The 2013 Big Sur International Marathon- Epilogue Pt 1

Two weeks have already passed since I ran Big Sur. Looking back on it, it was the most difficult race (or athletic event for that matter) that I've ever participated in. The legendary beauty of the course was matched equally by the difficulty of it. To complicate things, an injury I sustained during the race made things even more difficult. Any finishing time goals were eventually supplanted by the goal of just finishing the race PERIOD! Even if I was healthy, this race would have kicked my behind. All in all though, I'm glad to have run this race and I'll never forget the entire experience!

The entire weekend was a memorable one! My wife, kids, and parents, all made the trek down to the Monterey peninsula for the weekend's festivities. My daughter kicked off the weekend of racing by participating in the JUST RUN! Just kids 3K that Saturday morning, which was held in neighboring Pacific Grove along the oceanfront. It was the furthest distance she's run and she swore before and after the race that she's retiring from running. While she walked (and sightsaw) the majority of the time, I'm glad she participated in it and was able to finish a course of that length. Hopefully I'll be able to convince her to not turn in her running shoes quite yet.

I was able to meet my fellow teammates from Team For Life at a lunch hosted by the Lazarex Cancer Foundation on Saturday. We were able to hear a little about why we were each there that weekend. There was one teammate's story that particularly stood out. David Wingard announced that he will attempt to break a record and hike the 2,180 mile long Appalachian Train in 40 days in June 2013. That would smash the current record that stands at ~46.5 days. He will have to average over 50+ miles a day!! What's his motivation? He's doing this as a fundraiser for Lazarex! Whoa!!! David is the MAN!! You can follow his quest at rundavidrun.org.

We also got the chance to learn more about the charity's mission and the people they serve. One of the highlights was meeting Ben, an extraordinary VIP patient, and his family. We heard about his difficult and incredible battle against two types of cancer and of how he's been helped by Lazarex. It was an eye-opening experience and I was so honored to represent him and this charity on race day.

Also, the top fundraisers were announced at the lunch, and because of the generosity of you, my family and friends, I was the #2 fundraiser at this event! Thank you so much for your support of this great cause!! If you are interested in learning more about the Lazarex Cancer Foundation or would like to make a donation, you can still check out my donation page at Randy's Lazarex Fundaraising Page.

Lazarex Cancer Foundation staff, VIP patient Ben, and the top 4 fundraisers

Speaking of support, I got to meet a couple of friends throughout the weekend. I met up with Linda and Greg from the Endurance Sports Connection on Saturday at the race expo. I've known Greg for years now and he's been one of my biggest supporters ever since I started running. It was my first time meeting Linda, who's one of the co-founders of the ESC. She is truly a running inspiration and a running maniac, or more appropriately a Marathon Maniac! She was here as part of the B2B, or Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge where you run the Boston and Big Sur marathons in a 13 day span. Crazy!!

Me, Linda, and Greg

My friends Bernadette and John were also in town and at the race on Sunday morning. I'm so grateful and humbled that they came out. They are both fierce competitors in their own right, so maybe I'll be cheering them on one day when they run Big Sur (hint hint) :)

Well, since I have a lot more to share (I'm quite the blabbermouth these days), I'm going to continue my recap of the weekend in my next post.

(to be continued...)