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Marathon  June 28, 09

KENMORE, WA - The marathon Saturday was hard; everybody said so.

The winner was from Kenya, Peter Omae. He finished in 2 hours 18 minutes and 17 seconds; basically he was done with the run before I even reached the halfway point.

It's such a reality check - superhuman vs. slow, white, 40-something.

The female winner was Michele Suszek, runner by day (2:38:37) and professional go-go dancer in Westminster, Colorado by night. Really, that was the article in the Seattle Times. 

After the Rock 'n' Roll marathon I pedaled 30 miles north along the Burke-Gilman Trail trying to make my way to a smaller town so I can start my bicycle tour back to Wisconsin.

The beautiful Burke-Gilman Trail ran along Lake Washington and through the University of Washington campus.

By 4 p.m. I arrived in the comfortable community of Kenmore. A couple of fire fighters went out of their way to help find me a place to stay.

Lt. Ken Googled the Kenmore Inn Motel and handed me a printout. "I don't know that you have much choice," he said noting Kenmore's limited selection.

The top entry read, 'STAY AWAY' in capital letters accentuated by a dozen exclamation points.

I thought I'd give it a try.

Kenmore, a community of about 12,000, runs along Highway 522. There’s a Safeway grocery store, Jay’s Café and next door to the Kenmore Inn Motel was the Wagon Wheel Inn.

The owner let me look at a room. For $50 a night I'd have a bed, bathroom, kitchen and loud music from next door.

It was nice - a loosely used term.

There was a car repair garage next to the Wagon Wheel. It was literally within three steps of my front door and apparently part of the hotel business.

I explored my options next door. For $55 a night the Kenmore Inn was the Ritz; a slightly cleaner atmosphere and a general inkling no mice would run across the top of your sheets while you slept.

SUNDAY MOVING NORTH...

After a quick breakfast at Jay's Cafe I've decided to continue north to the LaConner / Mt. Vernon area.

During Saturday's marathon there were quite a few shoutouts for 'Wisconsin.' 

People recognized my shirt from the Bellin Run in Green Bay. One man who introduced himself was from DePere, another woman Waupaca.

I was unaware there was a small green and yellow letter G on the back of the shirt. In mile 25 a woman passing me said 'Green Bay Packers.'

I quipped, "Wisconsin, we'll always remember you Brent."  The woman turned and said "Judy, is that you?"

More than 2,000 miles from home and I'm cherry-picked out of a field of 25,000 runners by a college friend I hadn't seen in 25 years.

Crazy fate.

She's from La Conner, a small tourist town about 72 miles from Seattle. That would be my destination Sunday as I make my way to Hwy 20 and the northern tier, where I will begin my trek east to Wisconsin.

TIDBITS...

- The new wave in marathon racing is the personal mileage chip has been replaced with a disposable tag.

- The medal awarded for completing the Seattle marathon is about the size of a baby’s head and weighs much the same. I'm mailing it home, it’s the last thing I need to carry over the mountains.

- I've made a grave packing error and attached the wrong bicycle rack to the back of my bike. I went to a bike store today and for $34 bought a lighter model. It really is all about the weight and I think I'm now carrying a little less than 100 pounds of gear.