Local to run his 20th L.A. Marathon

Local to run his 20th L.A. Marathon

LIVING LEGACY-Oak Park resident Cliff Housego displays the many medals he's won competing in distance races over the years. This year Housego will be recognized as one of only a select few runners who have competed in all 20 Los Angeles Marathons. The group, called the L.A. Marathon Legacy Runners, is closed to new members.

By Kyle Jorrey

jorrey@theacorn.com

Think about it. How many 56-year-olds do you know that that teach dancing, D.J. at a nightclub and run marathons for a living?

Chances are not many, unless, of course, you know longtime Oak Park resident Cliff Housego, a baby boomer with a tank full of gas, a love of good health and good music, and the legs of a man less than half his age.

"I can dance 11 or 12 songs in a row of country two-step, which is a very vigorous form of dancing, and walk off the floor and be fine," said Housego, at his home on Oak Springs Drive. "Then you see these younger guys who do three or four songs and they’re ready to die . . . That’s nice to see at my age."

But Housego’s biggest claim-to-fame, at least to date, is the fact that this March he will have competed in all 20 Los Angeles Marathons, from 1986 to the present, making him part of a very small and exclusive group called the L.A. Marathon Legacy Runners.

Comprised of 258 males and 31 females, the Legacy Runners is a precious group forever closed to new members, and an accomplishment Housego never really anticipated.

"I never planned on running in all 20, heck, after five I thought I was through," Housego said. "But then it just kept going. Five years became 10 years, which became 15 years, and now all of a sudden I’m about to take part in No. 20."

Housego first took up distance running as a means to start a healthier lifestyle after his father died prematurely at age 48 from coronary heart disease. It was a decision he made, both for himself and his family.

"I just got motivated to exercise and to start taking care of myself," he said. "The ultimate motivation as a father was that I wanted to live long enough to see my kids’ kids grow up."

But what started out as exercise quickly turned to obsession.

Before long, Housego was up nearly every morning at 5:30 a.m. to jog his self-designed six-mile course through the streets of Oak Park before coming home to eat, shower and get ready for his "corporate" job in the San Fernando Valley.

"I started out running just for the sake of running, but then I started running 5K’s, 10K’s, half marathons and marathons," said Housego, who is an annual participant in the Great Race of Agoura. "I’m a little bit obsessive-compulsive in whatever I do, be it running, dancing or surfing. I just want to be the best, and I can’t stop myself from trying."

After switching careers a few years ago, Housego’s health and physical appearance became even more valuable to him. As a dance instructor and D.J., two professions usually reserved for young adults, the father of two said staying fit and full of energy is a must, not an option.

"I can’t go in front of 75 to 100 people to teach dance looking like an old, fat, unhealthy slob," said Housego, who teaches West Coast Swing every Monday and Wednesday nights at Borderline in Thousand Oaks. "It’s important for me to be in shape or else one of these younger guys will come up and take my place."

As the years pass, and finding the motivation to train becomes harder and harder, somehow, Housego has stayed on course. Avoiding sickness, injury and personal disaster, the 56-year-old has found himself in downtown L.A. on the first Sunday in March every year for the past 20 years.

As the world has changed around him, the race, for the most part, has stayed the same. It acts as an anchor in a life marked by a constantly shifting tide.

"It’s relative to your life," Housego said. "I think about what I was doing 20 years ago and I was buying a house in Oak Park with my family, my son was 11 and my daughter was 9 . . .now my job has changed, my life has changed, but the one consistency is the L.A. Marathon. My life has changed around it, but I always have that one thing."

Housego’s fastest time ever in the marathon is 3:09; he runs around five hours on average. Unique even among the diverse crowd that makes up the Legacy Runners, Housego’s post-race tradition is one-of-a-kind.

"Margaritas and country dancing, that’s what I do after every marathon," he said. "No matter how exhausted I am after the race I have to get those two things in."

This year’s L.A. Marathon is March 6. For more information, go to www.lamarathon.com.