This past Sunday was the 25th annual Los Angeles Marathon and also the debut of a new route dubbed “From the Stadium to the Sea.”  Runners raced from Dodgers Stadium through downtown Los Angeles all the way to the beach at Santa Monica Pier.  Organizers hoped to give participants a more interesting route that covered many of L.A.’s landmarks.

One of those landmarks included Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame which so happens to be where I live.  I had a great view of the marathon from my balcony and snapped a few pictures and some video clips.

It was a lot more fun than I expected.  The energy and enthusiasm of both runners and spectators were contagious and I was often cheering and waving back at people.  At some point, Tim decided to point his powerful speakers out the window and started blasting the theme from Rocky:

The effect it had on people was awesome! As soon as runners heard the theme, they perked up, cheered and smile. Many people raised their arms in the air while jogging while others started shadow-boxing. I got a huge thrill every time a large group of people cheered in unison, picked up their pace, and starting running to the music. We had it on loop and it just made me feel so good to see what a positive effect it was having on racers. It was during a perfect spot in the race too, right after a “pick-me-up” station that was handling out water bottles and orange slices.

Towards the end of the race, when the crowd got really thin, Tim decided to change the music. I cannot believe he did this and I thought it was a bit mean, but surprisingly, most people got a kicked out of it. He switched to the Chariots of Fire theme. I didn’t know what this was by name, but immediately recognized it once he played it. To me, it’s usually used in comedies when the protagonist and antagonist both spot something at the same time and make a dash to get to it first. Then you see them running in slow motion making silly punches and grabs at each other. Here, take a listen and you’ll see what I mean:

I could barely stand to see people’s reactions, but many laughed and started running in exaggerated slow motion themselves. One guy even said sincerely “Thanks for the inspiration!” though I think there was one lady that perhaps felt uncomfortable upon hearing it. That’s Tim and his twisted sense of humor.

He didn’t play it long and soon the street cleaners were upon us sweeping away discarded orange peels and water bottles.

I had a great time and hope they keep this route for next year!

Below are some videos and photos. My favorites include the costumed runners (as Stitch, Kermit, and a PedEx truck).

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Was the well-intentioned, 1st Annual Los Angeles Street Food Fest a disappointment?  According to Twitter, the answer is yes.

A Twitpic of the massive lines at the LA Street Food Fest from seeson

I actually first heard about the Street Food Fest on Twitter.  A few days ago, one of the food trucks I follow mentioned that they might be at the fest.  I had forgotten all about it until I realized this morning that today was event day.  I went to the official website for more information and my mouth started to water.

Many of the city’s popular and trendy food trucks were gathering for the day.  They were offering special menus of small bites and keeping prices low so foodies could sample a bit of everything.  All that separated me from street food heaven was a short subway ride downtown and a $5 entrance fee.

Or so I thought.

One of the great things about Twitter, if not the best thing, is the search function.  Where else can one find real-time answers and opinions?  I was confident that there would be at least a few people who would be tweeting from the fest.  I entered a search for “street food fest” so I could get a sense of what the scene was like downtown.

The results started pouring in. Some were only a few seconds old. My eyes widen and my mouth got dry.

People were comparing the lines to lines at Disneyland. LinLorienelen said they were like Depression-era food lines.  Others had waited 40 minutes just to gain entrance to the fest, plus another 30 minutes waiting in line to order and then another 30 minutes to get their order.  What happened to being able to float from vendor to vendor and sample everything?  I was discouraged, to say the least, and then I saw this video from mochipark who tweeted, “If you’re not already at the street food fest, stay away. Way away.”

That was all I need to see (I had to laugh at the person saying “I’m still hungry!”).  I’m not a very patient person, even less so when it comes to food.  As the day progressed, I kept checking Twitter to see if the situation was changing.  It only got worse.  Several tweets talked of waiting over an hour and a half for entry only to be turned away. Yes, turned away! (Why bother waiting that long in the first place?!) The organizers had to nip the problem in the bud, although it was way too late by then. The turnout and demand was overwhelming. Many vendors rain out of food by 2 PM, even though the festival was scheduled to go until 5.  It was difficult for most to try more than one vendor, and the waiting, great Jebus, the waiting!

I hope that next year (if there is a next year), the venue will be larger and the event more organized. Though really, I don’t know what they could have done differently this year and I don’t blame the organizers.  This is the power of the internet and of social media. News of the street fest spread across the web like wildfire and everyone and their uncle showed up.  In my search results, I saw that tons of people were on their way downtown. Did they not know what was going on? Did they not care? I wonder how many people actually use the Twitter search function like I do.  I felt bad for those who tweeted, “On my way to the L.A. Street Food Fest. So hungry!”  Yeah, good luck satisfying that hunger in the next 2 hours. I’m sure it didn’t help that today was gorgeous, sunny and warm.  Strangely, the official Twitter account for the fest was silent today.  I’d like to imagine that those behind the account were too busy spending the day going “Oh. Shit.”

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Knights of Monte Carlo at King King in Hollywood

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Mitu turns 21 yet again.

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