This morning was the West Hollywood Pride Run. I got there in time for the 7:30 start…but that was the 5K. The 10K started at 8:30, since the race is designed for people to run both. Both! So I had an hour to kill, walked around, ran into some friendly young men going to the pride festival, searched in vain for a bathroom that wasn’t a porta-potty, just kind of hung out.
This was a pretty small event. I was embarrassingly trailing behind the others in the race and there were very few people behind me. I didn’t think my time was that bad, but when the other participants are Serious Runners, I was really lagging in comparison and was one of the last to finish.
I just wasn’t prepared for this run. Between the move and working 60+ hours a week, I’ve really let the training slide. No bueno. I have one more 10K at the end of the month and I’m going to try to shave off a few minutes from my time.
I don’t think I will run this race again. It was well-organized and the volunteers were friendly an helpful, and I like that stretch of Santa Monica Blvd, but….
Too many hate preachers on the sidewalks hollering at the runners.
Too much pot smoking by the people waiting for the Pride Festival.
The route was two loops from Crescent Heights to Doheny and back again. That made the race seem interminable.
And worst of all, there was traffic on the route even though it was closed off. There were two county jail buses, parade floats, CHP, golf carts, ambulances…just cruising up and down, honking at the runners to move to the side. What was that all about?
Here’s my report:
Very well done for doing a 10K race even though everything wasn’t perfect. Very impressive! 🙂 I’ve still only once ran 10K and that was last year when I injured my knee. But perhaps I’ll try it this summer too. Only ran 4-7K at a time this year.
Good going Shortie.
Like you said it’s a small race, so the LA Frontrunners (the organizers) piggyback off the permit the city has to close the streets in preparation for the Pride Parade. The streets weren’t closed for the race, it was closed for the parade prep, so unfortunately we have to deal with some inconveniences. I don’t think Frontrunners has the money to close off the streets on their own and the goal is to donate what they earn to charity. Glad you enjoyed the race otherwise.