Beginning with the Bellingham Bay Marathon Expo Saturday, September 26, 2015, BDP had a booth offering pace bands, information regarding the pacers and goos. We had a great time alongside the BBM Information Booth, getting to know the event organizers and all the small and large details that constitute a big race weekend. It was great to see the eager and excited faces of those who would be competing in events anywhere from the 5k to the marathon the following day, Sunday, September 27, 2015. At the end of the expo, racers who had purchased the pre-race meal were served with craft sandwiches, sliced fruit, tea, lemonade, coffee and had the option of a cash bar.

Early the next morning marathon racers were loaded up onto buses at the host hotel, Lakeway Inn, and taken to the start line at the Lummi Nation School. The morning light filtered in slowly and town clocks read brisk temperatures in the high 30’s. Runners had a place to stay warm inside the Wex’liem Community Building, and lines for the portos moved quickly before pacers stood in numerical order at the start, gathering hopefuls and those with a time in mind to tackle. This year is only the second year the Bellingham Bay Marathon has offered pacers, and BDP is thrilled to be a part of it. If you’re interested in pacing next year, please feel free to contact us at Bellinghamdistanceproject@gmail.com with inquiries! We’d love to have you.

At 7:30 am, alongside upbeat music, the start of the race commenced and on into the chilled, low-hanging clouds and along the water, racers filtered at varying paces. All volunteers, though bundled up from the cold, were alive in spirit and clapping hands. The walkers had started an hour before, at 6:30 am.

At 9:00 am, an hour and a half after the marathon start, the 1/2 marathon competitors set off from the Depot Market Square. Shortly after them, at 9:30 am, the 5K and 10K racers were off. While all were pounding the pavement, the Market Depot played live music, food vendors set up shop, the beer garden opened and Sam Alexander announced as racers came through.

The Bellingham Herald posted an article post race that highlights some of yesterday’s great achievements. Here’s a little blurb:

The Bellingham Bay Marathon is becoming so popular and prestigious, the event is attracting many high-caliber runners from outside Whatcom County. Men’s winner Jacob Goertz of Portland, Ore., two-time defending champion Steve DeKoker from Seattle and 20-year-old University of Washington student Alex Rockhill from Seattle all broke the course record on Sunday, Sept. 27. They turned the ninth annual event into by far the most competitive, finishing within 53 seconds of each other as they all surpassed 2 hours and 30 minutes. In all, the four-race program attracted 2,779 registrants, including 242 men and 222 women for the marathon.

Goertz, 25, who competed in the NCAA Division III nationals for Wheaton College in Illinois, was running in only his fifth marathon and his first in Bellingham. He finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 41 seconds, breaking Justin Gillette’s course record by 1 minute and 13 seconds.

“I was pretty excited (at the 20-mile mark), so I felt good enough to keep pushing it. I thought I had a shot,” the soft-spoken Goertz said. “This is kind of nice!”

That was the understatement of the day, considering the times of the second- and third-place runners. DeKoker, 34, who was a four-year Western Washington University runner, surpassed his race time goal while finishing second in 2:29.28, more than 30 seconds better than his winning times of the past two years, when he became the first two-time champion. Rockhill, a 20-year-old who does not run for the Huskies but was a state cross-country qualifier for Nathan Hale High, was third in 2:29.34.

“I wasn’t happy until I realized I was on pace to run my fastest marathon here,” said DeKoker, whose best of a dozen career marathons is 2:27.15 in Eugene, Ore. “I finished strong. Jacob finished with the fastest over the last four miles. All three of us led (substantial portions of the way).”

The women’s winner was 31-year-old scientist Sophia Liu, a post-doctoral fellow at UW who grew up in China and won last year’s Seattle Marathon. Her time of 2:54.47 for her first Bellingham appearance was the second-fastest winning women’s effort in Bellingham Bay history.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful here,” said Liu, who earned her doctorate at age 30 from Indiana’s Ball State University in exercise physiology. “It’s just jaw-dropping! It’s just the most beautiful course (the race started not far from Gooseberry Point on the Lummi Reservation). I recommend everyone to run here.”

Liu was inspired to begin running not long after arriving in the United States.

“I started running in 2010, as a way of handling the pressure of my studies,” said Liu. “I led all the way today.”

Defending women’s champion Rika Hatachi, 48, from Coquitlam, B.C., was second in 3:00.11 and third was Bellingham’s Tanya Belrose in 3:22.42. Belrose earned the distinction of being the only local runner in the top three of either marathon.

“I’m still happy,” said Hatachi, “running my best in my second Bellingham marathon.” In addition to retaining the title in women’s masters division (40 and older), she saw her husband, Tatsuya Hatachi, win the men’s masters honor while finishing seventh overall in 2:44.34. Local men in the top 10 marathon runners were Bellingham’s Mark Burke, fifth in 2:43.16, and Bellingham’s Casey Barten, eighth in 2:45.47. Along with Belrose, local top 10 women included Ferndale’s Abbey Drury, fourth in 3:27.37; Bellingham’s Amy Myers, fifth in 3:28.18; Bellingham’s Caitlin McGrane, ninth in 3:35.53; and Bellingham’s Hazel Clapp, tenth in 3:36.07. The half-marathon also produced only one local placer in the top three…Read more HERE!

Thank you the event staff, Race Director, pacers, and especially thank you to all volunteers that helped, as your generosity aided in the experience of those who competed in all events during the BBM! It was cool to see so many of our youth, decked in Blue on Blue Sunday!