Another full day

The alarm was set for 4:10am so the marathon runners would get to Dodger Stadium without the panicked feeling of being stuck in traffic. Last year we could see people getting out of the cars and walking uphill the last 1.5 miles of the drive. My running partner rested her legs and got there on time, but it was better to early.

photo by Gustavo Castellanos

My cheering partner (my running partner's spouse and also my swimming partner) and I hung out at the 10K mark until the coffee place opened (thank goodness they had fixed the bathroom in the last year!). A couple hours after we arrived the first wheelchair racers and handcyclists passed by. Even slight uphills looked like a challenge.

On the other hand, even the slight downhill shown here allows for them to gather speed. The amazing things about the runners in the photo is that they looked like they were just loping along, but really they were going under 8:30 min./mile

I was surprised to see Nowruz banners in LA because I did not know there were enough celebrants in town. I guess if I went to LA more often I would know they had banners every year. You can see previous designs here. I wonder if there is anyone who turns the banners into wallets, tote bags, or other items available for sale.

Plenty of people were along the route at the 10K and 30K mark, it was definitely not crowded, but the finish was jammed and there were still several hours of finishers behind our friends. Attempts were made to examine bags and keep people from crowding the finishers, but it was a challenge. Despite that we met up with our friends, who were very happy to be done! They had both earned two medals, one for finishing the marathon and another for participating in a series that included a 10K, half-, and full-marathon over the course of about five months. Some people also had a medal for running a 5K the day before the marathon. Whew.

After a celebratory beer (included in the price of entry and for a fee for non-runners) sponsored by the local Hostelling International group, the racers shuffled off to the car.

We headed home and lucky for me I got back in time for Bach! 

A. was performing a bit late so I was able to hear him play.

A full day and a good one!