By David Yon
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,
starving hysterical naked,
(Allen Ginsberg – first line from Howl – now 50 years old)
It seemed like such a pleasant run out on this out and back course. I love the half marathon because the early miles are usually run at a pace that is tolerable, while the distance is not so great that you have to break down any walls to finish. But on this day, on the eve of Halloween and in the 50th year since Ginsberg’s salute to the Beat Generation, an extra ghoulish surprise waited for the runners as they turned around the halfway mark and headed to the finish. A tailwind that seemed barely perceptible on the way out, turned into a howling head wind that made covering the ground home much harder.
Mike Martinez tucked in the middle of a group of five runners for protection and then, with a mile or so to go, took off to claim the win and thirty grand prix points. Mike finished in a time of approximately 1:21:18 to best Miles Gibson, last year’s winner. On the women’s side, Sheryl Rosen, finished fourth overall to capture the women’s title with a time of something close to 1:22:55. Carl Nordhielm and Tony Guillen rounded out the top five.
The race started with a tribute to Jimmy Hoskins, its longtime director who lost his life to a heart attack this past year. Jimmy is missed and was a critical part of this race.