THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150596
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Phil Barker has a unique way of explaining marathon racing. The retired police officer from Thornaby, England, compares the grueling experience to baking a cake.
``If you bake a cake, the first thing you need is a recipe,'' said Barker, who will compete in the Shamrock Sportfest marathon Saturday morning. ``I relate the training I do as the recipe.
``Then you mix the ingredients and the ingredients are the type of training I do.''
Not pausing or forgetting any steps, he continued.
``Then you put it in the oven and that's the race part of it,'' Barker said while sitting in the lobby of the Radisson Hotel. ``When you take it out of the oven, it's a nice cake or things have gone wrong and it's a mess.''
The 49-year-old runner has produced some nice desserts on the race circuit. Barker, whose career best is only 2 minutes, 32 seconds off the Virginia Beach course record of 2:15.26 set in 1988 by Gary Garasz, will be among the favorites in Saturday's 26.2-mile feature event.
His career best of 2:17:58 at the Ann Arbor marathon in 1994 established a world record for 48-year-olds.
He ran 2:18:59 in Holland last year.
``If I can produce anywhere near that, I don't see why it's not possible to win,'' said Barker.
More than 5,000 entrants are expected for Saturday's races - the Open 8K, the Masters 8K (40-and-over) and the marathon (26.2 miles). All events begin outside the Pavilion from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and run through the resort area.
``I would suggest I have as good a chance of being up there as anybody,'' said Barker, who has run 100 miles a week to train for this race.
The married father of three has been running since he was 14. He has won British national and regional gold medals in the steeplechase, cross country and the 1,500 meters.
But despite his success on the marathon circuit, he is a late bloomer. He ran his first marathon in 1978 but didn't begin running marathons on a regular basis until 1991.
``I really didn't train for it and it took me seven years to forget how much it hurt,'' Barker said of the 1978 race.
Now, he has turned running into a profession. He has competed in three Boston Marathons in addition to several other major U.S. races. He also conducts clinics and seminars. But he has a hobby to offset running - fishing.
``It takes my mind off the running,'' Barker said, ``because if that's all you do all the time, it becomes boring.''
The favorite in the women's race is Tatyana Buliaschenko of the Ukraine.
Current 10K world-record holder Martin Mondragon of Mexico City is the favorite in the Masters. The defending champion for the women is Maureen de St. Croix of Canada.
Registration for the races is from 2 to 10 p.m. today. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
STEVE EARLEY/The Virginian-Pilot
Phil Barker, a retired police officer from Thornaby, England, warms
up for Saturday's Shamrock Sportfest marathon.
by CNB