City's annual marathon enriches us in many ways

By Ira Zunin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 17, 2011

~~<p>My son arrived home after a visit to the dentist a few weeks ago and announced that he had signed us up for the Honolulu Marathon. This summer we completed our first Tin Man Triathlon, but we had never run a full marathon. Martial arts training helps us maintain our cardio condition, but our morning runs to the top of Hahaione Valley weren't meant to prepare us to replicate Phidippides' historic effort to announce Greek victory against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon.</p>
<p>Almost 20,000 of us shared palpable exhilaration and anticipation while waiting at the starting line on Ala Moana Boulevard at 4:30 a.m. I wasn't sure how long my son could keep up his lively pace when he began to pull away from me shortly after the gun. He is still 14 and had never run more than 10 miles. That pace lasted until mile 22 when he "hit the wall" and dropped to squat on the ground. Thinking his body was finished and starting to walk, a voice behind him said, "Hey, buddy. You look like you could run faster than me. Come on." He picked himself up again and raced to the finish line, completing the race in great time.</p>
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My son arrived home after a visit to the dentist a few weeks ago and announced that he had signed us up for the Honolulu Marathon. This summer we completed our first Tin Man Triathlon, but we had never run a full marathon. Martial arts training helps us maintain our cardio condition, but our morning runs to the top of Hahaione Valley weren't meant to prepare us to replicate Phidippides' historic effort to announce Greek victory against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon.

Almost 20,000 of us shared palpable exhilaration and anticipation while waiting at the starting line on Ala Moana Boulevard at 4:30 a.m. I wasn't sure how long my son could keep up his lively pace when he began to pull away from me shortly after the gun. He is still 14 and had never run more than 10 miles. That pace lasted until mile 22 when he "hit the wall" and dropped to squat on the ground. Thinking his body was finished and starting to walk, a voice behind him said, "Hey, buddy. You look like you could run faster than me. Come on." He picked himself up again and raced to the finish line, completing the race in great time. Login for more...