Iowans breeze to victories
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BYSTEVENM. SIPPLE
Jacob Kaemmer tapped his heart and pointed skyward Sunday morning as he neared the finish of the Lincoln Marathon.
Toward the sky, where Kaemmer's father flies Blackhawk helicopters during a brutal war in Iraq.
The younger Kaemmer, of Des Moines, Iowa, easily captured the 26.2-mile race with a solid time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, 25 seconds and dedicated the triumph to his father, a member of the Missouri National Guard.
Jacob Kaemmer, in fact, ran Sunday under his father's name. Jerry Kaemmer in the past has been among hundreds of Guardsmen who compete annually in the Lincoln race.
"He always runs this one, but he's overseas serving," Jacob Kaemmer said. "So I ran it for him."
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Christy Nielsen-Crotts, a physical therapist and personal trainer from Council Bluffs, Iowa, captured the women's race in 2:54:57, ending Roxi Erickson's improbable reign as champion.
Erickson, 41, who had won the last seven Lincoln Marathon crowns, was seen walking at mile 16 on Sunday and didn't finish the race. She said last week she had been struggling with her training. She didn't materialize for Sunday's post-race luncheon and later couldn't be reached for comment.
A record 3,350 runners from 48 states and Puerto Rico enjoyed a mostly sunny day and temperatures in the 40s and 50s. A strong breeze tested marathoners during the last few miles.
Kaemmer, 27, who isn't in the military, said he ran the first half of the race more quickly than he planned, routinely covering miles in 5:30 to 5:35. Those rapid early splits caught up with him at mile 18, he said, and the final five miles were a struggle. However, nobody seriously threatened to overtake his lead. Indeed, he pretty much ran alone.
"Early, there was a guy on a bike I was talking to," Kaemmer said."His name was Jason - he was a nice guy."
Kaemmer, a high school cross country and track coach, finished runner-up in a 1999 marathon in Springfield, Mo. Although Sunday marked his eighth career marathon, he hadn't finished one since 2001. He not only finished Sunday's race; his time was a personal record.
Kaemmer had to finish this race, as he ran for his father.
"You hit that wind hard at about mile 21, and from 21 on in, it was a huge struggle," he said. "I kept putting one foot in front of the other and hoping it was enough."
Runner-up Derek Fey, an Omaha native, finished in 2:32:35 and planned to use the second-place prize money ($250) to help pay for his wedding.
The marathon winners earned $500 apiece.
Like Kaemmer, Nielsen-Crotts prevailed with relative ease, capturing her third career marathon. She had won events in 1997 in Memphis, Tenn., and in 1999 in Davenport, Iowa.
Only a month ago, Nielsen-Crotts finished 11th in 2:47:03 at the USA Women's Marathon Championships in St. Louis, qualifying for the 2004 U.S.Olympic Trials. She decided only last week to run the Lincoln Marathon after originally planning to run the half-marathon.
"For the past 20 months, I've been training so hard,"she said. "I was kind of sick of training hard and just wanted to have fun, for once. I was like, 'I'm not going to worry about pace, I'm just going to run.'"
Nielsen-Crotts said she was aware of Erickson's winning streak in Lincoln. Indeed, the two often train together. However, Nielsen-Crotts insisted, ending Erickson's streak wasn't a motivating factor.
Mostly, Nielsen-Crotts said, she wanted to enjoy running a race close to home.
"People don't ever know the races I do because I always do them at national championships and stuff like that," she said.
Winning felt "awesome," Nielsen-Crotts said.
"It just makes it all worth it," she said.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@;journalstar.com.
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