And the winner is

I knew dragging my lazy ass off the bed at 6am on a Sunday morning was for a good reason but that reason got 10 million times better when the guy in the huge speakers said, "Carl Lewis." Carl Lewis, the Olympic champion, my childhood hero.

I used to look up to him so I owe it to my 8 year old self to take this picture.

The Nike Run Hit Remix 5 miler was really fun. Something about running in the middle of the steet, and the being in the middle of a running mob does it for me.

The route was interesting and the runners were a fun bunch. Ran through what I assume is part of the greek row of USC and that was fun. The kids were out holding signs and cheering for us, some in their pjs. College… good times.

One lousy thing happened. Mid course, I had to pee really badly. I was like, what the hell, body, you were fine 20 mins ago. Of course, all the businesses along the route were closed and the portable toilets had people waiting and I didn't want to stop to wait. Argh. But I came across empty ones soon enough. Thank goodness.

When I rejoined the race, it was a group of people who were trying to finish under an hour . Those guys were a hoot! They took it upon themselves to motivate the entire section and that was quite a riot.

The finish was a downhill tunnel into the Memorial Colosseum so it was an easy strong finish. And we finish under an hour. Yay!


I totally paid for the medal, just like everyone else. But I like to think I "won" it and I'm wearing it anyway.

photographer: fred, mostly
photo editor: rong