There is something special about walking among thousands of like-minded people before dawn at one of the most iconic locations in the country that gets me really excited, and makes me feel completely at ease. This was how I felt on the morning of March 9th, 2014 at Dodger Stadium milling around the starting line of my 32nd marathon, the LA Marathon. This would be the second time I raced LA, the first time was only my second marathon ever back in 2003, and I had never really wanted to run it again because the course was abysmal at best, but about four or five years ago they changed the course to be a point to point, starting at Dodger Stadium high above downtown, and finishing right above the beach in Santa Monica. We would now be running through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Westwood all the way to the finish, it was a true tour of LA, a work of staggering genius, and since I had spent years driving over every single inch of it, now it was time for me to run over all of it.
I lucked out because I was seeded in the B corral which was near the starting line, just behind the super-fast elite runners, which meant I did not have to battle thousands of runners to find my place and pace early, like I did during my first go-around in ’03, this time I was running quickly and freely right from the gun, yee-haw!
It is a fact that you may never meet another human being more in love with her home town than I am of Los Angeles. I love the people, we are not all snobs and jerks, the traffic is constant, but the side streets are plentiful, and a little creativity and patience pay off huge when driving around town. I have lived in Venice, West Hollywood, Playa Del Rey, North Hollywood, and now Granada Hills, plus I grew up in outlying Claremont to the east, and Palos Verdes to the south, so I know my way around my beloved city, and I am the first to show outsiders how amazing she really is, just ask for a tour, I will make the time. In fact, one of the silliest jobs I ever had was as a driver for a visiting music executive from New York, she didn’t want to deal with driving herself around LA traffic, but couldn’t afford a limo driver, so this red head in a Civic fit the bill just fine. Obviously, this was BU, Before Uber.
I was especially excited for this race because since it was as local as a race would ever be, Marion would be able to cheer me on at the halfway point, just past mile 13 on the Sunset strip, and he would be there at the finish line to drive me home, yay. I hope we will be able to run this race together one of these years, I think he has it in him for sure.
The sky was absolutely stunning just before the start; all 20,000+ of us runners were in for a glorious day. The first five or so miles flew by in a flash, we thundered downhill from Dodger’s Stadium down through China town, and around downtown up a sheer steep hill right next to the Disney Performing Arts Center, which I was slightly prepared for, but it was tough. Then we trucked over a couple of freeway passes and ran up and down some rolling hills into Los Feliz and Silverlake where hipsters spilled out from the cafes drinking their espresso’s and looking befuddled at the great stampede swarming their beloved Los Feliz boulevard. I can honestly say that I was happier to be running a marathon than sitting outside on a patio wishing I was out there stomping my feet.
I felt wonderful, it was around mile 10 or so, I was not cooking my legs too much, we were starting to run along Hollywood Blvd when my heart felt a flutter, oh, how I love this street. I have been in love with movies and movie-making since I was ten years old, and I have had a laser focus on becoming a producer ever since, so I have always felt butterflies in my belly when I am on Hollywood Boulevard. However, this Sunday was even cooler than most, because the Oscars were just a week before, and we ran right by Dolby Theatre, Jordan Catalano’s tresses were just a week out of my reach.
Unfortunately, right after mile 12ish, as we ran down to Sunset, I started to feel a little off. Nothing crazy, just slower, and slightly off my pace. Then, I saw Marion jumping around in his Chargers jersey just past Crescent Heights on the north side of Sunset and my heart and legs sprang back to life. He was taking photos, and yelling and screaming my name, it was wonderful, and exactly what I needed.
The next four or five miles took us down through Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, I felt so fancy, then on out toward the Westside along Wilshire Blvd. This was a neat part of the course because for at least 100-200 yards we were flanked on both sides by cheerleading squads from local high schools. I was feeling pretty good, those girls definitely boosted my spirits, but the day was heating up pretty quickly. The water stations were plentiful and consistent along the course, except when we entered the VA property around mile 20 in Westwood. This was a long, exposed stretch of the course with an annoying hill thrown in for good measure to really test our grit, which I respect, but was not too fond of at that point in the day. I was suddenly the most popular girls around because I gave a few of my salt tabs to a once speedy guy who stopped dead in his tracks in exhaustion right in front of me just before that nasty hill, he said “thank you,” but his searing, sweaty eyes said "you just saved my life, girl."
Once we excited the VA, literally just inches off of their property was a water station staffed with energetic volunteers anxious to cool us off and cheer us on to the finish, Hallelujah! The last 4-5 miles was along the famously filmed San Vicente Blvd. It was a little up and down most of the way, but I was able to open my stride with a mile to go and just rejoice that this race almost over, I ran it much faster than I expected to, 3:25, and really had a blast the whole day, yet another great bonding experience with my lovely Los Angeles.
Okay, this is nuts, a few weeks after the race I received an email that since I placed in the top twenty of my age group I would receive a free Nutri-Bullet Sport blender. What? The What?! This is one of the perks about running in a HUGE, big money sponsored event, which is a rarity for me, but I was thrilled at the prize nonetheless. I will definitely run the LA marathon again, and strongly recommend it to every runner out there, it is an honest course, gives a true tour of the many cultures that make up Los Angeles, and finishes at the beach, what more could we ask for?
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