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Tjalling Ypma - February 2005
The 37th Birch Bay International Marathon, held on Saturday February 19, 2005, marked the first time since 1981 that this classic event was run under the auspices of the Greater Bellingham Running Club. It was also the first time that Leigh Foley and I had served as Race Directors, in my case primarily because nobody else volunteered to take the lead. Since I had a significant role in persuading GBRC to adopt this race, taking over from Dave and Jeanette Dutton who had run this as an independent low-key event for many years, I felt some responsibility to ensuring that it would actually occur. It helped that I had run this race several times in its semi-subversive format so knew that it could be done with a minimum of formalities so long as nobody had unrealistic expectations. My first goal was thus to ensure that all potential participants understood that this was to be a simple affair, calling for a trail-runner mentality instead of a spoilt road-runner attitude.
The Dutton blueprint was largely adopted, except that we actually went to the trouble of getting a permit from the county and we added one aid station (visited twice) to the one usually provided (and visited three times). Our permit demanded a certain level of traffic control, with the result that we had to recruit a significant number of volunteers, which was no easy task. I had cunningly delegated all such endeavors and most other race-day responsibilities to Leigh, so I can happily bask in the success of the day while letting her take the heat for any deficiencies that might have become apparent. Actually, if it hadn’t been for Leigh we would not have had a race at all, since I was not about to direct it by myself while she was ready to take it on from the time the call for an RD was issued. We owe her sincere thanks for keeping the flame going through many moments of doubt, and any blemishes are entirely due to my failure to provide her with appropriate advice.
Race day turned out to be a beautifully clear winter’s day, with early morning frost on the road but otherwise gorgeous sunshine with the attendant wide scenic views over the snowy hills and the sparkling blue bay. That certainly made it a more attractive event for both volunteers and runners, and it may explain why we had an unexpected high number of runners (34) despite only a few pre-registrations. Race day registration and chip timing was kindly taken care of by Jonathan and Lynn Hoskins with equipment provided by Vancouver-based RaceHeadquarters. A pre-race briefing was required to explain the few race regulations and the fact that we had official permission to ignore the road closure due to a land slump on Drayton Harbor Road, and the race commenced almost on time.
My son Anton and I spent most of the race driving around the course, putting up and taking down warning signs and keeping the volunteers at the aid stations and road junctions informed of progress. Joel Pearson, running his first ever marathon, almost immediately surged into a commanding lead; his speed was such that it was hard to keep ahead of him and let the volunteers know of his impending arrival well before we had anticipated seeing the first runner. A couple of other runners were not far behind, with Annie Thiessen soon establishing her own clear dominance of the female field. The quality of the field was impressive, with Mel Preedy making it look easy at age 72.
The volunteers had relatively little to do except wave their arms and stomp their feet to keep warm until the sun reached their locations. They seemed to enjoy the day, and told me that they got many expressions of interest and support from passers-by who wondered what was going on. Rick and Jean’s explanation that they were running a lemonade stand to help put their daughter through college didn’t quite convince the well-heeled residents of Semiahmoo. It seems clear that we could generate a lot of support and participation from the local population with a bit more publicity, and the potential for a major race expansion in future years was very obvious. Plans in that direction are afoot.
Joel cranked his way through the halfway point in an awe-inspiring 1:20, looking fresh, and his pursuers were not exactly limping along either. It was during this second loop of the course that I decided that I was glad not to be running; I have done this race often enough to know how it feels at that point and I was in no hurry for a re-enactment. The nice part was the warm sunshine, but judging by the lines of salty sweat on the faces of the runners the cooling breeze that sprang up around midday was equally welcome.
I barely made it to the finish line in time to watch Joel bring it home in just under 2:50. His stride still looked good but he was clearly hurting as he crossed; it was a very gutsy performance. We had one other finisher in under 3 hours, and then there was a steady trickle across the line until the last one came home in about 4:45. It was fun to listen to the conversations at the finish line; my son Anton was stunned by some of the stories he heard from the hard-core ultra-runners that graced the event, like the guy who ran down to the race from Surrey, did the marathon in 3:20, and then set off to run back home.
The runners were all very complimentary about the race – mostly, I suspect, because we had good weather and great scenery and trail-runners are tolerant people - but we got a lot of suggestions for ways in which we might improve future events. One twist we intend to adopt as a tradition was the winning awards, created in a moment of inspired boredom by those waiting at the finish: pieces of driftwood collected on the spot and inscribed (with some creative misspelling) by marker-pen in commemoration of this historic event. We were even able to list the finish time on these personalized trophies before handing them over to the winners. It was a truly inspired creation, perfectly capturing the ‘no effort or expense spared’ philosophy that is the guiding spirit of this event.
Your race directors Leigh Foley and I look forward to putting on an even better race next year, when we expect to see the number of participants swell tremendously. Our thanks to all those who helped make this event a reality, including Alison for the protracted permit negotiations, Rick for taking care of the website, and the many volunteers on the course.