2004 Run Hit Wonder 5K

Report by: Eric Barron

After last year's sea of red flooded the streets of Hollywood, this year Nike's Run Hit Wonder took form in a sea of blue spilling into the Coliseum. This 5K/10K features bands stationed at every mile, and a finish line concert. It was hard to notice the bands along the course if you were racing, but you could not miss Devo playing inside the stadium. The other hard thing to miss was the traffic jam of cars (either before the race or after, take your pick), but whenever 15,000 runners show up at a race, expect delays.

Fortunately, the race started in a timely manner, and Adam Reid finished the 10K in an impressive manner for the club, taking sixth overall out of 8,345 runners, and second in his age division. The next TCLA member to cross the line must have a vitamin C deficiency because he spent most of his time after the race drinking the fresh orange juice to be had in the Club Run LA area. After him, Tyrone Black kicked off his summer training with a solid run edging out Joan Benoit Samuelson at the finish. Another TCLA'er just getting back into his training, Erik Weisman, cracked the 40-minute mark.

Gary McArdle ended up just over 40 minutes, but with the L.A. Marathon shortly behind him, and an overly aggressive first mile, he should not be too surprised with his time. Philip Steinman was only a second back (thanks to chip timing), and Clarence Smith came in ten seconds after Philip. Brian Panosian hit 41 minutes on the head (he was another victim of a fast first mile). The next three TCLA'ers (Todd Patterson, Rasmus Tamstorf, and Jacinda Raiche) have two things in common: they all finished within a few seconds of each other, and they all will run considerably faster once they get back on the track.

Masami Fukuhara ran easy as she starts her post-L.A. Marathon summer of fun. Rodney Bassett had a respectable time, and he, too, will improve with consistent track training. Mike Kukuchka and Eirik Haenschke cruised through their races. Bram Weinkelsbaum once again let Stephanie Pogorelsky finish ahead of him. Helping the Club Run LA runners, Theo Lacy and Dan Manns weaved their way through the crowd. Finally, Michael Berger and Alison Lee used the race to revive their legs after their marathons at Boston.

In the smaller 5K (approximately 6,000 runners), Seth Morris dipped just under six-minute pace. Mike Sudo, who has started endurance training after spring sessions of speed, broke 19 minutes. Ogie Espinosa turned in a strong performance breaking 21 minutes, and Reuben Villanueva was only five seconds back. Lydia Salinas ran a decent race, but had to save energy to give her Vincent Black Shadow a running jump start in the parking lot later. Also stuck in the parking lot after, but this time due to traffic, Ron Hecker had a good race, especially given that he had been unable to warm up beforehand (again, thank the traffic). All in all, it was something to behold in downtown L.A. Sunday seeing the sun shining on a sea of blue.