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Monday, April 17, 2000
Isle runner
bundles up in
Boston
Thirty-three from Hawaii
By Pat Bigold
are among 18,000 entrants
in today's marathon
Star-BulletinPeggy Regentine's biggest concern about this morning's Boston Marathon was the unpredictable New England weather.
"I don't know whether to run in shorts or tights, and I've never run in tights before," she said last night from her room at the Armed Forces YMCA in Boston.
Regentine, a 50-year-old associate professor who teaches computer science at Windward Community College, is entering the world's oldest footrace for the first time since its 100th anniversary in 1996.
She is one of 33 Hawaii runners registered in the 2000 race whose relaxed qualifying standards resulted in more than 18,000 entrants.
"It's going to be cold with headwinds," said Regentine, who will wear a T-shirt and a long-sleeved shirt over a singlet at the start. She also will wear gloves which she probably will doff along the course.
A chilly breeze off the Atlantic Ocean was expected to create temperatures ranging between the upper 40s and the low 50s in Hopkinton, Mass., the town where the race begins, 26.2 miles away from Boston's finish line at Copley Square.
"It was cold at the start in 1996, but then it got hot and I threw off one T-shirt and wrapped another around my waist," Regentine said.
Jon Schmeiser, a 51-year-old retired Army reservist who works as a telecommunications specialist, at Fort Shafter, said he is not as worried about the conditions. "It will be a beautiful day for running," he said.
Schmeiser, who also ran in the 100th anniversary race, said he will wear only a Mid-Pacific Road Runners T-shirt over his torso.
Regentine, Schmeiser and other Hawaii runners arrived early in Hopkinton to have breakfast and stay warm before the start in a house on Main Street, the home of Peter Thalman's engineering firm. Thalman, a Massachusetts resident who flies the Hawaii state flag, has been giving refuge to Hawaii runners since 1996.
