Wednesday Night Trio Takes the Stage in Eugene

Don’t be misled, the Wednesday Night Trio is not a band; however, if they were, they would be ready to rock and roll this Sunday. Instead, the trio, who are part of a training group in Seattle that meets on Wednesday nights called the Wednesday Night Runners, are ready to take to the streets and set the tempo at the 2012 Eugene Marathon.

Phil Olson, Teshome Kokebe and Spencer Walsh, who are all members of Club Northwest, are each accomplished runners in their own right and have a solid base of training and recent marathon specific racing under their belts. In February, Kokebe, who is from Ethiopia, pulled Olson along at the FSRC Resolution 15 Miler in Steilacoom as the two finished 1^st and 2^nd. Their times of 1:18:36 and 1:19:10 for 15 miles, which were just off the state record at the distance, point towards marathon times in the low 2:20’s. Walsh, the youngest of the trio at 28, was 4^th in the same race in 1:22:23, but more recently lowered his half marathon personal best to 1:10:03 at the Mercer Island Half Marathon where he was 2^nd behind Uli Steidl.

Each of the Wednesday Night Runners has experienced marathon success. Kokebe, 30, won the 2010 Seattle Marathon and was 2^nd at last year’s Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in an impressive 2:27:13. Walsh, who has finished 4^th in the Seattle Marathon in 2009 and 2010, won the 2010 Whidbey Island Marathon with a time of 2:30:23 on an extremely hilly course. Perhaps the elder statesmen of the three, Olson, at 31, comes in with a little Eugene Marathon specific experience as he was 5^th in last year’s race in 2:28:39, which saw 20 athletes run 2:40 or better.

On Wednesday nights at Roosevelt High School in Seattle these three athletes can be seen churning out tempo runs and reps at 5:00/mile pace or better, while under the watchful eye of the sage-like Tom Cotner.  Though closely affiliated with Club Northwest, the group is a collective catch-all for runners of any affiliation or ability. Cotner, who is USATF Level 1 Certified and Chairs the Open Athletic Committee of the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track and Field, is a welcoming ambassador of the sport to the 40-60 athletes(some triathletes) that show up rain or shine and race anything from 800 meters to ultra marathons to the Ironman.

This training group has been around since the early 80’s and has fostered and developed hundreds of athletes, with Phil, Teshome and Spencer being the latest in a long line of orange jerseys to rise to the challenge of the marathon.

To see how Phil, Teshome, Spencer and thousands of other runners race on Sunday check this link after 5:00 pm: 2012 Eugene Marathon Results