Twenty years ago, my brother and I ran the Los Angeles Marathon. It was his first and my second race. The previous year I had run Salt Lake City as a personal goal… and Steve said he’d like to do one himself. I figured I’d train with him… little did either one of us realize how many races we’d wind up doing. Steve’s done at least 10 marathons. I’ve done… well, you can click on the tally if you really must know but it’s more than 10.
I was thinking a lot about that 20th Anniversary Running today, which marked the 40th Anniversary LA Marathon. The course has changed — when Steve and I did it in 2005 you started downtown and looped around Wilshire Blvd I think. The years have taken their toll. The miles have added up. But I still get a kick out of running Hollywood Blvd, even if now I run right past my apartment. I’ve felt this in the past but it still was a weird moment to hit the halfway point exactly at the road that would take me to my old house. All this is to say it was a nostalgic 26.2 miles… and though I struggled quite a bit, it was nice to be out and about once more. Missed my brother though. Maybe he and I have one more race in us before I hang up my running shoes. It does feel like I’m closer to the end than the beginning on that score.
Anyhoo — a coupla pics:
