YAKIMA RIVER CANYON MARATHON Race Report– April 6, 2013

Bob and Lenore Dolphin...the Dolphin Marathon Team!!

As always, I enjoyed participating in the Yakima River Canyon Marathon (YRCM) on April 6, 2013.  This year was the 13^th annual event, and there were 20 of us runners/walkers who have finished all of them.

On race morning I joined a busload of early starters at the Selah Civic Center Race Headquarters for the 35-mile drive to Ellensburg and the start of the marathon.  At 6:00 a.m. I started the race, and we all crossed the timing mat in pre-dawn darkness. 

Dr. Mitch Hungate, my dentist and friend, was nursing a minor back injury, so he walked with me for most of the way.  We visited a lot, and the early miles quickly passed by.  I learned much about his experiences as an iron-man triathlete and mountain climber and will treasure these special hours with him.  Tragically, this was his last race.  He was killed in an avalanche the next Saturday while snow-shoeing near I-90’s Exit 47 on Snoqualmie Pass.

When the 8:00 a.m. “regular starters” began passing us, Chuck Engel, 42, of Coos Bay, Oregon, was in the lead.  He finished as the third, consecutive winner of the YRCM with a time of 2:45:03.  Steve Geertgens, 44, of Seattle finished in second place with a 2:53:49, and Rick Becker, 58, of Selah came in third with a 2:56:03.  Richard Le, 44, of Bellevue set a new wheelchair course record with a time of 1:23:23.

The winner for the women was Julie Gilchrist, 45, of Missoula, MT with a time of 3:12:55.  In second place was Aleah Mickelson, 35, of Yakima who ran a close race to finish in 3:15:45 and beat Gretchen Bodeen, 32, also of Yakima who ran a 3:15:48.

As the runners in the main field passed me, I appreciated those who greeted me and wished me well.  Rich Menzel, 70, of Everett, WA finished with a time of 5:55:36, and Don “The Rev:” Kienz, 57, of Exton, PA had a time of 7:33:50.  Both of them came back onto the course to accompany me in my last miles.  The headwind that slowed everyone affected my progress as well.  I crossed the finish line with a time of 9:33:42, 391^st of 392 finishers and 2^nd in the 80+ Male Division.

We were privileged this year to have Bart Yasso from Runners World Magazine as the guest speaker at the Friday night pasta feed.  For years his assignments have included participation in unusual races all over the world.  He writes about his adventures and uses his photographs in his slide-show presentations.  As always, the audience was entertained by his humor and exotic subject matter.

In spite of the headwind on the course, it was a weekend of fun that included another reunion for the 100 Marathon Club North America and a race on an awesome course for over 400 runners, walkers and wheelchair participants.

Written by Bob Dolphin

Edited, Typed and Distributed by Lenore Dolphin

Yakima River Canyon Marathon

2011 Race Report by Bob Dolphin

April 2, 2011

When I awoke just before 4:00 a.m. on race day, April 2, 2011, I was excited as I anticipated walking the Yakima River Canyon Marathon (YRCM) as an early starter for the first time. For our marathon early starts are reserved for those runners and walkers who do not anticipate finishing the course in seven hours from the regular 8:00 a.m. start.

Lenore and I left at 4:45 a.m. and were accompanied by Gilbert Barrera of San Antonio, Texas. He was staying next door with his daughter Rosie Rifa and had planned to be a volunteer at Aid Station #11 manned by the Rifa family. Instead, he changed his plans and chose to compete in his second YRCM as a walker.

(c) ontherunevents.com

We arrived at the Selah Civic Center before 5:00 a.m. to meet with other early starters for our drive to Ellensburg. Joining Gilbert and me in our Subaru Outback (purchased from our sponsor, Stewart Subaru of Yakima!) were Eugene DeFronzo of Chesire, Connectictut, Elaine Koga-Kennelly and her husband Paul Kennelly from Newman Lake (near Spokane) and Frank Bartocci of Rochester, Minnesota.