They run through heartache and sadness, fighting illness and injuries as their bodies age. Some currently use wheelchairs, including the oldest person at 87 years old.
Nevertheless, the legacy runners of the Los Angeles Marathon stuck to their mission: finish the race.
A group of 92 marathoners, including 10 women, marked the 40th La Marathon Sunday, having participated in a 26.2-mile race each year since the city’s iconic event began in 1986.
“We are legacy runners, and we don’t know when we should quit,” said Loubrions, 77.
Brion finished the crutch race after the surgery. After swapping both knees, he walks the race.
“You have to do that,” Brions said. “No matter what the conditions are, you have to be there at the starting line on race day.”
When the Brions and others gathered at the starting line for their first La Marathon, President Ronald Reagan had just been re-elected, and a few weeks ago the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, causing the country to clash. Tom Bradley was Los Angeles’ first black mayor, and the city was working to spread HIV/AIDS.
Los Angeles was inspired to launch its own marathon after the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics, just as the beginning of the 1897 Boston Marathon, after the 1896 Summer Olympics. Los Angeles is currently preparing to host its next Olympics in 2028.
Five years after the La Marathon began, event organizers began to recognize runners who completed every race in the plaque. They continued to celebrate their own runners every five years.
The Brions decided they wanted to officially officially the group around 2015. He and his friend printed a sticker with their email address and brought it to the marathon in 2002.
“We’re just going to the race and starting to scream,” Brions said. “We stuck it on their bibs and then after the race, most of them emailed me right away. That was the beginning.”
AP Photo/Eric Thayer AP Photo/Eric Thayer
Members of the Legacy Runners will gather to begin the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, March 16th, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Some legacy runners say they were inspired by US runner Joan Benoit, who won the first women’s Olympic marathon at the 1984 Los Angeles tournament.
DuBois, 80, remembers watching a race on TV and seeing Benoit go far ahead of the runners’ remaining pack. A classic pianist, she never ran in her life.
Two years later, DuBois ran the same path as Benoit, beginning and ending at the Memorial Coliseum since then. The La Marathon route was the same as the Olympics. She said she felt “it was like running at the Olympics where everyone is rooting for us.”
Now, I can’t imagine her going through the day without running 3-5 miles.
“I’m healthy, I look good, and I’m not tired. I’m not sick, I don’t even catch a cold,” said DuBois, who hosts a brunch to celebrate after each marathon.
Dutch runner Sifan Hassan won the women’s marathon event on Sunday with a new Olympic record.
Each year, legacy runners are given the same bib number. They meet monthly for training about six months before the marathon.
Cliff Hausgo, 76, began running after his father died of a heart attack at the age of 48. He decided he wanted to live long enough to see his grandchildren and even his great grandchildren.
Over the years, Hausgo went through two divorces and lost his daughter. Through this, the marathon was constant in his life.
“A lot of things could have stopped me from being there,” Hausgo said.
At 83, Sharon Caisson is aware of that.
A year after dealing with illness and dizziness, Caisson completed his training last week at the West Los Angeles College Track. She has run over 600 marathons.
She wore a rain jacket from the St. George Marathon in Utah, shorts from the San Francisco Marathon, and a 30th La Marathon T-shirt.
“I was never fast and I was not competitive at all,” Caisson said.
Rick Bingham began racing in a wheelchair 10 years ago after injuring his Achilles tendon during a triathlon. At 87, he swims (0.8 kilometres) every other day and lifts weights. To train, he went five miles around the ranch one day in a wheelchair.
Bingham has no plans to slow down. He wants to reach his 50th La Marathon.
“When I do that, I’ll be 97,” he said.
Bingham’s commitment to staying in the race has prompted Lewis Garraldo to continue.
Garraldo, 71, had planned to quit after his 38th marathon, after which he developed a knee. However, when Bingham offered him an extra race wheelchair, he began training again.
“We’ve gone through too many things over the years. “It’s just a blessing to do that with him.”
Garraldo’s goal is to reach Bingham and his 50th Ramarathon.
Garraldo then said he would find a way to finish the race with his friends.
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