Dave "The Streak" Castro...

This picture is priceless to anyone who knows what it really represents. At first glance we see a gracefully aging runner with the relaxed look of a man at peace with himself and his sport. To the runner thoroughly unsteeped in local running facts this is simply one of many finishers of the Ekiden relay which was run concurrently with the 30th Guam Marathon. However, to those who know, this is photo-documentation of a signal event in Guam Running Club history.

Dave Castro has been running the Guam Marathon ever since Magellan arrived on Guam and perhaps even long before that. This photo represents the end of an era. For the 30th Guam Marathon was the first time Dave Castro has not run the marathon in around 17 years. The baton casually resting in his right hand marks the end of The Streak.

I don't know if Dave, or anyone for that matter, ever really sets out to get a streak going. Streaks sort of sneak up on you, when you're not looking. It starts when you run your first marathon. In the last few miles you're thinking, 'Never again!' But 10 minutes after the finish you start thinking, 'I can do this next year, and if I train well, I can do it even faster.' Such thoughts often lead to the unintentional Streak.

After repeating this conversation several years in a row, it occurs to someone (because you'd never notice it yourself) that you've been doing this every year for as long as they can remember. Only then does it dawn on you that you've got a tradition to uphold. The Streak has struck.

You figure you might as well train for next year's marathon and uphold the tradition. The years begin to blur and after the first decade rolls by The Streak is pretty well established.

From this point on it is uncertain who is running the show: you or The Streak. You know that the Streak is getting the upper hand when you catch a cold during the last bit of your training but you're determined to do the 26.2 miles come rain or shine. The streak is now firmly in control.

We congratulate Brother David for a streak of some 17 years (I asked Marsh about this...we'll praise now and verify later!). We commend him also for the courage to take control, look the Streak in the face and say, "That's enough. Farewell dear friend." And as David and his family have left island for a short haiatus, we also say,
"Farewell, dear friend!"