Akhil Viz stood near the finish line of the 2017 San Francisco Marathon, more nervous than when he’d begun his own half-marathon race earlier in the day.
His then-girlfriend, Sibylle Hallstein, was competing in the full-length marathon. Viz was watching her progress on the Find My Friends app on his iPhone, waiting for her to near the end of the race.
As she drew within one mile, Viz looked up from his phone and directed some of the event’s photographers to wait with him. He strained his eyes into the sea of 27,000 runners, looking for Hallstein. When he finally spotted her, he gave the photographers the signal.
When she crossed the finish line, Viz dropped to his knee and asked for her hand in marriage, presenting her with a ring and a medal engraved with the life-altering question. Hallstein said yes.
“I was too tired to say anything else,” she joked this week with a soft smile.
The San Francisco Marathon was fitting for their proposal. It was the first race they ran together, and took place in the city in which they met. But for Viz and Hallstein’s wedding? Well, that will take place in the city they now call home, at Sunday’s Long Beach Marathon.
The two will exchange vows and rings at the starting line of the half-marathon before running the race together with a group of 20-25 friends.
“Anyone who knows us,” Viz says, “knows that this is what we are about.”
Finding Long Beach
The two met at the International Business School as they studied for their MBAs. Hallstein, 36, came from Germany and Viz, 29, from Gibraltar. They created a running club together with a handful of friends that soon turned into a score of runners.
Soon, the friendship turned into partnership in class projects. Then, it evolved into a courtship.
When they finished their graduate degrees in 2016, Viz got a job offer from Atkins Global in Long Beach. Hallstein’s job for the German chemical firm Evonik was remote, so she could work anywhere.
Southern California appealed to them. As much as they liked San Francisco, it didn’t match the state’s reputation for sunny, warm weather.
Though they’d visited the area before, they’d never considered moving south. So they took a quick trip down to see if they could live in Long Beach.
They rented an apartment for a weekend near Belmont Shore. They walked out the door right onto a path where they could run or bike for miles without interruption.
“We tried pretending to live here and that’s what got us hooked, like, ‘We want to be here,’” Viz said. “Ever since, we’ve loved it here. It’s kind of like our home away from home.”
A week later, they moved into an apartment in that same neighborhood, which quickly became their own.
Viz and Hallstein found a group of coffee shops that are now regular haunts. They still frequent Open Sesame, the restaurant where they went for their first dinner in Long Beach.
And they also established their favorite running trails. They enjoy exercising along the sand at Bayshore Beach and swimming in the water. They take advantage of the closed roads near Marine Stadium for runs. They also joined the Long Beach Running Club, a group that has become near to their hearts.
The big day
After two years near Belmont Shore, the two now live on the border of Long Beach and Signal Hill. They sit at a table at Hilltop Park, their adopted city the backdrop as they tell how they made it their home.
They relay the story much as they live – as a team. At times, Hallstein provides the story as Viz peppers in his comments. Other times, they switch roles. They look at each other before each anecdote to silently decide who will take the lead this time.
They described their plans for the weekend. Saturday night, the rehearsal dinner will be a carbo-loading pizza party that will double as a house-warming party for all of their out-of-town friends. After the race Sunday, they will go to a tent where, after re-hydrating, they’ll pop champagne and celebrate. Then a beach barbecue awaits in the evening.
“It’s not very traditional, but nothing with this wedding is traditional,” Hallstein says.
“But it’s unique,” Viz interjects. “It’s our own.”
“We wanted the motto for the weekend to be, ‘Life’s better at the beach,’” Hallstein adds.
And for Viz and Hallstein, that means Long Beach, their adopted home.
