The LA Marathon - March 4, 2007
I didn't run in the race this year, but my camera and I were on hand as spectators. I don't know any of the people in these pictures, but if you happen to recognize yourself or any of the other participants, please let me know - I'd love to give credit to names in the captions.
(click on any picture below to see the full size)
The race organizers changed the route this year. The starting line was in Universal City, at the base of the hill below Universal Studios, with the finish line in downtown Los Angeles. This presented a dilemma...where do you park? At the start? At the finish? The solution for many was to park downtown and take advantage of the free service extended to runners on the metro line. This was probably the busiest that the metro line has ever been on a Sunday morning.
Proximity to the start from the Universal City metro station was very convenient, and the runners gathered on the adjacent street, 25,000+ strong.
Spectators (like me) however, hit a snag. The only access to the race route from the metro station (other than the street where the runners were gathering) was the underpass beneneath the 101 freeway...which was blocked by race organizers. No pedestrians were allowed through, so no one could get out to watch the start of the race. Hmmmm. Methinks someone bungled that idea...so, a good crowd of spectators had to hop back onto the metro trains, and backtrack down the line to Hollywood.
From the start, the race route went south on Cahuenga Blvd from Universal City, over the hill into the heart of Hollywood, past the Kodak Theatre (where only 1 week earlier the Academy Awards were handed out) to the intersection of Hollywood and Highland.
Bike Tour and wheelchair particpants were already on the course by the time I arrived in Hollywood. The medal contenders had already passed by, but many others were still making the journey.
And then came the runners, only one or two at a time at first. There were no real packs among the top medal contenders this year...
...but gradually, the numbers grew as the other elite runners began to arrive.
Of course, "elite runner" can have multiple interpretations.
Soon, Hollywood Blvd was filled with marathon runners, on their eastward journey toward the intersection of Hollywood and Vine...
...with some assistance along the way from the unsung heros of marathoning...the water table volunteers!
The famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine was the 4 mile mark in the race. Only 22.2 more to go!
From here, I hopped back on the metro to get downtown to see the finish. It was too crowded near the finish line to ge any pictures of the medal winners...and they were running so freaking fast that any pics would probably have come out blurry anyway...but here's what all of the runners saw when they turned that final corner from 7th street onto Flower. And here is one of the men's elite runners completing the final part of his journey.
The Finish Line!!
But before reaching the finish, here is the 2nd best sight of the day to all the runners...Mile 26!
When you see that banner, you know you've done it. There is absolutely no doubt that you'll finish. It's only just ahead around the corner. Sure it hurts....but there's no freaking way that you're stopping now!!
It was such a warm day, the LA Fire Dept was on hand to lend a little relief to some very hot and weary runners approaching the completion of the 26th mile.
Out of the 25,000+ runners, only two walk away with winner's medals. Only a very small handful more ever had any hope of being in medal contention. For everyone else, it's all about making the journey. This competitor was far from the fastest of the day, but he still covered the same course, he did the same distance, and he did it the same way...one step at a time. Regardless of the time on the clock, they are all marathoners.
(click on any picture below to see the full size)
The race organizers changed the route this year. The starting line was in Universal City, at the base of the hill below Universal Studios, with the finish line in downtown Los Angeles. This presented a dilemma...where do you park? At the start? At the finish? The solution for many was to park downtown and take advantage of the free service extended to runners on the metro line. This was probably the busiest that the metro line has ever been on a Sunday morning.
Proximity to the start from the Universal City metro station was very convenient, and the runners gathered on the adjacent street, 25,000+ strong.
Spectators (like me) however, hit a snag. The only access to the race route from the metro station (other than the street where the runners were gathering) was the underpass beneneath the 101 freeway...which was blocked by race organizers. No pedestrians were allowed through, so no one could get out to watch the start of the race. Hmmmm. Methinks someone bungled that idea...so, a good crowd of spectators had to hop back onto the metro trains, and backtrack down the line to Hollywood.
From the start, the race route went south on Cahuenga Blvd from Universal City, over the hill into the heart of Hollywood, past the Kodak Theatre (where only 1 week earlier the Academy Awards were handed out) to the intersection of Hollywood and Highland.
Bike Tour and wheelchair particpants were already on the course by the time I arrived in Hollywood. The medal contenders had already passed by, but many others were still making the journey.
And then came the runners, only one or two at a time at first. There were no real packs among the top medal contenders this year...
...but gradually, the numbers grew as the other elite runners began to arrive.
Of course, "elite runner" can have multiple interpretations.
Soon, Hollywood Blvd was filled with marathon runners, on their eastward journey toward the intersection of Hollywood and Vine...
...with some assistance along the way from the unsung heros of marathoning...the water table volunteers!
The famous intersection of Hollywood and Vine was the 4 mile mark in the race. Only 22.2 more to go!
From here, I hopped back on the metro to get downtown to see the finish. It was too crowded near the finish line to ge any pictures of the medal winners...and they were running so freaking fast that any pics would probably have come out blurry anyway...but here's what all of the runners saw when they turned that final corner from 7th street onto Flower. And here is one of the men's elite runners completing the final part of his journey.
The Finish Line!!
But before reaching the finish, here is the 2nd best sight of the day to all the runners...Mile 26!
When you see that banner, you know you've done it. There is absolutely no doubt that you'll finish. It's only just ahead around the corner. Sure it hurts....but there's no freaking way that you're stopping now!!
It was such a warm day, the LA Fire Dept was on hand to lend a little relief to some very hot and weary runners approaching the completion of the 26th mile.
Out of the 25,000+ runners, only two walk away with winner's medals. Only a very small handful more ever had any hope of being in medal contention. For everyone else, it's all about making the journey. This competitor was far from the fastest of the day, but he still covered the same course, he did the same distance, and he did it the same way...one step at a time. Regardless of the time on the clock, they are all marathoners.