Marathon a winning experience Marathon a winning experience (April 30, 2004)

Three Pleasanton runners find thrills in Boston
by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

The running times may not be record-breakers but the Boston Marathon was so much more for the three Pleasanton men who participated last week.

"It was fabulous, fantastic," said Bill Radulovich, 55, principal of Walnut Grove Elementary. "It was my slowest ever - but the most fun of any."

Organizers had to call on city buses to transport some 2,000 runners left stranded at Boston Commons waiting for a ride to Hopkinton, where the marathon began, Radulovich explained. But his bus had so many riders it broke down. "We had to run a mile and a half to the start," he said with a laugh.

Boston suffered a one-day heat wave on the day of the race, April 19, with temperatures going up to 85 degrees. The hot weather was a boon for him, said Radulovich, plus fun as the residents stood by the roadway with their hoses and sprinklers to cool off the runners.

"I love the heat, I welcomed it," Radulovich said. "But my buddy from Colorado was one of the casualties. He ended up on an IV."

Radulovich said he could tell by his starting and finishing times that he passed 14,000 runners en route, which was an ego boost, even though he finished at 3 hours 53 minutes. "Many were folks who just found it difficult to tolerate the heat," he said.

Dr. Harris Goodman, 38, said the heat slowed him down half an hour. He said runners started to drop off at mile 9 and only 93 percent of the 20,000 finished.

The Red Cross was overwhelmed, he noted, and the Boston newspaper ran photos of runners collapsing, headlined: "The agony of the heat."

"At 3:48 it was my longest marathon," said Goodman. "I was right on schedule until 15 miles, then the heat really started to get to me and I slowed way down."

Nonetheless he said it was a "great experience" and very well organized.

Dave Lowry, 49, the veteran Boston runner, dropped out at mile 14, due to a pulled muscle in his left leg.

"I had done it one week before the race, and it held up until mile 11," Lowry reported. "It got very painful, and I was concerned I would do further damage if I continued."

"It was a sad day for me," he said.

Meanwhile, KPIX weather forecaster Roberta Gonzales, also a Pleasanton resident, said she had a great time running in the London Marathon on April 18. She said that it rained the whole time but she ran her best time ever - 3:42.24.

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