Alaskan, Unfazed By Race Conditions, Places 25th

After running perhaps the fastest Boston Marathon ever by an Alaskan despite the terrible conditions, Anchorage’s Jerry Ross finally got his reward.

He got his picture taken with winner Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya.

With the 12th best finish by an American, Ross ended up just 10 minutes behind Cheruiyot, the marathoner he called the best in the world.

"This guy is amazing," Ross said on his cell phone from the awards ceremony. "That was icing on the cake.

"He was the object of abject poverty. It’s more inspiring than anything I can think of."

For Alaskans, their new running inspiration might be Ross. The 31-year-old finished one of the country’s most prestigious marathons in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 47 seconds to finish 25th in a field of 23,889 runners.

That’s the best time and placing for an Alaskan at Boston since at least 1993. The closest time in the past 15 years had belonged to Fairbanks’ Kevin Brinegar, who finished in 2:33:42 in 2002.

"That’s great," Ross said. "There’s been some pretty dang good marathoners from here (Alaska)."

The only thing Ross missed out on was the qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials that will be run in New York in November. He would have needed to finish in 2:22:00 but fell 167 seconds short. Ross will have other chances to qualify at any marathon certified by USA Track and Field.

"I am not disappointed at all," Ross said. "I think with a tail wind and no rain, I beat 2:22."

Nasty weather is the memory Ross and the other runners will retain from the 2007 Boston Marathon.

A nor’easter drenched the Northeast for several days leading up to the race. Gusts were expected to hit 50-60 mph at race time but stayed in the 20-30 mph range, Ross said.

"It blew all those top guys farther back," Ross said.

Cheruiyot won in 2:14:13, a time almost seven minutes slower than his record finish last year.

But for an Alaskan, the conditions were familiar. The 40-degree temperature at race start was no problem. After all, Ross trained through an Alaska winter to prepare.

"Once I thought it would be bad, I thought, "Bring it on. Make it as bad as possible,’ " Ross said. "I thought I would rise in this situation."

Ross found himself in about 30th place after a mile and knew he had a chance for something special. He hooked up with a runner from Spokane, Wash., for several miles as the runners took turns shielding each other from wind-driven rain.

"You have to do that if it’s blowing," Ross said.

At the halfway point, Ross’ time was 1:11:00, perfectly on pace to hit the qualifying time. But the rain, wind, fatigue and second-half hills took their toll. Still, he kept pushing.

"You got that Alaska Skinny Raven (running store) jersey and you think, ‘There will be a lot of people proud of me back home," Ross said. "I was surprised. People were cheering, ‘Go Alaska!’ "

He arrived at the finish line as one of the first runners to finish outside the elite class and was interviewed by NBC Nightly News.

"It was raining, it was cold," Ross told NBC. "But you knew every step you took, you’re getting closer to home."

Anchorage’s Esther Jurasek was the top Alaska woman in 3:03:06, putting her fourth in the master’s class. She started in the elite group of runners headed by Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor of California.

"It’s faster than I thought considering my lack of conditioning and (the) conditions," Jurasek said. "I would think, ‘Thank God (the wind’s letting up),’ and then it would whoosh and start."

Jurasek’s brother, John Clark, was the second Alaska finisher in 2:39.31. Wayne Leder of Fairbanks, the top Alaskan at last year’s race, was fourth this year in 3:04:45.

Clark said Ross’ finish puts the local standout in a similar class to David Morris, the former Chugiak High runner who surprised the country when he set an American record of 2:09:32 at the 1999 Chicago Marathon.

"A lot of people would have given up," Clark said. "Jerry put his head down and ran really tough today."

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Daily News reporter Brian Singler can be reached at bsingler@adn.com.

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111th Boston Marathon

Alaska finishers

Monday’s results

25) Jerome Ross, Anchorage, 2:24:47; 121) John E. Clark, Anchorage, 2:39:31; 1,162) Esther Jurasek, Anchorage, 3:03:06; 1,308) Wayde G. Leder, Fairbanks, 3:04:45; 1,893) Andy Holland, Fairbanks, 3:09:54; 2,495) Garrett Rychlik, Anchorage, 3:14:28; 3,054) Samuel J. Crow, Bethel, 3:17:52; 3,473) Tommy L. Thompson, Juneau, 3:20:23; 3,567) David F. Johnston, Wasilla, 3:20:55; 3,648) Steve Parker, Juneau, 3:21:23; 4,778) Jeremy Larson, Kodiak, 3:27:09; 4,871) Susan K. Doherty, Ketchikan, 3:27:32; 5,204) Kevin W. Taylor, Anchorage, 3:28:44; 5,637) Lisa Dale, Anchorage, 3:30:23; 6,941) Thomas F. Ojala, Anchorage, 3:35:49; 7,039) Caro J. Rosier-Polley, Juneau, 3:36:14; 7,561) Thomas H. Coolidge, Anchorage, 3:38:19; 7,872) Yvonne L. Overson, Anchorage, 3:39:36; 7,921) John Pontarolo, Anchorage, 3:39:47; 8,773) Joseph Trubacz, North Pole, 3:43:11; 9,861) Veronica Beagan, Anchorage, 3:47:25; 10,086) John A. Kern, Juneau, 3:48:17; 10,124)Rich Dale, Anchorage, 3:48:27; 11,943) Charles L. Simmons, Anchorage, 3:55:35; 11,994) K. C. Kaltenborn, Anchorage, 3:55:48.

Other finishers — Dietrich Hildebrandt, Fairbanks, 4:12:05; 4045, Ashley D. Spriggs, Wrangell, 3:59:01; 4914, Erika R. Klinger, Anchorage, 4:08:03; 9934, Bruce E. Davison, Anchorage, 4:19:20; 5553, Kathleen Pelkan, Bethel, 4:17:15; 5598, Pok Maley, Eagle River, 4:17:18; 7021, Laura L. Moore, Anchorage, 4:49:37; 11768, Wayne M. Crayton, Anchorage, 5:04:47.

Top Alaska Finishes in Boston Marathon

(Name, hometown, place, time)

2007 — Jerry Ross, Anchorage, 25, 2:24:47

2006 — Wayne Leder, Fairbanks, 699, 2:56:09

2005 — Kevin Brinegar, Fairbanks, 94, 2:39:48

2004 — Mike Kramer, Fairbanks, 202, 2:55:45

2003 — Kevin Brinegar, Fairbanks, 61, 2:39:26

2002 — Kevin Brinegar, Fairbanks, 81, 2:33:42

2001 — Kevin Brinegar, Fairbanks, 125, 2:39:17

2000 — Joel Wattum, Kodiak, 560, 2:52:02

1999 — Warren Hancock, Anchorage, N/A, 2:39:50.

1998 –Harry Johnson, Anchorage, 73, 2:33:49

1997 — Kevin Brinegar, Fairbanks, 286, 2:49:05

1996 — Harry Johnson, Anchorage, 241, 2:37:16

1995 — Ben Sauvage, Anchorage, 229, 2:42:31

1994 — Bill Gardner, Fairbanks, 492, 2:49:06

1993 — Harry Johnson, Anchorage, 123, 2:38:49

1992 — N/A

1991 — Dan Keliher, Sitka, N/A, 2:39:38.