GOING THE DISTANCE

SINGING OPERA: Papa, played by Louie Perry, sings to Momma, played by Deyette Perry in "Hansel and Gretel" performed recently at the Providence Academy in Lostine. Olivia Soares, a student at Wallowa High School, chose the opera, "Hansel & Gretel," as her senior project. The cast of 14 worked over a year to perfect the performance. Olivia is the daughter of James and Marilyn Soares of Wallowa. (The Observer/GARY FLETCHER).

Rochelle Danielson

For The Observer

"For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear the leaves and listen to the rain...''

— Dr. George Sheehan, running doctor and writer

THE BIG DAY

Deyette Perry's golden Sunday had arrived, and it came in the dark on a wet Portland street.

It was 7 a.m. The gun fired, and the 34th annual Portland Marathon was under way.

"I had to keep telling myself that this time the run was for real," Deyette said.

As a first-time marathoner, the hours she'd spent running the Prairie Creek roads — clocking 30-plus miles a week besides several 14 and 18-milers and a 20 — her efforts would come to fruition.

Going the distance — that's what it was all about — she would run 26.2 miles, farther than any of her practice runs, traverse unfamiliar streets, tackle gentle hills and cross bridges in and around the City of Roses.

This same distance, measured in Wallowa County, would be like a run from Joseph to Wallowa, plus another two miles.

Intrigued with the scenery and other runners, Perry likened the first 13 miles to a fun run.

"Portland's lower altitude made it easier to breathe, which helped me to maintain the 10-minute-mile pace I'd set as my goal," she said

Nearing mile 17, the steep, quarter-mile ramp that led onto the St. John's Bridge loomed ahead.

"It was supposed to be the most difficult hill of the run. My pace slowed, but I managed to keep going. Upon reaching the highest point of the steel suspension arch my body began to send not-so-subtle signals that it

wasn't going to take the abuse much longer. I tried to shake off the pain, but when your body hurts, your brain hurts, too," she said.

As Perry struggled to keep her stride, with still eight miles to go, she watched a young man, about her age, sprint by.

"Here I was aching all over, and this guy is trucking. I envied his energy, but then within the next mile I caught up to him and he was dragging — ready to hit the wall.''

"My knees, my knees. I can't, I can't," he gasped.

"Yes you can, just take it slow," Deyette encouraged. "It's mostly downhill from here."

The last time she saw him, he was limping toward a water station."

Up-beat spectators lined the route, and every half mile bands played jazz, pop and blues, and at mile 19, belly dancers danced.

"The noise, the music, the cheering crowds provided a boost we needed for the remaining five miles," she said.

Deyette's spirits soared when Louis, her husband, appeared on the course and ran a few miles beside her offering encouragement.

Into the final leg, using the last morsels of energy, she jogged over the Steel Bridge into the heart of the city and toward the chute.

Aches and pains forgotten, Deyette dashed across the finish line under a banner of balloons. She'd been on the road non-stop for 4 hours, 32 minutes and 39 seconds.

Wrapped in Portland Marathon hospitality — a silver space blanket around her shoulders, a 2005 commemorative medal around her neck, a finisher's shirt, a rose and a Northwest seedling clutched in hand — a teary-eyed, but happy, Deyette savored her victory.

After her success, you'd have thought Deyette would be relaxing in a sauna or taking a nap. Instead she was home only long enough to change clothes. She and her husband had a theater date.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

The Perrys, both of whom came from families of singers and who met at college choir, were in the cast of the opera "Hansel and Gretel," which was scheduled for three performances. It was to open Friday at the Providence Academy in Lostine.

Their hectic schedule began with a one-time-only dress rehearsal on Tuesday.

Deyette, a soprano, played the aggressive and demanding role as Mother, who acted ungrateful even when Father (Louis, in baritone) came home from the city acting like a happy-go-lucky fool, giving her a smacking good kiss and handing her a sack of food.

"The opera was a challenge — my singing experience came from church choir. Through song I portrayed Mother's feelings," she said. Then, pulling a face and giving a hearty laugh, she added, "The music was ugly, because Hansel and Gretel's mother was a real nag."

Iva Lindsey, who is a retired adjunct professor at Warner Pacific Christian College, and who coached Deyette in voice lessons, praised her performance.

"Her part demanded energy to build the anger she portrayed as a mother of a poor starving family. Deyette's range reached B natural. I'm sure the strength she gained from her running was a plus in developing the sound needed to play the part. She had to pick notes out of mid-air. Her interpretation of the music made it beautiful."

ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE

In January Deyette received her Certified Public Accountant certification.

"The four-section test was a two-day ordeal, eight hours per day, and offered twice a year. It was as exhausting as running a marathon," she said. "When I completed the test I felt like Jello — my brain was fried."

Deyette graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in business administration with a concentration in Accounting and Spanish from Milligan College in Johnson City, Tenn. She also earned a minor in Computer Science.

It was with self-motivation and the encouragement from her employer, Edison, Hurley & Company, P.C., in Enterprise that Deyette went back to school, taking classes through Eastern Oregon University's Distance Education online program to become a CPA.

WHAT'S NEXT?

"Tax season," she says, giving an "I- can't-wait'' smile.

Besides taxes, Deyette, who grew up in Escondido, Calif., and who moved to Joseph when she and Louis married in 2001, wants to be involved in her

community.

As a member of the Wallowa County Business Association, she hopes to help make a difference in small business growth. Other goals she'll strive for are to acquire certification in estate and retirement planning.

"No more marathons," Deyette said. "I just want to run. When I'm running — it's my time — I can think about everything or nothing at all."

Deyette, who can now lay claim to being an official marathoner, is still like one of the thousands of runners who run to hear the leaves and to listen to the rain.