It’s my last day in San Diego before I head to LA and today’s got awesomeness written all over it!
So covering the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego is no easy task. I first had to go get press credentials from the city of San Diego and then I had to figure out how to cover an event that is freaking huge! Over 20,000 runners hit the streets of the city of San Diego to run and or walk the 26.2 mile course….I have trouble even running a mile right now, so when I faced the runners at the starting line I even got a little nervous.
Khalid El Boumlili, the first Moroccan to win a Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon has won in San Diego with an unofficial time of 2:11:15. But this race wasn’t about who finished first, it was about just finishing. Each runner had his or her own challenges and when that finish line was starring them down on the final stretch, you could see who had been challenged the most. Some runners flew by the finish line with ease, while others broke down the second they crossed. Some even had their bodies quit on them yards away from the finish line, but that didn’t stop them from finishing. With the help of fellow runners or the Marine base medics, they would walk those grueling few yards…it truly was inspiring to watch them cross.
This race had many contestants who deserved the spotlight, but in Road Bandit fashion I wanted to follow someone who doesn’t normally get the spotlight. I wanted to follow them through the whole race and watch them achieve their goals. Today that person was Adam Betz. Mr. Betz was running the Rock n Roll Marathon for the first time and his maximum distance he’s run before was 23 miles. So today’s 26.2 miles was going to be a true test. Adam finished 4:13:39 and did it with a smile on his face. “Adam way to go bro, you kicked some arse and didn’t let that tall guy with the camera distract you from conquering the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego”.
So as I said before the race was hard to follow and I wish I had some footage of all the bands that were positioned around the city, but as the saying goes…”maybe next time”.
For info on a Rock n Roll Marathon in your city check out http://www.rnrmarathon.com
