Yesterday, I went to downtown LA to watch my grandpa Charlie (age 69) finish the LA Marathon.
Due to the intense heat he finished about one hour later than he expected. While I stood that full hour in the blazing heat, I had the unique opportunity to experience the marathon family reunion center.
First let me say that there were a ton of people at this event. And we all happened to be wedged together in the streets of downtown. I saw people of every age, ethnicity and fitness level. In fact I was pretty impressed some of these people actually made it the whole 26.2 miles.
There were people dressed as clowns, aliens, patriotic, you name it. I really have no idea why someone would paint their face and then run for 9 hours.
The most moving part of being in this sea of anxious family members and stinky, tired runners was seeing the actual reunion. At this point you can grasp the full scope of the accomplishment. I am sure the family members endured the training and the injuries and are very proud of their loved-one's success. Also, I could tell on many of these runner's faces that the person they were meeting is what drove them to complete the marathon.
I even saw one sweaty reunion stopped short because the camcorder wasn't on resulting in a complete reenactment of the runner coming into the family reunion center and meeting and greeting with his family member.
My grandfather marked this run as his 18th marathon - a hefty accomplishment for anyone. I am very proud of him and how I too turned into one of those family members yelling at him and cheering when he came through. Way to go Grandpa!
Due to the intense heat he finished about one hour later than he expected. While I stood that full hour in the blazing heat, I had the unique opportunity to experience the marathon family reunion center.
First let me say that there were a ton of people at this event. And we all happened to be wedged together in the streets of downtown. I saw people of every age, ethnicity and fitness level. In fact I was pretty impressed some of these people actually made it the whole 26.2 miles.
There were people dressed as clowns, aliens, patriotic, you name it. I really have no idea why someone would paint their face and then run for 9 hours.
The most moving part of being in this sea of anxious family members and stinky, tired runners was seeing the actual reunion. At this point you can grasp the full scope of the accomplishment. I am sure the family members endured the training and the injuries and are very proud of their loved-one's success. Also, I could tell on many of these runner's faces that the person they were meeting is what drove them to complete the marathon.
I even saw one sweaty reunion stopped short because the camcorder wasn't on resulting in a complete reenactment of the runner coming into the family reunion center and meeting and greeting with his family member.
My grandfather marked this run as his 18th marathon - a hefty accomplishment for anyone. I am very proud of him and how I too turned into one of those family members yelling at him and cheering when he came through. Way to go Grandpa!
posted by Tammy at
10:23 AM
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