Two weeks before the Men’s Olympic Marathon, I told my family that I am planning to run the Inaugural Big Bear Marathon in Big Bear City, California which is 1 1/2 hours car ride from Los Angeles. The marathon race is scheduled tomorrow, 06 September 2008. They asked me why I am going to run another marathon again two weeks after my Bulldog 50K Ultra TRail Run. I told them that there is one condition if I am really determined to actually run the said marathon.

I told them that if Ryan Hall will win any Olympic Medal in the Men’s Marathon, by all means, I have to register and join the Big Bear Marathon and have a chance to talk and have a picture with Ryan Hall. And they are duty-bound to bring me to Big Bear City a day before the Marathon Race and spend overnight in the said mountain city. All of them laughed at me and they told me that I am really crazy! I told them that a picture of the Bald Runner with Ryan Hall posted in the blog will be something nice for my readers. Yup! I am really crazy!

Ryan Hall was born and raised in Big Bear City until he left the place for college but still had to return to this place for his training. It is not surprising that Ryan Hall has that special talent and capability to run marathons and longer distances because his place has an average elevation of 6,850 feet above sea level. It is advertised in the flyer for the Big Bear Marathon that Ryan Hall will be the special guest in the said race, the one who will officially “fire” the starting gun.

At this moment, we are supposed to be on our way to Big Bear City for tomorrow’s Marathon Race but because Ryan Hall did not win any medal in the Men’s Olympic Marathon, who placed #10 with a time of 2:12:33 hours, we are staying here in LA and the whole family is going out for a dinner and watch the movie “Bangkok Dangerous” later tonight.

Instead of a marathon race, I am going back to Mt Wilson’s Trail tomorrow with my son and daughter.