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By Rick Cum.“ - Gimmick "ores Editor Mark Roberts shortened the distance between a fifth-tloot office at Waterloo Square and [ignored Hill in Boston, Mag. nine days ago. _ V Owthat occasion, Roberts, a mental retardation co-or- dinator for the Ministry of Community and Social Services turned a far-fetched pipe-dream into spine-tingling reality by competing in the classic Boston Marathon. Did dam well, too. Now maybe finishing 411th ian't your idea of an instant success story, but a few facts might chan- ge your mind. L-there were over 11,000 runners at Boston, including up to 4,000 bothersome “unofficial" entries. ..Lhe finished in two hours, M minutes, the best of a hand- " fol of competitors from the Waterloo County Amateur Attr. ', T letic Association and Waterloo "Y" who entered the race. Jil -Roberts was running in only his third official marathon. I g; and shaved 20 minutes off his previous best time. Not bad, not bad at all. Mark Roberts grew up and attended school in Peter- borough. By his own admission, he was (and still is) "quite competitive by nature" and fared well in high school track meets at home. One of his best friends and competitors was a fellow named Dave Northey. Coincidentally, when Roberts recently returned 'to the Twin Cities to work he renewed acquaintances with North- ey, now a resident of this area and a top-flight runner in the WCAAA. -rRoberts, starting in the middle of the pack, ran for one minute and 15 seconds before reaching the starting line. Roberts pursued his track career while attending Univer- sity of Waterloo but upon his graduation in 1969, he gave up "Finally it stirred my competitive nature so I Joined the WCAAA. I had never run a marathon before and I was at- tracted by the mystique of it all. So I just set that as my goal. to run a marathon." “I'd be standing there smoking a cigarette and Dave would go running by looking fit as a fiddle," said Roberts. "I'd Just grit my teeth and feel guilty. _ - Roberts stepped off his first official 26 miles, 385 yards at the Police Games in Toronto last August. His time of 2:59 was spendid for a "first-timer". By running the Niagara Fails Sky-ram Marathon in 2:54 in October, Roberts become eligible (under three hours) to run at Boston. and when he heard a few of his trieAts from the area were planning to attend, he applied also. The rest is history. mrttrstertoetts,,nta.tt)ttrt-r.aoritaV"?. Roberts had a basic weekly Meg, program which he stuck to faithfully all winter i preparation for Boston. Every morning during the week he got up at 6 am. to run 10 miles, and then duplicated that feat in the evening. Increas- ing his distance on the weekend, he averaged 13-16 miles on Saturdays and 20-25 on Sundays. "The grueling aspect was the cold of winter," he said. "You had to dress in so many layers then, it seems like you're running naked at this time of year." - - A A Feeling fit and ready to go, Roberts and his wife left for Boston a few days before the race. And who should be on the same plane but Johnny Miles of Hamilton, a chap in his 70's who twice won the Marathon in the 1930's. He was attending this year as a spectator guest of the organizers. "When people told me he was on the plane, I ran (natural- ly) up to the front and introduced myself to him. He signed my book The Complete Book of Running (ditto natch). showed me the medals he had won, and gave me great in- spiration heading into the race" Some of that inspiration turned to nervousness when Ro- berts arrived in drizzly chilly weather for the race Monday. Runners are seeded according to time at Boston, a la In- dianapolis 500, and Roberts found himself just a body among Give or take a shoelace. approximately 00005454 per cent of the runners in the Boston Marathon last week are members of the Waterloo Y. 26 miles? Jumpin' Jack Flash! Jack Reid was the top finisher. the 1.340th person to cross the line in a time of 2 47.40. a clocking not to be sneezed at considering Jack is of Masters eligibility don't ask him his age, it will demoralize you.) Alex Whorwood took three hours and nine minutes to complete the 2bmile, 385-yard trek. while Frank Hess and Malcolm Reynolds practically held hands across the finish line in 317 Rich Hobson was next for the local contingent in 3 24 Glen Toner, the sixth Y member, experienced difficulties and did not finish qucknueartbureakfor ollii,tt,t,,l.r?,,,tit,t,',.,.tt,i, bodies 'lxgi,',n,'."g'e', one-third back in the estimated pack of 11,000. ere were only about 7,008 official entries thoual and one thing that bothered the local runner was that some "unMfieial" runners pushed up near the front of the group. rather than showing the courtesy of starting behind those who had qualified. "For ttit first five miles I Just weaved back and forth across the road looking for running room and spate where I could get my stride. - - A l “I Earried my lucky chestnut with me during the race--it's sort of my worry stone. All I thought about at the beginning was to keen loose and, get in rhythrn._"_ _ .. iietord%ict we, -Roberts plays a tape of his favorite songs, absorbing them in his mind to “play back" mentally during the tortuous middle miles of the maratym.' l _ “I Qas so into my rhythm that when I passed my wife and friends at the bottom of Heartbreak Hill I didn't even hear them yelling and screaming." I We won't know until the season starts whether Waterloo Tigers have "dug up" a secret weapon but Bridge Street between University Avenue and Lancaster is receiving a facelift. Wa- terloo Region project engineer Bill Pyatt said Monday that road reconstruction around Bechtel Park will continue until the third week in June. However, most of the underground work has been completed and Pyatt foresees no problem regarding access to the park. On Sunday May 13, Tigers open their home exhibition season against Toronto Maple Leafs and hope to "bull- doze" their way to two victories. _ t.“ 886-2830 . i During ”more. which he monitored with his 3 imtets,'tuttertathaidtormttttainas:4"tiie. l i» "Ntgoaiqmoori-it,itsttte?r?0'trrsre' :5 p1etdefettttv.s.ssorneor'tttossehiiuertyet""i'"et I you (hood: you think you're never going to, Mil- rs';,,,' "Atthemdotrnrothertm maratitmtsieoit-edirta T total cautions! bmkthvn. no: time 1 min was”. i and the we scene, the screaming crowds, tidal: rooftops waving. it just gave me a natural high, one vibrations were I irsemdible.", . ’ , One unfortunate we: after ttrtisttirtg the race Ro- I' _ hem Irenttogetttre tradition} tto-tts-ttered-som- petitors, And somehow got may separated from his good luck charm. . . . . ' Reports out of Bostom late Monday had orgaatisees gritr ing that the spring classic had grown out of proportion. that there were just too my competitors. Roberts took a more positive outlook. “The organizers handled it really well. Sure some of the 'unofficiais' were a problem. but you have to expect that sort of things. It was a cool day, the runners (Ith't need much Water. and when they did, kids and parents li e streets offered water and oranges in exchange tor we slap on the hand. " “The people in Bostom are all into running. I was really impressed with the winner Bill Rodgers. In his uniquely low-key manner he's always out communicating with the people, getting others to run. - “it's (ruly Gtaaing dow'n there. Yon don’t walk your dog, you nu it." o o o Mark Roberts returned to Waterloo Tuesday but had to take Wednesday off. “My, limping around on the tlfth floor of Waterloo Square; he took his share of. ribbing from fellow workers. _ But Rotierts will not be seen running the streets ‘in the Twin Cities anymore. This week he and his wife are moving to London where he will assume the role of program super~ visor. "I plan to keep running marathons, even thong: I feel just terrible right now," he said with a painful grin. If those same fellow workers want to give Mark a nice inexpensive Bon Voyage present, I have the perfect idea. A nice big brown chestnut would do Just fine.