A runner for life

Of all the individual feats accomplished by the record field at Sunday's Two Bear Marathon and half marathon, none may have been as personal as Sandy Jahnke's.

The 47-year-old Kalispell resident finished her first half marathon in just under three hours — less than one year beyond her last chemotherapy treatment for ovarian cancer.

Completing the race, she said, had little to do with the numbers on the clock at the finish line. For her, running from Upper Whitefish Lake Road to The Wave was a personal triumph that represented a comeback from the brink.

"Finishing the race was a sign that I've regained my physical and mental strength," she said while becoming emotional as she thought back to her yearlong battle with the sickness.

Jahnke was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer in May 2008 after a hysterectomy surgery revealed the disease. She immediately underwent chemotherapy treatments.

While in the treatment process, she walked up to six miles a day trying to stay in shape — she ran her first 10K days before her diagnosis — but after reading a few books on running, she decided she wanted to do more.

"Chemo can make people do strange things," she said. "I decided I wanted to do a marathon."

This May — after finishing her chemo treatments and exactly one year after being diagnosed with cancer — Jahnke joined Jeff Cowie's marathon-training clinic at The Wave.

Cowie is a co-race director for the Two Bear Marathon and a world-class triathlete who has finished three Ironman-length races.

"When I opened the initial clinic, I asked each runner to tell me a little bit about themselves," Cowie said.

"When it was the next lady's turn, she said, 'My name is Sandy Jahnke, and exactly one year ago today, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My goal is to finish the Two Bear half marathon.'"

Cowie was in awe of her goal, as were all the other clinic attendees. He went on to tell her how proud he was of her as a cancer survivor, and discussed Lance Armstrong's heroic battle, and just how much Armstrong has done to increase global awareness of the disease.

"Everyone at the gym was supportive of me," Jahnke said. "They'd see me on the treadmill, and maybe didn't know what I was working out for, but cheered me on anyway."

Jahnke said running created an opportunity for her to clear her mind and during her training she was running as much as five days a week.

"I wouldn't take an iPod," she said of her training runs. "I would just run."

She divided her jogs into parts. First, she said, she cleaned house in her mind. Then, after getting a little ways into the run, she'd think about life, maybe even her "bucket list." And at the end of her runs she just let her mind wander.

"I ended each run by taking a vacation in my mind," she said.

At the half marathon on Sunday, Jahnke said she started strong and made it to the 7-mile marker feeling really good, but then hit a bit of a wall.

"I walked and ran the last half of the race," she said. "I've got room to improve on my time."

Jahnke said injuries from overtraining slowed her down.

"I now have a passion for running," she said. "My ultimate goal is to be a runner for life."

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and Jahnke said it's important for women to be attentive to the warning signals of the disease. Visit www.ovariancancerawareness.org for more information.

Lehr wins again at Two Bear Marathon

The fifth annual Two Bear Marathon and half marathon fielded a record number of runners on Sunday, with 246 participants crossing the finishing line at The Wave.

Markus Lehr, of Wetzlar, Germany, took first place in the full marathon for the second straight year, finishing in a time of 2:57:03 — a three-minute improvement on his time last year.

Michael Bestwick, of Whitefish, took third place in the full marathon, finishing in 3:09:02.

On the women's side, Anya Wechsler, of Missoula took the top spot in the full marathon. She crossed the finish line in 3:27:32.

Brian Wieck, of Helena, won the half marathon for men and Niki Dessani, of Columbia Falls, for women.

Kristin Wheeler and Kelly Trufant, both of Whitefish, rounded out the top-three women in the half marathon, while Richard Menicke, of Whitefish, took third in the half marathon for men.