2004 Long Beach Half Marathon

Report by: Eric Barron

The Long Beach Marathon and Half Marathon are not exactly glamorous, and the weather in October can be warm, but there is something to be said for sleeping in your own bed before a 26-mile trot, and the 2004 edition offered relatively decent temperatures.

The half was the way to go if you wanted good ocean views, and many TCLA'ers opted for this race. Evan Bartelheim led the way for the club in preparation for an upcoming marathon. Tom Gatyas surprised himself with a strong performance on his debut effort at this distance. Just behind him, as on the track at times, Nyron Bernard looked smooth. Bruce Hoff must have felt this was a quick jog after all the ultra racing he has done. Also setting up a future marathon was Dean Goodman, and his time here bodes well for the future. Peter Keramidas put up some good numbers. Leading the women, Kim Brettler ran well and perhaps helped pace Peggy Enriquez to her (i.e., Peggy's) second place division finish. Terry Power looked fresh after the race, and Wenise Wong also ran well on little training. Michael Berger hoped for a faster time, but may have been taken off too fast. Finally, Jennifer Liu and Cindy Bernstein both dipped under two hours.

For the few TCLA'ers who chose the long course, their rewards were some really unattractive scenery between miles 14 and 24, sore quads, and a cruelly deceptive finish line. At least Tyrone Black earned $150 for his suffering, as he ended up the third master and the eighth runner overall. Peter Glassman earned the pleasure of finishing his first marathon, though "pleasure," might not have been the exact word that came to mind as he crossed the line. Bruce Reisenfeld went out at a fast clip and paid the price in the later miles. And leading the women for TCLA, Tayo Balogun came in right at the four-hour mark.