Local runners chase elite times in Chicago

On most October days, 80-degree temperatures would bring smiles.

But Sunday was not an ordinary day in Chicago. It was marathon day. And for a team of dedicated runners from Clark County, it was a chance to make a run at qualifying for the Olympic Trials, the endgame in a process that for some was a couple of years in the making.

For them, the warm temperatures were unwelcome.

“I didn’t deal with it very well,” Matt Urbanski said.

But the 30-year-old Vancouver runner did finish the 26.2-mile race. So, too did five other members of the East County Running Club, a team that formed from informal training sessions. The group of about 10 dedicated runners meets each day after work to run the Heritage Trail on the south shore of Lacamas Lake. Once a week they gather at Union High School for track workouts.

Theirs is not an elite club, according to Urbanski. They are every-day runners with a competitive streak. They enjoy competing against college runners during track season, and do not mind setting big goals.

Trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials, for example.

The plans for this Chicago Marathon began in July of 2009, shortly after Jesse McChesney, Oscar Bauman and Urbanski were three of the top five finishers in the Sauvie Island Marathon. They chose the 2010 Chicago Marathon because the fast, flat course, is known to produce fast times and they were hoping to finish faster than 2 hours and 19 minutes, the time needed to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Sunday’s warm weather in the Windy City prevented that. In fact, McChesney noted that organizers projected as many as 70 finishers Sunday would better the Olympic Trials standard, but only 14 did.

McChesney missed the Olympic qualifying time by 13 minutes. But his time of 2:31:43 made the 22-year-old the 90th finisher. It also was 30 seconds faster than his only previous marathon, that Sauvie Island race he won on July 4, 2009.

Julie Urbanski, Matt’s wife, also had a personal-best run (3:32:32). Eric Dolezal, routinely among the top runners at local races, finished his first marathon in 2:48:47.

“It’s a completely different race,” Dolezal said, shortly after a Monday swim in Lake Michigan. “It’s all about pacing yourself.

“You’ve just got to keep yourself motivated throughout the race. Once my legs started cramping up, I just kept moving and set little goals.”

Dolezal said he will run another marathon.

Chasing elite times on the fast Chicago Marathon course was the first big race for the East County Running Club. They made the trip representing the Portland-based Bowerman Athletic Club, but wore the blue shorts that have become a recognized East County Running Club trademark at local races.

McChesney was the fastest finisher for the Bowerman AC men, helping that club to a fourth-place finish in the team standings.

Alex Asai, 26, finished in 3:07:56. Oscar Bauman, 37, finished in 3:17:12.

If Sunday’s trip to Chicago didn’t provide the coming-out party the group envisioned for the East County Running Club, it was hardly a wasted trip. Most of them started at the front of the pack in the group of elite development runners who were able to run out front of the masses.

Early in the race, Matt Urbanski glanced at the runner next to him. It was 1984 Olympic Marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, on her way to running an American record 2:47:50 for women ages 50-54.

That brush with greatness, the crowds of spectators and fellow runners, and the sense of accomplishment from persevering through cramping legs to reach the finish line provided some nice memories — and an experience upon which to build.

Matt Urbanski said in the future the team will train with the goal of producing at least one negative split — running a mile faster than the previous one — over the course of the marathon.

“Whether that means starting the race slower, or training differently, we’re going to figure out how to do that.”

They’re also going to figure out what big goal to chase next.

Whatever that is, they would be happy to have a larger party on the journey. Urbanski said that some current college athletes trained alongside the East County Running Club over the summer, and that several young runners have expressed interest in the group.

“We’re always out here,” Urbanski said at a pre-Chicago training session. “Whoever else is out here training is welcome to join us. The more, the merrier.”

Paul Danzer covers Community Sports for The Columbian. Reach him at 360-735-4521 or paul.danzer@columbian.com.