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| J-Town RC Finishers at the So Cal Half Marathon |
On January 12 the J-Town Running Club participated in their first major race of the season. On a CHILLY Saturday morning 15 students took to the streets of Irvine in the So Cal Half Marathon. As the picture indicates, we we're all happy to finish, some of us are even smiling. =) For our first major race the kids did great. Christian finished in the top 100 and Luis in the top 150 participants, and Albert took about 20 minutes off his time from last year! We are very proud these guys and all of the crew. We received a nice discount on registration for the students from the So Cal Half Marathon organizers. Their kindness and generosity allowed us to provide the opportunity to so many students and rent a van to get us there! This is our biggest group yet! Del Cid and I stressed for a while about how to get the kids there. We tried to fit four in the car and three in each of our car trunks, but it was a little tight; and running to the start just didn't seem practical. So off we went to pick up the van. For 24 hours I was the proud driver of a 15 passenger van. I chuckled, on the drive home from LAX, at how ridiculous I am sure I looked. We got there and home safely and my car didn't smell like sweaty, musty children like it does every other Saturday. Woo hoo! The kids proudly wore their medals to school on Monday and got a taste of the pride and accomplishment that comes with completing a big race.
And the training continues...
This past Saturday we ran 14 miles on the LA River Bike Path. This is our spot for mid week runs. On Saturdays we try to get down to the beach where there are water fountains and restrooms along the way, but this year our group is bigger than we can transport; so river bed it is. 14 miles took us from North Long Beach pretty much to downtown LB. While the trail isn't the best for training (no water), it is one of my favorites. The concrete "river" is a sanctuary to me. A place I let go. The country music on my iPod doesn't quite match the scenery, but I feel right at home. This place is special for so many reasons, most of them being the students who have traversed the path with us. When I get to the top of the stairs and hop on the path, I get to see a line of students (and Del Cid) ahead of me. I don't like being slow; but, I do like the way I feel when I see each student taking steps to achieving an incredible goal. Each day I am reminded of how lucky I am to do what I love. Life is good.
