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DAM to DAM
Is there another race that represents Iowa
running more than Dam to Dam? Frankly the answer is easy--NO!
The race was started by road racers of the ’70s
and it continues this tradition. The race has maintained a classic
distance of 20K; the challenge of running a 10K times two. The course
has changed little and the rewards have been to complete the distance.
With marathons being out of many people’s
reach, Dam to Dam seems to revive an early summer goal to go far
enough to tire but not so far to fall apart. There has been little
doubt that each year this race displays Iowa talent as well as any
race. Additionally each runner is treated like the next.
The race evolved out of a 10 miler -- The Riverfront
Run -- presented by the YMCA in the late ’70s. The first year
set the stage to run from the newly created Saylorville Dam to the
Center Street Dam in Des Moines. While the race hasn’t finished
on the Center Street Dam, the image remains of a race from Dam to
Dam.
1980 saw 375 finishers with two
of Des Moines all-time best runners finishing first in the male
and female divisions. Bob Becker won in 1:05:50 edging out an always
close rival Raul DeAnda by 50 seconds. Tina Gandy won easily in
1:17:09.
1981 had 583 finishers. Kim Sprain
started his 3 year reign winning, barely, in 1:05:53. Shane Dooley
was 9 seconds back and Bob Becker was third. Tina Gandy won easily,
again, in 1:14:14.
1982 continued the upswing in
finishers and popularity of the race with 927 finishers. Kim Sprain
won in 1:02:43 with Doug Nelson 24 seconds back and Shane Dooley
38 seconds from victory. Sandy DeNoon won the women’s division
with little competition in 1:15:43.
1983 represented the "running
boom" at its peak with 1269 finishers. Kim Sprain continued
his dominance with a 1:03:36 win, with Gregg Newell 27 seconds back.
While the Sprain era was ending the Karen Clark era was starting
as she won in 1:14:27. Sandy DeNoon was second and Marsha Yokas
finished third.
1984 had 1174 finishers. Richard
Kaitany won his first of 3 Dam to Dams in 1:03:02. Karl Junginger
was second 41 seconds back. In one of the toughest finishes ever
Jan Cain beat Raul DeAnda for third by one second. Karen Clark continued
her talent for victory in 1:14:14 with Dawn Lentsch second and Sharon
Greenwood in third.
1985 greeted 1121 finishers with
great weather. Phil Coppess sparkled in a course record 59:23. Following
Phil was Vern Iwansin in 1:01:40 and Rex Karamitros was third. Karen
Clark won her third straight Dam to Dam by breaking the course record
she had tied the year before, running a 1:13:09. Lisa Whittman was
second in 1:14:31 with Tami Colby third.
1986 began the streak of 3 hot
years as 1095 finishers struggled from Dam to Dam. Phil Coppess
defended his ’85 title in 1:03:47 with Brian Smith 28 seconds
back and Gregg Newell finished third. Connie Prince won the women’s
division in 1:13:51 as Suzanne Youngberg was second and Tami Colby
repeated in third.
1987 had 1217 finishers. Richard
Kaitany won his second Dam to Dam in 1:02:04 barely edging out Tim
Dooling by 6 seconds. Vern Iwansin was third. Muriel Nauman won
the women’s field in 1:20:33 with Sharon Greenwood a scant
7 seconds behind. Jane Thompkins-Lindgren was third.
1988 saw 1166 finishers. Richard
Kaitany won again in less than ideal conditions in 1:00:21. Brian
Smith was second and Jeff Wubbena finished third. Suzanne Youngberg
sizzled in a course record 1:12:26. Jane Asimus and Bonnie Sons
finished second and third respectively.
1989 celebrated the 10th anniversary
with 1251 finishers. On a fog-shrouded Saylorville Dam runners were
greeted with perfect summer running conditions, 52 degree temperatures.
On the men’s side the battle included four men within 45 seconds
of the winner Mike Carney in 1:03:25. Phil Kauder was second. Bonnie
Sons won the women’s title with a 1:14:25, Kris Wallace finished
second and Elaine VanDyck was third.
1990 began a new decade in sparkling
fashion with 1290 finishers. On the women’s side Janice Ettle’s
scored a record breaking time by over two minutes winning in 1:10:08
with Catherine Saxon and Kris Wallace following. Matthew Waight
showed his strength easily defeating Mike Carney winning in 1:02:33.
Tim Blackstone followed in third.
1991 saw 1230 finish this classic
without starting on the Saylorville Dam. Because of high water the
race moved its’ starting line, a first. Brent Friesth became
the men’s champ in 1:02:31, ISU runner Roland Pauwels placed
second 1:29 behind. In the women’s race Janice Ettle defended
her title with a 1:10:53 followed by Louise Mohanna over four minutes
back.
1992, while being the 13th year,
was certainly not bad luck as a record 1385 runners finished. The
course change this year was welcomed, as it hugged the river's edge
at mile 11 instead of climbing the Penn Street hill. Dave Halferty
and Terry Ramlo dueled their way to the finish, Dave narrowly winning
by 7 seconds in 1:04 even. Bonnie Sons added her second victory
in 1:12:56.
1993 found race officials jockeying
around for a suitable date. For 1237 finishers the weekend was dry
and cool and one of the few that the Saylorville Dam was usable
and Birdland Drive not flooded. Dave Halferty looking for his second
victory was passed at mile 11 by Carl Fritz who won in 1:02:38 with
Dave 12 seconds back. For the first time in Dam to Dam history no
Iowa based male was in the top 3. Christy Mettler had an easy time
winning the women's side of the race in 1:15:38 with Cynthia Schroeder
almost three minutes back.
1994 greeted a record crowd of
1407 finishers. The 15th year saw an equal number finish each Dam
to Dam. ISU great Ian Robinson captured the men's crown in 1:02:08
towing the best men's field since 1985. Orlando Velasquez was runner-up
35 seconds back. On the women's side Bonnie Sons captured her third
victory, tieing three others who have captured a trio of Dam to
Dams. Renee Kruse finished 41 seconds back as runner-up. A new master
runner, Charlie Gray, ran a startling 1:05:10.
1995 had 1370 finishers, a third
best number in history matching David Kogo's third best time in
history winning in 1:01:40. Former ISU runners Steve Brooks and
Sean Mulheron followed. Angela Anderson had no problem taking the
women's crown in 1:14:27, Karlene Herrell and Lisa Marshall were
over two minutes back. The near perfect running day fortunately
didn't match an extremely hot summer.
1996 saw the best women's field
in history finish among 1386 runners. Cindy James held off three
former champions running a 1:12:44. The previous year first and
second place women moved down a place as Angela Anderson and Karlene
Herrell were almost two and three minutes behind Cindy. A newcomer
to Iowa running Robb Finegan lead from start to finish scoring a
1:02:42 victory with Carl Fritz and Thomas Raunig over two minutes
behind. For the first time in Dam history the awards ceremony moved
indoors as rain came over two hours into the race.
1997 continued the strong showing
of runners as 1404 finished. Renee Kruse blasted a 1:12:26, tying
for third best ever. Karlene Herrell in second, maintained her top
finishes of late, trailing by almost 3 minutes. Sean Mulheron took
the Men's honor with a 1:02:34 time, Dan Hostager and Jeff Joiner
followed. The number of veterans of every Dam to Dam dropped below
10 this year.
1998 was a crowd pleaser with
1584 finishers enjoying unbelievable weather, 46 degrees at the
start, cloudy for the run and sunny for the awards ceremony. Both
winners hailed from other countries (a first) as Kenyan Elisja Tanui
won the men's title in 1:02:03, 33 seconds ahead of '96 winner,
Robb Finegan with last year's winner Sean Mulheron third. On the
women's side Lithuanian Stefanija Statkuviene matched the winning
time last year running a 1:12:26, followed by Roxi Erickson and
Naoko Ishibe.
1999 was really special. Honorary
Race Director Chuck Jipp saw 2001 finishers in the 20k along with
record numbers in the 5k. While the weather was brutally hot, the
race celebrating 20 years with flair. Newcomers, Cleophas Boor edged
out John Mirth, scoring a 1:04:35 adjusted time (the course was
inadvertently short 177 meters). On the women's side Janice Ettle,
the Dam to Dam record holder, scored a 1:17:08 master's record.
The races were the biggest and best ever, a sign for the next century.
2000 was greeted by cool weather,
a welcomed change from the previous year. After a great 20th year,
surprisingly the 20k continued to grow with 2044 finishers. Bonnie
Sons blew by the competition with a 1:14:34 to set a record for
victories, four. Kurt Keiser edged out a victory, running 1:02:56
winning by two seconds over Matt Wegneka.
2001 duplicated the previous
year's weather and a record 2305 finishers enjoyed a great day.
Bonnie Sons continued her winning ways easily out distancing the
women's field scoring a record fifth victory in 1:14:02. Matt Wegneka
placed second again, battling Jacob Kirwa to the finish. Jacob won
in 1:02:44 and Matt was five seconds back.
2002 was dam hot! After a cool
spring, race day reached over 90 degrees in the afternoon, that
didn't deter a record 2,575 finishers. The men had their greatest
(also slowest) finish on record as a trio were in contention with
a 100 meters to go. Daniel Kinyua outsprinted Julius Rotich and
Jacques Van Rensburg to win in 1:06:04. On the women's side Renee
Kruse won easily running a good 1:14:43 in the heat.
2003 was wonderful weather,
another record setting day with 2,733 finishers. Julius Rotich moved
up one place into the winner's circle as 4 men chased him to finisher.
Julius won in 1:03:34 with Marty Dalton 8 seconds back. On the women's
side 12 women broke the 1:19 barrier, the best field ever. Charne
Rademeyer of South Africa won in 1:11:38, third best time ever followed
by Michelle Ihmels and 5 time winner Bonnie Sons.
2004 celebrated in record fashion.
The 25th year of Dam to Dam had 3,073 finishers, almost doubling
in 6 years. A tight finish for a trio of men as Shadrack Kimeli
won in 1:05:14 with Marcus Murphy 5 seconds back and the 2003 winner
Julius Rotich another 4 seconds back. Robyn Friedman won easily
in 1:15:58 as the first Iowa women winner in 10 years.
2005 topped 5,000 entrants in
all the Dam to Dam races. Another record number of 20 kilometer
runners, 3181, encounter rain prior to the race but dry conditions
throughout the race. Moses Waweru pulled away from Mike Morgan winning
by 8 seconds in 1:03:47. Sara Wells easily won the women's title
in 1:16:49.
2006 enjoyed warm but low humidity
as a record number of finishers, 3530, made the trek. Mike Morgan
pulled away from a talent group of men runners on the east side
of the dam, scoring the third best time ever in 1:01:24. The women
battled as Casey Owens edged Nikole Johns running a 1:15:06.
2007 had good weather with Mathew
Chesang winning easily in 1:04:15 and Robyn Friedman scoring a good
time of 1:13:15. The race continued to grow with 3,974 finishing
the 20km. The 5km with 1,515 finishers was larger in size than the
first 18 Dam to Dam 20km races.
Dam to Dam is a classic race. It starts as many
runs did in the ’70s; in the country with a early morning
start. The start is quiet and peaceful. The first 10K represents
Iowa’s best--cornfields beginning their journey toward harvest.
The last 10K is all urban; complete with city parks, traffic and
concrete. The finish represents the a new era running style with
a downtown finish in the shadow of high rise buildings.
Dam to Dam--a race for all runners to savor. The
tradition of this race has endured the ‘80’s and captures
the hearts of runners into the next century.
by Cal
Murdock
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