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	Vol.7, No 45, November 16, 1999
	2 rookies take L.B. race By Monica Hoffman Special to the Daily Forty-Niner Nimah Nicholas, 26, of Mountain View could barely remember crossing the finish line Sunday as she clinched her first victory in the women's division at the 15th annual Isuzu Long Beach Marathon. "I don't have a good memory of crossing the finish line," said Nicholas, who finished the 26.2-mile race with a time of 2:37:06. "I was so tired but happy to have won. I'm going to relive this memory for a long time." Nicholas, a first-time participant in the marathon, was one of more than 6,000 athletes who blazed through Long Beach this weekend. Gary Stolz, also a first-time participant, took first place in the men's division with a time of 2:19:46. The event marks the first time two rookies won the marathon. "I've worked for a very long time to get where I am today," said Stolz, a 28-year-old from Woodside. "My goal was to finish in the top three. I didn't expect to finish 10 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Jose Ortiz Pena and third-place finisher Francismar de Barros." The race was a qualifier to every major racing event in the country and will also operate as a qualifier for the Olympic trials as athletes prepare for Sydney in 2000. Stolz and Nicholas qualified for the Olympic trials by winning the race. Both winners will receive $3,500, a Heavenly bed from the Westin Hotel and use of an Isuzu vehicle for a year. About 400 participants in wheelchairs and 500 inline skaters competed for about $10,000 in cash prizes. Keith Davis, 27, of Pacific Palisades grabbed the top spot in the wheelchair division with a time of 1:39:41, a second behind  Scott Parsons. The winners of the 13.1-mile inline-skating race were Derek Downing, 26, of Atlanta and Jillianne Rookard, 16, of Detroit. The marathon started and finished in front of the Westin Hotel on Ocean Boulevard. The marathon route hugged the Pacific coastline. "This prestigious event marks the beginning of a new era for the marathon and bright expectations for the future of this sporting extravaganza," said John Goldman, marathon director.		Jason Steinberg/ Daily Forty-Niner "It was a death march," said Gary Stolz, winner of Sunday's Long Beach Marathon. Stolz was using the race as an attempt to qualify for the 2000 Olympic track team, but with a race winning time of 2:19:46, he fell 5 minutes short of his goal.                                                         Fire damages home near CSULB   2 rookies take L.B. race   Campus concert makes no money Cheap shots belittle news   Special events close parking   Thefts too much for cops The Beach loses grip of first   LBSU can't overcome USC   49ers lose in double overtime Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.