The majority of the estimated 200 people who will drop out somewhere along the 26.2-mile California International Marathon today aren't recreational runners who hoped to cross "marathon" off their bucket lists.
They are elite athletes who recognize – usually at about mile 20 – that they will not take home one of the prizes topping off at $10,000 or qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
"General runners, that group with a very, very high desire to finish no matter what, 99.5 percent of them are going to," said race director John Mansoor.
Of the 6,040 people who started the CIM last year, 192 failed to run under the final banner. Two-thirds of those were elite runners, Mansoor said.
"Their goals are different; they don't need to finish another marathon," he said. "And if they stop earlier, they can recover faster and be ready to run another marathon in two to four weeks."
But recreational runners are different. They've pulled on their shoes, donned anti-chafing balm and pounded on road after road over and over again for months, carving out time away from work, family and friends. Quitting is simply not an option.
"I'd rather walk until dark than give up," said Marlene Dean, 46, of Camarillo, as she picked up her race packet Saturday. "Death is the only thing that would keep me from finishing."
Her pal Danita Crombach, 47, who also plans to run the race, had a solution even then.
"I'd take the shoe (Dean's) with the (timer) chip on it and run it across the finish line," she said. "That's what friends do."
This will be the sixth marathon for 55-year-old Kirk Pasich. The Los Angeles resident gave two examples of situations that would force him out of the race: getting hit by a truck or breaking a leg.
Pasich noted that he completed a marathon in San Diego earlier in the year even with a stress fracture in his right foot. "The last six miles were awful. I was either walking or hopping," he said. "Marathoners – it takes a certain breed."
But there are real symptoms signaling that a runner should pull out, said Dr. Meredith Bean, a Kaiser Permanente sports medicine physician overseeing the CIM's medical care.
Chest pain, confusion or unusual shortness of breath are three major ones, she said.
Of the 470 people treated during last year's CIM, the majority were for minor issues. Runners stopped at aid stations along the course for bandages, blister care or Tylenol and then kept going.
The predominant concern at the cot-lined medical tent just beyond the finish line was runners who collapsed upon completing the race.
After running for 2 1/2 to six hours, people tend to put their hands on their knees and stop – resulting in the blood pumping through their bodies pooling in their legs, Bean said.
"We want people to walk for about 10 minutes as the physiology changes return back to normal," she said.
When Mansoor founded the CIM 28 years ago, he did it with a nod to elite runners. Since then, he's gained a bigger appreciation of the tens of thousands who have run, walked and sometimes crawled across the finish line as a personal challenge.
"It truly is inspiring to see the general runners," said Mansoor, a master runner himself. "Quite honestly, the effort for them is so much more difficult."
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