Dodgers 5k / 10K / Kids Run

The 2nd Annual Los Angeles Dodgers 5K / 10K / Kids Run occurred on Sunday.  I ran the 5K last year and this year they added a 10K to the fun.  However, I noticed that it was the same medal awarded for the 5K or the 10K, so I chose the race with less mileage but same reward (a SOSG trademark!).  With the additional race, it also brought many additional people - more than 6000 runners this year!  Apparently they sold out too! The 10K started at 7:00am while the 5K started at 9:00 am.  So, I arrived around 8:00 am and walked around the various booths at the runner's expo.  Then came race time and I lined up and some how made it near the start.  So I took out my phone and shot the crowd behind me.

Holy crap that's a lot of people!

Some people dressed in costume, like the two below.  I don't know how these guys made it with the blazing sun.  Good for them on dressing up, but damn it was hot.

Came from his blue man group audition.

Fellow blogger in the hot dog suit.

The 5K itself was again brutal.  Not only was it about 5000 degrees out, but to start you off going uphill first, really sucks.  Just like last year, this is essentially a parking lot run.  Apparently the 10K (from SOSG contributor and reader pictured below), was also pretty damn hilly as you had to go uphill twice through Elysian Park.  I might also add it was TOTALLY COOL to see @themunson in his SOSG shirt crossing the finish line!  Huge props to our readers!

SOSG represented in the house!  Nice job completing the 10K!

At one point during the race, I must have not sounded so hot.  So when a 13 year old kid passed me, he turned and asked if I was alright.  I told him yeah, I'm just old.  Crossing the finish line is always fun and Dodger alum including Matt Luke, Al Ferrara, Ken Landreaux, and Al Downing were there to greet exhausted and relieved runners.  

Dodger alumni congratulating runners.

After the race, the runners were able to walk around the warning track of Dodger Stadium to cool down.  Whenever you can get down to the field, it is always worth it.  Just like last year, the Dodgers hit a home run with the medal design.  Plus it is pretty big and weighs a good amount.  This year my time was worse than last year, but I somehow managed to place in the top 5 of my age group, so I have no complaints.  It was crazy hot this year, which is hard to plan for in a race, and the course is kinda boring.  But the medal and the finish are great and running with fellow Dodger fans is a blast.  I wonder if I should venture up north and run the hated ones half marathon in full dodger gear?  Hmmm...until next time, keep on running!

Just a stroll through the park.

5K on what Papa Cora calls the "magic screen".

Great medal design.