Bend Health BHG Fall 2018 Preview | Page 6

Hooked on by Todd Beach I n the beginning, I starting running at age 39, when the joints started aching, and not knowing why, I quickly learned of "use it or lose it." Time to lace up those old running shoes!! And running is cheap, right? Wrong. Turns out that running at a higher lev- el, is quite expensive (my wife can attest). Running quickly became a fun passion, to lose weight, and a chance to be outside, to be with friends, and set a good example for my kids. After my first 12K in SF, running across the Golden Gate bridge, I was hooked on racing. With that, this passion quickly turned to an obsession, and the goal was to run the mecca of all races, the Boston Marathon. Getting accepted into the Boston Marathon is dif- ficult. very difficult. The Boston Marathon is such a coveted race world-wide, that you have to qualify, in a previous marathon, on a Boston Association certi- fied course, to be accepted to register, only to register. It does NOT guarantee that you will be accepted to race. Here are the qualifications, as found on the Bo