The sheer number of times she's done it strikes me as particularly insane. Then again, every year I get up there and within minutes of watching all the other runners (walkers, strollers, pushers, rollers, limpers...) I find myself getting all choked up. It looks, not like fun exactly, but like something I'd like to try someday.
Well, maybe.
The change of route this year meant that in order to be at Mile 21 for our rendevous, instead of heading to Koreatown or Boyle Heights, I got to travel to Brentwood. Not exactly as interesting a neighborhood (I missed seeing the live chickens in front yards), one thing it had going for it was it was incredibly easy to get there. Parking also was simple. I walked up to San Vicente on a street called Gretna Green, and there was a small farmer's market going on - since I arrived about 3 hours early, I perused the fancy fruits and vegetables, sampled a few delicious blood orange slices, and then headed up to the Mile 21 marker, which was: right there.
There weren't a ton of people at Mile 21, and for about the first 20 minutes, I just sat on the curb and watched the parade, but after awhile, I got really enthusiastic and started clapping whenever I saw someone I thought looked like they needed some encouragement. Because I was all by myself (there were other people around me, I just mean, I was a party of one), I was a little too embarrassed to yell out, but I did plenty of smiling and plenty of clapping.
At this point I was unaware that the start had been delayed so I didn't know that the time we were supposed to meet (a window of about 45 minutes) had been delayed too, but the time went by pretty fast. I got involved in a little conversation with a guy who was also waiting for a runner - this guy had a sign. His friend's name was "Steve," and unfortunately he never came through. He packed up before Patty got there. I was a bit disappointed: I wanted to see what "Steve" looked like.
She looked great when I finally saw her and gave her her "zip fizz" (no dropped Oreos this time). We talked just a little and then she was off and on her way. I yelled my standard "Go Patty!!" after her and headed back to the car.
I fought my way through the downtown Santa Monica traffic, scored a parking spot even though the sign said Parking Lot 3 was "full," and climbed through the hordes of people who were also picking up a runner or otherwise just hanging out at the pier. It was a total zoo down there. Crossing the street at the same time as 100 other people is not fun. But eventually I made it to the designated meeting space, got to see my runner, and drove her home (after we enjoyed a huge and delicious lunch).
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