A Lasting Impression, Coaches Honored by Friends

The project began in April, as so many of us wanted to do something special for Carmen Ayala and Ricardo Troncoso as they celebrated their 50th birthdays. There was talk of a party, perhaps a run, and even acquiring 50 special bottles of wine, and so on.

We seized the moment, however, when we noticed the Lou Neff Point stones and thought, “Why Not?” – Fifty years is a long time, but the stones would be around for many, many years to come. The money that would be donated would go to The Trail Foundation to continue enhancements and improvements on the Trail. Because of this we had an overwhelming response, and collected enough money to purchase two $1,000 bricks.

Through their coaching, Carmen and Ricardo have given so much to the community that it was fitting that the stones on the trail would inspire us to continue our quest to keep on running, no matter the speed! The people who donated to the project were not only lifelong friends but those who’ve enjoyed the privilege of having been coached by them in the past.

Perhaps the hardest thing of all was keeping the whole thing a surprise. Since we didn’t want to tell Carmen and Ricardo about the tiles until everything was set in place, we went through an elaborate scheme to get them to meet us at Lou Neff Point.

They arrived without a clue – except that we were all acting strangely! Much to their surprise, we told them what we had been up to, and they were truly touched by the gesture and that we’d gotten this accomplished.