&. SHOWING THE STRAIN of having just ran 26 miles are (from left to right) Andre Gerard from Victoria, Neville Flazagan trom Kamdoops, and me from North Vancouver. (Pip Stairs and Gill Skaw photos) The day they stopped the traffic on Hastings FROM PAGE B1 great because it enticed the spectators to come out and give a fantastic amount of support to total strangers involyed in a totally insane activity. In fact it was the support of the spectators more than anything, I think, that gave Many runners the incentive to keep going. How impressive would anybody look if they passed out just after a wino in Gastown shouts out “you're looking great kid?” After a couple of hours of running, the beauty of a totally clear sky begins to pall. The two circuits around Stanley Park were nice because it was in the shade, but as we headed into downtown Vancouver the heat began to take hold. The Georgia Street viaduct was probably the worst point for this because it was just a concrete desert under the harsh un- sympathetic glare of the sun With the increase tn beat, my use of the aid stations became more frequent after the 10 mile mark. Although I found 1 couldn't take more than a gulp or so of water al every stop, | made hberal use of both the drinking water and the sponges to keep myself cool The Pro 929-2611 GOLF? Seymour Golf & Country Club still has a few memberships available in Men’s Full Play category. For information please phone For the last part of the race I was soaked, not with sweat, but with lovely ice cold water. The aid stations were all manned by members of 400 strong team of volunteers “who, under the supervision of Don Basham, kept everything running smoothty and acted as lifesavers to dying runners. The police did a good job as well as the fearlessly blocked even Hastings Street so that runners could cross. For one day in Vancouver the runner and not the automobile was catered to and, for a runner who has had to cross Hastings Street in rush hour, that in itself made the Vancouver In- ternational worth running. Of all the volunteers one nameless woman stands out in my mind. She was the one who at the 22 mile mark ran up and handed me a sponge after | had made an uncoordinated lunge for 1 and missed, as I went past an aid statbon. Uncoordinated b ecause by that pomt my body was just pot func tuoning properly any more ] was just a running machine that placed one leg in front of another and was slowing down munute by minute IMPORTANT ASIDE When running a marathon. wear a good pair of running My excellent Nike shoes The Office 929-5491 Road Runners turned out to be nat so excellent over very long distances and at the end ut felt ike I was pounding the pavement with bare feet. We'll now skip an eternity of painful moments and go Straight to the good part, after the 25 mile mark, when I realized I was goimg to finish in under three hours. The good part that every runner looks forward to: as you come over the top of the final hill and see the finish line at the end of a road ined with cheering spectators. If you're Eke me you find you have just enough encrgy left for one final sprint over the finish line. After that point, there's not much to add. I woke up on Monday morning, got out of bed, and promptly almost fell down again. “After what you did to me yesterday how can you even dare to expect me to func- tion today.” my body screamed. SINGLET s7v SHORTS nryton 87 se Kelly’s PRO SHOP 1729 Lonsdale 988-2526 1 Lmped to work, sot Somewhere in this article marathon but since | don’ have a complete list it can't be done. But, congratulations anyway. Speedy Mufiler will give you the shirt off their back! We're giving a free T-Shirt with each repair this month at 1910 Marine Drive daring to tell it that I was’ there should be an honour | planning my next marathon = role of all the North Shore people who completed the for July. Here are some more reasons to come to Speedy: e Well take you under your car to show you the probtem e Youd get the nght parts and onty the parts you need e We'll give you our estimate and guarantee to stick to it. then we At Speedy You’re a Somebody... All the Way! SPEEDY 1910 Manne DOnve North Vancouver (Gust east of Capilano Fid ) Quarantee your new muffler for as long as you own your Car, that's our Before and After Guarantee e We're fast and economical M KING 8 986-3461 UFFLER