Say No To Drugs 10K Race Report

December 13, 2009

I ran this race last year and it was held in Griffith Park here in Los Angeles, but this year they moved the race to the backlot of Universal Studios.

I arrived at Universal Studios about 6:15am to register for the race. This year they were very organized and I breezed through registration in about 5 minutes. I grabbed my bib, t shirt and goodie bag and headed back to the car.

I got all my gear together and headed out to the expo which was held outdoors. It was a bit chilly but there was no rain in sight, which after running 7 miles in a full on rain storm on Saturday, it was a welcome site. I hung out with the guys at A Runner's Circle in their booth until I decided to run around the expo in circles to warm up, just like the elites were doing. About 7:15am, Francesca, another ARC runner, and I headed to the starting line. The start was about 100 yards downhill from the expo, so we pushed on and made our way to the front 1/3 of the runners. This was a 10K & 5 K run along with a 5K walk and everyone started at the same time. I wish they would have made an announcement to have the walkers and folks with strollers, start in the back, but they didnt. The plan was simple, start out about 8:30/mile, break away from the crowd and settle in to a 9:00/mile pace for the remainder of the race.

The gun went off and the shuffle began, the first 3/4 mile was downhill and I got going pretty fast to try and get away from the crowd and get some breathing room. We ran past Jaws and Cabot Cove (Murder She Wrote) and then headed down Western Street. The next mile and half was run along the LA River and through a parking lot. Next came "Sparticus Square" and a run through European cobblestone streets. Once we left "Europe" we made a turn and headed back up hill and passed the entrance to Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives). Near the top of the hill was a Whoville Christmas set and then the famous "Bates Motel". Right around the corner was the Psycho House and "War of the Worlds" Set. After running past a couple of other sets I remember from TV and movies, the 10K runners split off to do it all over again.


Lap 2 I was able to settle into a more relaxed pace. I decided on lap 2 I would use my phone and snap a few pictures. (See Below) I ended up with a time of 53:24 with an average pace of 8:57/mile. It was not my fastest 10K but it was still respectable considering the hill and stopping to take a few pictures. This was a fun race and I look forward to running it again next year.

Official Race Photos