While visiting family in the Los Angeles area, I found a race running distance from my in-laws apartment. My daughter, wife and I ran over to Balboa Park so that I could try the “Run For Rosanna 5k Fun Run/Walk” on Saturday, July 26, 2008 in Van Nuys, CA. The hot, flat course around this large public park enabled me to see the competition throughout.

What I had not planned on was the fact that the first 3 finishers COMBINED AGES was 48 – the same as my own ! Boy, did I feel the years ! I won the unusual Men 48-58 5000 Meter Run Age Group handily, and was 4th overall in 19:34. My wife and eldest daughter ran several extra miles while I cooled off. Here I am, the evening after the race, relaxing. Maccabiah teammates Jonathon Vakneen, Gary Bub, and my wife had a “mini-reunion” while visiting our daughter, who was working in Santa Monica, California.