stadium to have a 
fully-retractable motorized roof.  
Further west just south of Exhibition 
Place is Ontario Place situated on 
three artificially constructed, 
landscaped islands.  Ontario Place 
features the world's first permanent 
IMAX movie theater (the Cinesphere), 
the Molson Amphitheater (an open-air 
venue for large-scale music concerts), 
and Canada's Walk of Fame that 
acknowledges the achievements of 
successful Canadians.  The marathon 
course continues further west before 
turning around and once again passing 
the above points of interest heading 
east past the Port of Toronto, parks 
and beaches prior to reversing once 
again to head back to finish where the 
Toronto Waterfront Marathon began at 
Nathan Phillips Square in front of the 
City Hall with its summer reflecting 
pool that is frozen in winter for an 
ice skating rink.  Americans may have 
to get used to a course marked in 
kilometers in the Toronto Waterfront 
Marathon, one of only 4 sub-2:10  
North American marathons in 2007 and 
in 2008 it was awarded a prestigious 
IAAF Silver label as one of the 50 
best road races in the world. 

Three weeks later, the Toronto 
Marathon is scheduled for October 18th 
with the start on the north side of 
the city at Mel Lastman Square.  The 
marathon route then proceeds south on 
Yonge Street with the the Ontario 
Science Centre several miles to the 
east before winding around the Casa 
Loma castle to the west.  The course 
then steers east towards Yonge but 
heads into one of Toronto's many 
ravines going across the bottom of 
downtown prior to reaching Lake 
Ontario and heading west by the same 
points of interest along the Toronto 
Waterfront Marathon.  Returning east 
toward downtown, the participants then 
turn north on University Avenue to the 
finish at Queen's Park.  This park is 
famous for being the location of the 
Royal Ontario Museum (Canada's largest 
museum of world culture and natural 
history and being the fifth largest 
museum in North America), the 
University of Toronto, and the site of 
the Ontario Legislative Building, 
which houses the Legislative Assembly 
of Ontario where the Members of the 
Provincial Parliament meet.

Canada Day is Canada's national day, a 
federal statutory holiday celebrating 
the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 
enactment of the British North America 
Act that united Canada as a single 
country, which at the time was 
composed of provinces Nova Scotia, New 
Brunswick, Quebec,
and Ontario.  Canada today is a 
federation composed of ten provinces 
and three territories that can be 
grouped into the following regions.  
Western Canada consists of British 
Columbia and the three Prairie 
provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and 
Manitoba).  Central Canada consists of 
Quebec and Ontario.  Atlantic Canada 
consists of the three Maritime 
provinces (New Brunswick, Prince 
Edward Island, and Nova Scotia), along 
with Newfoundland and Labrador with 
Eastern Canada being Central Canada 
and Atlantic Canada together.  Three 
territories (Yukon, Northwest 
Territories, and Nunavut) make up 
Northern Canada.  At the present 
time,   
the web sites for the 50 States and DC 
Marathon Group and the 50 States 
Marathon Club show respective marathon 
finishers in each of the provinces and 
territories at only 34 and 28 
finishers.  In the meantime, Toronto's 
Canadian National Exhibition is held 
annually at Exhibition Place and 
continues to be the oldest annual fair 
in the world and Canada's largest 
along with it being the fifth largest 
in North America with an average 
attendance of over one million taking 
place in 2009 from August 21st to 
Labour Day on September 7th.  Happy 
Labor Day weekend. 

11/18/09


SunTrust National Marathon 

15% Discount for 50 States & D.C. 
Marathon Group U.S.A.
 
As marathon director and two-time U.S. 
marathon champion, I know what it 
takes to reach a milestone and I want 
to help you achieve your goals. To run 
a marathon in every state, as well as 
the District of Columbia, is an 
impressive feat but would be 
incomplete without the SunTrust 
National Marathon. As the only 
marathon run entirely within DC,  I 
would like to extend an invitation to 
you run our race, as well as a 15% 
discount on registration.  Simply 
input the coupon code 'nm50andDC' when 
registering and you'll be awarded the 
discount!  If you'd like more 
information on the race, visit us on 
the web at www.NationalMarathon.com!

The motto of our race is "Experience 
Washington. Run through History" and 
we want you to do just that on March 
20, 2010!

See You On the Roads,

Bill Reifsnyder, Executive Race 
Director
SunTrust National Marathon &
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield 
National Half Marathon

Lou Holder
Director, Communications  

Greater Washington Sports Alliance
1725 I Street, N.W. Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 857-5946
(202) 223-2648 (fax)
lholder@gwsportsalliance.com
www.gwsportsalliance.com  

11/21/09


CONGRATULATIONS

Robert Britain from Minnesota for 
finished the 50 and DC Canadian 
Provinces circuit. Robert finish his 
last Marathon at the Prince Edward 
Island Marathon on 10/17/09. 
Great job Robert!!!!!

11/27/09


From Richard Holmes

Marathon in Nunavut, the only Canadian 
province without a marathon, this 
summer. Since then, the sponsor has 
put up a web site at 
http://www.canadianarcticholidays.ca/no
rthwest_passage_marathon.html.

Thanks
Richard

11/27/09


CONGRATULATIONS

John K. Van Steenbergh completed the 
Valley of Fire Marathon in Overton, 
Nevada on Saturday in 3:09:36. He 
finishing 3rd overall and 2nd in his 
age group. 

11/29/09


Northwest Passage Marathon

“Those members interested in 
completing the Canadian territories 
and provinces will find that Nunavut 
is the difficult territory to get a 
marathon in.  There is one being 
staged this coming year. For more info 
go to  
http://www.canadianarcticholidays.ca/no
rthwest_passage_marathon.html”,
or contact one of our members,
Rich Holmes,
at Rich@RichardLHolmes.com

12/17/09


CONGRATULATIONS

George Brown Jr from Illinois for 
finished the 50 and DC Marathon 
circuit. George finish his Marathon 
at the City of Trees Marathon in 
Boise, ID on 10/04/09. 
Great job George!!!!!

12/25/09


CONGRATULATIONS  

John K. Van Steenbergh from Georgia 
won the Florida Marathon in Clermont, 
Fl with a time of 2:53:04. The 
marathon was on 12/19/09.
Great Job John !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!