Last weekend was another landmark of Pacer achievements!
About a dozen Pacers ran the California International Marathon (CIM) over the weekend, with nine completing the course fast enough to qualify to run the Boston Marathon in 2018!
At least 23 runners represented the Pacers at Ridgecrest this year, and three won trophies! Bobby Romero was there with the tent, meatball sandwiches, and breakfast burritos to nourish not just the Pacers, but anyone who came hungry.
Nearly 75 Pacers showed up at the Rose Bowl to take down the seat cushions. Some worked more than eight hours; all raised a significant amount of money for the club.
And, with all that happening, we still had hundreds of runners show up for our regular runs, training with the eight programs who are there every week.
We were well represented last weekend at races, at our regular runs, and in volunteerism.
There were many people with hopes and dreams that were realized last weekend.
We have Pre-Conditioners who dream of reclaiming their health, and by showing up on Saturday, they did just that. They reclaimed the ability to get out and get moving, and they staked their claim on a small corner of the fitness they once possessed.
We had runners who had never run an Ultra, and they did it! They ran 30 or 50 kilometers!
For others, it was running the race of their life. There are Pacers who have been running with us for many years that just qualified for Boston. For Edgar Mejia, our marathon coach, it was as if he qualified for Boston nine times.
Then there were the Pacers who exerted their energies toward the betterment of others, they coached a 14-miler, a 10-mile challenge, a trail run. They led stretches, brought water, snacks, worked tirelessly for a fundraiser, or gave encouragement to a fellow runner.
Achievement was in the air in many varied forms.
What impressed me most about last weekend is the Pacer spirit. If you are a Pacer, you have caused a world of good. I want to thank you for being a Pacer. Your very presence is an agreement of our values. And it is an inspiration to me personally. You are the antidote for the sorrows, failures, heartaches, pain, and hardships for those you have served. You have lifted our spirits one and all. You are a beacon who calls to those with broken spirits to come fill themselves from the wellspring of help, kindness, and admiration, which is after all, our natural state of being. We have become accustomed to the extraordinary being merely ordinary.
Never doubt your own greatness!
Steve Smith, Pasadena Pacer Founder and Team Doc