Running race for a reason

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MARQUETTE - There are some unique and interesting tales to tell about the people who ran the Boston Marathon on April 19.

There are about as many stories as there are people who ran it, which totaled around 23,000 in all this year. That includes 10 who listed cities in Marquette and Alger counties with race officials as their residence.

In all, the Boston Marathon website, www.bostonmarathon.org, listed 15 people from the Upper Peninsula as entrants as searched by zip codes beginning with 498 and 499.

The most famous is Marquette resident Tracy Lokken, who finished 32nd overall and in third place in the Masters' 40-years-and-over division this year.

Despite the huge numbers who participate, the vast majority of entrants are elite runners who have to post a qualifying time in another marathon, based on their gender and age, to enter this granddaddy of 26.2-mile runs.

One exception was Ishpeming resident John H. Wallace, who at age 59 calls himself just "one of the average people."

He didn't need a qualifier because he raised $3,500 for a charitable cause - The Hoyt Foundation, which was developed by a father-and-son duo who race together pushing a wheelchair.

Team Hoyt is Dick Hoyt, 69, and his son, Rick, who suffers from a form of cerebral palsy. They race together for the sheer pleasure of it, but also to raise money and bring awareness for people with physical disabilities.

Wallace, 59, finished in 5 hours, 19 minutes and 34 seconds, placing him in 22,061st place - near the back of the pack.

"I was very happy with my time," Wallace said. "My goal was to finish in 5:30, since my last marathon I did in 5:56."

That was an event in Huntsville, Ala., in December.

Despite his modesty about his time, Wallace is a veteran runner.

"My son and I have run every day for the past 20 years," he said.

John Wallace III, 33, lives in Seattle, but the father and son were able to run together during his teen years, since his son is a 1994 graduate of Westwood High School.

The Wallaces are real marathoners, as the elder John Wallace and his wife, Karen, ran about 1,300 miles from Marquette to Biloxi, Miss., in just over 2 1/2 months in 2007. John III ran more than 3,800 miles across the U.S. from Washington state to Georgia in 2004 and 2005.

Among those who ran the Boston Marathon this year from the area are Barbara Verhamme, 53, of Munising, who finished in 4:43:21; Amanda Jurinen, 33, of California, who grew up in Alger County and finished in 3:36:01; and Nolan Jensen, 21, of Marquette, who finished in 2:54:43.

Here are some stories of this year's Boston Marathon participants from the area:

Frank Lorsbach

A Harvey resident, Lorsbach is the oldest area finisher this year at age 65, completing the run in 4:13:07. That was faster than 10 minutes per mile and in 86th place for runners in the men's 65-69 age group, which included 227 entrants.

Lorsbach said he took up running at around age 50 as a way to get back in shape.

A survivor of two bouts of prostate cancer, he was disappointed only because a pulled calf muscle interrupted his training for about 10 days during the five weeks leading up to Boston.

"It wasn't my best time," he said, referring to a 4:03 he ran at the Indianapolis Marathon in October that qualified him for Boston.

"Along with the physical part of staying in shape, exercise is a great stress reliever, and it really makes your mind sharper," Lorsbach says about part of the reason he has run 11 marathons.

Liz and Mary Whiting

These sisters are downstate Jackson natives, but after younger sister Mary (she's 24 to Liz's 27) attended and played soccer at Northern Michigan University, Liz moved to Marquette two years ago.

While Liz was a distance runner in cross country, as well as track and field at Division I Valparaiso University, the two decided to run Boston together and finished in 3:28:13, coming in 6,558th and 6,559th overall.

"I've been a runner for quite some time," Liz said, "but when Mary said she wanted to complete one, I told her I'd run Boston with her if she could qualify."

Mary, a registered nurse living in California, qualified at the Chicago Marathon last October.

"We had fun the whole time," Liz said. "It's amazing - the whole city has the day off. They line the entire course and cheer the whole time.

"Two years ago, Mary was just a casual runner; she'd barely run at all. Now she's run three marathons. I'm very proud of her."

Meanwhile, Liz had qualified for the Boston Marathon as far back as 2005, but never entered because of the cost and time commitment involved.

"Now I'm glad I did it," she said.

Jeff Juntti

An accomplished cyclist and triathlete, Juntti, 41, of Negaunee ran cross country and track with Lokken when both attended NMU.

"I'm nothing like Tracy when it comes to running," he said. "Cycling is by far my strength in the triathlon."

Nevertheless, he finished Boston in 3:48:06, good for 12,376th place overall. He didn't meet his goal of 3:30 in the race, though he has goals beyond the Boston Marathon.

Surgery needed to correct a problem with his shoulder for swimming held back his training for Boston until mid-February. But the fix will help him for an event even more grueling.

"I'm going to enter the Ironman in Madison (Wis.) in September," Juntti said, explaining it's a maximum-distance triathlon with a marathon distance run at its end.

A good-enough time could qualify him for the most famous triathlon of all, the Ironman held in Hawaii.

Steve King

King, 36, of Marquette finished Boston in 3:15:21, within 30 seconds of his best marathon time.

"I went into it to have fun," he said. "My wife (Kristen) was able to see me at two different spots along the course, at the 16-mile mark and around 25 miles."

While he may consider doing the race again, the couple has two young children and are considering other vacations fit for the whole family in the future.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 246. His e-mail address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.