24 minute read
FEATURE
Going the distance L.A. Marathon Legacy Runners will be racing to the finish line on March 8
Marie Stevenson Ruben Rosales
by Alicia Doyle alicia@aliciadoyle.com
The Los Angeles Marathon has been a spring tradition since 1986. Originally inspired by the 1984 Summer Olympics, it has become one of the most popular marathons in the world, with racers from all parts of the globe landing in the City of Angels to partake. Trotting alongside them, from the very beginning, are numerous Ventura County runners.
Among these are the race’s Legacy Runners — those who have completed every single L.A. Marathon since the beginning. Several residents of Ventura County will continue their streak, running in their 35th consecutive marathon this year on March 8.
MARIE STEVENSON: “AN ANNUAL FAMILY EVENT”
For 74-year-old Marie Stevenson, “all I want to do is to encourage others to keep being active and doing what they enjoy.”
Stevenson ran the first L.A. Marathon in 1986 because it was “conveniently” within driving distance from her home in Thousand Oaks. She continued running every year afterwards because she “really enjoyed” exploring Los Angeles on foot and experiencing the city up close.
In fact, that has become one of the race’s biggest selling points: the opportunity to run past several of L.A.’s major landmarks — Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, Chinatown, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Dodger Stadium, just to name a few. The course has shifted through the years as organizers attempted to balance elevation gains (which impact winning times), traffic disruptions and impact on local businesses and institutions. The current route was introduced in 2010, and has been dubbed “Stadium to the Sea,” beginning at Dodger Stadium and ending in Santa Monica.
The number of people in America who have the grit and athleticism to finish a marathon is small in comparison to the overall population. In 2014, for instance, Running USA reported that 550,000 people completed a marathon in the U.S. While a record number of runners are completing 26.2- mile races, marathoners still make up less than one percent of the American population.
“My children used to laugh at their crazy mother, but now as adults, they encourage me to continue the streak,” said Stevenson, whose daughter has run the last few marathons with her, and whose son has been popping up at various spots on the marathon course with his wife and children to offer additional support.
“Although the running is not getting any easier as I get older, the L.A. Marathon has become an annual family event that we all enjoy,” Stevenson said.
In the past 34 years, Stevenson has always finished the marathon — despite some serious injuries, including torn knee tendons and rotator cuffs and various foot issues. In the year 2000, she had “a close call” when she had an emergency knee surgery just weeks before the race.
“I walked the entire marathon course with a large cast on my knee and with a cane,” she remembered.
In 2006, after a rotator cuff repair and with her arm in a sling, she fell and broke a shoulder just prior to the race.
“That’s when my children, by then out of college, really showed their support,” Stevenson recalled. “To make sure that I don’t quit, as an early birthday gift to me, they both signed up for the marathon. Not having done any training, they expected to walk with me. We ended up running the entire distance. Crossing the finish line together was a favorite marathon moment for me.” RUBEN ROSALES: “PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER”
For 71-year-old Ruben Rosales of Thousand Oaks, running the marathon’s 26.2-mile course for the past 34 years has kept him active “and feeling good about myself.”
Also, “I have met many runners who have enriched my life by sharing life stories as we train and run the marathons.”
Rosales was initially inspired to run in the marathon because of his intrigue with Philippides, the central figure in a Greek legend that inspired the marathon race. Philippides (also called Pheidippides), an Athenian herald, is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
“Then the Olympic Games came to Los Angeles in 1984 and I watched the marathon runners with awe, so when the first L.A. Marathon was announced for 1986, I was in,” he recalled.
What keeps him going year after year is the challenge of endurance, “which translates to all facts of life.”
“To run a marathon you just need to put one foot in front of the other. So to run for 34 years, you just need to take one year at a time and just do it, just like everyday life,” Rosales said. “The day will come when I will not be able to run it, but hopefully that day is not this year. If my body tells me that I cannot complete it after I have started it, I will listen to it — but so far it has not complained. No one pressures me except me to keep doing this.”
CLIFF HOUSEGO: “AN ANCHOR IN MY LIFE”
Though he’s not an official legacy runner, when Cliff Housego finished his fifth marathon, he received an official plaque, and “I thought that’s cool — how could a common runner like me get an award at a 26.2-mile marathon?” Then came marathon number 10, and “I was amazed I did them all.
. . then came 15, 20, 25, 30 and now 35.” Housego, of Ventura, noted that he’s been through two wives over the years, and experienced the death of his daughter, so the marathon has been “an anchor in my life.”
“Not just running the marathon, but training, all year . . . the friends I’ve made,” he said. “Ruben Rosales and I run every week together. We talk Keeping the streak alive is his biggest motivator, “but this did not start until year five” when he was trying to improve and get better, “and after year five, my motivation was keeping my streak.”
The biggest challenges Mehrkhodavandi has faced in the past 34 years include the three times he ran the marathon with a fever. Also, three weeks just my own personal challenge,” said Blanck, 63, of Simi Valley. “My family has always been a tremendous support so . . . I also wanted to make them proud of my crazy annual thing to do.” Still, maybe others will be inspired to set their own personal goals, he said, “when they see or hear about us old folks out there running the streets for nothing more than pride and a well
life, kids, politics, investments . . . you name it.”
Decades ago, he said it “was not a big deal” to run a 3:9:00 race, but today, at age 71, “it takes a lot. Hips hurt, knees hurt, attitude sucks sometimes, but I know I have to do it for my legacy friends, my family, and to stay alive.”
JAHANGIR MEHRKHODAVANDI: KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
before the 2016 marathon, he tore his meniscus, but ended up running the full race without stopping.
The marathon has been a big part of his life since 1986, and when he married his wife in 1994, “it became part of our lives.”
“My wife jokes . . . that she feels that I am married to L.A. Marathon not her; or the L.A. Marathon is my first wife and she is my second.”
Jahangir Mehrkhodavandi, who was born in 1965, said he loved running, but was “really afraid” of marathons because he’d heard stories of people dying in such races.
“My college coach advised against it in 1986, but I wanted to get that fear out of me, so I did it,” recalled Mehrkhodavandi, of Simi Valley.
JIM BLANCK: “MY CRAZY ANNUAL THING TO DO”
After Jim Blanck finished his first marathon, he “was a wreck” and said, “never again.”
Every year after that, he felt the personal challenge to try and do better. “Everything about the run was deserved finisher’s medal.”
Above all, his main goal is reaching the finish line.
“In the past I always tried to complete the race in under four hours,” Blanck said. “It is getting a bit more difficult to keep that up, but that is still my own personal goal for the race.” ♦
The Los Angeles Marathon takes place on Sunday, March 8, starting at 6:30 a.m.at Dodger Stadium. For course, spectator access, street closures and more information, visit www.lamarathon.com.
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by Emily Dodi J acqui Burge would love five minutes of your time. Burge is the founder and CEO of Desk Yogi, a website featuring quick videos designed to help ease the toll that work life can have on our bodies, minds and overall wellness. “People think, ‘Oh, five minutes aren’t going to do anything,’” says Burge, sitting in her Ojai office with her dog, a rescued boxer named Bumper, dozing at her feet. “You’d be amazed at what five minutes will do. How much better you’ll feel [especially] if you sit at your desk for hours and hours.”
“The goal is to help people create the habit of taking a fiveminute break every day. The goal is not to make you an expert in yoga or help you lose 20 pounds or achieve enlightenment. The goal is to help you feel better.” Burge adds, “History tells you that when you spend time each day for a moment of selfcare you feel better.”
Desk Yogi offers a wide-range of video and audio content, from yoga and meditation to strengthening exercises and breath work, that you can do in your workspace. It offers personal and corporate subscriptions, including one challenge per month containing 12 different videos. Individuals and businesses can personalize the content according to their needs. “Some people do a video every day. Others ‘Netflix it’ and do several at a time . . . some companies watch mindfulness videos together before a meeting so they can all land in the same space.”
Burge had the idea for Desk Yogi when she was working at Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning). She was teaching a weekly onsite yoga class, but not everyone who wanted to attend could get away for lunch. Burge asked the Human Resources department if she could broadcast an online yoga class that everyone in the company, in all its various locations, could follow without leaving their desks. Burge launched her weekly 15-minute “yoga mash-ups,” combining yoga, meditation, breath work, stretching and a little bit of fitness. They were a hit.
“One day, this guy came up to me and he just didn’t seem like a yoga guy. It seemed like he was always working and never had a chance to see the sun. He told me the favorite part of his week was the yoga mash-ups. I was like, alright, he’s not the demographic I’ve been picturing in my brain. That’s when I decided to leave Lynda.com and start Desk Yogi.”
That was October, 2014. Desk Yogi launched a year later and today it has subscribers all over the world. With Desk Yogi, Burge has created a customizable wellness platform that’s accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. But she soon began to miss teaching in person, one-on-one. So, in 2019, Burge opened Move Sanctuary, a brick and mortar studio in downtown Ojai. She leads small classes that incorporate her vast knowledge and experience, and that tap into various exercise philosophies — from ropes work, TRX and mobility exercises to meditation, yoga and breath work. She sometimes shakes things up with balance boards and giant Jenga blocks. The focus is always to strengthen “the deep core for grounding and stability to meet all the challenges of life. The work is both gentle and impactful,” and is suitable for “every body.” Burge is also a sought-after speaker, who gives talks and classes in Punk Wellness, or “radical self-care for a happy work life.” The name is a reference to when she played in punk bands after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College. Burge is like many people who have what she calls a “big life,” filled with family, kids, pets and work. She insists that establishing a routine for self-care is a necessity. It’s “protected time that is non-negotiable.” She carves out time for self-care — yoga, meditation, quiet time to think — in the morning before her kids get up. “I want to be the first one awake; the first heartbeat.” In her Punk Wellness events, Burge talks about “the fallacy of work/life balance,” so she developed an approach to wellness that “recognizes the overlap between work, family, friends, all of it.” She offers tidbits about fitness, mindfulness, sleep and nutrition. “It’s important to have a few tricks up your sleeve because [life] is stressful. We’ve all had the experience of walking into a meeting knowing it’s going to be unpleasant. So how do you set yourself to be present? [How do you achieve] mindfulness instead of biting your nails and envisioning the worst?”
Whether she’s teaching a class at Move Sanctuary, developing something new for Desk Yogi or speaking to a room full of busy professionals, Burge knows it’s possible for anyone to feel better — whether it’s a stressed-out customer service rep on “the other side of the screen,” or a working mom who makes the time to come to class. “Everybody has stress,” Burge says. “Hopefully you can find five minutes.” A little goes a long way. ♦ • Desk Yogi: www.desk-yogi.com • Move Sanctuary: www.movesanctuary.com • Punk Wellness: jacquiburge.com Jacqui Burge PHOTO BY SIMONE NOBEL
