Sights From This Years L.A. Marathon, Sunset Junction to Hollywood

Running a marathon must be very grueling.  Anyone who runs 26.2 miles no matter where they finish are all winners in my book.  Here are some pics I took from the marathon from Sunset Junction to Hollywood and Highland

Originally I had planned to head out toward the vicinity of Dodger Stadium and take pictures of the runners dashing out of McDouches, I mean, the Dodger Stadium lot, but something about waking up at 4:30 in the morning and taking the Red Line from the valley on a Sunday morning didn't exactly inspire me to push myself.  So I ended up here at this spot on the corner of Sunset and Vermont.  I arrived in time to cheer on runners toward the middle of the pack and to the end.  In doing so, I actually was able to wonder into the streets along the runners to offer my support.  Most all of the runners we're extremely friendly and happy for the support given them.  The nice thing about witnessing runners from the middle of the pack all the way to the end is that I was able to get connected to them, many of them thanking me for coming out and lending my support.  Speaking of support, many of these runners , I'm sure you all know, ran for various reasons, whether to support a cause, to run for their native country, or running 26.2 miles for the fun of it and for the self-satisfaction of being able to tell everyone some day that they ran a marathon. 

Runners running along the Wacko Soap Plant on Hollywood Blvd.  I just had to take this pic

More pics from the Sunset Junction portion of the marathon.  After snapping these shots I walked on over to the Santa Monica and Vermont red line staton to catch the subway toward Hollywood and Vine .

As I arrived to Hollywood and Vine I would encounter some of the same runners whom I cheered on over at Sunset Junction and to my surprise many of them actually remembered me.  As I had stated earlier cheering the runners from the middle of the pack on towards the end gave me the opportunity to go out on the street with the runners, or , in some, or many cases, walkers ( Hey, it's all good !!! ).  From Hollywood and Vine I would walk the route down Hollywood Blvd toward Highland Ave for more photos.  As I was walking alongside many of the runners/walkers I couldn't help but to think to myself hey, perhaps maybe I should join next year and I can walk the 26.2 miles along the back of the pack as well, many of whom seemed to be having a great time and snapping photos themselves of various sights along the route.

It was an enjoyable morning coming out and lending support to these runners.  Perhaps next year I can snap some shots in other parts of L.A.  .  My original goal was to cover as much of the 26.2 miles but hey, settling for shots from Sunset Junction to Hollywood and Highland was just as fun.  Oh, speaking of next year, perhaps I should think about walking the 26.2 miles ?  Why not ?  Many of these participants did and they seem to have the time of their life.  OK, I got a year.  Time to start training.