milemarkers Absolutely unsurprisingly, mile marker 26 received the most bids from Long Beach Marathon participants last weekend during a silent auction to benefit the Artful Healing program at Miller Children’s Hospital. Twenty-six miles is pretty much what marathoning is all about—although those with experience never underestimate the additional 385 yards to the finish line.

A whole lot weirder is that three other mile markers—13, which is the race’s halfway point, along with the seemingly insignificant 11 and 6—received just as many bids as the iconic 26. Each received seven.

What’s up with that?

We’d love to lay out some of our theories, including some constructed out of clues extracted from sources as varied as Phidippides’ training diary, ancient strains of numerology and a couple of really good Nike commercials—and especially those simply pulled out of our asses.

Clearly, however, what’s needed is more research.

Fortunately, organizers of the Mile Marker Auction have decided to extend its deadline and expand eligibility to everyone, although they still don’t have all the details worked out.

“We should have the extended online auction process set up in the next few days, including the new deadline for bids and how the process will work.” says Craig Watson, executive director of the Arts Council of Long Beach, which helped coordinate the fundraiser.

Whereas the original bidding was conducted before Sunday’s race—which is to say, before runners and their fans knew the outcome—people will now be able to bid upon mile markers that reflect the ultimate fate of the competitors and thus have more significance.

Maybe somebody got a second wind at Mile 19. Maybe somebody else had never run more than 12 miles in one stretch. Or maybe somebody hit the wall at Mile 17—in which case they really have no business hanging a 26 in their home.

Speaking of significance, the mile markers up for auction are special. They were created and painted by young patients from Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach (MCHLB) as part of the hospital’s “Artful Healing for Our Heroes” campaign. Exactly 100 percent of the proceeds of the auction will benefit this program, directed by MCHLB artist in residence, Denise Clayton-Leonard.

THE FOLLOWING STORY ON THE MARATHON MILE MARKERS WAS PUBLISHED OCT. 16, 2010:

Most people call them mile markers—those signs that chronicle the progress of the Long Beach Marathon. But others, whose attempt at the 26.2-mile course has ended in agony short of the finish line, have been known to call them headstones.

Either way, you can call them your own … well, if you are a participant in Sunday’s race, that is, via a silent auction held at the pre-race expo today.

These mile markers are special. They were created and painted by young patients from Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach (MCHLB) as part of the hospital’s “Artful Healing for Our Heroes” campaign. Exactly 100 percent of the proceeds of the silent auction will benefit this program, directed by MCHLB artist in residence, Denise Clayton-Leonard.

“Artful expressions can be a healing force for our patients,” said Clayton-Leonard in a press release. “It’s a wonderful thing for the children to be able to display their artwork at the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon, and we truly appreciate the funds that will be raised to help all of our children.”

The artistic mile markers are part of a greater long-term initiative to make the Long Beach Marathon a long-and-winding art exhibit and performance.

When runners check into the Long Beach Convention Center to pick up their race packets, they will see the mile markers on display and can bid on them for the duration of the Expo, which runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.