Salem, Oregon's
Running & Walking Club Site
Home of
Willamette Valley Road Runners (WVRR)
www.WVRoadrunners.org.

Yakima River Canyon Marathon by Fenny Roberts

     The Yakima River Canyon Marathon was held March 31. The co-directors Bob and Lenore Dolphin did a terrific job organizing this marathon. The night before was a delicious pasta feed for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Joe Henderson gave an excellent talk on George Sheeehan, and some of his work with beginner runners at U of 0

     The morning of the race greeted us with just enough brisk air and coldness to make this a great run day. Traffic was controlled and confined to race-support vehicles, so one could really enjoy the terrific and magnificent scenery. There were 417 runners and walkers from all over the U.S. and some from other countries. Larry Brown was one of the Oregonians from Salem who very much enjoyed the scenery and the hills. He'll also tell you the food was terrific the night before and after the race, since he knows what good food tastes like. Larry always knows the best place to eat after a race.

     Since I was on antibiotics for my infected right big toe due to 24hour race at Longview, Washington. I decided I would just enjoy this marathon. It was fun running for a while with famous 48-hr. runner Jeff Hagen, from Washington.

     I enjoyed meeting all the "50 State" runners. Some had actually run all 50 states more than twice. Jerry Martin from Spokane was our first-place wheelchair participant, Some of you have met him at the Portland Marathon; if not say "Hi" to him in October in Portland.

     I had the privilege of singing the national anthem. It was fun talking with Joe Henderson 1/2 hr before the race, and then eating breakfast with Joe and his wife and about 40 other runners the next morning

     I encourage you to all run this scenic, very breathtaking, marathon, with the background of nature, birds singing, etc. The directors Bob and Lenore are very detail-oriented and provide a basket of shampoo, lotion etc in the women's locker area..

     You'll see entry blanks and information at Gallagher's Fitness for the Yakima River Canyon Marathon in four months, and set your sight for early April. SEE YA THERE.