Alicia RobinsonAs she runs the 20th Los...

Alicia Robinson

As she runs the 20th Los Angeles Marathon today, Julie Henry won’t be

thinking of the cheering crowds, the endorphins or the medals people

get when they finish the race. The only thing on her mind will be her

grandnephew Ethan.

At 45, Henry is running the L.A. Marathon for the first time.

She’s a full-time mom who ran recreationally for years but decided to

get in better shape after her daughter Jillian was born five years

ago.

Henry’s first 26-mile jaunt was the Orange County Marathon in

December, and she wasn’t going to try again so soon. But when her

brother’s first grandson was born six weeks ago with a hole in his

heart and his intestines and liver outside his body, Henry changed

her mind.

“The first four weeks were touch and go. We didn’t know if he was

going to pull through,” she said. “I would come home and read these

reports about the baby and think, ‘He’s hanging on for his life, so I

should run this in honor of my nephew.’”

Teams ready to run

Henry, who lives in Costa Mesa, won’t be the only local lacing up

her running shoes in Los Angeles today. The marathon’s website lists

70 participants from Costa Mesa and 68 from Newport Beach, ranging in

age from 12 to 66.

One duo from Newport Beach fairly well spans that range -- Dan

Goebel, 58, will run with his son Jeremy, 20. It’s the second L.A.

Marathon for both Goebels -- Dan ran it in 1996, and Jeremy did it

last year.

“It’s a bonding thing with us. It’s a thing we have in common,”

Dan Goebel said.

But for him, running has meant a lot more than just spending time

with his son. Dan Goebel likes to run in the Back Bay, but the father

and son don’t often get to work out together. Jeremy Goebel is busy

with his studies at Cal State Fullerton, where he’s in ROTC and

working on a degree in comparative religion.

After getting fit by mountain biking, Dan Goebel started running

with friends and decided he liked it better. An environmental

engineer who works on pollution control measures, Dan Goebel is also

a recovering alcoholic who gave up drinking more than 25 years ago.

His next challenge was to quit smoking, and he suffered the usual

weight gain.

That’s when he started to exercise, ultimately losing about 50

pounds.

Running is like an addiction, too, he says -- he feels withdrawal

symptoms when he can’t go for a jog regularly -- but it’s a positive

part of Dan Goebel’s life and he’s been looking forward to today.

So has Jeremy Goebel -- for nearly 10 years. When his father ran

the L.A. Marathon in 1996, Jeremy Goebel decided then that he’d like

to do it someday, and running last year’s marathon didn’t quench that

thirst.

“I think probably the coolest part is just being able to do one

again,” he said. “It’s definitely a perk having my dad there.... It’s

going to be a nice little memory to be able to be like -- yeah, I did

that with my dad.”

A 20-year run

The 26.2-mile race begins at 8:30 a.m. Among the thousands of

runners, there are a few for whom today will be old hat. That’s

unquestionably the case with Marshall Fisher, who has run in every

L.A. Marathon to date.

At 64, Fisher has run 73 marathons and 13 ultra-marathons, which

are longer -- at least 30 miles.

“I did my first one in 1977, so I’m really well trained,” he said.

“I’m always at a level of training where I could finish a marathon.”

Before he started running, Fisher didn’t have a regular exercise

regimen, but a family history of heart disease convinced him to get

in shape.

A radiologist, who lives in Corona del Mar, Fisher liked running

for its simplicity.

“It’s efficient. I can go out and do it by myself. I don’t need

equipment, don’t need other people, can do it any time day or night,”

Fisher said.

Like Dan Goebel, Fisher finds running to be a positive addiction,

and he gets cranky when he doesn’t get his energy fix.

“I’ve had people at work tell me not to come to work if I didn’t

run,” Fisher said. “I’ve been called a high-energy person, and I

think the running contributes to that.”

While Fisher usually runs about six days a week, because he’s

older he won’t push himself too hard today. He expects to finish the

race in somewhere between five or six hours.

Dan Goebel is hoping to beat five hours. In 1996 his time was 5

hours and 6 minutes, and he’s in better shape these days. He’ll have

to push himself during the last stretch, but he’s ready for that.

“I kind of do the last six miles in a constant state of prayer,”

he said.

His son, Jeremy, will be thinking about the sense of

accomplishment that comes with finishing the race -- although the

younger Goebel will probably slow down his training after today to

save his knees.

“It’s blissful to finish that marathon,” Jeremy Goebel said.

“Everyone’s cheering and you just start to choke up. Your emotions

just start to come out of you.”

Support near and far

Meanwhile, Julie Henry will be concentrating on little Ethan

Seymour. She planned to wear his picture on her back, and where most

runners’ bibs say their names above their numbers, hers will read:

“For Ethan.”

She admits she hasn’t trained as much as she should, because the

marathon came up so soon. Her nephew and his family live in Virginia,

so they won’t be in Los Angeles today. But they’ll track her by

computer through the marathon’s website, and of course, she and her

family will take pictures.

Even though the source of her inspiration will be miles away,

Henry will have plenty of support for her run today.

“I can’t wait to see when there’s thousands and thousands of

people, and you just get lost in all the people,” she said. “It’s

such a big marathon, you’re never by yourself.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson

@latimes.com.