The W.R.Somerford Marathon was run on Sunday, and produced the closest finish in the event's history. It also marked the end of an era, with Ken Tomczak beaten for the first time in a decade.
The event has been part of the club program every summer for more than sixty years now, and seldom fails to produce some excitement and drama.
With a course that takes competitors through an initial swim and wade before a lengthy run to Floreat drain and back, followed by a winding course through the sandhills of South City Beach, it's one of the most gruelling events the club has.
As the field left the water Jeremy Doney and Jono Stock were at the front, and Jono led the pack on the long run north.
By the time they returned past the halfway mark in front of the clubrooms, a breakaway group of Jono, Jeremy and Ben Carrick. Jacinta Marriott came through as the first of the girls. Ken Tomczak, who has won the last ten races, came past about a hundred metres behind the leaders. In past years the second half of the race, through the sandhills, has been Ken's strength so he certainly wasn't thought to be out of it yet.
In the 2004-05 race Jono Stock had led through halfway, only to be overhauled by Ken just a few hundred metres from the finish. This time around Jono had opened up a lead that proved to be too much for Ken to bridge, but instead he had to contend with Jeremy Doney who just refused to be dropped. Jono and Jeremy ran neck and neck right back to the City groyne, and after nearly forty minutes of racing found themselves in a final soft sand sprint to the finish line.
While Jeremy initially pulled slightly ahead as the line approached, Jono timed his final run to perfection and they crossed the line side by side, but with Jono just slightly ahead in what would have ranked as a close finish in a 90 metre beach sprint, let alone a 7km run.
Spectator Bill Jarman, a five-time winner of the race himself in the early 70's, declared it the closest finish in the event's history, and it's certainly difficult to imagine that any past race could possibly have been closer.
Meanwhile, further back, Ken Tomczak was slowly but surely making his way through the field and came through in third place. Jason Wright crossed the line fourth, and Jacinta Marriott came in as the first female and fifth overall.
| Placings* | ||
| First | Jono Stock | |
| Second | Jeremy Doney | |
| Third | Ken Tomczak | |
| First Female | Jacinta Marriott | |
| * all placings are subject to members completing patrol and other membership requirements | ||
[2005-06]
[2004-05]
[2003-04]
[2002-03]
[Event History]
