Jesse Barrera honors his late friend, Steve Giuliano, as he finishes the half marathon. Photo by Cierra Hitner
Jesse Barrera pulled up his right sleeve, exposing his wrist to the morning sun. Inscribed on his skin in bold Sharpie was the message “R4S.” He pointed to the ink and translated. “Run for Steve,” Barrera said.
Barrera wore a green shirt with the words “Team Steve” printed on the front next to a purple ribbon. A towel was draped over his neck. He had finished his half-marathon race 40 minutes before, but even while he recovered, Barrera lingered with his friends to cheer on the marathoners in his running group. Each group member crossed the finish line wearing a Team Steve shirt and raising a Sharpie-marked arm in the air.
The Team Steve group included almost 30 people who traveled from San Antonio, Texas, to run the Eugene Marathon in memory of Steve Giuliano — their friend, running club member and eight-time Boston Marathon runner. Giuliano died in March 2020 after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2015.
Barrera organized for the running group to meet in Eugene because Eugene was Giuliano’s favorite place to run.
“Because of COVID we haven’t been able to get together and honor his passing,” Barrera said. “And this was one location where he really loved running so much. He ran this race twice.”
Barrera and Giuliano met after Giuliano joined the running club, called the Better Than Nothing Runners, in 2010. The two ran closely together and always encouraged each other to finish strong. Whenever Barrera felt he was losing energy, usually between miles 10 and 13, Giuliano made sure they ran side-by-side and reached the end.
In 2016, a year after Giuliano received his diagnosis, the two men ran Giuliano’s eighth and final marathon together.
“I carry ‘Run for Steve’ marked on my arm in memory of him. When you have that moment of struggle, you look down and look for that inspiration,” Barrera said. “He’s right there on your arm and your shoulders.”
The group had a memorial dinner the night prior, where Barrera said they all reflected on their races with Giuliano. They spoke about the great things Giuliano accomplished in his life, which included bringing them together in what Barrera called “a running family.”
Of the 30 people from Team Steve who traveled to Eugene, 17 ran the marathon or half-marathon on Sunday. Among them was Steve’s son, Ryan Giuliano, who received his PhD in neuroscience at the University of Oregon. Ryan finished his marathon in 3 hours, 7 minutes, 51 seconds. He was about 2 minutes away from running a Boston Marathon qualifying time.
“He’s trying to catch his dad to reach the same level of endurance and personal records that Steve was able to do,” Barrera said.
For Barrera, the race was less about time and more about Steve’s memory. He said mile 11 and 12 were the toughest for him, but the course was winding along the Willamette River at that point. He took a quiet moment to reflect and focus on making it to mile 12: “I gotta get to 12. Come on, help me, Steve. Help me to 12 and help me pull toward the finish line.”
As soon as Barrera crossed the finish line, a friend familiar with Barrera’s story hugged him right away.
“It was a memorable moment,” Barrera said, nodding in thought. “It gave some finality to this whole weekend.”
