No one hurt when scaffolding falls

By PETE YOUNG

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 24, 2000

CLEARWATER -- For about 3 hours, 40 minutes, the inaugural race had barely a hitch.

Then a strong breeze hit the scaffolding underneath which runners crossed the finish line at Coachman Park, and the scaffolding crumbled.

No one was caught underneath the metal structure, and no one in the vicinity was hurt. But the time clock was out of service for a while, and race volunteers had to scramble to record the order of finishers and their times.

"A big gust of wind hit, and with all the banners (on the scaffolding), it's like a giant sail, and it just came down," race director Chris Lauber said. "Thank God nobody was hurt."

DOUBLE DUTY: For Hu Goldstein, 71, of Huntington Beach, Calif., the marathon wasn't enough of a challenge. So Saturday in Warner Robins, Ga., he ran the Museum of Aviation Marathon. He finished that race in 4 hours, 30 minutes, and he finished Sunday's in 4:40.

"My father told me, "If there are no dragons to slay, what's the reason to live?' " said Goldstein, who has completed 113 marathons, including one in every state and the District of Columbia. "I've always been physically active. When I was a kid, they said I was hyperactive."

Goldstein was cheered on by his wife, Amy, who has run 36 marathons but passed on Sunday's race after running a half-marathon Saturday. The Goldsteins are retired and enjoy traveling to marathons.

"I asked my financial planner what I should do with my IRA, and she said, "Spend it,' " Goldstein said. "So we are."

LONG TRIP, WARM RUN: The siren call of warm weather and beautiful beaches reeled in Dave Mathias, 44, of Holland Landing, Ontario, who came to Florida by himself for the express purpose of running the race.

"This is a nice race. You've got a nice spot. It was crisp in the beginning, but right about the halfway point it started to heat up a little bit," said Mathias, who has completed eight marathons and finished this one in 4:25.

"But I finished, and any time you finish one of these things standing, you've done well."

MAJOR OPERATION: Such a long race requires lots of planning and volunteers. Hundreds of volunteers helped in myriad ways, such as handing out drinks and food at the 19 aid stations. Several runners lauded the efforts of police in several municipalities. "I was really impressed with how many police they had out there," said David Newcomb, 28, of River Edge, N.J., an experienced marathoner who placed third in 2:46:05. "They had as many police here as they probably do (at the New York City Marathon), and there they have 30,000 runners. "They did a great job for their first year. I think they just need to market it a little bit better for next year and get a lot more people in it."

There were about 650 participants, including about 30 in the relay and four in the wheelchair division.

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