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Portland man wins Circle the Bay honors
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Monday, August 03, 2009 | No comments posted.
NORTH BEND — Rich Skorczewski is in the heavy training portion of his schedule as he prepares for the Chicago Marathon in October.
That’s why he was up at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday for a 20-mile workout at home in steamy Portland, where the temperature had risen to 85 by the time he was done.
Skorczewski, the runaway winner of Saturday’s Circle the Bay run, was excited when the morning brought overcast skies and relatively cool temperatures. Still, there was one weather element he hadn’t counted on.
“It’s very humid,” Skorczewski said, a few moments after crossing the finish line for the 36th-annual 30-kilometer race in 1 hour, 54 minutes, 29 seconds. “I felt like I was breathing through a straw on a few of the uphills.”
The 31-year-old, with a lifetime marathon best of 2 hours and 23 minutes, had hoped to finish Saturday’s race in an hour and 45 minutes.
“It was not a day to run fast,” he said. “When I hit 12 miles, I knew I had to throttle back.”
Skorczewski left the rest of the 59 individuals and 17 relay teams behind from the start, clicking off the first several miles in 5:30 or 5:31.
“That guy went out way hard,” said 2008 champion Josh Masterson of Springfield, who finished second Saturday in 2:03:56. “I tried to go out with him. There was no way.”
Masterson, who also is training for the Chicago Marathon, had won his only two previous appearances in Circle the Bay.
“I’m disappointed because I didn’t win,” he said. “I’ll be back for sure. It’s a great little event.”
Former Coos Bay resident Justin Welch was third, another 10 minutes and change behind Masterson in 2:14:02.
While there never was any doubt Skorczewski would be the overall champion, women’s winner Donna Eads was surprised when she was told she had won.
“I just did it for a training run,” said the 45-year-old Eads, who lives in Roseburg and finished 14th overall in 2:33:12. Eads is preparing for the Portland Marathon, which is a week before the race in Chicago.
“I think it’s my best time,” said Eads, who ran Circle the Bay for the third time. “I’m getting smarter in my old age. I knew that last 10K was toughest and to save energy for it.”
The first 14 miles of the race are over a flat or gently rolling portion of the course. The last four miles include a series of tough hills between Kentuck Golf Course and U.S. Highway 101, then a trek across the McCullough Bridge.
Eads passed North Bend resident Libby Hetrick, 27, in the second half of the race. Hetrick was the second woman across, finishing in 2:35:03.
Her result could be somewhat surprising because she’s only been serious about running since moving to the Bay Area 21⁄2 years ago.
Hetrick grew up in Montana, where she was a swimmer. Last September, she participated in the Prefontaine Memorial Run, a 10-kilometer race that was her longest at the time. Now she’s done a half-marathon and the Circle the Bay.
“I hated running in high school with a passion,” Hetrick said. “I burned out on swimming. I needed a way to stay in shape.”
She said she likely eventually will run a marathon.
The fourth person to cross the finish line, Ben Adams, was part of the champion relay team, Frannie and the Coasties.
The team, which also included fellow Coast Guardsman Dane Martin and recent Southwestern Oregon Community College standout Francesca Frasier, finished in 2:15:28.
Frasier, a three-time All-American at Southwestern and future Hillsdale College (Michigan) runner, met Adams in church and took a class with Martin. The group didn’t aim to win Saturday.
“We were just running it for fun,” Adams said.
Not that the group was complaining about finishing first.
“That’s awesome,” said Martin.
The runner-up team also was out just for fun Saturday.
Kassy Lynass recruited fellow 2006 North Bend graduates Kevin and Trevin Sundbaum for the Hillcrest Reloaded team just over a week before the race.
Lynass, a student at Montana State University, and the Sundbaum twins, who study at Oregon State University, finished in 2:17:42.
The top walker was Lenore Charles of North Bend, who finished in 3:07:09.
One age-group record was set, by 70-year-old Bob Vaughn of Rogue River, who finished in 2:43:40, to break the old record in the 70-74 age group by 12 minutes.
Results from Saturday’s race can be found in today’s Scoreboard.
That’s why he was up at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday for a 20-mile workout at home in steamy Portland, where the temperature had risen to 85 by the time he was done.
Skorczewski, the runaway winner of Saturday’s Circle the Bay run, was excited when the morning brought overcast skies and relatively cool temperatures. Still, there was one weather element he hadn’t counted on.
“It’s very humid,” Skorczewski said, a few moments after crossing the finish line for the 36th-annual 30-kilometer race in 1 hour, 54 minutes, 29 seconds. “I felt like I was breathing through a straw on a few of the uphills.”
The 31-year-old, with a lifetime marathon best of 2 hours and 23 minutes, had hoped to finish Saturday’s race in an hour and 45 minutes.
“It was not a day to run fast,” he said. “When I hit 12 miles, I knew I had to throttle back.”
Skorczewski left the rest of the 59 individuals and 17 relay teams behind from the start, clicking off the first several miles in 5:30 or 5:31.
“That guy went out way hard,” said 2008 champion Josh Masterson of Springfield, who finished second Saturday in 2:03:56. “I tried to go out with him. There was no way.”
Masterson, who also is training for the Chicago Marathon, had won his only two previous appearances in Circle the Bay.
“I’m disappointed because I didn’t win,” he said. “I’ll be back for sure. It’s a great little event.”
Former Coos Bay resident Justin Welch was third, another 10 minutes and change behind Masterson in 2:14:02.
While there never was any doubt Skorczewski would be the overall champion, women’s winner Donna Eads was surprised when she was told she had won.
“I just did it for a training run,” said the 45-year-old Eads, who lives in Roseburg and finished 14th overall in 2:33:12. Eads is preparing for the Portland Marathon, which is a week before the race in Chicago.
“I think it’s my best time,” said Eads, who ran Circle the Bay for the third time. “I’m getting smarter in my old age. I knew that last 10K was toughest and to save energy for it.”
The first 14 miles of the race are over a flat or gently rolling portion of the course. The last four miles include a series of tough hills between Kentuck Golf Course and U.S. Highway 101, then a trek across the McCullough Bridge.
Eads passed North Bend resident Libby Hetrick, 27, in the second half of the race. Hetrick was the second woman across, finishing in 2:35:03.
Her result could be somewhat surprising because she’s only been serious about running since moving to the Bay Area 21⁄2 years ago.
Hetrick grew up in Montana, where she was a swimmer. Last September, she participated in the Prefontaine Memorial Run, a 10-kilometer race that was her longest at the time. Now she’s done a half-marathon and the Circle the Bay.
“I hated running in high school with a passion,” Hetrick said. “I burned out on swimming. I needed a way to stay in shape.”
She said she likely eventually will run a marathon.
The fourth person to cross the finish line, Ben Adams, was part of the champion relay team, Frannie and the Coasties.
The team, which also included fellow Coast Guardsman Dane Martin and recent Southwestern Oregon Community College standout Francesca Frasier, finished in 2:15:28.
Frasier, a three-time All-American at Southwestern and future Hillsdale College (Michigan) runner, met Adams in church and took a class with Martin. The group didn’t aim to win Saturday.
“We were just running it for fun,” Adams said.
Not that the group was complaining about finishing first.
“That’s awesome,” said Martin.
The runner-up team also was out just for fun Saturday.
Kassy Lynass recruited fellow 2006 North Bend graduates Kevin and Trevin Sundbaum for the Hillcrest Reloaded team just over a week before the race.
Lynass, a student at Montana State University, and the Sundbaum twins, who study at Oregon State University, finished in 2:17:42.
The top walker was Lenore Charles of North Bend, who finished in 3:07:09.
One age-group record was set, by 70-year-old Bob Vaughn of Rogue River, who finished in 2:43:40, to break the old record in the 70-74 age group by 12 minutes.
Results from Saturday’s race can be found in today’s Scoreboard.
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