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Hal and Fran Finney Finish Strong in Santa Barbara Marathon
Hand in hand, Hal and Fran Finney crossed the finish line in Sunday’s Select Staffing Santa Barbara International Marathon with their South Coast Fights ALS relay team and supporters.
As the steady stream of marathon runners reached the final stretch near Leadbetter Beach, their large group of yellow-shirted walkers became visible in the distance a little after 11 a.m., about four hours into the race.
Hal Finney was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in August, and his wife, Fran, came up with the idea to organize a fundraiser associated with the marathon.
The team has raised several thousand dollars and was joined Sunday by their families and members of the local ALS support group, which is organized by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Fran ran the tracking chip to Hal, where they and the rest of the group walked the last two miles of the race. Before his diagnosis, Hal wanted to get a Boston Marathon-qualifying time in either the Los Angeles or Santa Barbara marathons, but he can no longer run.
With at least 40 people, the group walked alongside the Finneys, who were the final leg of the relay. Hal carried the team’s chip across the line about 11:30 a.m., leaning on a cane for support.
Hal recalled the cheering crowd and announcer’s enthusiasm as they crossed the finish line. “Oh, it was great,” Hal said after they finished. “I’m pretty tired, though.”
They stopped twice to rest on the way, but still finished before many of the runners.
“At the mile marker (one left until the finish), Hal said he had just one regret — that he never got to run a marathon,” she said.
MDA Executive Director Parvaneh Givi and health-care services coordinator Andi Sass gathered with the group at the finish line.
They hope to continue the fundraiser every year, Givi said. All of the money raised by the team will go directly to MDA-funded research.
“We’re so grateful they let us do this,” Sass said of the marathon organizers.
Sass met the Finneys at the UCLA clinic where Hal was diagnosed, and after hearing the horrible news, they wanted to know what they could do, she said.
The Finneys have been involved with the Santa Barbara Athletic Association, and there were many local runners among the 1,670 finishers.
Pomona native Carlos Handler came in first at 2 hours, 24 minutes and 48 seconds, more than 10 minutes ahead of the next runner. Among the top 15 finishers, most were from the South Coast area, including four from Santa Barbara and one from Goleta.
Andrea McIarty of Santa Barbara was the first woman to finish, at 2 hours, 52 minutes and 23 seconds.
The ALS relay team came in at 4 hours, 27 minutes and 41 seconds.
Click here for complete results.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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» on 12.07.09 @ 05:41 AM
Although Marathon races are generally healthy events and are particularly worthwhile when conducted for charitable purposes, the inaugeral “Santa Barbara Marathon” was a giant, chaotic mess!
The absence of adequate planning caused hundreds of residents of the areas above or North of Cathedral Oaks road between Los Caneros and San Marcos Pass to be trapped for hours unable to cross Cathedral Oaks anywhere!
Although there were many highly appologetic Sheriffs and Highway patrol officers at nearly every intersection along the route, none of them had any solution for the imprisonment of those who had business or appointments, etc. South of Cathedral Oaks Road. Many conceded that the officials in charge had poorly planned for the many access and traffic problems the race would concievably create.
Hundreds of vehicles trapped by the straggling runners waited at every major intersection where, once every 2 or 3 minutes one or two cars were allowed to turn quickly between small gaps in the hundreds of runners strung out for miles!
Who ever was in charge of the “planning” (or obvious lack thereof) for this event should be roundly chastised along with the City and County officials who completely failed to envision the mass chaos this poorly planned marathon produced along the route selected.
If this is a race intended for repetition in the future, there needs to be an entirely different route selected. In addition, whatever route is selected, written notice needs to be mailed, well in advance, to any and all homes where people could be trapped for hours by the road closures, so that they can plan their own business for the day. The rights of the residents are just as important and those of the runners and their rooters who were allowed to close off important roadways!
» on 12.07.09 @ 09:57 AM
I think it was great! :) I didn’t have trouble driving to places. Foothill was open you could have gone that way from San Marcos couldn’t you.
Happy thoughts happy thoughts.
» on 12.07.09 @ 10:36 AM
No problem here from Cathedral Oaks and Cambridge, Deputies did a great job managing car traffic and pedestrian traffic. It was a great community event and there was much advance notice of delays and road closure, note big orange signs all along Cathedral Oaks for at least 5 days prior to the race I believe they read “expect delays”.
Congrats to all who ran even the “straggling runners” as you so kindly put it JAX. Imprisonment, wow strong words, I watched cars both cross and turn off Cathedral Oaks at a pretty rapid pace near mile 15.
» on 12.07.09 @ 10:55 AM
First off, I huge congrats to all who attempted this marathon. It is a giant commitment to undertake a race of this distance and an even bigger congrats for all those who set out to help raise awareness as well as money for so many worthy causes…Great job to everyone.
To all those people who were upset about the traffic, I would like to point out that the City of Goleta sent out TWO messages by phone letting everyone know that the mazrathon was happening and where the closures where going to be. Not only that, but there where sign set up along the entire course more than a week prior to the event telling you that there was going to be an event on December 6th and that the roads were going to be closed.
It goes without saying that during an event of this size, some sort of “chaos” is inevitable. Had more people payed attention to the very clear warnings, they would not have caused themselves so much stress. My suggestion the next time something like this happens and you are unable to plan ahead, how to get where you need to be, just roll down your window, enjoy the beautiful day, and root on all of those who are taking part in this fantastic addition to Santa Barbara and Goleta! Life is short and as you can see from the above article, some people have real problems to get juiced about!!
» on 12.07.09 @ 11:30 AM
While Hal says he regrets that he never got to run a marathon, I say never say never, Hal. Als is solvable and you can heal yourself.
» on 12.07.09 @ 12:13 PM
Woulda been smarter to route the runners, after Los Carneros, through IV or UCSB and out the bikepath…. a lot less disruption and actually prettier too. It was weird to do an extra loop through Cat Oaks and miss the beautiful coast around UCSB.
» on 12.07.09 @ 12:20 PM
This event was just too big and had too large of impact on too many residents. I only hope that the organizers paid for all those extra sheriff and police hours and not my taxpayer dollars.
» on 12.07.09 @ 02:32 PM
JAX is right. The SB Marathon was a complete disaster for Goleta residents. We have only 3 surface streets that run East-West, Hollister, Calle Real and Cathedral Oaks. The Marathon managed to shut down all three.
To get to Sandpiper or Bacara the offical detour after taking the correct northbound freeway exit was to backtrack on Calle Real (or whatever it is named in that area) to Storke, get back on the freeway and go past the correct exit then shift to the left lane (as directed by the sign) and DO A U TURN ON THE FREEWAY and take the first Southbound exit. There is no way that this is safe! I challenge our elected officials to try this.
Is there no way to give the SB Marathon runners one of the two or four lanes in the road but still allow for controlled traffic. I am a runner myself but am embarrassed that my sport was allowed to shut down a town.
» on 12.07.09 @ 05:51 PM
Interesting how most of the Santa Barbara Marathon was run in Goleta…
» on 12.07.09 @ 11:30 PM
Slugger; Once you committed to Cathedral Oaks (not anywhere near Foothill Road) you were stuck. There were no advance warning signs, no notices sent out, nothing in the Newspapers or radio and television news broadcasts that warned residents of those areas that they would be trapped for hours!
Terribly deficient Planning !!
» on 12.07.09 @ 11:36 PM
AMY’
WE RECIEVED NO SUCH NOTICES AND THERE WERE NO SIGNS UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING AND NONE NEAR US. WHEN WE COMMITTTED TO AN UNMARKED CATHEDRAL OAKS ROAD WE WERE IMMEDIATELY IMPRISONED, COULD NOT GO FORWARD, COULD NOT TURN SOUTH ANYWHERE AND COULD NOT TURN AROUND AND GO BACK !!!
It represented the classic example of woefully indadequate planning on the part of both officials and organizers !!
» on 12.08.09 @ 10:14 AM
There were huge orange signs all along Cathedral Oaks for about a week reading “Expect delays” with the Marathon website address. Additionally, volunteers visited every house in the area and put notices on the front door giving details. There were neighborhood meetings as well as quite a bit of TV and radio coverage before the event.
Certainly there was some inconvenience. As there is for Fiesta and any other major event. Don’t claim lack of notice.
» on 12.08.09 @ 10:47 AM
JAX,
Get yourself to the City of Goleta website and sign up for their emergency alerts. Several days before the race I received a recorded message on my cell and home phones in addition to a text and email notifying me of the marathon and the street closures.
Had I not know about the race and got stuck in traffic I probably would have been irritated as well, but sometimes we need to remember that it’s not always all about us!
JAX, if this is the worst thing that happens to you this month than I think you are a VERY lucky person!
» on 12.09.09 @ 03:52 AM
Great event overall but few details need attention. Cleanup after the race was spotty. For example, a large pile of palm fronds still rest besides Shoreline Drive at La Marina Drive, remains of a victory arch at that location.
Additionally, although the route was well posted, inadequate thought was given to resident egress. Why couldn’t residents be directed between groups of runners?of runnof Bru
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