By TR Robertson
You see them every day somewhere in San Diego and elsewhere. They are on the sidewalks in your neighborhoods, along roadsides, in parks, by the beaches, on tracks on school campuses and everywhere else you can imagine. Who you say – runners. The cities and areas of San Diego County are perfect for people who love to run. Along with this, numerous running events are held almost every weekend. Sixty-six-year-old Kelly Revell of Carlsbad is one of these runners who absolutely loves running and the exercise it gives him along with the comradery that the running community brings.
Kelly usually runs 2-3 times a week, 5-6 miles per run and a longer run (8 miles) on weekends. His first competitive run was a half-marathon in 1989 at the America’s Finest Half Marathon, but it wasn’t until 2007, at age 49, that he had a little more free time to take part in more events. To date, Kelly has run in 100 half marathons and after two knee surgeries, repairing torn meniscus, he still keeps going. His daughter, Brittany Revell, is a physical therapist and with her treatments Kelly said he is even stronger and now hopes to run with his grandchildren, maybe reaching 150 half marathons completed. Retiring about 3 years ago from a busy schedule of raising children, a full-time job with a long commute, coaching the kid’s sports teams and life in general, running became an economical and convenient way to stay fit and relieve stress. What he also found was being around like-minded runners gathering in one place also brought encouragement and friendship he never suspected. He said even when he might be struggling or having a hard day there are always runners around cheering him and everyone else on and offering encouragement along the way.
Kelly mostly runs half marathons, but he has tried 5 marathons, completing each one, but at mile 20 “I ask myself as to why am I doing this”. The last marathon he ran was the 2017 Rock & Roll Marathon. In 2016, at the age of 58, Kelly decided to do a half ironman triathlon. This event involves running, swimming and biking. Kelly did not know how to swim and had never ridden a road bike. He joined a local triathlon club and learned some basic swimming and bike riding techniques. In 2016 he signed up for the Oceanside Half Ironman Triathlon. This became the most physically challenging race he had ever done. Kelly said he completed the race and didn’t die at the finish, so that was a good thing. He would complete in one more ironman the following year, but now this is out of his system.
Along with the 100, and counting, half marathons under his belt he also has taken part in 17 triple crown races.
He said competing in these races is something he looks forward to and signs up every year as soon as he gets the dates hoping to continue to run these races and collecting the triple crown medals. Kelly said he has been fortunate to finish 2nd and 3rd in some of the races over the years but the thrill is in running regardless of how he finishes. When asked about what his favorite races in San Diego are, his response was they are all fun races for him but the Carlsbad, San Diego, La Jolla and Rock and Roll half marathons would probably be his favorites because of the courses they cover and the overall community support.
Kelly has been married for 40 years and has three children. Over the years his children have run in some of the half marathons with him. Kelly’s wife Andrea is not a runner, but she is an avid walker. He said the half marathons run with his children are some of his most memorable races. Kelly offered the following advice for all new runners – “I recommend they take time to properly train to run the distance they signed up for. The better prepared they are, the more enjoyable the race will be to prevent injuries. Don’t worry about time, enjoy the scenery, wave & say thanks to local residents. The beauty about running is that you get better as you get older. I got stronger and faster each year and didn’t peak until age 54. As for veterans, keep enjoying running and take time to give encouragement to runners that are struggling to finish.”
He said running has provided him with much joy in his life. Not only has it kept him fit, but it has given him confidence to know he can do anything he sets his mind to. Mental toughness is another positive attitude you can get from running.
