seattle marathon

Andy Martin was cruising to victory in the Seattle Marathon on Sunday morning, when he slowed, allowing a tiny, mop-topped figure with blond hair to catch him at the line.




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Not since he pulled away from a fading Brett Winegar with five miles remaining had another runner been this close.

Martin, though, was far from concerned, smiling as he held out a hand for his pursuer to grab. The grinning little man was his 6-year-old son, Charlie, and together they capped Martin's first win in the event with a celebration on the Memorial Stadium turf, joined by his two younger sons and wife, Megan. Martin's winning time was 2:27:11.

It was the first time since 1998 that a runner not named Uli Steidl won the men's division of the marathon. Steidl, the Shoreline man who had won the past eight, did not enter this year, resting in preparation for a 50-mile race in the Bay Area on Saturday.


Andy Rogers / P-I
Seattle Marathon men's winner Andy Martin crosses the finish line with his son, Charlie, 6, at Memorial Stadium.
Martin, who was Steidl's teammate at the University of Portland, finished second last year.

"It was very different (not having Steidl in the race)," Martin said. "I didn't know until my uncle told me (Saturday) he wasn't running. I slept well last night, that's for sure. Once I knew he wasn't running, I knew it was wide open."

Steidl was in attendance Sunday, but did not see his friend's victory. Instead, he trailed his wife, Trisha, along the course, running briefly beside her with their dog, Forest, and watched as his wife overcame an early deficit to win her second consecutive women's championship in a time of 2:59:58. Last year, she won in 3:01.40.

"I felt like I had to win because Uli wasn't here," Trisha Steidl said. "So when I was in third, I had to be very patient. I was like, 'Oh no, I can't be third. Then no Steidl's going to win.' I was like, 'Just be patient. You know this course really well.' "

Both winners faced strong challengers, but it was their knowledge of the course, as well as superior conditioning, that separated them from the field.


Andy Rogers / P-I
Women's Seattle Marathon winner Trisha Steidl gets a hug from her husband, Uli, after crossing the finish line at Memorial Stadium.
Martin decided only last week to enter the race. A graduate of Mount Rainier High School who resides in Los Osos, Calif., Martin has family in the area and was going to spend his Thanksgiving holiday in Seattle. Having run at the Olympic trials Nov. 3 in New York, Martin was uncertain of what shape he would be in.

For the first two miles, he ran alone. Winegar, a former cross-country and distance runner at Montana State who now resides in Shoreline, caught him four miles in, and the pair ran nearly side-by-side for the next 17 miles.

Then came mile 21 and the runners faced the course's toughest challenge -- a short but achingly steep climb up Galer Street followed immediately by another gradual, longer ascent up Madison Street.

Winegar, running in just his sixth marathon and first in Seattle, began to break away, charging up the hill. He quickly tired, and Martin streaked past and never looked back, pulling away and running alone the remainder of the race.

"The hill killed him," Martin said.

Added Winegar, who finished second: "I was dying. I really was. My legs were just going to mush. At that point, it was all I could do to keep going. I wasn't even thinking 'Can I catch him?' He was gone."

Steidl, meanwhile, found herself in third near the nine-mile mark as she and two other runners began distancing themselves from the field.

Steadily, she made up ground, moving into second at 17 miles and had the leader in her sights. Like Martin, Steidl made her move on Galer, overtaking the leader and pushing ahead, never being threatened again.

"I knew (the leader) was hurting," said Steidl, who was joined at the finish by her parents and husband. "I was catching up to her. I figured I'd catch her on the hill, so I wasn't worried too much."

For Steidl, the race was an important piece of her training regimen as she attempts to qualify for the Olympic trials next April in Boston. She will continue to fit her training between her duties as the cross-country and track and field coach at Seattle University.

In January, she will run a marathon in Phoenix where she hopes to achieve a qualifying time. She felt Sunday's race, which along with the satisfaction of another victory in her hometown race, will go a long ways in helping her efforts.

"I learned that I have good endurance," said Steidl, who admitted to feeling some muscle tightness afterward. "Even when I don't feel great, and I can do this and not work 100 percent, by any means then I know things are going really well. I'm hopefully on my way to doing something really good."

thousands of runners lined up near the Space Needle early Sunday for the half-marathon event at the 37th annual Seattle Marathon, the announcer said: Remember, you are running to benefit UW Medical Center patient housing today.

What many runners may not have realized was that not one cent of their race-entry fee ― which costs up to $95 for the half-marathon and $120 for the full marathon ― is destined for charity. Only money that runners decided to donate on top of their entry fees will go to charity.

Last year that amounted to only $12,000 ― 1 percent of revenue ― at an event that now pulls in more than $1 million annually.

The Seattle Marathon Web site plays up the charity connection, with a logo at the top that says "To benefit UW Medical Center Patient & Family Housing Fund."

The Web site also states prominently that the marathon "is organized and run by volunteers in the community."

While race organizers do rely on thousands of volunteers, the Seattle Marathon Association's 2006 tax returns show that the association paid $330,000 in compensation to employees and organizers ― triple the $110,000 it paid two years earlier.

According to the returns, workers employed by the Seattle Marathon Association earned a total of $168,000.

An additional $162,000 went to a for-profit company, LKHA Inc., for "corporate administration." The company is managed by race director Louise Long. The compensation paid to Long's company is up from $40,000 in 2004.

"What she does with the money is up to her. She is the corporation, and we pay her according to a contract," said John Kokes, president of the Seattle Marathon Association, a nonprofit organization.

Kokes said Long's base salary hasn't changed for several years but she has been able to increase her company's total revenue based on an incentive plan for the amount of sponsorships she brings in.

"Some people think she gets an awful lot for doing this," Kokes said. "But if you compare it to an hourly rate, it's probably not that much. She puts in so many hours."

Long, meanwhile, said not all the money paid to LKHA goes to her. Her company employs up to a dozen temporary staffers a month before the event. It's not clear if the money paid to LKHA includes compensation for race timing services, often an expensive part of a race.

"We don't do the event to make a lot of money," Long said.

How much organizers and staffers get paid for other marathons around the country varies.

The Portland Marathon attracts 12,000 runners, about the same as Seattle. A comparison of 2006 tax returns indicates Portland brought in slightly more revenue. The Portland Marathon organization didn't pay any employee wages. It did pay directors and fees for professional fundraising and accounting.

Portland Marathon event director Les Smith said he's organized the marathon for 25 years and has never been paid. He relies on a committee of 80 dedicated volunteers.

"It's a labor of love," he said.

The Portland Marathon cost runners $90, and organizers donated about $200,000 of the entry fees to charity.

Other races in Seattle have a more direct fundraising mission ― and collect much more money for charity.

At this year's annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K fun run, organizers said that of an estimated $1.8 million raised, about 84 percent would go directly to breast-cancer screening, treatment, education and research.

More than 11,000 run

Sunday's race in Seattle was a big success, according to organizers. The cool, sunny morning provided perfect running conditions and more than 11,000 runners turned out. Helping out were 2,500 volunteers, including Christian Bundschu, 15, who said he was in his fifth year checking clothing at Memorial Stadium for his Scout troop.

Runner Karli Reichert, 26, said she paid the full $95 for the half-marathon. She didn't mind because she was sure it was destined for charity. "I'm assuming it's for a good cause," Reichert said. "I would hope so."

Tom Albertson, 17, also assumed he was raising money for charity. He said he found the race fee "steep." With all the organization needed, Albertson added, he could see how costs could add up.

The fee for the full marathon has doubled since 1999.

Kokes said he didn't know whether runners assumed part of their entry fee would go to a charitable cause but that the event was not promoted that way.

When runners register for the race, there is a separate section for making donations. The marathon has raised money for charity this way in previous years, as well.

This year, money donated by runners will help pay housing costs for UW Medical Center patients. As marathon "title sponsor," the medical center provided medical care at this year's event.

Most revenue from fees

According to 2006 tax filings, the Seattle Marathon brought in nearly $1.1 million in total revenue that year, up 40 percent from two years earlier. Three-quarters of that money came from entry fees and other receipts, and $121,000 from gifts.

Aside from compensation, expenses included awards and medals ($198,000); supplies ($171,000); printing and publication ($62,000); fees and permits ($37,000); and advertising ($36,000).

"This venture has grown. We used to do it with a handful of volunteers," Kokes said.

Kokes said Long started out at the Seattle Marathon as a volunteer and then joined the board of directors. She was then asked to serve as race director, and she is in her ninth year in the role.

Long said expenses will account for almost all of this year's marathon income.

"We do not have much left over at the end of the year, just enough