Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon, February 6th, 2000
By Tim Peterson and Eric Barron
Ah, the allure of Vegas. Why else would runners be willing to get up
in the middle of the night to catch a bus out to the starting line of
the Las Vegas Marathon, and then wait 90 minutes for the race to
begin? For those not too tired to keep their eyes open, sunrise
revealed the fabled, glimmering Las Vegas Strip, which must have
seemed like a mirage given that it looked so close, but no closer
after miles of running along a straight highway. Not put off by
this somewhat surreal course, a handful of TCLA runners braved the
initial morning chill to participate in either the full or half
marathon.
In the marathon, Frank Siering set a p.r. with a 3:16:32.
Of course, he was "bitterly disappointed" with this "mediocre" time.
His judgment was apparently based on his 6:20 mile pace well through
the halfway point. Given this fast start and the clear view of Vegas
in the distance, he must have thought he was hallucinating when he hit
the wall. The pain, however, was quite real, and it required much
physical suffering, mental strength, and the company and encouragement
of Terence Young and Jacinda Raiche over the last six miles to enable
Frank to finish. Never one to not take advantage of the situation,
he soon headed straight for the casinos, saying, "I think I'll go
throw some more money away." It is unknown whether his gambling
went any better than his race, but he was seen leaving Las Vegas
in bare feet and tattered running shorts.
Elsewhere in the field, Marlon Feiger turned in a solid 3:26:08,
though it was not up to his Boston-qualifying expectations. The
purportedly fast course was deceptive in that it really pounds the
quads, and he can look for better time on a level course. Sore
quads also plagued Mike Kukuchka, who crossed the line in 3:55:26.
Also on the road, Todd Carey, who runs marathons as effortlessly as
gold-chained, pinky ring-wearing Brooklynites lay down $100 on the
Knicks, showed up for a 4:12:02 "workout."
In the half marathon, Tim Peterson did not let his field reporting
duties distract him, and he ran a 1:28:18, about 30 seconds faster
than his last effort at the distance in Long Beach three months ago.
Two great efforts by the two Stephanies, Cahn and Elkins, led to two
reported p.r's of 1:40:39 and 1:49:15, respectively. Ellen Kukuchka
also reached her goal of breaking two hours with a 1:53:04.
Finally, those who simply scan results might think that Jerico
Enriquez ran with his wife, but he had actually given his number
to someone else and sat out due to a slight knee problem.
All in all, it is a well organized race, but after two days in the
slick, fantasy world which is Las Vegas, the TCLA'ers were ready to
return to the slick, fantasy world which is Los Angeles.
