thedrifter
04-27-09, 07:09 AM
April 25, 2009
Grizzled Vets ready to assault 24th annual Big Sur International Marathon
The few. The proud. The Marines.
Or should it be the few, the proud, the Grizzled Vets
Before you start laughing consider this: The U.S. Marine Marathon in Washington D.C. began in 1976. Some 33 years later there are only six known runners that have competed in all of them.
If anything, the Grizzled Vets of the Big Sur International Marathon, a group that has never missed a run in the 23-year history of the event, are going to give those Marines a run for their money.
As the BSIM gears up for year No. 24 on Sunday, there will be 25 Grizzled Vets in the field, down one from a year ago, who are expected to maintain their perfect attendance record.
And if you don't think theyíre as tough as a Marine, consider the case of 61-year-old Steve Paski. He missed last year's BSIM because of a mild (it's considered mild only if it happens to someone else) heart attack. But the good folks of the BSIM cut him a deal. If he could run the same course before the end of the year, he would retain his Grizzled Vet status.
Six months after his heart attack Paski did something that would make most any Marine proud. He returned to the Monterey Peninsula in October and bravely finished the course in about five hours, 30 minutes.
We were sitting on pins and needles, said Bob Utley, himself a Grizzled Vet who was in a car escorting Paski up the U.S. Highway 1 marathon course. We were making eye contact with him to make sure he was coherent.
There's probably some Grizzled Vet humor in there somewhere, but as the years go by the challenges mount for a group of runners who return each year to tackle one of the most demanding marathon courses in the country. We've had some physical challenges in the ranks, Utley said. But if there's any chance they can do it, they will.
Paski is a shining example of the Grizzled Vet spirit.
He suffered his heart attack in early April 2008 while running in the hills near his San Jose home.
I wasn't feeling real good, so I turned around and went home, Paski said. I had done about 14 miles. My legs were feeling very heavy and I felt feverish.
He took a shower, and then collapsed.
It felt like I had 500 pounds on my chest, he said. I couldn't stand up. I yelled for my wife.
He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and had three very large stints installed. Less than three days later he was released.
Ellie
Grizzled Vets ready to assault 24th annual Big Sur International Marathon
The few. The proud. The Marines.
Or should it be the few, the proud, the Grizzled Vets
Before you start laughing consider this: The U.S. Marine Marathon in Washington D.C. began in 1976. Some 33 years later there are only six known runners that have competed in all of them.
If anything, the Grizzled Vets of the Big Sur International Marathon, a group that has never missed a run in the 23-year history of the event, are going to give those Marines a run for their money.
As the BSIM gears up for year No. 24 on Sunday, there will be 25 Grizzled Vets in the field, down one from a year ago, who are expected to maintain their perfect attendance record.
And if you don't think theyíre as tough as a Marine, consider the case of 61-year-old Steve Paski. He missed last year's BSIM because of a mild (it's considered mild only if it happens to someone else) heart attack. But the good folks of the BSIM cut him a deal. If he could run the same course before the end of the year, he would retain his Grizzled Vet status.
Six months after his heart attack Paski did something that would make most any Marine proud. He returned to the Monterey Peninsula in October and bravely finished the course in about five hours, 30 minutes.
We were sitting on pins and needles, said Bob Utley, himself a Grizzled Vet who was in a car escorting Paski up the U.S. Highway 1 marathon course. We were making eye contact with him to make sure he was coherent.
There's probably some Grizzled Vet humor in there somewhere, but as the years go by the challenges mount for a group of runners who return each year to tackle one of the most demanding marathon courses in the country. We've had some physical challenges in the ranks, Utley said. But if there's any chance they can do it, they will.
Paski is a shining example of the Grizzled Vet spirit.
He suffered his heart attack in early April 2008 while running in the hills near his San Jose home.
I wasn't feeling real good, so I turned around and went home, Paski said. I had done about 14 miles. My legs were feeling very heavy and I felt feverish.
He took a shower, and then collapsed.
It felt like I had 500 pounds on my chest, he said. I couldn't stand up. I yelled for my wife.
He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and had three very large stints installed. Less than three days later he was released.
Ellie