Man’s Race to Milestone Not Slowed by HIV

It was the same starting line Ric Munoz stood at in 1983. Only Sunday, as Munoz again ran the Western Hemisphere Marathon in Culver City, he achieved a personal milestone by clocking his 100th marathon.

Munoz has done most of the 100 marathons--running through the streets of London, Los Angeles, New York and Boston--knowing that he is infected with HIV.

Three hours, four minutes and eight seconds after bolting from the starting line, the wiry 39-year-old West Hollywood runner, wearing bib No. 100, crossed the finish line 24th of 450 runners, once again defying notions that HIV and athletics can’t mix.

Munoz didn’t match his personal best--2 hours 44 minutes 13 seconds--set in 1992; 34-year-old Keith Iovine won the marathon in 2:39:17. Munoz didn’t come close to the world marathon record of 2:06:50 set by Ethiopian Belayneh Densimo in Rotterdam in 1988.

But he inspired many friends and colleagues who came to cheer him to one more accomplishment in what has been a long personal journey.

“I love being alive, running and kicking,” said Munoz, after finishing the race throwing kisses to his friends. “I love being able to give it another go.”

As the audience applauded and friends screamed, “We’re so proud of you!” race officials placed a medal and red, white and blue ribbon around his neck. Munoz said he decided to attempt 100 marathons when he had completed 90 at the end of last year. “I said: What’s another 10?”

Munoz hated running in his high school gym class. So his friends, Munoz recalled, were surprised when he ran his first marathon in 1983 in 3:20:00. He was still running marathons sporadically when he learned in 1987 that he was HIV positive. He said he wasn’t surprised at the news because he had been “very sexually active.” But he was determined not to wallow in a “death sentence mentality,” Munoz said.

“I knew I had to get to work living with this,” Munoz said.

Eventually, he set a target of running one marathon a month. In 1990, he broke the 3-hour barrier, the finishing time that weekend marathoners use to mark the best among them. He hit 14 marathons in 1995. Some have been financed by athletic footwear maker Nike Inc., which elevated Munoz’s profile in 1995 by featuring him in a commercial. In it, Munoz is running in Malibu Canyon State Park. The text: “Ric Munoz, Los Angeles. 80 miles every week. 10 marathons every year. HIV positive. Just do it.” Most of the marathons were financed by Munoz.

Munoz says he felt healthy enough in 1994 to stop taking the antiviral drug Didanosine, or DDI, counter to his doctor’s advice. But he had to begin taking protease inhibitors--18 pills a day--early this year after an intestinal infection grew worse because of his compromised immune system.

Shortly before then, Munoz had stopped running for about five months. “He lost his drive to do this,” said friend Rick Hetzel, a member of Frontrunners L.A., a gay and lesbian running club Munoz belongs to. When Munoz finally laced up his shoes again, this time for his favorite event, the Boston Marathon, his time was more than an hour longer than his personal best. Last year, he had to walk parts of the New York Marathon.

He has been clawing his way back ever since. This year, Munoz said, he ran two marathons in June, and two in July. (AIDS experts say that HIV-infected runners who are healthy enough to run marathons face no special threat.) He runs 50 to 60 miles a week, usually between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays before going to his job as a legal secretary, and also on weekends.

Along the way, some marathons have reminded him of how potentially deadly HIV is. He had planned to run the New York Marathon in 1989 with a good friend who died of AIDS that year. He ran the race anyway.

Mostly, though, Munoz says, marathons are fun. He says he loves covering the vast distances, setting a time and trying to meet it. “Each one of these is a testament to how strong my body continues to be,” he said.

“This is a big accomplishment for anyone,” said friend Bill Winkelmann, adding that watching Munoz finish his 100th marathon was very emotional. “Ric is a fanatic about running, reading, music, his love of sports,” Winkelmann said. “He has a love for this. And whatever he has a love of, he pursues passionately.”

Winkelmann once watched Munoz blow out a knee at mile 20 of the New York Marathon. Munoz couldn’t run forward--so he ran several miles backward, Winkelmann recalled. He finished the race.

“He’s not going to crawl in a closet and die because he has this virus. It adds focus to his life,” Winkelmann said.

Munoz said he sees no reason he cannot run another 100 marathons. He plans to run what will probably be his 101st marathon in February in Pensacola, Fla., on his 40th birthday. Munoz says he would love to do a 50-mile--even 100-mile race--eventually.

“I will do this as long as I possibly can,” Munoz said. “I will run until I cannot run another drop.”