First Marathon

 First Marathon 

The year was 1984 and Bob was entering his first marathon at the age of 61. I was 29 at the time and did not think for a moment he couldn't finish. Since 1979 Bob had been running in races from 5k's to half marathons, usually winning his age group depending if Norm Fernee or Fleetwood Fesmire, his rivals, showed up. It was the inaugural Jacksonville Marathon, a flat course from Mandarin and Orange Park back to downtown Jasksonville.

A group of nearly a dozen Lake City Runners Club members anticipated the January event on the flat course, hoping to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time. Leading up to the thirty degree cold morning, we had used the Roy Benson and Jeff Galloway training plans, taking our long run to Wellborn via Lake Jeffrey, tapering we hoped without burning out and hitting the twenty one mile wall.

I did not qualify in my group that first marathon, missing by over fifteen minutes in around 3:06. I did not hit the wall. Bob ran just under 4 hours and I think qualified. On the wall in his trailer was the framed 8x10 framed finish line photo with a beaming Bob, both feet off the ground, both arms raised, joyous. It was one of the crowning moments of his long life of 93 years.