Extra pair pays off in Crater Lake Rim Runs
Herald and News
Klamath Falls, Oregon
August 9, 2009
BY Steve Matthies
H&N Sports Writer
Even though Justin Karr had finished his competition earlier Saturday, the 20-year-old from Tigard played a major role in determining the winner of the 34th annual Crater Lake Rim Runs marathon.
H&N photo by Steve MatthiesThe home stretch: Nicolas Karr approaches the finish line at the Crater Lake Rim Runs marathon Saturday. He won in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 21 seconds. |
“I ran with my little brother’s shoes,” winner Nicolas Karr said. “I forgot my running shoes and, fortunately, Justin brought two pair with him.”
Nicolas Karr, 22, ran the fifth fastest marathon in its 34-year history when he finished the race in his brother’s orange shoes in 2 hours, 46 minutes and 21 seconds. It was the fastest finish since Bekele Tesfaye of Los Angeles won the 1997 race in 2:38:35.
It was a race Karr likely will never forget.
“That was horrendous,” he said. “I don’t think I have ever run slower in miles 9-to-13 than I did today.”
“I don’t train at altitude, so that probably affected me, too,” Karr said.
Saturday was the first Crater Lake venture for the Western Oregon University grad, who competed in his first official marathon.
“It will probably be my last trip here, too,” he said.
Karr, who will begin graduate school at Boston University in the fall, hopes to run more marathons, however.
Like most first-time runners at Crater Lake, Karr, who strode easily past shorter race finish lines, had no idea what was ahead, especially after the difficult 4-mile climb at the end of the 13-mile race.
After finally dropping almost 3,000 feet in altitude, there was the final hill.
“On that last hill, I kept asking people when it was going to end,” Karr said. “This course is incredibly difficult, although the first 6.7 miles was really nice.”
Knowing what to expect
While Karr was caught off guard by the course, Becky Kirschenmann of Klamath Falls knew what to expect.
Her challenge was incredibly different as she placed fifth overall and was the first female runner to cross the marathon finish line in 3:34:33.
“I’m just getting back into it since he came along,” Kirschenmann said, pointing to her 1-year-old son, Joseph. “I like the challenges of the change of scenery rather than the usual road runs.”
Kirschenmann plans to run a 50-mile race over Labor Day weekend, and is thinking about the Portland Marathon.
“I just went out trying to run my race and I was hoping to finish in 3:30,” she said. “I was feeling pretty good at the top of 13 miles and didn’t get caught up in the competition (with sixth-place finisher Abigail Stephens).
“I tried to stay focused and hold my own pace. Whatever happened, happened. But I couldn’t look behind and knew I had to finish strong. I didn’t know if I heard (Stephens’) footsteps behind me, or if my stomach was sloshing.”
Kirschenmann improved on her winning time from two years ago. In becoming the fifth woman to win two Crater Lake marathons, she shaved almost 20 minutes off her previous winning time.
Other pages in this section
- Government will buy $1 million of land in Siskiyou monument – October 30, 2009
- OIT Environmental Science Students Learn at Crater Lake – Oct. 22, 2009
- Three missing people found: hunters, mushroom hunter located Saturday – October 18, 2009
- Crater Lake Wilderness: Oregon’s ‘best idea’ needs protection – October 17, 2009
- Wet weather ends fire season around region – October 13, 2009
- Roosevelt historian: He was a ‘thinker’; Brinkley will share stories from new book inaugural lecture – October 12, 2009
- Prescribed burn postponed at Crater Lake: Park Service to wait until forecasts are more favorable – October 9, 2009
- Prescribed burns set for next few months: Agencies will burn nearly 15,000 acres, mostly in Jackson, Josephine counties – October 9, 2009
- Search exercise to cover area where boy was lost – September 11, 2009
- National Park Service Announces Appointment of Dr. Gary Machlis as Science Advisor to the Director – August 12, 2009
- Wilderness proposed at Crater Lake – August 07, 2009
- Oregon Wild warns legal action on Crater Lake helicopters – August 6, 2009
- Cantwell: Jarvis Well-Qualified for the ‘Greatest Job in the World’ – July 28, 2008
- Senator Wyden issues statement condemning Crater Lake National park helicopter tours – July 27, 2009
- Desert Ridge Wildland Fire continues burning at Crater Lake National Park – July 21, 2009
- Whitney Wildland Fire nears containment at Crater Lake National Park – July 21, 2009
- Cameron (Cam) Sholly has been selected as the new superintendent of Natchez Trace Parkway – July 15, 2009
- Rep. Dicks supports Jon Jarvis for nomination of National Park Service Director – July 10, 2009
- USGS volcanologist Charles Bacon gives Mount Mazama geologic history talk – June 23, 2009
- USGS volcanologist Charles Bacon receives award at Crater Lake National Park – July 8, 2009
- Review: Geologic Map of Mount Mazama and Crater Lake Caldera, Oregon by Charles R. Bacon – July 7, 2009
- Free entrance weekends at Crater Lake National Park – June 20, 2009
- Oregon Congressman Proposes “Aerial Gondola” to Wizard Island – Summer/Fall 2009
- Lichen Survey Hits the Jackpot One-Day “BioBlitz” Uncovers 61 Species Not Previously Recorded at Crater Lake – Summer/Fall 2009
- A Conversation with the Park’s Chief of Terrestrial Ecology – Summer/Fall 2009
- Black Bear Census Set to Begin: Park to Estimate Population Using Hair Samples and DNA – Summer/Fall 2009
- A promise fulfilled on roadless forests – May 28, 2009
- Crater Lake Lodge opens for 2009 season – May 21, 2009
- Marcella Isabella Stine (1918 – 2009) – May 22, 2009
- Lawrence Campbell Merriam Jr. (1923 – 2008) – May 22, 2009
- Wayne R. Howe: 1920 – 2008 – May 21, 2009
- Passing of John Bowdler (1925 – 2009) – May 4, 2009
- Parks receive stimulus funds: Crater Lake, Lava Beds to use funding for improvements – April 24, 2009
- Mercy Flights makes life-saving donation to Crater Lake park – February 24, 2009
- Rescue at Crater Lake: specialized rescue team saves man from icy slope – February 2, 2009
- Former National Park Service director George B. Hartzog Jr. dies – January 31, 2009
- Ski patrol member watches over park: Niel Barrett is a charter member of the ski patrol at Crater Lake National Park – January 30, 2009
- Paradise in Blue: Snowshoe trek at Crater Lake informative, easy, free – January 22, 2009
