Haugen hurdles another challenge, runs marathon

Local runners

finish Grandma's

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- Sleepy Eye Public School Superintendent Jay Haugen likes challenges. You could say he thrives on them.

Haugen climbed mountains in Wyoming and Montana and toured Norway on a shoestring one summer when he was in college. He played guitar in the street and worked on dairy farms for his room and board in Norway.

In August, he will take a year of paid (35 percent of his salary) sabbatical sailing and touring the Caribbean in a brand new yacht with his wife Janet and two school-age kids. The Haugens plan to home school their children while they're away from home.

Diagnosed with Type II diabetes not long ago, Haugen decided he wanted to deal with the illness without taking medication. Instead he changed his diet and began running in earnest.

Haugen lost 40 pounds, trimming his six-foot, three-inch frame to 195 pounds. Saturday, he completed his first ever marathon.

Haugen ran Grandma's marathon, 26.2-miles on old U.S. Highway 61 from Two Harbors to Grandma's Saloon & Grill in Canal Park in downtown Duluth in 4 hours, 23 minutes and 20 seconds.

He felt ready for the marathon, completing a 20-mile run a couple weeks before the marathon. His goal was to run the race in just under 4 hours. He was on that pace for the first half of the race.

He ran with a 41-year-old friend from South St. Paul that is buying the yacht with the Haugens; the friend has been running for many years and competes in triathlons. Haugen said he enjoyed the race until the 16th mile when he began cramping and had to slow down.

The start of the race was so packed with runners, it took Haugen and his friend seven minutes, running nearly a mile, to reach the starting line.

Runners had been given tiny computer chips they attached to their shoes that recorded their times and splits.

"I ran with lots of people I talked to the whole time, which helped," Haugen said. "I was amazed at how many (9,000) runners there were."

Haugen ran with runners of all shapes, sizes and attire -- a man in a light blue tuxedo with a cummerbund, an older man ran barefoot, college kids in striped socks up to their knees and an another older man with a long beard that resembled Santa Claus.

Aid stations with water and flavored sport drinks were spaced every two miles until 20 miles, when they were a mile apart. Haugen said the cheering crowd and rock music at each aid station helped him along when he needed support the most, towards the end of the race.

"It was great to finish, but the last couple miles with lots of turns kept me wondering where the finish line was," Haugen said. "It was fun to be there with so many people and work this hard together for something. I hope I inspire others to try it."

Haugen inspired his son Chris enough to challenge him to run the race against him in a year or two.

A Fairfax runner, 49-year-old Mark Kockelman, finished his fifth Grandma's Marathon in 4:12.37. Kockelman's fastest marathon time was 4:03 which he set last year.

"It was a little warmer this year and that may have slowed people down. I saw lots of people walking ... when it got hot in the sunshine at the end," Kockelman said.

Males outnumbered female marathon runners 4,320 to 2,513. Medical attention was given to 180 runners.

Area runners

New Ulm

Peter Bauer -- 1,535 of 6,862 overall, 487 of 1,528 in division, chip time 3:43:59.

Amanda Beranek -- 3,631 of 6,862 overall, 575 of 1,382 in division, chip time 4:16:35.

Jerry Reger -- 3,967 of 6,862 overall, 109 of 215 in division, chip time 4:24:23.

Bill Otis -- 4,443 of 6,862 overall, 402 of 570 in division, chip time 4:33:35.

Daniel Wolfe -- 4,800 of 6,862 overall, 430 of 570 in division, chip time 4:39:57.

Sleepy Eye

Jay Haugen -- 4,087 of 6,862 overall, 520 of 711 in division, chip time 4:23:20.

Fairfax

Mark Kockelman -- 3,195 of 6,862 overall, 297 of 570 in division, chip time 4:07:36.

Nicollet

John Langr -- 3,133 of 6,862 overall, 419 of 734 in division, chip time 4:07:51.

Brownton

Kristie Redmann -- 5,920 of 6,862 overall, 1,145 of 1,383 in division, chip time 5:02:45.

Stewart

Julie Glaeser -- 727 of 6,862 overall, 22 of 335 in division, chip time 3:25:28.