38:16! Welcome to Echo Park!

This morning I woke up early to watch the LA Marathon make its way through beautiful and rainy Echo Park. This is the second year in a row that the course made its way down Bellevue, around the lake and up to Sunset. The athletes pass though in order of how they started, first, the wheel chair racers, then the Women's Elite, followed by the Men's, and lastly, the common runners. But let me clarify....there is nothing common about 26,000 runners passing your street at 8AM on a Sunday morning!

In a neighborhood that too often is in the news for less than positive events, I was again overjoyed too see the folks come out to support the athletes as they passed through. The local with the best spunk was stationed on the East side of Glendale Blvd as the runners approached. Oblivious to the rain, he occasionally glanced at his watch as the wall of common runners moved by. With as much spunk as possible, he greeted the mob with a loud and inviting, "38:16! Welcome to Echo Park! Wooo!" The runners were appreciative of the time notification...especially those looking to beat a personal best. He repeated this welcome about every 30 seconds. It was this man along with the hundreds of other folks braving the rain who are the heart of this amazing neighborhood.