Steve Christilaw: When it comes to running marathons, it’s exhilarating to share in friends’ passions

Some days Facebook just wears me out.

I’m not just referring to cute cat videos. If you work at it, those of us who are not “cat people” can avoid most of them – except the ones involving zucchini. Really? Cats are scared of squash? Who knew?

And I’m not talking about grandkid pictures. Once you become a grandpa you never get tired of seeing pictures of your friends’ grandkids. It’s kind of an “I’ll-look-at-yours-if-you- look-at-mine” kind of thing.

Nor am I referencing friends who love to take cellphone pictures of their latest meal. I admit, I have from time to time been guilty of this particular habit. I’m hit or miss on OPF (other people’s food), but I do enjoy remembering some of my own favorite meals.

I am actually talking about some of the things my incredibly active Facebook friends have been up to and have posted about on their pages.

Sunday morning was particularly exhausting.

One friend posted yet another set of photos of the Welcome to Idaho sign at Stateline. There are a lot of those pictures on his Facebook page. He’s an avid cyclist and regularly rides with friends from his home in the Spokane Valley to the Idaho border. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s also biked his way around Lake Coeur d’Alene and did a big tour of Iowa I might be inclined to think he’s ridden to Stateline once and just took a whole bunch of pictures. As it is, I’m never sure if his pack of friends are smiling or if they’re just glad to have feeling again in their backside.

Another friend posted his time from a weekend marathon, explaining that it was both a personal record at the distance (26.22 miles, to be exact), and a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon for his age group.

I hope he gets the chance to run in Boston. For a runner, that’s the one you dream of running someday.

But on this particular Sunday I was in awe.

By the time I sat down for my first cup of coffee, Amy Biviano had already run one San Francisco marathon and was lined up at the start line to begin a second lap.

If you’ve been to San Francisco, you know the city is known for its hills. And if you’ve never been to the City By the Bay, just rent the Steve McQueen movie “Bullitt” and fast-forward to the famous car chase scene.

The race starts on Mission Street and meanders over the Golden Gate Bridge, visits Golden Gate Park and finishes on the Embarcadero. Even the winners thought they might die on some of those hills.

What’s more, Biviano was doing it all – running 52.44 miles – to benefit research into epilepsy, a disease she’s battling with the same vigor and stamina it takes to run from Spokane to almost Ritzville.

“I finished in 12:31 for 52.4 miles. It was hard but exhilarating and a unique way to see a beautiful city. I am truly a lucky woman to be able to do this and have an amazing support network that makes this possible,” Biviano said.

Me? I went for a second cup of coffee while wishing her well.

That wasn’t all the local news out of San Francisco, by the way. The winner of the men’s race was former Spokane resident Gregory Billington, who competed in the triathlon at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Now a San Francisco resident, Billington is the son of a former North Central High School teacher and has given inspirational talks to distance runners at NC and Rogers.

Boy, Facebook can definitely wear a person out!

I like that my friends are out in the world, doing the kinds of things that can leave a casual reader exhausted. I may not need to see a picture of their tacos al pastor, but I like getting a glimpse of what makes my friends tick.

It’s all about passion, the most important ingredient in a happy, satisfying life.

You don’t really know a person until you know what it is that drives them, what keeps them going and what buoys them in times of trouble or stress.

Some people find that key ingredient running or cycling. I don’t have to share that passion to understand it and appreciate the drive it takes to run a marathon or two. On the same day. Or go on a 100-mile ride.

I just know that finding the things in life that you feel passionate about is what’s important, whether it’s crossing a finish line in a personal-best time or simply growing a delicious heirloom tomato in your backyard. Or playing the piano or painting landscapes or reading good books.

Even if it means taking cute videos of cats.