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"
I suspect this guy doesn't have any problem passing the endurance tests for the firehouse. Glendale is in good hands.
BrewerfaninMuskego Apr 18, 2011 3:04 PM
greenmean Apr 18, 2011 3:23 PM
1-This was a great effort and this person has honored a friend and workmate in a great way
2-I truly wish the Journal could find a way to strive to remove comments that were disrespectful to the very memory of the person that this firefighter ran for. Proud of you sir. And ashamed of those who used this story to be petty and stupid.
bassthumpinjohn Apr 18, 2011 3:23 PM
Fala1 Apr 18, 2011 3:33 PM
Fala1 Apr 18, 2011 3:36 PM
wisportsmom Apr 18, 2011 3:51 PM
(from a ff'rs mom)
1craziecatz Apr 18, 2011 4:12 PM
And in addition, since Nick End was in my daughter's HS class @ Shorewood, I have to give him a shout out also for a job well done! ٩(-̮̮̃-̃)۶
Jaime Apr 18, 2011 4:29 PM
mikete96 Apr 18, 2011 4:43 PM
P.S. - Love the shoes!
muenginerd Apr 18, 2011 4:50 PM
accomplishment.
Michael J Horne Apr 18, 2011 5:11 PM
Crewgirl Apr 18, 2011 5:19 PM
sevendaze Apr 18, 2011 5:22 PM