February 14. 2016 – While nearly 25,000 athletes lined up at Dodger Stadium to begin their epic journey, I began my not so epic journey at a neat little breakfast place on the Santa Monica beach.  (No) I wasn’t going to log many miles that day or qualify for the Olympic Trials, but I would take home memories of a cool, quite, and misty, pastel morning at the shore.

The serenity of this place was about to be washed over by thousands of cheering spectators, a small army of which vigorously clanged cow bells in support of the athletes as they ran by.

Unlike the Monterey Bay half-marathon held on Nov 6 2015, security would not allow spectators anywhere near the finish line.  So alas, no photos here of the elite athletes breaking the tape in record time...just great runners and some colorful characters.

Like in most marathons these days, all the runners carry tracking chips and together with an app, smartphone, and a runner’s name or number, all the performance stats can had.  So say goodbye to the amazing pronouncements of finishing times that seemed to get shorter the longer we stayed at the bar.

This beautiful day wound down with celebrations large and small.  By late afternoon, the marathon was history for most of the runners and they scooted off to wherever they came from, perhaps looking forward to next year when we get to repeat the craziness once again.  The rest of us returned to our love affair with the rhythms and sounds of the ocean…spending time with friends…or just enjoying the comfortable solitude in the company of nature’s beauty.

​​​​Los Angeles, CA Marathon 2016