Santa Clarita Valley residents preparing for the upcoming marathon visited the Health and Fitness Expo on Saturday to get a head start on their racing bibs and gear.
Held at the Valencia Town Center, the expo gave runners options in physical therapy, running gear, and healthy food options to keep them energized before, during, and after Sunday’s race.
Next to a large signature wall to set their entry in stone, athletes studied the marathon map that will shut down parts of Santa Clarita and where they will leave their blood, sweat and tears in the morning.
Supplies were provided for family members and friends of runners to make signs of support to cheer from the audience.
Exploring the booths of fitness services and gear was SCV resident, Solomon Yohannes, 48, who will be running the full marathon on Sunday.
Yohannes finished in sixth place in the 2016 Santa Clarita Marathon with a time of 2:59:29 and has been training since the summer to improve his time.
“It’s really all about whether you have it within you and it’s something that you want to do. Three years ago I wasn’t even running at all,” said Yohannes.
For Yohannes, running a marathon was “just a bucket list thing.” Now, he has ran in two LA Marathons and will attempt his second Santa Clarita Marathon on Sunday. He has already qualified for the Boston Marathon and will be running the east coast race in April.
