Surf City Marathon ......... Stage 4 of My Journey

This oceanfront course is a California dream. Run on Pacific Coast Highway, past the famous Huntington Beach pier and wind through the legendary surfing beaches of Southern California. Surf rock riff bands entertain along the way and the finish line beach party includes a beach side beer garden in the California sun.

"The Perfect Start/Finish"

Picture this..."a start wreathed in light fog, led out by a covey of restored classic woody sedans and lifeguard vehicles," complete with surfboard storage on top! Marathon & Beyond Magazine calls it a "perfect start/finish." All races begin to the soundtrack of the Beach Boys' Surfin' USA and the cheers of local surfers from Huntington Beach's original surfing club, The Longboard Crew.

Surf City, Here We Run!

"The Journey"

On February 5, I will run Stage 4 of my Journey to the Marathon Maniac Silver Level Membership.  It will be my 4th full marathons in 5 months and 1st on my new AG(70 - 74).

"Training"

My training is hampered by a calf (behind the knee) injury caused by challenging Mount Diablo and trail running in northern California.

Training was limited to the following:

  1.  10m  - 1

  2.  13.1  - 2 (1-road race)

  3.   15m - 2

  4.   Several 10k and 5k

Will try a  20 miles LSD run before taper week.

Southern California Half Marathon ...... Goodbye AG

Last Sunday I bid goodbye to my AG(65-69) by running the KP Southern California Half Marathon.  With 4000 participants, it's one of the biggest low profile event in Southern California. About  50% of the participants are high school and middle school students from the Orange and Los Angeles Unified Schools. It had the atmosphere of a high school athletic event with coaches, trainers, boosters and tents.  Nice to see these enthusiastic youngsters up this early.

Before the Race

My Trainer and Sponsor

Starting Line

After the 13.1 Mile Run

Results:
 Time:                        2:05:18
AG Place:                  6th out of 15
Overall Place:            1354th out of 3954

It's been a great running year for me and what a way to bid goodbye to AG (65-69).

Last AG Year Performance:
1. Set 10K PR at 53min:47sec
 2. Set Half Marathon PR at 2hr:01min:54sec and 2 Podium Finishes
 3. 3 Full Marathons within 90 days and qualified for the Marathon Maniac Bronze Membership

 My Credo:
 1. No Training Short Cut or Substitute.
 2. Patience will take me to my Running Goals
 3. No Pain Killer or PED

My Last Race ..............

On January 7, 2012, I will run my last AG (65-69) race. I had been running for 5 years under this Age Group and reluctantly has to move on ..... to the next  AG (70-74). There will be tremendous dropped in number of runners at this AG.  Less than 1/2 % of all runners today will be still running when they reach this age group  I am blessed to still  able to lace my shoes and answer the starting gun come February 5 to run Stage 4 of my journey at the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach.

 Southern California Half Marathon & 5K, which celebrates its 21st annual running in 2012 as the official warm-up road race for other California races like the Los Angeles Marathon, the O.C. Marathon and the Surf City Marathon later in the year.


Following a route through the area known as the Woodbridge Loop, the Southern California Half takes runners on a mostly flat (though occasionally hilly) course through suburban neighborhoods, city park areas and along the waters of the San Diego Creek.

Happy New Year!!!!