Route 66 marathon notebook: lucky to run
BY GLENN HIBDON & JOHN D. FERGUSON World Sports Writers
Monday, November 19, 2007
Route 66
Marathon men's runner-up
Tommy Manning nearly did not
have a running career after an
accident as a teenager.
"When I was 17, I was in a
motorcycle accident and tore
my posterior cruciate ligament
as a result," said Manning,
who runs for Fleet Feet of Tulsa. "I had reconstructive knee
surgery two years later and
couldn't run for a long time."
Manning's doctor was not
optimistic about his future running goals.
"Before my operation in
1995, my doctor told me I
would never be able to run as
far or as fast again," Manning
said in a pre-race questionnaire. "That gave me a lot of
motivation to come back and
run strong in college and I've
had a pretty good career ever
since."
Record entry: A total of
3,550 runners participated in
some division of the Route 66.
That is up from last year's
2,685.
Runaway groom: It has
been a whirlwind week for
Sand Springs marathoner Billy
Grona. Grona got married Nov.
10 to Catherine Bush, also of
Sand Springs, and then ran
26.2 miles eight days later and
finished third overall.
Running with mom, dad:
Trey Melton, 4, ran the last
one-tenth mile of the half marathon with his mother, Candace. Earlier, he had completed the last one-tenth mile in
the Tulsa Run with his father,
Robert.
"He's been running since
Day One with us," Candace
said.
Japan represented: Yoshiko
Iwama, a 22-year-old senior at
Northeastern State in Tahlequah, represented Japan in the
Route 66 Marathon. Iwama
said she competed in marathons in Japan with her high
school running club.
"I like running everyday and
I wanted to run here because I
wanted to have fun," Iwama
said. "The course was a little
hilly, but the weather was good
and I had no problems."
Iwama is studying nutrition
at NSU and will return to Japan after graduation to become
a medical researcher.
Weather perfect: Route 66
Marathon director Chris Lieber
man was pleased overall with
the day of running.
"The weather was perfect for
running a marathon," Lieberman said of the cool and
cloudy atmosphere. "The finishing times are faster than last
year and they (the runners)
liked the new course. It was a
great day for everybody."
Associated Images:
Tommy Manning shaved
seven minutes off his best
marathon time and finished
second.
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