Motorola
Marathon
Race day is
here! Put your body and mind to the test!
Let’s look
back to Saturday and the start of the Expo. What a great place to pump up your
excitement for the big day. All the representatives at the Palmer Auditorium did
a wonderful job in providing new information or help you with last minute
shopping and not to forget all the goodies along the way. I did all my pre race
interviews there and could feel the excitement and fun in the
air.
2/17/01
"I train and
live in Kenya and came here by myself, I am a professional athlete and compete
all over the world. My goal is to do well and the cold weather is going to favor
me. I am preparing for this race mentally and physically and do not follow a
special diet. My training is based on running only and I do no cross sports my
running input are about 90 to 160 miles per week. This goes up and down. I have
to be nervous before a race. I have not seen the course due to heavy traffic but
I will see it tomorrow”.
“I think
about the regular runner out there and my advice to them is that they should
always put their mind on finishing the marathon then they will achieve their
goal. I admire those people who work their jobs and still go out and
train."
Mr. Kefah
Keraro is a very soft-spoken person and appeared very focused.
Mike Daniel,
Houston,
I was going
to try for 7 minute/miles and he told me, "I am on my own out here but I have a
trainer in Houston and I am nervous because I have not run a marathon in six
years, the weather is good for me."
Donna
Jarvis, San Diego,
"I have a
friend here and thought I might combine a visit with a marathon, my goal is
around 5:45 and I am worried about the cold because California was much warmer”.
Donna has run one marathon before and wants to make this one her last. Thanks
for choosing the Motorola Marathon.
Patrick
Healey, Austin
"I am going
for a 3:10 finish and do not look forward to get up in the morning when it is
that cold, I know it is going to be a fast course because I did it last year,
this race is well organized." Patrick trains all alone, which is very
admirable.
Meredith
Novy, Houston
She is doing
the relay because she did the Houston Marathon. "I am helping a friend with her
first long distance race and I look forward to the cold because the humidity in
Houston is tough." Meredith got injured doing Houston and even though she just
got rid of her cast she will help her friend with her race. There is nothing
like a running buddy!
Tim
Harrington, Austin
"This is my
first marathon ever, I am going for a 3:20 finish because I have to qualify for
Boston." Tim is training on his own and puts about 35 miles per week in. What a
goal to make it into Boston on the first race ever, Good
luck!
Lyle Clugg,
Cofounder of the marathon, Colorado
Lyle was one
of the founders of the Motorola Marathon and told me a little about how it all
started. "I was looking for a Marathon in my home town, but year after year they
cancelled the marathon in Austin due to lack of sponsorship, then I saw the
general manager of Motorola cruising along the trail and he just had finished a
half marathon and loved it. I asked him about sponsoring Austin Marathon and he
said, go ahead plan the race. We got 30.000 Dollars to put the race on, but in
the end the bill came out to 70.000 Dollars but Motorola stood behind us a solid
100 %. Our goal was always to make this a race for the average runner and to
support them the best we could, for example to not run out of water after the
first hundred people." You sure achieved your goal Mr. Clugg and thanks for
having a vision and making it a reality.
Chris
Thibert,
Chris is a
man behind the scenes; he puts up all the equipment for starts and finishes and
also all the barriers to guide the runners. His role for the marathon was
overseeing the package pick up. "It took the RunTex staff two full weeks to put
the packets together."
Karen
Raule
Has a full
time job with Motorola for organizing this event. "I just want to give the
volunteers the biggest thanks possible. I am always amazed what those people do
for the race. A thank you from the heart."
Richard
Newman and Susan Marenda, San Antonio
“We will run
this race as a couple, this is Richards 55th and Susans16th marathon. We love
this race and think this is the best organized marathon." Keep going you
two!
Mixon Henry,
Austin
Got awarded
for being the best coach in the area and after chatting with him I knew exactly
why that might be. "I always look at the big picture of somebody and understand
we all have a life. I recommend that average runners should not focus on the
distance just on the time, cross training and stretching is important, if you
can go out three times a week that will do it." If you have questions send him
an email, his address is on the RunTex web page.
After
closing the store and shutting down the expo, it was time to start another shift
for all of RunTex’s employees.
Loading scaffolding, clocks, timing equipment, barriers and last but not
least to finish all the banners that would direct athletes to where they needed
to go. After everything was completed at around midnight some had no choice but
to watch TV in the store the rest of the night because they had a 2 am wake up
call to set up the start and finish areas and decided to just stay up.
2/18/01
Well, as we
drove towards the starting line it seemed that everybody had had the same
problem as us getting up and leaving too late. The exit ramp was backed up a
quarter mile and parking was impossible. You guys just had a good warm up
getting to the race.
What an
adrenaline kick at the starting line. People everywhere looking serious, anxious
even scared; some smiling but all ready to go. So they did, on time at seven
o’clock.
The runners
had an easy time of it; the downhill first mile set the tone for what was going
to be a fast day for most marathoners.
The pace was set at 5 minutes per mile and never deviated for the rest of
the men’s race.
A group of
20 elite athletes bunched up while “rabbits” Dos Santos Delmir of Brazil and
Charles Mulinga led the pack. Some
of the group leaders were Andrzej Krzyscin of Poland, Anders Szalkai of Sweden,
3M Half Marathon winner Eddy Hellebuyck of Albuquerque, Mohamed Nazipov of
Moscow, Kefah Keraro of Kenya and Igor Osmak of Russia. Early on signs told us that records
would be broken. Could it
happen?
Mulinga made
it to the 5K mark first in 15:34.
The aid station there had plenty to cheer about as about 10 cold but
enthusiastic cheerleaders did what they could do to build the spirits of the
athletes. The pack still consisted
about 15 strong contenders.
Support was
not an issue for runners. Many
families and friends had gathered outside of their homes with cranked up stereos
and their own aid stations to provide comfort and support to the
marathoners.
By the 10 K
only one runner had been dropped.
The elite men sped by the marker with a time of 31:26, oblivious to the
Island sounds of the band playing Caribbean music. No time to stop, but the dance was far
from over.
David Hinga
fit comfortably within the pack.
Injured at the 3M Half two weeks ago where he still finished fourth,
looked at ease. He led most of the Half Marathon, but today he was taking a back
seat. Was this a little
strategy?
About every
five miles the elite runners pick up their own aid. What they drink is surely a secret. The
ornaments they decorate the bottles with so they can distinguish one from
another were very unique. Szalkai
had his adorned with Swedish flags.
The race
picture had not changed for 4 miles.
It was still a lead group of about seven with a few that had fallen
behind about a quarter of a mile.
The rabbit, Mulinga, had a 10-mile time of 50:19.
Then just
after the 11-mile mark, Hellebuyck started to make his move on a steep down
hill. He had been sitting in the
pack barely noticeable because of his size, but now he was going to show the
international elite how to run hills.
It didn’t
last long. After his short time in
the limelight he fell back as the rabbits charged up a long up hill leaving the
rest in reverse. They were going
too fast. Hinga also fell victim,
as he soon became a casualty to the pace.
The
beautiful University district made a nice backdrop as runners made their way to
the Capitol and the half way mark.
They sure did not have a look for the scenery as they passed the half way
mark with a fast 1:05 in their legs. A few hundred spectators cheered the group
along Congress Ave. As the elite pulled onto 6th street a band
started playing “Play that funky music white boy”. On the height of Lamar
Mulinga pulled away and put five seconds between him and the others. Hellebuyck
had fallen back about 15 seconds. Just as the pros came around the corner of
RunTex Lake Austin Mulinga pulled out of the race at mile 15.5. He had done his job for the day. Leading them for the day and
establishing a solid 5-minute pace so that a record could be
broken.
It was
anyone’s race again! The group of six strong runners looked good and solid and
no predictions could be made. At mile 18 the group started dropping the tired
ones by going even faster. Around mile 20 we had a solid group of three pros
going strong for the home stretch.
They ran side by side for two miles and their concentration and focus was
written on their faces.
Very
impressive, we might add!
The group
had three elite runners, who had come across the Atlantic to compete in the
Motorola Marathon; it was Nazipov, Krzyscin, Osmark.
It was not
until mile 23 when Osmark from Sweden got dropped by the other two. And five minutes later at mile 24
Krzyscin could not follow the leader who had the most left on this day. Nazipov had probably just enough energy
left to pull ahead and go strong for the finish and so he did; looking strong
and solid and most of all focused on getting there first. He crossed the finish line in 2:11:14
hours and broke the old record by four minutes.
Andryej
Krzyscin took second with 2:11:41 and Igor Osmak got third place with a time of
2:12:16.
The fourth
place Swede had nothing but good things to say about the race. “I ran my personal best time. The course was fantastic and the rabbits
did their job very well.”
Second place
Krzyscin of Poland said the course had too many down hills. “My legs (calfs) are hurting from the
first part of the race and the rabbits were going too fast. Sometimes they are going away from us
and we can not catch them.” Well,
he still ran the best marathon of his life by four
minutes!
Eddy
Hellebuyck, overall master’s winner with a time of 2:16:47 hurt himself on the
very part of the course he was going to use to his advantage. “I hurt my hamstring very bad. For the past 8 miles I was running
injured. I’m very worried that this
will influence my training.” Eddy
was then quickly taken to the medical tent.
The first
woman Elena Paramonova from Russia called it a day at 2:32:55. She looked much stronger than any other
top woman after crossing the finish.
For such a
fast course you must sometimes pay the price. It was as if the top runners were in a
trance after crossing the finish.
To be going so fast for so long, then it was over. Most took quite a bit of time to
overcome the shock, but the wonderful support crew at the finish catered to
every runner making sure they were okay.
Former
Atlanta Olympian Linda Somers-Smith made her way to Austin from San Luis Obispo,
CA to race. Although she didn’t
meet her expectations, she said she liked the race and the city. “I was with the top women until mile 10
then I started to feel bad. I felt
like quitting, but I knew
my husband wouldn’t let me”. “There
were three women who went out way too fast and they started walking by mile
5. One of them was last years
winner”. She still finished with a
great time of 2:40 and she will definitely be a threat to the master’s division
when she soon turns forty.
It looked
like the Russians had invaded with such a strong showing and they surely
controlled the 10th Annual Motorola marathon. We sure do appreciate them for coming
and participating. They also happen
to be very friendly, too.
Barry
Braffle, Iowa
Did a 3:09
race, “I came out to spend some time with good friends and also to compete in
the marathon, the weather was beautiful and I am so happy that I qualified for
the Boston Marathon.”
Scott
Kothenbeutel, Maryland
“I can not
believe it, I felt great the whole way and so I did a 2:57 marathon. I was
waiting for the pain but it never came and also my RunTex shirt helped me to
stay warm.”
Rose Flato,
Minnesota
“I love this
weather, back home I got frostbite on my face during training. I run by myself
and train about 27 miles per week.
I am happy with my time of 3:30, the down hills helped me a
lot.”
Rachel
Haddock, Philadelphia
“I run about
12 to 15 miles per week and did a 4:20 marathon, I have improved and running
with my boyfriend felt good.”
Well how can
we wrap up this day for you all?
Lets start
with the weather. It sure was perfect weather, maybe a little on the chilly side
in the morning, but by after this winter everybody was accustomed to the cold.
The sun came up in time and lifted the spirits while cruising
along.
We hope all
of you had a pleasant experience in the fabulous organized race. We had the
opportunity to ride in the press truck and got to see the race of the elite
runners from very close. We got very cold but to catch those athletes while they
do their job was very amazing. In the early morning our heart went out to those
pro runners and in the late morning we felt for the runners who where still out
there trying the hardest they can to finish this long
race.
Every
athlete who lined up at the starting line is a hero and made a difference in his
or her life. All the thoughts and emotions experienced mile after mile in this
race while make you all’s life richer and bigger. It does not matter whether you
finished or not, just trying is probably the biggest step there is to competing.
And each one of you who finished hold on to those feelings you experienced while
crossing the line as long as you can. We saw people crying, hugging, cheering,
kissing and emotions where allowed to be free. We even saw a man propose to his
girlfriend after she crossed the finish line while a mariachi band played on.
Thanks to Motorola, the volunteers, the RunTex staff who made this
possible.
Now what are
you all going to do with all the time you have left over because you are not
training so extensively anymore. Just think of your family and friends who gave
you all this time to your self to do this personal goal and give them a big hug
of thanks and go spent some time with them.
Thank you
from the heart to MOTOROLA, RunTex, Ozarka, HEB,
Coca-Cola,
KXAN-TV 36,
Digital DNA, Nextel, Fleishman-Hillard, Heart Hospital of Austin, KLBJ 93.7 FM,
Newsradio, 101Xkrox, 107.1 KGSR, LoneStar93, and of course Broad Cloud
Wireless.
CONGRADULATIONS
TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OUT THERE
YOU DID
IT!!!!!!!
GO REST NOW,
you deserve it. See you April
1st for the Capitol 10,000.
Your RunTex
Reporter Team
Bill and
Monika Stone
Suggestions
and Comments to Bill Stone@Runtex.com