Suzanne Lundgren qualified for the Boston Marathon on Sunday, crossing the finish line of the Denver Marathon with a blissful smile and arms raised in triumph. Today she goes to the doctor to find out how far the cancer that started in her liver has spread.
“This gives me power,” said Lundgren, 47, who finished in 3 hours, 44 minutes. “It could be bad news, it could be good news, but (the marathon) will give me power to take whatever they say.”
A friend, Henry Guzman, ran with her and held one of her upstretched hands as they crossed the finish line. It was a bittersweet moment for him, too.
“Hey, we do what we can,” said Guzman, a marathon veteran clearly humbled by the experience. “If you look at someone who can run through (cancer), train through it and keep their mind focused, it’s a great inspiration. I’m just glad I’m part of it.”
Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, captured the essence of the marathoning phenomenon with a line in a book she wrote with her husband, “If you are losing faith in human nature, go and watch a marathon.”
Former University of Colorado runner Clint Wells won Sunday’s race in what he considered a training run, but the stars of the day were the ordinary people who achieved something extraordinary – surviving the arduous demands of a 26.2-mile foot race after finding a way to train over the past few months while keeping up with the demands of jobs and families.
“When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I raise the level of self-confidence and self-esteem of people in America,” said race director Dave McGillvray, also race director of the Boston Marathon. “They say: ‘How do you do that? Do you have a medical degree?’ No, I put on road races.”
Sallie Tipton of Denver, 36, was one of many of the 1,500 marathoners overcome by emotion at the finish line. Tipton began running in April and said it has helped her achieve “emotional growth” after surviving some abusive relationships.
“Every mile meant something,” Tipton said between sobs. “It’s all the way up from here. I’m finally learning to love myself.”
Suzanne McMillan of Littleton, 35, lost 100 pounds through running in the past year. Her time of 5:41:27 was far from the time she would need to qualify for Boston (3:45) but McGillvray was so moved he gave her a special invitation.
“I’m euphoric,” McMillan said. “This is huge. I did it. This is bigger than my biggest dream come true. This was my lifetime dream, this is beyond my lifetime dream. I’m going to Boston! I can’t wait.”
A former “fat couch potato,” McMillan signed up for the marathon thinking if she paid for an entry, she would follow through.
“Then I started looking at the training schedule and I thought, ‘I don’t know that I’ll ever do it, I’ll just pretend.’ I kept pretending. Each long run, I hit it, I kept going and going. Then it wasn’t pretending, it was accomplishing.”
McMillan’s husband, Luke, followed her progress Sunday on a bicycle – riding much of the way on a flat tire. At the finish line he gave her 26 red roses.
“I’m so proud of her,” he said. “It’s just an amazing transformation that happened within her.”
Casey McClurkin burst into tears as she crossed her first marathon finish line. A year ago, she had a hard time making it once around Washington Park.
“This is the most important thing I’ve ever done for myself,” said McClurkin, 31. “I set a goal, I committed to it, and then I did it … I can do anything. There’s nothing like it. I recommend it to everyone. What a great way to find yourself.”
Jean Morrison of Lakewood, 32, is in graduate school at Colorado School of Mines while working full time for the U.S. Geological Survey. She figures if she’s strong enough to tackle that load and train for a marathon, she can handle the defense of her doctoral thesis, too.
“Doing this makes me feel empowered,” Morrison said. “I know now if I’m mentally tough enough to handle this, I’m pretty much mentally tough enough to handle anything.”
The marathon often is about friends helping friends, too. A veteran of five previous marathons, Chris Rodriguez of Lakewood paced Morrison.
“That was amazing,” Morrison said. “It was so perfect. She would say, ‘Get your arms down … Your feet are light … You’re on a cloud … You’re strong, you can do this, you trained hard.’ I owe her such a debt.”
Staff writer John Meyer can be reached at 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
Results
Men’s marathon
Name Hometown Time
1. Clint Wells Superior 2:28:36
2. Paul DiGrappa Castle Rock 2:39:23
3. Tony Roberts Frederick 2:41:08
4. Mike Korir Louisville 2:42:04
5. Steve Roch Lafayette 2:42:30
6. Steve Krebs Lakewood 2:43:21
7. Todd Straka Boulder 2:46:29
8. Sean Larkin Eagle 2:46:45
9. Jim Hallberg Lamar 2:53:51
10. Sean Cronin Fort Collins 2:55:18
11. Matthew Cavanaugh Colo. Springs 2:56:07
12. Mike Pellow Boulder 2:56:09
13. Kirt Goetzke Plymouth, Maine 2:58:23
14. Cortino Garcia Evergreen 2:59:38
15. John Seiler II Scottsbluff, Neb. 3:00:48
16. Scott O’Connor Thornton 3:04:32
17. Patrick Rutty Highlands Ranch 3:04:35
18. Noe Cuevas Denver 3:05:04
19. Peter Donelan Centennial 3:05:08
20. John Hussey Fort Collins 3:05:42
21. Harry Harcrow Woodland Park 3:05:59
22. Thierry Asselin Ottawa, Ontario 3:06:55
23. Ivan Rivas Fort Collins 3:08:54
25. Christopher Tracy Denver 3:08:57
26. Christopher Sigel Broomfield 3:09:27
27. Ron Hendricks Highlands Ranch 3:09:28
28. David Estrada Lara Castle Rock 3:10:09
29. Jeffrey Rumbaugh Baltimore 3:10:10
30. Chris Muzny Boulder 3:10:31
31. Mikael Olson Fort Collins 3:10:37
32. Peter Smith St. Louis 3:10:48
33. Joel Dice Denver 3:10:51
34. Randy Rodman Centennial 3:11:22
35. Ryan Martin Centennial 3:11:22
36. Don Tubbs Superior 3:11:54
37. Stuart Geer Boulder 3:12:07
38. Dave Medicus Wheat Ridge 3:12:16
39. George O’Clair Brush 3:13:10
40. Brian Snow Arvada 3:13:30
41. Tim Hamm Denver 3:14:00
42. Matt Tartar Denver 3:14:13
43. Paul Grant Golden 3:14:59
44. Neyah Margolis Boulder 3:15:20
45. Jeffrey Pierce Colorado Springs 3:15:30
46. Michael Hegstrom Denver 3:15:41
47. Ken Lefrancois Colorado Springs 3:15:58
48. Jay Survil Aurora 3:16:18
49. Paul Majors Denver 3:16:37
50. Neal Oseland Colorado Springs 3:16:41
Men’s half-marathon
1. Alan Culpepper Lafayette 1:04:52
2. Michael Aish Gunnison 1:05:51
3. Alex Hudgins Golden 1:12:58
4. Craig Greenslit Berthoud 1:14:29
5. Hans Bakker Loveland 1:18:06
6. Justin Ogle Highlands Ranch 1:19:46
7. Ken Soule Centennial 1:19:53
8. Pat Sullivan Denver 1:22:23
9. Andrew Holton Pine 1:22:54
10. Cliff Karthauser Elkhorn, Neb. 1:23:06
11. Adam Wade Colorado Springs 1:23:23
12. Dave Cleveland Frasier 1:23:54
13. Doug Croft Erie 1:23:59
14. Rick Zimmerman Morrison 1:24:15
15. Sean Pinkney Boulder 1:24:29
16. Martin Wesolowski Boulder 1:24:34
17. Phillip Blecker Boulder 1:24:39
18. Kevin Bax Thornton 1:24:55
19. Steven Fossel Evergreen 1:25:02
20. Stefan Tiefenbacher Aurora 1:25:53
21. Chris Voeller Denver 1:26:19
22. Craig Cary Wheat Ridge 1:26:20
23. Dave O’Sadnick Evergreen 1:26:43
24. David Savier Centennial 1:26:55
25. Matt Connors Colorado Springs 1:27:04
Women’s marathon
Name Hometown Time
1. Taeko Terauchi Tokyo 2:51:35
2. Elvira Kolpakova Derwood, Md. 2:55:35
3. Brandy Erholtz Bailey 2:58:47
4. Tracy Stewart Golden 3:01:33
5. Heather Hunt Englewood 3:10:07
6. Bridget MacKinnon Centennial 3:12:18
7. Lyndsy Schultz Littleton 3:15:22
8. Sara Whitis Ashland, Ohio 3:17:56
9. Janet Rooney Louisville 3:19:24
10. Gayle Zorrilla Denver 3:25:01
11. Kimberly Lieb Black Hawk 3:25:37
12. Sara Winchell San Diego 3:27:31
13. Colleen Greshock Fort Collins 3:29:05
14. Jamie Donaldson Littleton 3:29:20
15. Deb Wilch Findlay, Ohio 3:31:02
16. Heather Shockey Denver 3:33:14
17. Leighann Kramer Fort Collins 3:35:02
18. Angie Kalsbeck Austin, Texas 3:35:38
19. Danielle Malberg Denver 3:36:06
20. Christina Duren Lakewood 3:36:34
21. Tracy Kmetz Denver 3:36:43
22. Sarah Green Casper 3:37:03
23. Jennifer Gee Carbondale 3:38:26
24. Michelle Apicella Denver 3:38:49
25. Alyson Kreutzer Aurora 3:39:02
26. Kelly Imus Greeley 3:39:14
27. Allyson Robbins Centennial 3:40:34
28. Beverly Smith Vail 3:40:52
29. Jamie Norwood Denver 3:41:47
30. Kimberley Hoefen Lakewood 3:42:30
31. Katy Trotter Kansas City 3:43:22
32. Suzanne Lundgren Boulder 3:44:00
33. Louise McMurtrey Denver 3:44:01
34. Dana Duckro Fort Collins 3:44:10
35. Kendra Graybill Denver 3:44:44
36. Kim Herr Fort Collins 3:44:50
37. Leona Light Denver 3:45:15
38. Tassa Saldi Firestone 3:45:17
39. Katie Gustavson Fort Collins 3:45:18
40. Michelle Bucher Denver 3:46:06
41. Megan Lord Denver 3:46:32
42. Kelly Wright Kokomo, Ind. 3:46:37
43. Sara Wulfkuhle Falcon 3:47:15
44. Claire Findlay Boulder 3:47:56
45. Mandi Darr Waconia, Minn. 3:49:20
46. Carolyn Parsons Houston 3:49:22
47. Rebecca Davis Westminster 3:49:32
48. Leaann Scott Castle Rock 3:49:39
49. Courtney Mills Denver 3:49:40
50. Tiffany Cap Lakewood 3:50:10
Women’s half-marathon
1. Dawn Fischer Gillette, Wyo. 1:29:20
2. Anuta Catuna Denver 1:31:05
3. Kelly Meeter Denver 1:32:23
4. Jennifer Sventek Bend, Ore. 1:32:24
5. Kara Husmann Denver 1:32:48
6. Kelly Bassett Broomfield 1:32:59
7. Molly Kitashima Centennial 1:33:03
8. Jennifer LaBaw Silt 1:34:44
9. Rachel Luginbill Denver 1:36:46
10. Ann Hubl Hebron, Neb. 1:36:48
11. Sarah Wilson Denver 1:37:18
12. Temple Hayles Boulder 1:38:05
13. Koby Lochhead Denver 1:38:15
14. Sarah Saile Golden 1:38:31
15. Lorena Ferree Broomfield 1:39:22
16. Emily Gajeski Denver 1:40:04
17. Jessica Latino Arvada 1:40:21
18. Amy Twarling Omaha 1:40:23
19. Junko Kazukawa Denver 1:40:52
20. Peggy Nelson-Panzer Aurora 1:40:53
21. Nicole Dority Denver 1:41:06
22. Lee Schmerber Elon, N.C. 1:41:26
23. Kris Minne Parker 1:41:39
24. Michelle Orgill Castle Rock 1:42:10
25. Alyssa Samuel Denver 1:42:13
