> Printer-friendly page
Maine Marathon and Casco Bay Half
Portland, ME, October 3, 1999
Decker and Baxter win
by Bob Aube
What was supposed to be a mere training run for an upcoming marathon
turned into a record-setting performance by Byrne Decker of Yarmouth,
Maine, who shattered the course record by more than six minutes Sunday
while winning the Aetna U.S. Healthcare Maine Marathon for the third
time in four years.
The 32-year-old Decker, who previously won this event in 1996 and 1997,
said prior to Sunday's race that he was using it as a tuneup for the Bay
State Marathon on Oct. 17. His plan was to start out easy for the first
10 miles, then do the final 16 miles at 5:30 pace.
While he did go out relatively slow, his early pace was still quicker
than he intended. He caught early leader Robert Ashby of Brunswick,
Maine, about eight miles into the race, then steadily pulled away.
"I was getting ready to run (Bay State) in two weeks, but I might have
to re-evaluate that plan because I ran a little harder today than I
probably should have," said Decker.
Running in almost perfect conditions -- overcast skies with temperatures
in the high 50s -- Decker had no trouble eclipsing the old course record
of 2:34:31 set by Patrick Sullivan in 1995.
"There's been some talk about changing the course, so I didn't know if
this might be my last chance to get the course record," noted Decker.
"One of my running partners, Mike Payson, said that even if I went all
out I'd never break 2:30 on this course, so that was in the back of my
mind as well."
Ashby, who finished second to Decker two years ago, wound up a distant
runner-up in 2:38:48. Greg Hale of Waterville, Maine, was third in
2:41:41, while Jim Murphy of Mystic, Conn., won the masters division in
2:45:36.
Brenda Baxter, 37, of Groton, Mass., came from behind to capture the
women's title with a time of 3:17:25. Shelly Gauthier of St. John, N.B.,
was second in 3:19:25, followed by a pair of masters runners --
46-year-old Pamela Hall (3:23:24) of Litchfield, N.H., and 43-year-old
Eileen Dunfey (3:24:04) of Cape Elizabeth.
In the accompanying Casco Bay Half Marathon, Joan Benoit Samuelson of
Freeport successfully defended her women's crown and was also the top
master -- male or female. Samuelson clocked 1:18:00, more than four
minutes ahead of runner-up Althea Schmid of Phillips, Maine. Craig
Watcke of West Newburg, Mass., took first overall with a time of
1:12:02, 28 seconds faster than Michael Payson of Falmouth.
Back to Main Results
Cool Running Home
ResultsME Results
©Cool Sports 1999
