Cal had it's largest field in history, 4000 entries, due to the many runners hoping to qualify for the prestigious 100th running of the Boston Marathon next April. (Last year, when the qualifying started, Clint, Dick and I secured our Boston entry early by running Cal in under 3:10) The weather was perfect! Of course, after running in a freezing downpour last year, anything would seem better. Here's a look at some of this year's "players"...

My goal was to break 3 hrs. by running 6:50 pace compared with 7:15 pace last year.

Dave Davis, who has provided me much racing strategy and training advice, was back on the marathon scene, after running injuries and a new son, with a 3:20 goal for qualifying, or better yet, a 3:05 to gain additional team points.

Friends, Todd Sprague and Trudi Hughes, both triathletes, are attempting first marathon. Todd, a "natural" runner, is going for a gutsy 3:10 qualifying time (7:15 pace) Trudi has watch set for 8:40 pace to get her under 3:50.

Clint Gaver was sidelined due to a back injury 2 weeks earlier.

The start was crowded. The usually "too fast"
first mile was 7:20 which had us already 30 seconds behind our pace! We ran the next 3 mi. at 6:40 pace
to get back on track. I was running with 2 friends,
Nick & Ryan, also trying to break 3 hrs. All of a sudden I hear Todd, "Hey guys!" He decided to gamble and
run 6:50 pace instead of his planned 7:15. He looked good but I was worried because of a marathon "rule"
I'd been taught: Like a bank, any extra time taken out in the beginning had to be paid back WITH INTEREST in the end. Todd was taking out 25 seconds every mile. At 10mi he quit drawing on the bank, slowed his pace, but the interest was building. At 20mi when he wanted to cash in the extra 5 minutes he borrowed, he actually owed 30 minutes! He finished in 3:40 which is still great for a first marathon.

I saw Dave at 4 mi., he was running 7:10 pace and must have had a good start off the line. Dave ran a smart race but after passing 19 miles the wheels started falling off. I think that was when he realized that it had been years since he ran over 19 miles! Well, at "The Wall" (20 miles) Dave re-evaluated, stretched, and opened Plan B, the Boston qualifying plan. Dave qualified easily with 3:16 and, more amazingly, was seen the next day doing speed-work on the levy!

Trudi was following her 8:40 pace religiously and was drinking plenty. When Trudi got to mile 20 she didn't see "The Wall" (Probably because Todd hit The Wall SO HARD that it was destroyed as it toppled down on him). Trudi finished her first marathon in a well-planned 3:48.

At mile 15, Nick, Ryan & I were sticking to the 6:50 pace. But the troops were getting restless. We were all experiencing sore muscles and were a little worried. By 17 we were running 6:35 pace. Too fast. Reluctantly, I let them go. I didn't want to borrow too much from the bank. I ate my energy packets and drank. It was great to see the Metal Bridge at Sac State, a significant milestone. My energy was good, I felt strong, but my quads were hurting more with each step. At mile 23 I picked it up. The quads felt better going faster, maybe because of different muscles. I passed Ryan, he was feeling the effects of the fast pace. I started counting down "The Avenues" from 70 to 8, the cheers made me feel stronger, my friend, Kiet, started riding a bike next to me encouraging me to catch people. A couple miles to go, I'm running 6:15 pace and having a great time. I must be passing 300 people in the last 3 miles! We're so close but there are still people walking, unable to convince their legs to give one last effort. Turning the last 2 corners is tricky; the legs are working hard but responding slowly.

The beautiful FINISH line! At the finish I can hardly stop. It hurts more to stop. My time is 2:56:52, mission accomplished! Within a minute my legs realize it's over and have "checked out". I know for a few days it will be hard to walk or even sit down. I turn in time to see a pack of runners sprinting for the finish. Some of them break 3 hrs. and some just miss it as a big "3" and 4 zeros light up the clock.