A helping hand: Rookie relies on veteran in marathon

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By PAUL HUSET
paul.huset@lee.net
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 8:06 AM CDT

Ian Kopp couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The message from a relative stuck with him for months.

“My brother-in-law challenged me to run a marathon sometime,” Kopp said. “I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. In August, I started working with the Starting Line program and the trainer asked what goal I have. I kind of jokingly said, ‘Run a marathon,’ but it was stuck in there.“

After months of training, the Chippewa Falls resident could finally clear his mind earlier this month when he finished the Duluth, Minn.-based Grandma’s Marathon, with the help of longtime runner Warren Kerola.

After using Kerola’s advice for much of the race, Kopp finished in 4 hours, 7 minutes and 1 second to take 1,659th place.

For the rookie runner, it wasn’t about the time but about just crossing the finish line.

“I was really happy that I accomplished a goal I set for myself,” he said. “The biggest thing was that I set a goal for myself and I completed it, and it was a lofty goal at that.”

Mother Nature certainly didn’t make it easier for Kopp, as temperatures reached the 90s and humidity soared on race day.

That’s where Kerola came in.

Kerola, a Chippewa Falls resident and a veteran of 12 marathons, ran his first marathon in 1997 at Grandma’s.

Having been through hot races before, Kerola was able to help Kopp through the marathon and to his goal.

Kerola offered tips to battle the heat, ranging from holding out wet hands for evaporative cooling benefits to drinking sports drinks twice as often as water to running through homeowners’ sprinklers set near the road.

“I may not have finished without him.” Kopp said. “I’ve never run in the heat before and he has. His advice was really helpful to get through the race.”

Kerola also held Kopp back in the first half of the race so the rookie would have energy for the second half. It worked, as Kopp ran faster in the second half.

The two started the marathon together and at the halfway point, Kopp went ahead while Kerola stayed back to assist another runner he knew.

Kopp and Kerola originally met during the Eau Claire Marathon races on May 2 and both are in the Chippewa Six Pack running club.

It was through this that the two planned their approach to Grandma’s.

“He’s been a mentor or trainer and so I asked if he could help me with a long run,” Kopp said.

While it was about finishing for Kopp, it was about fun for Kerola.

He would finish in 4:31:06 to place 2,796th, but the time didn’t matter to Kerola.

“It was a different mindset,” he said. “It’s usually about yourself, about your own goals. This time it was about other people. It was quite a change.”

It still didn’t detract from the experience for Kerola, who has battled through knee surgeries, raced at Grandma’s five times and ran the Boston Marathon this year.

“It was pretty fulfilling,” he said. “I was excited for him. It’s great to pass on a little bit of what I’ve learned. When I ran it the first time, I ran it with rookies so I didn’t get any tips.”

While it may have been the first time for Kopp, it won’t be his last. He plans on running Ashland’s Whistlestop Marathon in October.

Kerola is taking some time off to train and participate in a long-distance canoe race with his son in August. He qualified for the 2010 Boston Marathon thanks to his 2009 Boston Marathon time and is unsure if he’ll be going back.

Despite the allure of Boston, Kerola said that Grandma’s has a special place in his heart because it was his first marathon.

Now, he’s helped someone else make that same claim.