Nike Run Hit Wonder 2005

On Saturday I participated in the Nike Run Hit Wonder with about 16,000 other Angelenos. This was the third 5K race I've completed and it was a lot of fun.

It was great to run through my old 'hood, the University of Southern California campus and its environs. Those of us embarking on the 5K went down 28th Street, a.k.a. "The Row," and numerous fraternity and sorority types cheered us on -- I appreciated their support even though they were the type of people I eschewed in my college years. I loved the fact that we ended the race by running onto the field at the historic Los Angeles Coliseum in Exposition Park, home of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics. Here's a map of the course; click on it for a larger image:

The main difference between Run Hit Wonder and other races is the bands that perform during the event. The sounds of The Donnas, Fountains of Wayne, and DJ Z-Trip greeted me along the way and encouraged me to complete the race. I would've heard Chingy, Nina Sky, and The Aquabats too if I'd ran the 10K. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performed at the L.A. Coliseum after the race was over.

I'm proud to say that I completed the 5K in 27 minutes and 25 seconds...while hardly impressive for a 26-year-old male, my finish was better than that at the Samurai 5K last month and constitued a big improvement over my first race ever, Keep L.A. Running, in July. My main objective has always been to complete such races without stoppiong -- it feels great to push myself to the limit and accomplish things I didn't think I was capable of. I can only imagine how much better I could do if I merely "trained" by running in-between these races (which I haven't) or by cutting out my pack-a-day smoking habit (which I haven't...yet). I want to keep running a 5K each month; running has become a new hobby that I enjoy and can be proud of.

After the race, I took a self-portrait of myself sporting my race shirt and the "funky fresh medallion" I earned by participating in the Nike Run Hit Wonder: