Growing up, I would see on the news about the Boston Marathon, the New York Marathon, or the Los
Angeles Marathon. I always marveled at those who took on this challenge and conquered it. Never in
my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be doing all of these races, and many others, in my later
years.
When I turned 51, I got it into my head that I wanted to do a half marathon that I had read about at
Disneyland. It was January 2008, and the race was on August 31, 2008. I thought that I could surely
train myself by then. And so I did, not knowing if I had done a good job without a coach to lead me. I
ran my first half marathon at Disneyland at the age of 51 in 1:42. I surprised myself with the time. I
decided to sign up for the Long Beach Half Marathon a month later in October to see if my time had
been a fluke or if I had some kind of running talent. I amazed myself with a time of 1:38.
I really wondered if I was capable of completing a full marathon. It was twice the distance and a lot
more demanding. I decided to take up the challenge and ran my first full marathon in February 2009 in
Huntington Beach at the age of 52. The Surf City Marathon, as it was called and still is, occurred on
Super Bowl Sunday. I finished in 4:20 in spite of cramps, anemia, hypoglycemia, and exhaustion.
However, I now had the marathon bug and kept pursuing it.
I have now completed 102 marathons along with various other distances and have signed up for at least
seven more in the course of the next year. My body no longer aches when I run this far; on the
contrary, I am euphoric and get my runner’s high every time I compete in a marathon.
Running is part of my life, a routine that I do not plan on ever giving up on as long as my physical health
allows it.
Cheers to all those who are taking up the challenge.