Skidrow 2nd Annual Ultramarathon Recap

On July 24, 2018, the SRRC had its second annual Ultramarathon.  It was an informal 50K that started in front of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.  About a dozen members of the club showed up to support Craig and Nathan who ran the entire distance in less than 5 hours.

Last year, Nathan ran the entire distance of the LA River, 52 miles with runners from the club supporting him along the way.

This year, it was easier because we didn't have to run thru a river.  The first leg was 14 miles, all the way down to Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. (This is a typical run for us during marathon training).   Once runners arrived at Grand Park, some runners moved on with the rest of their day and some other runners joined in.  They proceeded down Broadway Avenue until they made a right turn at Washington Blvd and headed west for about another 12 miles.  The last major transition point took place at the entrance of the Ballona Creek Bike Path and the intersection of La Cienaga and Jefferson in Culver City.   A couple of other runners left to finish the rest of their day and some more runners joined along to support Craig and Nathan as they ran the length of the bike path to Fisherman's Village in Marina del Rey.

All in all it was a great event and a lot of fun for everyone involved.  Special thanks go out to Melissa, who not only drove the entire distance but provided refreshments and moral support that entire distance.  The medals you see where created by her!

Today is a special day!

After today's Monday run, we have a special celebration complete with gluten free brownies, orange juice and coffee courtesy of Coffee Bean.

What was the occasion you ask?  Today was the birthday of our founder, Judge Craig Mitchell.  If hadn't been born 63 years ago, it's unlikely the Skid Row Running Club would have been founded.

We had a good group come out to support.  At the end of run, a couple homeless folks came out to join us.  One of them was Roderick Brown.  He is a gentleman that Judge Mitchell sentenced to prison many years ago.  Roderick was paroled to the Midnight Mission.  While he was there, he reached out the Craig and invited him to visit to see what he was up to.

Judge Mitchell in typical fashion ran to the Midnight Mission, which is about 1 mile from the downtown LA Superior Courts.  When got there and took a look around, he had a meeting with the then director of the Midnight Mission.  They talked and thus the Skid Row Running Club was born.

Run by yourself and you may run fast, but run with others and you will go far

A lot of runners prefer to pound it out by themselves.  There is something meditative and relaxing in our hyper connected society where it's just you and the ground.

While running is an individual endeavor, I often think that it is best done in the context of a community.  There are certainly no shortages of running clubs here in Los Angeles, in fact it's easy to find one.  I encourage all runners to run with a group once in a while.  When you run and  engage in conversation, time seems to fly  and the activity itself becomes effortless.  Running with other runners pushes you to become a better runner and often times a better person.

Los Angeles County has a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.  We have the largest homeless population in California.  California has the highest percentage of homeless people in the United States.

While we are not the government, can't build housing and don't have the resources to help everyone experiencing homelessness, there is something all runners can do:  come down to Skid Row once in a while and run with us.

The idea of running in Skid Row, probably the poorest concentration of homeless individuals in California probably sounds appalling, but in the context of a running community it makes all the difference.

Our club shatters stereotypes and perceptions about homelessness.  In the Skid Row Running Club, you learn that everyone has a story.  Many in recovery, have gone thru trauma and circumstances you could never imagine and you realize that sometimes it's just sheer luck that you didn't have those tragedies visit you.  However, running teaches us to just keep moving forward one step at a time.  Show everyday and make something happen, even when you don't want to.

The Skid Row Running Club fosters consistency and persistence.  When you show up to run weekday mornings on Skid Row, you are showing that community that you care and you are making a difference in the lives of others and yourself.   Plato once said that you can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation. 

Running is good for addiction recovery

There is no question that running has amazing health benefits.  It reduces blood pressure, lowers stress and provides great mental health benefits.

But did you also know that there is growing evidence that running is good for addiction recovery?

This is what the Skid Row Running Club has known all along.  Please click here to read a great article.