Run This Way

Course access: Many bus lines go past UCLA or use the campus as a terminus, including Big Blue Bus 1, Metro 20 and 720 (which stop down on Wilshire) and 2, and Culver City 6. 

Why: The race raises money for Special Olympics Southern California. Runners are able to fundraise above their race registration fee, if they wish. In 2016 the race raised over 200K - and UCLA won the school fundraising challenge.

Pre-race: Packet pickup was available before the race. Packet pickup on race morning was fast and stress-free, however. There were enough volunteers to handle everyone. 

Course: Totally within UCLA's lovely, leafy campus. It was hilly at points but not overwhelmingly so. There were some cheerleaders and volunteers cheering runners on at a few points. 

Chip timing: Yes, on the bib.

Post-course food:  Water and bananas were provided to the runners, and several vendors gave out samples, such as Hubert's Lemonade and Coca-Cola.

Shirt: The shirt you receive at this race depends on whether you've aligned yourself with Team UCLA or Team USC. This year's shirts are among the nicest I've ever seen at a race. The tech shirts feature the school colors - blue for UCLA and red for USC - with yellow side panels. The center of the shirt featured USC/UCLA mascots.



Swag: Once again, the medal featured a cut-out design that incorporated both UCLA and USC's colors and mascots. The Special Olympics' motto and event date were engraved on the back.

Grade: A!

I've created a new tag for races that are no longer happening, for one reason or another. Currently on this list: 

Culver City 5K
EIF/Revlon Walk
Karhu 5K
Live Ultimate 5K
Sunset Strip 5K
Rose Bowl 5K 
Run for Her

* RnR LA continues as a half-marathon, but at least for now, the 5K is gone.

For the most part, I hate adding this tag to events. The Karhu 5K was a disaster, but some of these other races were amazing. Particularly, the Culver City 5K and Sunset Strip 5K were two of my favorite races ever.

The race director for Culver City was in contact last year, explaining why the 2015 event would not happen. At that time, there was apparently some hope that the race would be rescheduled in the fall of 2016. However, as of September 2016, there's been no word on it. It's a real shame, since it was a fun, friendly and well-organized race.

The Sunset Strip 5K is just confusing, truth be told. It was a phenomenal race in every way; well-organized and run from start to finish, with a great theme, wonderful medals and shirts, and strong course support. It ran once, in 2015...and then poof, nothing. The organizers stopped posting on the event's Facebook page in August 2015. Earlier this year, someone commented that the race will return in 2017 - apparently this person had gone out of his way to track down some answers - but as of now, there's no word.

The Live Ultimate 5K was not as good, but was another "one (or two) and done." At the time, the Live Ultimate race organizers seemed to be ambitiously planning a series of races. They had some other events in Florida, and in 2014 they had one more Los Angeles race in Downtown LA, but then they faded out.

I did not add Firefly Run to the list, but I was on the fence about it. The race is still active, just not in Los Angeles. It "tours" to different cities, and LA has not been on the schedule for a while. There have been recent stops in Seattle and San Francisco, but for whatever reason, the race has not come south to LA in a while.

The Rose Bowl 5K  (which also had, IIRC, a 10K and half or full marathon) seems to have quietly faded out and been replaced with a new-for-2017 Pasadena Half and 5K, also at the Rose Bowl.

EIF/Revlon and Run for Her were both mega-races that had many similarities. Both had tens of thousands of participants. They both focused on fundraising for cancer-related hospitals and organizations, as well as awareness. They both had huge sponsors. Both races attracted many people who might not have ordinarily been interested in doing a 5K, and it was, for a large number of participants, a very leisurely walk.

In 2014 Run for Her branched out to New York City, and by all accounts, that race was successful. In 2015 it was gone, with a note from organizers at Cedars-Sinai Hospital noting that the race had "outgrown" its environment. There were promises that it might come back, but as of now, nothing has materialized.

No promises were made about recalling EIF/Revlon to life. The run/walk was held in numerous cities, including both LA and New York, in major venues. The New York walk went through Times Square to Central Park; the Los Angeles one used the LA Coliseum, where the Olympic torch was lit for participants to see as they finished the race. In 2014 it seemed to be moving right along, but in 2015 it was gone. Very little was said about it.

What caused the demise of these mega-races? 

In a city like Los Angeles, there are so many races almost every week that when one goes under, there's always another to replace it on the schedule. However, for runners and walkers who appreciated certain races, their absence is acutely felt.
 

Overview: A small, friendly 5K sponsored by Pepperdine University's 

Course: An out and back along the flat, fast Vista del Mar. The course ran parallel to the Pacific Ocean, so runners and walkers were treated to wonderful ocean views and breezes for the entire race. There were ample water stops and the course was clearly delineated, with no problems crossing the parking lot. However, I did not notice mile markers or clocks along the route.

Expo: They had a small but mighty expo, with some really interesting booths from disparate companies, like Equinox gyms and US Bank. 

Would I Run this Race Again: Yes! This small, friendly race was a great way to start 2016.

Course access: Among other lines, Metro's Rapid 754 runs on Vermont Avenue and the local Metro 102 runs along Exposition.  There's also a DASH line alone Exposition. However, the easiest course access for most is the Expo Line Metro train, which has stops at Expo Park/USC and Expo/Vermont, both of which are right across the street from Exposition Park.

Why:The race raises money for Special Olympics Southern California. Runners are able to fundraise above their race registration fee, if they wish.

Pre-race: Packet pickup was available for two days before the race at Sport Chalet locations. Packet pickup on race morning was fast and stress-free, however. There were enough volunteers to handle everyone. 

Course: Totally contained within Exposition Park, which had to be a relief for local drivers and bus routes. Participants took a winding path through Expo Park, going past all the museums and venues therein. It was flat and fast, with several water stops and on-course entertainment from cheerleaders. 

Chip timing: Yes, on the bib.

Post-course food:  Yes, water and food were provided to the runners.

Shirt: The shirt you received depended on whether you signed on` with Team UCLA or Team USC. The design was identical for both, but shirts were in their respective schools' colors: crimson and gold for USC; light blue and gold for UCLA. Many people came to the race showing their school pride with shirts, hats, signs, and even Bruin and Tommy Trojan gear.

Note: Yes, I chose Team USC. When I run this race again I intend to choose UCLA. I'm Switzerland over here; totally neutral.

Swag: A lovely cut-out medal which again incorporated both schools' logos and colors.

Grade: A!

Course access: Luckily, the Amtrak/Metrolink station for Anaheim is in the stadium parking lot. Just as luckily, Amtrak ran a 6:15 train from Union Station, and I believe there was a very early train coming up from San Diego, as well.

Why:The race provides funds for the Angels Baseball Foundation, which does community outreach.

Pre-race: Packet pickup was available on either Friday or on Saturday morning before the race. I don't know if they had the ushers or the Angels booster club working packet pickup on race morning, but whoever it was, they were incredibly nasty and rude. The older woman who helped me actually raised her voice at me. It was not a good way to start the morning, and it was a reminder that the Angels quite desperately need to get better customer service professionals working for them.

The T-shirt drop and voucher exchange lines were staffed by regular volunteers, and they were sweet and polite.

Angels pitcher Hector Santiago was on hand to do a short Q&A before the race and to present medals to the top finishers. Considering that he had pitched 6.1 innings the night before, it was incredibly nice of him to show up so early in the morning!

Course: The course was flat and fast, winding through the streets around the stadium. There were some cutouts of current Angels players around the parking lot for photo ops. The big draw with this race was that the course also went into the stadium and onto the field. Runners got to go all the way around the warning track from the 3rd base line, past home plate and the dugouts, and out again through the 1st base side. Runners were allowed to explore the visitors' dugout and were shown on the scoreboard video screen.

This year the ushers guarding the field were somewhat unpleasant, and did not allow runners to take photos in front of home plate. They also tried to keep prodding runners along at other points. I wasn't happy about that. Surely they understand that being on the warning track is the highlight of the event and a major thing for Angels fans, and that they will want photos, right? 

Post-course food:  *sigh* I'm really not liking this whole trend of not feeding the runners. They did appear to have bananas, but not enough to last.

Shirt: Very similar to last year's: a shiny red tech shirt with the Angels Fun Run logo in one corner.



Swag: A voucher for an Angels game and an awesome spinner medal. Pre-registered runners got a ticket to that night's game, but were able to exchange it for a coupon for a future game without any hassle at all.

Grade: B, due to rude ushers and staff and lack of food for the runners.