ANDREA KOOIMAN A RUNNER'S STORY

Beware of the Balloon Lady at the SDCCU OC Marathon

Mission Viejo resident and OC Marathon Making Waves Hall of Famer Andrea Kooiman and will be the last person crossing the 26.2-mile finish line at May’s SDCCU OC Marathon Running Festival and she’ll literally jump for joy at the end.

Kooiman is known as “The Balloon Lady.” With balloons tied to her hydration pack so that she stands out for all to see, Kooiman sweeps up the back of the pack, supporting the late finishers. For the 47-year-old Kooiman, who’s not only fast enough to have qualified for the Boston Marathon but also was recently one of only 40 runners to toe the line at the BarkleyMarathonsevent,there’sasenseofpurposehelpingrunnersandwalkersachievetheir26.2-miledream.

“It’s more addicting than the race itself,” she said. Kooiman’s running journey started in 2005 when she told a co-worker who ran ultras that she’d like to run a marathon one day. The woman trained her and Kooiman’s first 26.2-miler came in Januaryof2006attheOrangeCountyMarathon.

She thought she’d be one and done. “You should at least run one more,” her husband told her. “Say you’ve run marathons andaddan“s.”

Two months later, Kooiman knocked off the Los Angeles Marathon. Her son, Braden, who was in the fifth grade, jogged the final mile with her. Braden saw kids who were part of the Students Run L.A. training program run 26.2-miles and decidedhewantedtojointheclub.

Kooiman trained him the next year as part of the SRLA team and Braden completed the task. Kooiman talked about wantingtoformanOrangeCountyprogramforteens.“I’mcallingyourbluff,”afathertoldher.“Let’sdothistogether.”

Kooiman founded We Run Our Community’s Kid, better known as WeROCK. For 13 years now, Kooiman and her team of coaches have been training teenagers for the SDCCU Marathon Running Festival. More than 1,000 local youths have participatedinWeROCKoverthehistoryofthepartnership.

“Years later I’ll get a random text message from kids about how they used "finishing a marathon" on a college application or job application,” said Kooiman, also known as Coach K. “Or when they have a tough final, they’ll say, ‘If I can run a marathon,Icanmakeitthroughthis.’

“That’s why myself and so many other coaches come back year after year,” she said. “We know in some small way there’s this ripple that’s starting.” Unless late arrivals show up, Kooiman is the last person crossing the start line. She walks at a brisk16-minuteper-milepace.Shejokesthatlateinthedayshe’sthemostlovedandhatedpersononthecourse.

“Every aid station is ecstatic,” she said. “I get the rock star treatment because they know when I come by they get to close up.” But for the struggling runner or walker whose feet, knees, calves, quads, hips and every fiber of their being ache,Kooimanisareminderthey’reinthebackofthepackwithmoreworktobedone.

“I treat them with care and caution,” she said. With balloons flapping in the breeze behind her, Kooiman is as much part of the race as the spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. As for the impact she had made on young runners, race director Gary Kutscher said, “You see kids crossing the finish line starting to cry. It’s amazing. What she’s done is simply amazing. Shereallydoesinspirepeople.”