Glendale firefighter finishes Boston Marathon in full gear
Running in 30 pounds of firefighting gear, James Gefke finished the 115th Boston Marathon on Monday in 4 hours, 18 minutes, and 29 seconds.
Gefke, of Glendale, added the extra burden to honor of John Harrington, a fellow firefighter who was killed in a crash while biking to his station house in May 2004. In Harrington's memory, Gefke ran to raise money for the Wisconsin Burn Survivor's Network.
During his training, Gefke told a local TV outlet: "He always pushed me to do things I probably wouldn't have otherwise done on my own while he was still here. He instilled a lot of confidence in me for a lot of things that I've been able to accomplish in my life."
Remarkably, the 4:18:02 was just two minutes slower than the median marathon time for men in 2010. Boston was Gefke's 5th marathon, and he beat his goal of averaging 10 minutes per mile. (Click here for a photo of Gefke on the course).
Nick End, another runner with ties to the North Shore, also put on a noteworthy performance on a near-perfect day in Boston. The 2002 Shorewood High School graduate was 31st overall, running a 2:22:30.
End ran for Carnegie Mellon University and now lives in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Kyle Fraser, of Milwaukee, had the best time of the local runners tackling the Newton Hills. The 30-year-old finished in 2:37:37
Marek Kotrly, a police officer in Brookfield, was a few minutes behind Fraser. The 39-year-old ran an impressive 2:40:10.
Rick Stefanovic, of Milwaukee, proved that 12 days of training is plenty for a Boston Marathon effort. The veteran broke his left ankle in December, and finished his 20th run down Boylston St. in 3:25:19, less than two weeks after being cleared to start running again.
He trained on an elliptical machine and stationary bike while recuperating.
Also of note, Aaron Hunnel, of Appleton, reached the finish line with a time of 4:22:29. Hunnel, a staff sergeant in the Wisconsin National Guard, earned his ticket to Boston a year ago by running a marathon at Camp Adder, in Iraq.
Front of the pack: With ideal temperatures and a brisk tail wind, it was a day for record-setting fast times.
Geoffrey Mutai, of Kenya, ran the fastest marathon in the world to win the $150,000 winners' prize.
His 2:03:01 (unofficial) carved nearly three minutes out of the course record set by Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot in 2010. Mutai had a tail wind and near perfect conditions, plus the challenge presented by fellow Kenyan Moses Mosop over the final miles.
Because of the significant downhill on the Boston course, Mutai’s time will not be recognized as the world record. That remains the 2:03:59 set by Haile Gebrselassie in the 2008 Berlin Marathon.
Ryan Hall ran near the lead for much of the race, and finished fourth, to lead the U.S. contingent. His 2:04:58 (unofficial) is the fastest marathon for a U.S. runner. His pace was 4 minutes 46 seconds per mile.
Desiree Davila, from the Michigan-based Hansons-Brooks squad, led in the final miles but lost her battle with Caroline Kilel at the finish. Davila finished second, one of the strongest showings by a U.S. woman in decades.
Kilel, of Kenya, finished in 2:22:36, with Davila two seconds behind.
44 Comments for "Glendale firefighter finishes Boston Marathon in full gear"
on a sidenote...free kisses from the all girls Wellesley college? um..seeing him run by in full uni probably made them (u fill it in)
CC you in 2009 Apr 18, 2011 6:12 PM
GoonBoy Apr 18, 2011 6:57 PM
GraytDane Apr 18, 2011 6:57 PM
gawebcat Apr 18, 2011 6:58 PM
footfoot Apr 18, 2011 6:58 PM
equipment could easily have threatened Gefke's life. But he was willing
to risk it for the sake of his best friend's memory. If that isn't heroic, I
don't know what is.
Rock on, James, and may God continue to bless you:) --
zriter59 Apr 18, 2011 8:11 PM
smarquardt1 Apr 18, 2011 8:57 PM
yourself and for the memory of John. You are both two of my favorite
students and thank you for teaching all of us a great lesson. The money
for the burn victims is on the way!
vbcoach1 Apr 18, 2011 9:06 PM
Thank you for today's great coverage--stories such as this one, plus the
elites, etc.
Hill Runner Apr 18, 2011 9:57 PM
pursegal1981 Apr 18, 2011 10:08 PM
bus and spoke with you and also cheered for you as I caught up to you
around mile 10, cheering go Glendale.
I hope your experience was as positive an impact on you as it did for all
of us running with you on Monday. You are an inspiration to us all!!!
26.2 miles of that course is tough without all that gear! Wow!
Feel very fortunate knowing we have an individual like you on our local
fire squad.
I'm sure your friend is looking down upon you and smiling.
Congrats on your accomplishment!
elwoodsgodmomma Apr 20, 2011 1:20 PM