By: Keith Kilgore (@keith_kilgorejr)
keithkilgoreruncoaching.com
Late Start is a multi-part series by Keith Kilgore, a runner, leader, and coach in the Los Angeles area. The series shares an emotional, relatable glimpse into how he discovered endurance running at age 30 and his inspiring growth in the space since.
2020. Cristina and I made a decision that would play a vital role in our growth together. Her grandmother was turning 86 and needed support. We decided to move in with her in Camarillo. I was a military brat so I got used to packing up and finding a new community as a kid. This time though, the universe stepped in to show me the path.
I’d downloaded Strava but, honestly, I couldn’t figure it out. The stats didn’t make sense and I didn’t know anyone in the app’s suggested “people you know.” I typed in Camarillo and hella people came up, but to be straight up, everyone seemed much older and lacking a whole lot of melanin. I finally landed on some slightly blurry profile picture of some guy named Brandon Fravel.
Three things caught my attention: His name was Brandon (the same name as one of my favorite cousins). Two, he was tatted up like me. Last, he looked mixed. I felt more comfortable adding him. Scanning his profile, I saw he led the Run Free Running Club that met on Saturdays, so I figured it was a good place to start.
I had no car at the time, so I got picked up and we made our way to some place called Hill Canyon. It was a dirt lot. People were everywhere. There were mountain views and dirt trails–I couldn’t even see the top of one climb.
I was nervous as hell since I’d never run with a group. But I met Brandon (who’s not black) and he immediately welcomed me. “Yo man, where are we running?” He didn’t say a word but pointed toward what looked like the highest mountains I’d ever seen in my life. My heart was jumping. “I don’t even know where we are, man.” He calmed my restlessness, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get back safely. We are gonna do a trail run as a loop.”
Something felt very right about what I was about to embark on; my child-like sense of wonder was on max.
We took a group photo and everyone lifted up their wrists to start their watches. I started my Nike Run app then me and another runner, Joe, took off. My feet hit the soft ground and I took in my surroundings. A creek trickled somewhere in earshot, the mountains towered over us, and everything flowed. I immediately felt like I was in my element.
Joe noted how fast we were running but, to be honest, I was just trying not to bust my ass. There were rocks to dodge! I felt like I’d entered a new dimension. I looked around in awe, thinking, “This shit is next level.” There was a sense of peace, calm, and tranquility working side-by-side with an insane and overwheming rush of endorphins. It was the first time I ever experienced a runner’s high.
Where has this been all my life?
I met Adi (Brandon is her husband) after the run and, after talking about how incredible it was, she recommended that I talk to Brandon, since he was a coach. In my head, I wondered if he thought I’d be worth the time but I knew I wanted to get better at whatever it was that I just discovered. I needed to explore that feeling.
So I chatted him up and told him I signed up for the Camarillo Marathon and planned on using the run app again. “Naw man, I can help you go sub-3 and you’re already close.” So I put my running plan in his hands. We worked together all summer, leading me to a 2:55:00 marathon (my first officially recorded marathon time). In those long summer days, he became an integral part of my running–and my life (he was the best man at my wedding).
I finally found the path I wanted to be on. I discovered how much and what my running meant to me and I was starting to figure out how to move forward with it.
Of course, nothing ever goes in a straight line. As I started running trails more consistently, I realized there weren’t many people out there who looked like me. At first I thought it was just Ventura County, but as I started venturing out to more places in Southern California, it was about the same. It was time to not only start asking questions but to take action.
And that’s a whole new story.
This is the third and final piece in Keith’s A Late Start series. Fear not! Our contributing writer has a lot more to share about his journey into the running and trail running spaces. Stay tuned for his follow-up series!
LA Running Connoisseur welcomes contributing writers who want to cover local run events, speak to what our community in contributing to the city, or share what the LA running space means to them. If you’re interested in writing, send an email to larunningconnoisseur@gmail.com with the subject line “Contributing Writer.”
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