Wearing bib number 34 (and sunglasses) was Tristan Beaster. Running next to him in the beard and sunglasses was his friend, Pete Lande. Both Tristan and Pete are local boys who have moved from the area but come back often to visit—and sometimes run. Kerrie Fabius, wearing bib number 164, was right behind Pete and Tristan. The lads finished in 1:48.28 while Kerrie was only 30 seconds behind them at the finish.
About an hour before the runners toed the line for the 2011 Ham Lake Half-Marathon snow started to fall from the sky. It didn’t last long, but as the snow faded the wind picked up and temperatures fell into the low 30s, and runners could be seen adding layers, not taking them off to race.
As one of the race helpers exclaimed, “It was warmer earlier and it’s getting colder and colder.”
Great. Where, where was global warming when you needed it?
Still, about 150 perky runners took off with great enthusiasm at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 1 from the parking lot of Gunflint Pines. They ran most of the way into the teeth of a cold wind that gusted to 27 miles per hour and slipped right by the Canadian Shield and pressed their will and stamina throughout.
Finishing first overall with a time of 1:25:58 was Kyle Pietari, age 24, from Duluth. Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux, age 28, from Grand Marais was second in 1:29:49, just beating -out 15-year-old Sartell, Mn. native Anthoni Morrow’s third place finish of 1:29:56.
Jana Larson’s joy is evident in this picture. Joining Jana is Viking athlete Kristina Rude (center) and Jana’s daughter Ailee Larson. Although smiling, they didn’t seem to be quite as happy as their mom. Ailee is blessed with great running talent, but 13 miles into the teeth of a cold, strong wind was a bit much for even the most experienced runner on this day.
Other top local men’s finishers included Jonathan Rova, who placed 10th with a time of 1:39.50. Right behind him was Lucas Will who was very happy with his time of 1:39.58. Rob Wells placed 16th with a fine time of 1:45.28, and Dave Seaton placed 25th in 1:53.51. The 26th place went to Chad Meyers who finished in 1:55.55.
Several other local men’s finishers were John Twiest, age 44, 2:02:12; Mark Abrahamson, age 56, 2:03:12; Colin Everson, age 16, 2:23.09, and Dennis Terry, age 56, in with a fine time of 2:33.45. All showed their stoutheartedness and toughness on this day.
Placing first in the women’s division was Jennifer Johnson of Carlton with a time of 1:37:24. Marianne Stewart from Thunder Bay, Ontario placed second less than a minute back in 1:38:19, and Sarah Noordhoek of Carlton finished third with a time of 1:39.39.
Leading local women was super cross-country skier Kerrie Fabius, sans skis, finishing 7th in 1:48.58. Rachel Murrin finished 14th in 1:57.56 and Lynne Wiitala, age 50, was next with a great time of 1:57.56. Cook County High School track star Ailee Larson, age 17, held back and ran in with her mom, Jana, and they placed 20 and 21 with the time of 2:04.51. Signe Larson, age 15, couldn’t keep up on this day with older sis and mom and finished with a time of 2:19.24. Hannah Palma Laky, running her first race ever, was 30th with a great time of 2:11.2. Not far behind was Molly Hicken, 44th in 2:2313; Darlene Katajammaki, 62nd, in 2:41.37; Kristina Rude, 63rd, in 2:41.39; and Jane Howard placed 69th with a time of 2:56.36.
All told, 49 men and 72 women finished the half marathon.
Five ladies from Grand Marais led the parade of 41 finishers in the women’s 5k. Shelby Ahrendt placed first in 24:21.7. Shelby was followed by Julie Collman, 24.27.7; Patty Johnson, 27:26.3; Jessica Berg- Collman, age 14, 28:48.7, and in fifth place was Rebekah Laky with a time of 28:48.9.
Erik Howells of Thunder Bay led the men’s 5k runners with a winning time of 23:39.2 Hot on his heels was Jerry Erickson of Duluth, in with a time of 23:47.2 and placing third was David Cosgrove of Thunder Bay with a time of 25:00.5.
Three 9-year-olds and one 8-year-old ran the boys’ halfmile. Josh Prom placed first with a great time of 3:36.6. He was followed by Vaughn Swindlehurst (8), who was close behind in 3:39. Will Surbaugh, in at 4:20, and Keenan Hingos, in at 4:44, ran very solid races for their age group.
Annie Lynch, age 8, won the girls’ half-mile with a great time of 4:11.4.
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