Nearly perfect weather greeted 22 runners and almost as many volunteers for the first running of the Valley Journal marathon last Saturday.
Under partly cloudy skies and barely a breeze, runners enjoyed pleasant conditions as they ran the marathon (26.2 miles) and half-marathon (13.1 miles) courses that began and finished in Ronan. The temperature was a mild 56 degrees at the 6 a.m. start of the marathon at Ronan's City Park and topped out at 70 degrees for the finish at 11 a.m.
Runners started out with a tour of the west end of town, then headed out east along Terrace Lake Road and looped up through the North Crow area, northeast of town.
Jim Blow, the 53-year-old Valley Journal editor, won the men's open division of the marathon, finishing in 5 hours, 7 minutes and 39 seconds. Bob Hayes, the 82-year-young runner out of Evaro, won the master's division with a time of 5:09:26.
Polson eighth-grader James Bjorge won the men's half-marathon in 1:49:04. The women's half-marathon crown went to Laurie Gregory, who finished in 1:50:06.
"I still can't believe how wonderful the day was," Blow said. "We had such wonderful weather and a good group of local runners who all said they enjoyed the course."
The Valley Journal sponsored the marathon, which will be held annually. The event came about after several runners at the Valley Journal decided to organize a local long-distance race that would give local runners a chance to stretch their distances.
"Before the Missoula Marathon, there weren't any marathons reasonably close by. Whitefish's Two Bear Marathon isn't too far, but it involves some pretty rough trail running," Blow explained.
Blow said the idea came up while he and Valley Journal office manager Aleta Mergenthaler were making the long trek to Bozeman two years ago to compete in the Lewis and Clark Marathon. Adding up the cost of fuel, overnight stay in Bozeman and meals, they realized that the marathon was going to be much more expensive than the $45 registration fee.
"It sure seemed to be a long way to go for a tee shirt ... and an expensive one, at that. I remember wondering aloud somewhere between Deer Lodge and Butte why we couldn't have our own small marathon back home. And Aleta agreed," Blow explained. "Our other partners at the Valley Journal, including runner Summer Goddard, thought it was a great idea to promote a healthy, fitness-oriented event in the valley."
Thus was born the Valley Journal marathon. But it never would have come about without the hard work of a core of volunteer organizers.
Ronan cross country coach and long-time runner Gale Decker served as race director and organized most of the logistics required to put on the race, along with his daughter, Noelle Decker.
"Without those two, we'd never would have got off the ground," Blow said. He also credited Amy Vaughan and members of the First Baptist Church of Ronan for holding a well-attended benefit spaghetti feed on Friday evening. He also thanked all the volunteers who pitched in to run the aid stations and direct runners through traffic.
The Ronan cross country team manned the aid stations along the half-marathon route, while Brady Oakland and Jordan Franklin used four-wheelers to serve as travelling aid stations for the marathon runners. Jo Durand organized and served up sandwiches, treats and refreshments after the race, while Berl Tiskus organized last-minute registration.
Former Ronan runner Terinee McCready helped organize the aid stations and ran the finish line clock, while local runners Paul Soukup and Gary Dietrich ran escort with the runners through the early portions of the races through town.
"We can't thank the volunteers enough. They were so generous in pitching in and making everything run smoothly," Blow said.
It was a small turnout compared to larger races held in Missoula and other large towns. But, Blow explained that the first priority of the event was to draw out local runners and promote running in the valley.
"The small turnout was fine with us. Actually, we purposefully didn't publicize the race outside of the valley so that local runners had a chance to try out the course and compete with other local residents. I sure wasn't disappointed. And I don't believe any of the runners were either," Blow said. "Judging from the response I got along the route and after the race, I'd sure say it was a success. And I'll bet it will grow as more and more folks realize what a fun run it is."
Results
Valley Journal Marathon
Aug. 30, 2008
Marathon (26.2 miles)
1, Jim Blow, 5:07:39 (men's open winner)
2, Bob Hayes, 5:09:26 (men's masters winner)
Half-marathon (13.1 miles)
1, James Bjorge, 1:49:04 (men's winner)
2, Laurie Gregory, 1:50:06 (women's winner)
3, Suzanne Brost, 1:58:00
4, Jennifer Shipley, 2:00:22
5, Christian Rogers, 2:01:30
6, Noelle Decker, 2:02:03
7, Sharon Toussaint, 2:09.42
8, Aleta Mergenthaler, 2:11:08
9, Yvette Reynolds, 2:29:13
10, Summer Goddard, 2:29:20
11, Evelyn Halvorson, 2:35:06
12, Corena Hardy, 2:40:51
13, Matt Thomas, 2:41:49
14, Kelly Bick, 3:01:26
15, Tracey Wheeler, 3:01:26
16, Bobbi Jore, 3:03:58
17, Tiffany Thomas, 3:06:19
18, Christy Fryberger, 3:07:49
19, Karrie Fisher, 3:11:07
20, Jennifer Cheff, 3:11:07