SDSU student Cy Fixen completes the Boston Marathon April 18. It was the pharmacy major’s third time running in a marathon. - Submitted Photo

About 200 feet before crossing the finish line, Cy Fixen collapsed.

Then one of the 27,000 other runners helped the exhausted Fixen cross the line to finish 2,473rd in the Boston Marathon April 18.

“I don’t know who the guy was, but I’m really grateful,” Fixen said.

Fixen, a senior pharmacy major, has been training for the Boston Marathon for six years.

“During the week I run anywhere from 5 to 10 miles a day,” Fixen said.

Fixen has run two other marathons. To qualify for the Boston Marathon, he needed a time of less than 3 hours and 10 minutes. Fixen completed his first marathon in 3 hours and 18 minutes and his second in 3 hours and 6 minutes.

“The [South Dakota] weather made training challenging,” Fixen said. “You have to find somewhere you can run.”

Fixen said running is his “stress relief.”

On his return trip from Boston to Brookings, Fixen reflected on the race.

“The last five miles were tough,” he said. “The thing about [the Boston Marathon] is it is mostly downhill for the first half of the race, and then you get into the hills. [That] is when the real psychological battle starts.”

The last 5.5 miles, near Boston College, is a section known as Heartbreak Hill – named so after the 1936 marathon. At this point, runners “hit the wall,” depleted of glycogen, and the final leg of the race becomes a contest of sheer willpower.

Fixen finished the more than 26-mile run in 03:07:18, with a pace of 7:14 per mile. According to the Boston Marathon website, that places Fixen within the upper 11 percent of all participants in the 18-39 age group.

“It was an emotional finish,” Fixen said, sounding a little choked up. “To have so many people cheering you on … it was cool.”

Fixen’s family and friends were there to cheer for him and to keep a careful watch on him as he reached the 25-mile mark.

“They said I looked good as I ran by,” Fixen said. “When I finished, I was running on fumes.”

A day after the race, Fixen said he needed a few days to recover.

“Today’s sore, tomorrow will be the worst,” he said.

Fixen tried to put the whole experience into words.

“It’s hard to put my finger on it,” Fixen said. “When you run across the finish line, it is an unbelievable experience. It’s hard to communicate the feeling. It reminds you that you’re glad to be alive.”

Until Cy Fixen spent a year in Boston, Mass., he never imagined one day he would be competing in the 2011 Boston Marathon at 10 a.m. EDT on April 18.

Fixen, a senior pharmacy major, traveled to Boston with his parents, and was joined there by his brother and sister-in-law for today’s marathon.

“I thought those people were crazy,” Fixen said, just before he boarded his plane at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. “I lived in Boston for a year. When I attended my first marathon, cheering people on, seeing how the runners looked so into it, I got hooked. There was so much energy, and the crowd was amazing.”

After attending his first marathon as a by-stander, Fixen’s drive to become a runner at the Boston Marathon has been a six-year journey.

“During the week I run anywhere from 5 to 10 miles a day,” Fixen said.

But these days are just recovery days from his Saturday and Sunday runs.

“I run short runs or take off a day after running 20 miles on the weekend,” he said.

Fixen has run two other marathons. To qualify for the Boston Marathon, he needed a time of less than 3 hours and 10 minutes. Fixen completed his first marathon in 3 hours and 18 minutes and his second in 3 hours and 6 minutes.

“The [South Dakota] weather made training challenging,” Fixen said. “You have to find somewhere you can run.”

When Fixen is not out running along county roads and highways, he is at the Wellness Center either running on treadmills or the elevated running track.

Fixen said running is his “stress relief.”

“I have been running less in preparation for the marathon, and my body is getting anxious to run,” Fixen said. “I have a lot of stored-up energy.”

Fixen said his parents have been supportive of his participation in the marathon.

“They love it,” he said. “I think they think I am a little crazy.”

See The Collegian on Wednesday for Fixen’s results and to read about his experience.

Matt Dunbar (left) and Brandon Priebe (right) run in the men's 110 meter hurdles Apr. 9. The teammates finished first and second in the event while the team finished with eight individual or team wins total. -Rod Schneller

The Jackrabbit track and field teams were busy winning in Yankton in Apr. 9.

The women’s team won five events at the South Dakota/North Dakota Double Dual in Yankton. Sophomore Brooke Garner didn’t win the hammer throw, but she did break the school record in the event with a second place throw of 187 feet, 11 inches. However,Garner did win the discus with a throw of 158 feet.
“Brooke had an outstanding day to go with what is

s becoming a breakout season for her,” said head coach Rod DeHaven. “The exciting part is that there is quite a bit of season left and the hammer throw and discus are events that we usually get better as the season progresses.”

Senior sprinters Brittany Garner and Heather Wollman claimed the 100 and 200 meter events. Garner’s time in the 100 meter was 11.99 seconds and Wollman’s time was 24.70 seconds in the 200.

Two relay teams also finished first on the women’s side. The 4 x 100 relay team won with a time of 46.57 seconds and the 4 x 400 relay team won with a time of 3:49.51.

The women defeated the University of North Dakota 103-87 and lost to the University of South Dakota 105-90.

The men’s team won eight events at the dual.

Junior Luke Leischner won the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.69 seconds. Leischner also finished second in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.83 seconds.

Hammer thrower specialists Sean Burns and Jake Brinkmann finished first and second in the event with throws of 184-11 and 180-11. Brinkmann’s throw is second in school history.

The men’s hurdlers had a good turnout. Matt Dunbar and Brandon Priebe finished first and second in the 110 meter hurdles with times of 15.01 and 15.13 seconds. Priebe also won the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 53.90 seconds.

Three more juniors took home first place finishes.

Jared Vlastuin won the high jump event with a jump of 6-02. Jake Schneller won the 1,500 meter run with a time of 3:52.07 and Aaran Davis won the javelin with a throw of 184 feet, 5 inches.

The 4 x 400 relay team also took home a top place finish with a time of 3:18.99.

The men’s team won both of their duals. The Jacks defeated the University of North Dakota 135-45 and defe

Alison Anderson begins her run in the 4x400 meter relay. The team finished first in the event running the fourth-fastest time in school history. -Rod Schneller

ated the University of South Dakota 105-96.

“We competed well on both sides,” DeHaven said. “It was nice to come out on top on the men’s side,

but more importantly we had a ton of personal bests that placed individuals on the Summit League lists.”

Senior Ben Jasinkski competed in the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas. He finished second in the high jump with a jump

of 6-10.75.

The Jacks will be in Walnut, Cal. and Des Moines, Iowa this weekend.

By Dustin Veurink
Sportswriter

Sean Burns spins in his delivery of the hammerthrow in a meet earlier this season. Burns has 13 career victories, including seven in the hammer throw. Submitted Photo

Senior weight thrower Sean Burns dominated the indoor weight throw competition this year, but the amazing thing is that he hasn’t been competing in the event long.

Burns, a Rapid City native, didn’t know the weight throw was an event until he arrived on campus.

As a kid, Burns was influenced by his older sister to compete in throwing events after watching her in middle school.

“I thought it was the coolest thing in the world,” Burns said.

“I knew out of all the events in track and field that was the one I wanted to do.”

Going into the indoor season track season, Burns held the SDSU weight throw record with a throw of 58 feet, 10.75 inches, a record throw he set in 2009.

In December, Burns started the 2010-2011 indoor season off by breaking his record in the weight throw with a throw of 61 feet, 10.25 inches in Fargo. That throw also broke the South Dakota state collegiate record.

“It’s pretty exciting. I’ve met the last two record holders before I broke it,” Burns said. “I feel like they are good company to be mentioned with.”

With a month off between the next meet, Burns broke his record with a throw of 64 feet, 8.75 inches in Vermillion.

On Jan. 29, Burns broke his record for the third time this season with a throw of 65 feet, 7.5 inches in Ames, Iowa. Burns tied his record two weeks later in Ames again.

Burns won the weight throw at the Summit League Championships with a throw of 62 feet, 11.50 inches and helped the Jacks to a second place performance, the program’s highest conference finish since joining the Summit League.

He also finished second in the ashot put with a personal best of 54 feet, 4.25 inches, which ranks sixth all-time in school history.

Burns wrapped up his indoor season with a sixth-place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Qualifier with a throw of 58-08.75.

“He put in a ton of work to get himself in this position and it is great to see it pay off,” said head coach Rod DeHaven.

Burns was ranked in the Division I United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association weight throw rankings all year and finished the season ranked 29th.

“As far as being ranked, I’m excited, because I would have never thought I would be,” Burns said.

Burns has 13 career wins, including seven in the hammer throw, four in the weight throw and two in the shot put.

Burns’ success carried over into the hammer throw discipline, where he had a similar hot streak.

He broke the hammer throw record five times last year in the outdoor season. His record throw is 188 feet, 9 inches and will look to continue his success in the outdoor track and field season.