Alive & Running 2012
Sep. 25th, 2012 02:51 pmhttp://events.didihirsch.org/site/PageServer
When: September 23, 2012
Where: Near Sepulveda Boulevard and La Tijera Boulevard, a stone's throw from LAX.
Why: Alive & Running raises money for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, which runs a leading Suicide Prevention Center and hotline.
Course access: The start/finish area was close to Sepulveda and Manchester Avenue, where several major bus lines were represented. Big Blue Bus 3, Culver CityBus 6 and Metro locals 102 and 115 all stopped on the corner.
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Number of Participants: 1400
Pre-race: Fast check-in, and the volunteers -- from schools in the area-- were much nicer and far more helpful than the ones from last year. They had several special memorials for victims of suicide, including a little rock/rose petal garden where you could write the names of loved ones.
Runners: Lots of families; lots of memorial teams; a nice mix of runners and walkers. This was a very walker-friendly race. The kids on the course seemed to have manners this year, which was nice.
Course: A flat, fast, out and back run parallel to LAX. Since the airport was literally right next door, there were up close and personal views of landing planes, but there weren't a lot of other things to see. Trees along the road offered welcome shade in some areas.
Chip timing: Yes, with shoe tags. There were clocks at the turnaround and finish.
Shirt: A baby blue t-shirt. I loved the color and the logo; I hated that a random person's photo was on the shirt. At first I thought it was Didi Hirsch herself, but no, it wasn't.
Swag: Alive & Running bracelets.
Expo: Very small, but included free snow cones. One of the frustrating things was that many of the expo vendors had either packed up or run out of stuff by the time most people crossed the finish line.
Would I Do This Race Again? Maybe. It was nothing special; it was nothing awful. I was ambivalent about doing this race in 2012. It's a pretty run of the mill neighborhood race, but it does support a good cause and it's a nice course.
When: September 23, 2012
Where: Near Sepulveda Boulevard and La Tijera Boulevard, a stone's throw from LAX.
Why: Alive & Running raises money for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, which runs a leading Suicide Prevention Center and hotline.
Course access: The start/finish area was close to Sepulveda and Manchester Avenue, where several major bus lines were represented. Big Blue Bus 3, Culver CityBus 6 and Metro locals 102 and 115 all stopped on the corner.
____________
Number of Participants: 1400
Pre-race: Fast check-in, and the volunteers -- from schools in the area-- were much nicer and far more helpful than the ones from last year. They had several special memorials for victims of suicide, including a little rock/rose petal garden where you could write the names of loved ones.
Runners: Lots of families; lots of memorial teams; a nice mix of runners and walkers. This was a very walker-friendly race. The kids on the course seemed to have manners this year, which was nice.
Course: A flat, fast, out and back run parallel to LAX. Since the airport was literally right next door, there were up close and personal views of landing planes, but there weren't a lot of other things to see. Trees along the road offered welcome shade in some areas.
Chip timing: Yes, with shoe tags. There were clocks at the turnaround and finish.
Shirt: A baby blue t-shirt. I loved the color and the logo; I hated that a random person's photo was on the shirt. At first I thought it was Didi Hirsch herself, but no, it wasn't.
Swag: Alive & Running bracelets.
Expo: Very small, but included free snow cones. One of the frustrating things was that many of the expo vendors had either packed up or run out of stuff by the time most people crossed the finish line.
Would I Do This Race Again? Maybe. It was nothing special; it was nothing awful. I was ambivalent about doing this race in 2012. It's a pretty run of the mill neighborhood race, but it does support a good cause and it's a nice course.
