On Sunday, Michael Carbuto made a run for it for the 100th time. And with a time of 5:01:18, he crossed the 100th finish line.
Over the weekend at the 25th anniversary of the International City Bank Long Beach Marathon, Carbuto lined up at the starting line for the hundredth time since his first emotional race.
Carbuto, director of Student Health Services at Cal State Long Beach, ran his first marathon in Long Beach 25 years ago. Somewhere along the 26.2 mile course, through the sweat and muscle pain, he began a lifelong transformation.
“I never thought I would continue it,” Carbuto said about signing up during his first year in medical school. “I ran it with three other guys; I don’t know if they’re still running, but I haven’t stopped since.”
John Parks, the International City Racing spokesperson, recognizes the difficulty in running a marathon.
“So much of a marathon is mental; it takes sheer willpower to complete it,” Parks said. “Finishing one is something that changes lives.”
Carbuto, who has ran in cities such as Rome, Barcelona and New York, always knew Long Beach would be his hundredth marathon marker.
“It’s home,” Carbuto said. This year, the race took him past his house twice on his way to the finish line, he added.
About 21,000 people were anticipated to gather Sunday morning at the race’s starting point just west of the Long Beach Convention Center, according to the ICB race Web page. Starting just after 7 a.m., runners set out on course that took them past the Queen Mary and looped around CSULB before returning back close to the starting point.
“If you’ve never seen the ending of a race, you have to go see one. It’s incredible,” Parks said. “You have people who are flying toward finish line and others who are struggling to barely make it across the line. It’s an incredibly emotional event.”
Completing a race has a way of creating a relationship between the runners that is unique to the marathon experience, said Bart Davis, IRB race director.
“You’re surrounded by all kinds of people overcoming all kinds of challenges in life,” Davis said. “It’s the kind of emotion that you can only get by going out and doing something like a marathon, where you really are pushing your limits.”
In all previous 99 races, Carbuto finished every single one. It’s a record he didn’t plan on breaking this year.
“I plan to be the oldest person running marathons, one of the ways I identify myself is as a long-distance runner,” Carbuto said.
While Carbuto’s racing style is marked by his obvious determination, he never takes a race too seriously, he said.
“Some people take [the race] very seriously — if possible, too seriously — and some people are extremely casual so casual that it surprises some of us in the office,” Davis said.
Enjoying yourself is an important part of running a marathon, Carbuto said. Running relieves a day’s stress, releases tension and creates a near spiritual connection with your life and surroundings — none of which would be possible if you didn’t have a little fun, he said.
Keeping a chicken perched on his head is one way Carbuto does just that. To pump up the crowd and stand out from the thousands of other racers, Carbuto dons festive or wacky headgear. One prop he has worn multiple times is a humorous chicken hat, complete with feathers and dangling feet that bounce as he runs.
No headgear was planned for Sunday, but the race was still memorable. Carbuto’s son flew in from Austin to witness the marathon milestone along with other friends and family of Carbuto.
“That’s actually really special because he was 4 when I ran my first marathon, and the poor kid got dragged to them a lot,” Carbuto said.
Carbuto’s son has signed up for his first marathon in 2010 in Austin. Carbuto will be working closely with him to create a training schedule, and then the father and son will run the race together.
“I’m definitely nervous; I run, but I never go past 6-9 miles, which is nowhere near 26,” Riley Carbuto said.
Carbuto, who shared that he never knew his son was interested in running, projected excitement when talking about the upcoming 2010 race.
“It definitely triggers something; it’s great to have something that is a shared experience. Him being there for my first is pretty neat,” Riley said.
Carbuto wishes more people and CSULB students would try it.
“When you complete a marathon, it brings sense of confidence that not many other things can do,” Carbuto said. “If you can stick with the training for a marathon, you can do a lot of things.”