Long may he run

Lolita Harper

His small frame can be seen on any given day, trotting along the

picturesque streets of Spy Glass Hill. From a distance, he is

perfectly conditioned, moving forward at a steady pace, with toned

calves and runner’s body.

Close up, one detail about Salvador Avila strikes an observer like

a sledge hammer: The man is an 80-year-old grandfather.

The patriarch of the successful Avila’s El Ranchito restaurants is

no stranger to unbelievable feats. The Mexican immigrant raised six

children with his loving wife in Huntington Park while giving birth

to one of the area’s most successful authentic Mexican restaurants,

which quickly turned into a chain along the Orange County coast.

Living comfortably in a striking Corona del Mar home, with plenty

of room for his children and their own children, Avila will return to

his Los Angeles roots to tackle yet another unbelievable feat. The

80-year-old will run the Los Angeles Marathon.

For 26.4 miles, Avila will huff and puff alongside some runners

one-third his age. For 26.4 miles, Avila will convince his aging

muscles they are as strong as they were 50 years ago. And for 26.4

long miles, Avila will prove that life goes on during the Golden

Years.

He has conditioned his lungs, bones and muscles to endure long

distances of pavement pounding by religiously running the windy hills

of his community. Neighbors in Spy Glass Hill are accustomed to

seeing the patriarch running down their streets and often honk and

wave, as they drive by.

The soothing ocean breeze from the Pacific just below and the

clear blue skies provides the perfect backdrop in which to lose

yourself in your thoughts and run, he said. While streets in downtown

Los Angeles will not offer the same scenery, the thrill of the event

will more than compensate.

Dedicated daughter and Costa Mesa activist Maria Elena Avila said

she never really thought of her father’s running as such a triumph

until others began to call attention to it. “Daddy,” as she still

calls him, had always been an avid runner, and she merely excepted it

as one of his hobbies.

“When you stop and think about it, a 80-year-old man that can run

26 miles in five hours is really inspirational,” his daughter said.

Spanish TV station Telemundo is following the immigrant business

man during his final weeks of training and airing his regimen for a

week, the family said.

While others may be shocked by his youthful determination after

eight decades, Avila doesn’t find it out of the ordinary at all. He

shrugs his slightly hunched shoulders at the notion that what he is

doing is out of the ordinary.

“I have run for a long time,” he said in Spanish. “I really enjoy

it.”

He applies the same unbending work ethic in every aspect of his

life and credits the success of the family business to that

austerity.

Salvador and Margarita Avila, now 80 and 78, respectively, came to

the United States in 1956. After 10 years of hard work in various

factories, the couple decided to open a family restaurant, serving

margarita’s and authentic meals.

Now that he is not needed to work 14-hour days hauling produce

from downtown Los Angeles to his wife’s kitchen to support the Avila

restaurant, he funnels his energy into his running.

Well, not all of it.

The 80-year-old must also save some liveliness for Sunday meals

with his grandchildren, he said.