We Walk! 2009 Results
2009 was the first year for the We Walk! Marathon and Half Marathon.
Many thanks from us to everyone that participated. It was a joy to put on an event for such nice people.
The weather was cold (34 degrees F at marathon start) and windy (25 mph sustained winds from the west, with gusts up to 35 mph). Luckily, it was a tail wind, and the sun peaked in and out of the clouds. The leaves were just fresh out of the buds on most of the trees, and not full sized yet. Hawks flew overhead. Baby ducks and geese were in the ponds. The cows watched everything that went by. Many of the corn fields of summer and fall were not yet planted, but the freshly turned black dirt glistened from yesterday's rain. Wild flowers bloomed in the edges of the woods along the trail. In short, it was a beautiful spring day in Central Minnesota.
We had 26 entrants. 13 in the half marathon and 13 in the marathon. Of the 25 people that started, everyone finished.
Pictures are now available. If you have pictures, we'd be happy to post them for you, or provide a link to where you post pictures.
From Will - lots of middle of the race pictures here
More from Will - lots of middle of the race pictures here
From Bruce - mainly start & finish pictures here
Half Marathon Results
| Bib |
Name (Click for Certificate) |
City,State | Div |
Race Time (click for picture) |
DQ | Award Group | Place |
| 53 | Philip Roy Rogosheske | St. Cloud, MN | walk | 2:27:54 | walk:M:60-64 | 1 | |
| 45 | Anita Macias-Howard | Edina, MN | rw | 2:29:05 | rw:F:50-54 | 1 | |
| 50 | James Newton | Burnsville, MN | walk | 2:36:02 | walk:M:60-59 | 1 | |
| 56 | Mindi Kaye Sorensen | White Bear Lake, MN | walk | 3:36:21 | walk:F:30-34 | 1-tie | |
| 37 | Michelle Marie Daggett | Buffalo, MN | walk | 3:36:21 | walk:F:35-39 | 1 | |
| 55 | Heidi Noel Smith | Buffalo, MN | walk | 3:36:21 | walk:F:30-34 | 1-tie | |
| 58 | Mary Weidenhaft | Apple Valley, MN | walk | 3:56:06 | walk:F:45-49 | 1 | |
| 49 | Ruth Muyskens | Burnsville, MN | walk | 3:56:06 | walk:F:40-44 | 1 | |
| 34 | Brenda Carey | Mapleton, MN | walk | 3:59:41 | walk:F:45-49 | 2 | |
| 35 | Emily Carey | Mapleton, MN | walk | 3:59:41 | walk:F:20-24 | 1 | |
| 51 | Amy Julie Opstad | Stillwater, MN | walk | 4:04:57 | walk:F:35-39 | 2-tie | |
| 42 | Elizabeth Ann Kuhn | Falcon Heights, MN | walk | 4:04:57 | walk:F:35-39 | 2-tie | |
| 44 | Cinda Long | Creston, IA | walk | 4:04:57 | walk:F:55-59 | 1 |
Marathon Results
| Bib |
Name (Click for Certificate) |
City,State | Div |
Race Time (click for picture) |
DQ | Award Group | Place |
| 43 | Will Loew-Blosser | Bloomington, MN | rw | 5:08:49 | walk | walk:M:55-59 | 1 |
| 36 | Kimberly Cline | Minneapolis, MN | walk | 6:09:19 | walk/run | ||
| 38 | Karen Hicks | Dallas, TX | walk | 6:09:19 | walk/run | ||
| 39 | Dorrie Diane Hulsey | Olive Branch, MS | walk | 6:24:45 | walk:F:60-64 | 1 | |
| 59 | Roger Chevalier | St. Cloud, MN | walk | 6:32:08 | walk:M:65-69 | 1 | |
| 54 | KC Rooney | St. Cloud, MN | walk | 6:59:07 | walk:F:20-24 | 1 | |
| 46 | Donald R Martinson | Waukesha, WI | walk | 7:49:34 | walk:M:65-69 | 2 | |
| 47 | Scott Martinson | Waukshea, WI | walk | 7:49:34 | walk:M:35-39 | 1 | |
| 48 | Sherry Martinson | Waukshea, WI | walk | 7:49:34 | walk:F:65-69 | 1 | |
| 52 | Thomas Clifton Peterson | Waterloo, IA | walk | 7:56:45 | walk:M:55-59 | 2 | |
| 40 | Norah Rose Knudsen | Saint Paul, MN | walk | 8:01:38 | walk:F:20-24 | 2 | |
| 57 | Lisa St George | Plum City, WI | walk | 8:01:38 | walk:F:55-59 | 1 |
DQ - we had USATF certified racewalking judges on the course. If 3 walking judges agreed that someone was not racewalking, we moved them into the walk division. If any walking judge saw someone running (defined as having both shoes off the ground at the same time), we moved them into the walk/run division. If someone told us at the finish line (we did not ask) that they ran, even a little, we put them in the walk/run division.
Interesting Side Story - Roger Chevalier walked up to the packet-pickup table on Friday and asked what was going on. After hearing that it was a marathon, Roger thought that would be fun to do, as his wife had something to do on her own on Saturday. Anita called to see if it was ok to add someone this late, as registration was closed, and after hearing that it was, told Roger the news. He left to make sure that it was ok with his wife and then came back and entered. The next day, he walked a 6:32:08 marathon. Not bad for only hearing about it the day before. Check out his finish line picture -- it looks like just a walk in the park. Oh yes, Roger is 67 years young!
Volunteers - we couldn't have done this event without the support of our wonderful volunteers. The marathon water stops were handled by Lynn Riskedal and Chris Swanson. The half marathon water stops were handled by Lauren Hill. The finish line was handled by Anna Olson. Anita Macias-Howard handled packet pickup, bus monitor, and the finish house. Phil Rogosheske found someone to make those wonderful cookies.
Feedback - this is the first time that Dave Daubert and Bruce Leasure have put on a point-to-point marathon and half marathon. Many of you gave us wonderful comments and suggestions about the event. We want to make the next event better by learning from this year's event. So, if you have anything you especially liked, or anything that you'd like changed, please let us know. Even if you told us on the day of the race, it would be good to drop us a note anyway, as we may have forgotten it with what else was going on. Just send an e-mail to: info@walkonmn.org. Look at the feedback we've received so far via e-mail.
Thanks again.
Hope to see you all next year.
Please bring 100 of your closest friends.
Dave Daubert, race director
Bruce Leasure, assistant to the race director