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Idleman competes at OK marathon

Pam Idleman of Rosalia was one of 1,660 runners who completed the seventh annual Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on April 29. It began and ended at the impressive memorial for those who were victims of the bombing on April 19, 1995, of the Murrah building in downtown Oklahoma City.

Fitted with an electronic tag on her shoes, she completed the 26.2-mile route in four hours, 15.38 minutes. She finished 26th of 94 in her class of females ages 30-34. She was 148th of 604 females, and 543rd overall.

This was her first marathon. She said the last two miles were the hardest and there were times when she didn't know if she could keep going, but she never thought about quitting.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done," she said. "It was awesome. It was really hard and emotional and really rewarding at the same time. It may sound unbelievable, but I would like to do it again."

Her husband, Richard, was on hand and used a taxi to meet her several times along the route to wave and take her picture.

As a first-time participant, Idleman wore a special shirt. She was struck by the encouragement and gratitude of spectators along the route who thanked her for running.

"Good job, first timer. Keep it up!" they shouted.

She said a man from Kansas was running next to her much of the way. Later, when she checked results on the Internet, she identified him as Glen Kliewer of Hillsboro.

(Other runners from Hillsboro were Todd Lehman, Randy Wiens, Beth Schobert, and Matthew Krebs.)

Idleman is the daughter of Jerry and Rowena Plett of Lincolnville. She has two daughters: Sydney, 15, and Laura, 10.

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