MICHAEL RAWSON
SPORTS EDITOR

Oh, what fun to be fit.

Spectators saw scores of runners and joggers, trotters and walkers strut their stuff across the finish line at Mangrum Track and Field on Saturday, a common sight, but this time people only ran on the track for a moment, having completed the second annual San Marcos Fitness Roundup. An announcer called out names at the finish line. Some walked the streets surrounding CSUSM. Some braved the treacherous Double Peak Challenge to the tip-top of the San Elijo Hills. “It took us 40 minutes to go up,” one out of breath man near the finish line said, “and ten minutes to come back down.”

With the event open to absolutely anyone, it was a field united only by a love of healthy hearts. Guided by live music from Cowboy Jack and the North County Cowboys, participants crossed the finish line one by one, here a young woman from Oregon, then a family of four from Canada. A few minutes later came an older, local man. “This guy is 73,” the emcee said. “Dude, you rock!”

Photo courtesy of Michael Rawson