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DATE: Thursday, March 3, 2005 BYLINE: By RALPH LEEF THE PRESS DEMOCRAT SECTION: SPORTS SANTA ROSA MINISTER RUNS TO EASE HIS GRIEF When 2,600 runners line up for Sunday's 27th annual Napa Valley Marathon, each will have his or her own motivation for attempting to complete the 26.2-mile event. The goal for a select few will be to try and break the course record. Many will run to raise money for charitable causes. Others simply run for fitness, or for the challenge, such as veteran masters runner Helen Klein, 82, of Rancho Cordova, who holds the world marathon record of 4 hours, 31 minutes for 80 to 84-year-old women. Cecilia Joyce, 48, of San Francisco began participating in marathons and triathlons after a double mastectomy due to breast cancer in 2000. Kathleen Herrera, 36, of Angwin, will start the race in memory of her recently deceased mother, who ran more than 40 marathons. Juan Escobedo, 35, of Sebastopol is running with his 60-year-old mother, Mercedes, who is hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon. And Michael Griffin, 32, the associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Santa Rosa, will compete in his first marathon in memory of his daughter, Kylie. Born severely disabled, Michael and Beth Griffin's daughter was eight when she passed away last year. Michael Griffin was on business on the east coast Wednesday and unable to comment, but his wife, a social worker for St. Joseph's home care, said her husband began running shortly after their daughter's death. ``We've had a lot of support from friends and from our faith and running has also been a great stress relief for him,'' she said. ``He's talked a lot about running giving him the time to deal with his emotions.'' Griffin was a cross country runner in high school (Cupertino) and at Chico State College. But he gave it up with the birth of his daughter and her many problems. Beth Griffin said that while her husband has found relief in running, he is also looking forward to the end of training and accomplishing his goal of finishing a marathon so he can find time to do other things. The top entrants in the Napa Marathon includes Chris Lundstrom, 28, who coaches cross country at San Francisco State University, and has completed a marathon in 2 hours, 18 minutes. The Napa men's record is 2:16.20 set by Dick Beardsley in 1987. The women's course record is 2:39.42 by Diana Fitzpatrick in 1992. Erin Moeller of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is expected to defend her 2004 title (2:51.07) as is defending men's champ Nik Southwell of Canada (2:28.56). The marathon starts on Sunday at 7 a.m. in Calistoga on the Silverado Trail near the intersection of Rosedale Road. The race finishes at Vintage High School in Napa. Top runners are expected to reach the finish line between 9:15 and 9:30 a.m. The Napa event, which reached its competitor limit earlier this week, is a qualifier for the 2006 Boston Marathon. A companion 5k (3.1 miles) run will start from Vintage High School at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Those interested in competing should call 225-7503.
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