CENTURY 21� Canada is proud to recognize Darch Oborne of CENTURY 21 Moving Real Estate in Merritt, BC for his phenomenal accomplishment of participating in the 29th Annual International Marathon of Paris. In addition to operating a successful CENTURY 21 office and being the President of the Rotary Club in Merritt, Oborne took on his first ever marathon which he claims as being the experience of a lifetime. Having been a modest recreational runner for most of his life, Oborne was inspired to participate in the marathon on April 10, 2005 as a way to mark the centennial anniversary of Rotary International. With only ten weeks leading up to race day, Oborne, 60 years young - a man who had never run more than 10 km - set about on a steady training program that had him running up to 60 km a week, sometimes up to 30 km in a single day. He also incorporated hill climbing, stretching and bicycling into his schedule on his days off from running. A week before leaving for Paris and two weeks before race day, Oborne headed to Kamloops where he completed the half marathon. Although he admits this was a bit of a struggle, he felt that if he could run as far as he already had, he would be able to pull through in Paris. Once in Paris, Oborne was faced with a new set of challenges amidst the temptation of French wine and rich culinary delights. As an alternative, he said he savoured the culture and the sights with his daughter, Elizabeth, who had never been to Paris. Another challenge came when Oborne tried to register for the race and a problem arose that prevented him from officially registering. Not to be discouraged, he decided to run unofficially amidst the surplus of 35,000 other participants. He soon found himself running in groups of 300 and 400 people. “It was huge. There were so many people that it took 40 minutes just to pass the starting line at the Arc de Triomphe once the race had begun,” Oborne said while relating the amazing scope of the race. Many of the near 100,000 supportive onlookers that lined the route took notice of Oborne’s Canadian flag on the front of his shirt and cheered “Vive Canada!” Among the crowds, Oborne’s daughter applauded him from the side lines at several spectator points along the 42 km path. Having had such encouragement throughout the race helped reduce the monotony of kilometer after kilometer of what Oborne described as ‘brutal punishment of the body’. “I was in a lot of pain, I was living on a hope and a prayer,” he related. Sheer willpower allowed Oborne to successfully complete the race in under four and a half hours. He asserted that all of the sacrifice was worth the thrill he felt at the end of the race. “There’s just that tremendous rush when you cross the finish line, it’s like climbing a mountain,” he said. From real estate to marathons, Darch Oborne can do it all. He is even considering running another marathon in Victoria in October.
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