35th Guam Marathon
Raises the Bar...Again!

How a Great Marathon Keeps on Getting
Better
By Neil Culbertson

The Guam Marathon is billed as a "fine and friendly marathon." This year's event was no exception. And to prove the point, 1 Senior & 3 Grand Masters division runners from Japan came, two of them running the course for their second year in a row. (Masai Tanaguchi [S] - 4.07.22; Baba Motoharu [GM] - 4.25.16; Masahiko Iida [GM] - 4.33.23; and,Yoshimichi Ito [GM] -5.09.08).

As in prior years, the Guam Marathon continues to attract participants from all over the world. Robert Scott, from New Zealand, ranked second overall with a 3:05.45 finish. A visiting university professor from Poland dropped in to run the marathon and later present lectures at the University of Guam. Even a long-time favorite from Rota (just returning from Iraq), Joseph Santos, came out to run what was his first time on the new course. Even Marvin Villines, who ran the very first Guam Marathon 35 years ago, further dignified the race and came out to make his first try on the new course.

The club's organizers did an excellent job, providing a catchy revision of the marathon finisher's shirts. The new graphic captured a sense of motion and increasing strength while retaining the pictograph symbols of Guam's pre-contact cave drawings. The team of artists at Creativitees, Rhaj Sharma in particular, were responsible for the improvments. And, clearly, this year saw fantastic support by Guam's Police Department, which added greatly to the safety of the race. The aide stations were nothing less than outstanding, being organized through the efforts of Evelyn Calori & company. (Note: Inasmuch as numerous commitments required me to step down from helping in this year's marathon, my name still did end up on the aide station roster. This resulted in my being awakened from a rather sound sleep and receiving a call at approximately 5 a.m. from an aide station requesting bandages for someone with a severe case of nipple burn.)

Sub-3 Hour Marathon

The 35th Guam Marathon did not lack for dramatic firsts. Mike Lily proved that it is possible, although difficult, to snag a sub 3-hour time on the new course. This is the first time anyone has accomplished this since the marathon course was revised. (The best sub-3 hour time on the original course was achieved by Dave Collins in the 10th Guam Marathon-1981, with a blistering time of 2.32.57). The original course saw many sub-3 hour performances, with 1981, 1982, and 1983 seeing upwards of 5-10 sub-3's in one race.

New Division Record

Senior Division runner, Graham Rogers, did an incredible job and clocked the fastest time for a Senior on the new course at 3:18.29. Huw Tyler, an expat living in Japan, however, holds the record for the original course, having run a 3:12:00 in 2002. Rogers, who is famous for his punishing mental focus and chronic injured state, began to feel the pain at mile 8. But, to the astonishment of no one, pushed through the pain barrier for the next 18.2 miles to make his mark in the Guam Marathon history books. After finishing, Rogers sat rooted in a beach chair for almost 45 minutes before regaining the capacity to walk. It was mentioned that he had at least 6 months to recover, to which Rogers grimly replied, "Six months! I've got my whole life to recover from this."

A Photo Finish

Another capable volunteer, Hans, put much time and effort in providing a digital photo finish of all who crossed the finishing line and gave copies to all at the awards banquet.

Support from the marathon's many sponsors did much to make the marathon great. Hard work by the GRC officers and all who volunteered took it even further. The participants, with the hardy spirit every marathoner gains through the discipline of months of training, the excellent weather, the great awards banquet, and much more made the 35th a memorable event. And, as GRC Secretary, Josephine Pinto mentioned at the finish of the banquet, "Look us up on the web site and send us your comments of encouragement and suggestions for improvement. We're committed to making this better. You tell us how."