8. Long Beach Marathon

I'd like to dedicate this blog post to my mommy and my sister, Patty, even if the marathon world may know her as Patricia.

So...I'm not a runner and I don't even play one on TV.  However, if you've never attended a marathon before (in any city) it is kind of exciting.  Since the first marathon I ever attended I went to as a "helper", I was up at the crack of dawn (which you may know by now I loves to sleep in) to see how the start of the race happens.  If it is a large, well-attended marathon it is somewhat like a cattle call.  Lots and lots of people all in a very little space waiting for their moment to start running.  From a filming stand point it makes it hard to single someone out and film them.

I suppose, too, if I was really motivated and because this was something like my sister's 45th marathon she's run in, I could have figured out pretty closely a lovely place to film as she ran by.  The event, as do most marathon's have a web presence and are high-tech in that each entrant is given a chip that is tracked with the time they go over the starting line and the time they go over the finish line, which gives them an accurate reading of their 26.2 mile total running time.  My point: I had access to the course map.  It's just that I feel you can't match the excitement of what happens at the finish line.

I knew I could calculate fairly closely when Patty would cross the finish line.  I just hoped I could find a great spot to film it, which I did.  After only 11 minutes of filming, her name was announced and a few seconds later she crossed the finish line.  Congratulations!  Another great run.  Video of this momentous occasion is at the end of this blog post.

As for a destination, the video doesn't give you much of a look at the City of Long Beach.  If this is at all disappointing, stick around for my next amazing blog post where I reveal just a little bit more of this amazing city.

Also, if you happen upon this blog and you know anyone who ran in this marathon and finished around the same time as my sister (from 3 hours 35 minutes to 4 hours and 3 minutes), I filmed the finish line during this time and uploaded it to the CaliforniVacation YouTube Channel.  Let them know they can go there and see themselves cross the finish line.  While the main focus of the film is on the marathon side of finishers, the half marathoners may also be able to get a glimpse of themselves too.