Kailua's Dickie first from state in Boston

By Casey McGuire-Turcotte
Special to the Advertiser

In only his second attempt at a marathon, Air Force Capt. Robert Dickie of Kailua finished the 107th Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 30 minutes, 21 seconds yesterday, making him not only the first Hawai'i finisher, but the 23rd overall and the fifth American to cross the line.

Dickie averaged 5:44 per mile over the 26.2-mile, notoriously hilly course, despite fierce headwinds coming off Boston Harbor and running virtually alone for the second half of the race.

"I had three goals going into the race: to be a top 25 finisher, a top five American finisher, and to run a 2:22 Olympic qualifying time," Dickie, 28, said by telephone from his hotel in Boston yesterday morning. "The weather didn't allow the time to happen today, but I guess two out of three isn't bad."

Running with a pack of elite American athletes, Dickie came through the halfway point at 1:11:10 and still in position to hit his goal of 2:22. But what had been a slight headwind at the 10K mark increased significantly and was only getting stronger.

"We were managing to keep pace against the wind until midway through, but the group I was with was starting to slow down, and I knew I needed to keep pushing the pace if I wanted to finish well," Dickie said.

He maintained a 5:27 average through 30 kilometers (18.6 miles), but fighting the wind alone caught up with him at the 22-mile mark, heading up "Heartbreak Hill."

For the last four miles, Dickie's pace dropped to about 5:40.

"Those last miles were hell," he said. "I hit the wall ... hard."

As is tradition with the Boston Marathon, however, thousands of spectators had crowded the streets to cheer the athletes to the finish.

"They lined up around the entire course, sometimes three or four deep," Dickie said. "It was Patriots Day, so a lot of them were waving American flags and I kept hearing, 'Come on Air Force, you're doing great.' It helped me so much."

Once he made it to the finish, Dickie was immediately taken to the medical tent because of severe cramping, shaking and dehydration. He recovered, but admits the race was "the toughest of my life."

Despite the pain, Dickie is looking forward to another shot at the Olympic qualifying time.

"Bar none, I'm in the best shape of my life right now. I think my best races are still ahead of me," he said.

Dickie's first attempt at a marathon came in 2002 at the Marine Corps Marathon. An injury forced him to withdraw at the 25-mile mark.

He and his coach, retired Marine Farley Simon, a Hawai'i resident, have discussed plans for him to run the Chicago Marathon in October.

"Coach and I both believe I can run under 2:22 given the right weather conditions," Dickie said. "Chicago is known to be flatter and faster than Boston, so I think I have a shot."

In 2001, at the age of 46, Simon won the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in 2:28:28. The Marine Corps Marathon Hall of Famer owns personal bests of 4:03 in the mile and 2:17:46 for the marathon.