Idaho Mountain Express: Gonzalez finishes Portland Marathon

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Gonzalez finishes Portland Marathon

A goal achieved, thanks in part to Solemates

Portland Marathon finisher Pedro Gonzalez and his wife Pilar celebrate together after the finish of Sunday’s 26.2-mile footrace in Oregon. Courtesy photo

     Wood River Valley recreational runner Pedro Gonzalez, 38, completed the 43rd annual Portland (Ore.) Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 6.

     His final time was three hours, 35 minutes and one second. Gonzalez was 752nd overall of 6,813 finishers with a pace of 8:13 per mile. He placed 111th of 520 runners in the Men’s 35-39 age class. The men’s winner was Jameson Mora, 29, of Arroyo Grande, Ca. in 2.20:54.

     Gonzalez, whose personal goal for the 26.2-mile race was to finish under four hours, was sponsored by Solemates and the local Girls on the Run group.

     Mary Fauth, executive director of Girls on the Run of the Wood River Valley, said, “Solemates is the charity racing part of Girls on the Run. It adds an additional meaning to a personal race effort when runners choose to dedicate the effort to GOTR and ask their friends and family to support by making a donation to GOTR.

     “Knowing that taking on a big race effort can be not only a time-consuming effort, but one that comes with significant cost, we look for ways to help an individual meet a major race goal they might not have been able to do on their own.

     “We turned to the Wood River Women's Charitable Foundation this past spring and obtained their support to help a first-time marathon racer also obtain their goal. We opened it up for application and gladly awarded the scholarship to support to Pedro who wished to inspire his daughters and nieces, and to show them that anything is possible. With the grant we helped cover his race entry fees and travel costs.”

     Gonzalez, whose further goal is to run in the Boston Marathon, said, “This has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m thankful for everything done by Mary and Girls on the Run. As far as qualifying for Boston, maybe in my dreams but not yet. I will continue to work with Solemates so I can reach my goal soon.”
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