Finnish Finish

There was hope in Boston. Not for eleven years had an American won the annual Patriots' Day Marathon, a grind of 26 miles and 385 yards winding from suburban Hopkinton to the finish line at Exeter Street in downtown Boston. This year, after a decade of watching Japanese, Koreans and Finnish runners wallop America's best, loyal Bostonians saw a chance for victory. There were no entrants from Japan or Korea, and the Finns were represented by a pair of solemn runners who ranked no better than fifth and sixth in their own marathon-happy country.

The last U.S. winner, John A. Kelley of West Acton, Mass., was now called Kelley the Elder, and counted out by all but sentimentalists. But there was another Kelley in contention--Boston University Student John J. Kelley (no kin to John A.)--and also a Natick, Mass, schoolteacher, Nick Costes, to give the U.S. a chance for the Patriots' Day laurel wreath. The younger Kelley, a ten-year veteran at 25, had finished fifth in 1953, seventh in 1954. Costes had placed a strong third last year.

Princely Guests. While Kelley and Costes trained near Boston, the dour Finns jogged doggedly through the hills near Plainfield, Conn., where a group of Finnish-Americans had set up training facilities for Eino Oksanen, a Helsinki detective, and Antti Viskari, Finnish army sergeant, whose trip to the U.S. for the race was financed by the U.S. Finnish-American colony.

The runners were treated as princely guests. "In Finland," explained one of their sponsors, "a marathon runner is very glamorous. What you think of a movie star we think of a marathon runner."

It was clear and cool as 164 runners set out on the road to Boston, a welcome tailwind at their backs. By the time they reached the first checkpoint in Framingham, four men chugged together in the van: Kelley, Costes and the two Finns. By Auburndale, 10 miles from the finish, the race was already narrowed down to easy-striding Kelley the younger and the chop-gaited Viskari, with Kelley slightly ahead.

Record, Record! At the steep grade known as Heartbreak Hill, near the Boston College campus, the Finn put on steam, gained a 75-yard lead. Kelley put on a burst of his own, picked up 25 yards. But Viskari was still running steadily. Desperately, Kelley tried to catch up, but with no success, and as they sprinted down Commonwealth Ave., Viskari pulled away, turned into Exeter St. and loped to the finish line two blocks away. Mayor John B. Hynes clapped the laurel wreath on his head and adoring Finnish-Americans enshrouded him in a blanket. Unsure of Viskari's English, an admirer shouted: "Record! Record! Understand?" Viskari grinned as well as he could. His time: 2 hr. 14 min. 14 sec., fastest marathon ever run. Kelley, 125 yards back at the finish, crossed 19 seconds later, also breaking the old record.

Said an exhausted Kelley: "I could have run farther, but I couldn't run any faster." The one consolation for the U.S. is that Kelley and Costes may get another crack at the Finns in the Olympic Games at Melbourne. But this is dampened by the fact that there are several runners back home who can beat Marathon Victor Viskari. "We run good because there isn't much else to do," explained one of the Finns. "Besides, we are very close to the Russians."

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