J. Ann Tipton
Copy Editor
The winter sun had just begun to rise over the
horizon when the runners took their places at the starting line. All 88
participants were eager to get the long race started; the temperature in
Columbus that day hovered close to zero degrees Fahrenheit, and limbs quickly
turned numb in the biting cold.
One runner knew that the weather was on his side, that he ran well in the cold
and that he was quite possibly in the best shape of his life. This sandy haired
21-year-old took his place at the starting line and as the starting air horn
blared, the runner, Shane Oakleaf took the initial steps of his first 26.2-mile
race, what runners refer to as a marathon.
The powerful, quiet Milligan senior had a cheering section of 14, including 11
Milligan students who traveled six hours to the Oakleaf home in Newark, Oh. and
another hour to Dublin, Oh. (a suburb northwest of Columbus) for the race on
Feb. 1. Armed with several layers of clothing and homemade signs to encourage
Shane as he ran 26 one-mile laps, the group drank hot chocolate to keep warm in
the freezing temperature.
In the distance running world, Feb. 1 is the last day runners can qualify for
the Boston Marathon. So it was for a good reason that the name of this race was
“The Last Chance for Boston” Marathon. To qualify, a runner must complete a
certified race in 3 hours and 15 minutes. Shane’s goal was 3:00; He finished in
2:57.07. Only four runners from his age bracket qualified for the Boston
Marathon that day.
Running a marathon was something Shane had always aspired to. He made the
commitment to run this one some time last semester.
“Coach (Layne) suggested to me that I should run a marathon. This was even
before I mentioned anything to him about it,” he said. “After that, I decided it
was something I could really do.”
So with the support of his cross country coach, Shane looked forward to the
monumental task of preparing for his first 26.2-mile race in just a few short
months. He admits that training was his biggest challenge. One of the reasons he
decided to begin training after the fall cross country season was that he was in
excellent shape.
“This was the prime opportunity because after the cross country season I was in
the best shape of my life,” Shane said. “So I just wanted to carry it over to
running a marathon.”
The frigid morning air of race day wasn't a concern for this seasoned running
veteran who says that he runs better in cold weather.
Shane ran fairly consistently for the first 21 miles of the race. Overall, he
averaged 6 minutes and 45 seconds per mile, but on the 22nd mile, he did what
distance runners call “hit the wall.”
“It wasn’t like I had shortness of breath,” Shane explained. “It was more or
less like my legs wouldn’t move. I slowed down quite a bit, especially during
the last mile. It was hard, but I just had to finish.”
In fact, quitting never crossed the runner’s mind.
“It was my goal to finish this race, in whatever time I was going to finish it,”
Shane said, “so I knew that even if I had to, I’d walk across the finish line.”
Shane’s next feat in his marathon career is competing in the Boston Marathon on
Apr. 19. This will be the 108th run in Boston, which is the oldest annual
marathon in the world. The race is limited to 20,000 participants, all of who
ran faster than the qualifying time standards appropriate to their genders and
ages.
Shane said he is eager to experience the “bigger atmosphere” of a race of this
size and importance.
“It’ll be quite an experience to run in the Boston Marathon,” Shane said. “I
just want to enjoy myself, enjoy the run through the city and finish the race.”