Tomorrow morning at 6am, the Hollywood Half Marathon will start and I will be there! I’m pretty excited about this half marathon because I’ve wanted to run in one of the races offered for each of its first two years. Its inaugural year was 2012 and they ran it the day before Easter. Since I had a rehearsal in Long Beach that morning, I couldn’t run. Back then, I would have loved to run in the 5K race that was offered because half marathons were too much for me to wrap my mind around. Last year, the timing of this race didn’t fit with my training calendar. Although, if I had participated, it would have most likely been running the 10K. So, this year, as a veteran of 4 half marathons and 1 full marathon, it had to be the Hollywood Half Marathon…the main event of the weekend.

By tomorrow at this time, I should be the proud owner of one of these medals!

All week, I’ve been receiving emails from Superhero Events (the people running the event) with all the last-minute information we will need. This event kicked off last night with the Expo (which continues today) at the Hollywood Palladium. The Expo hours were from 2pm – 7pm yesterday and 10am – 6:30pm today. I’ll be heading to the expo after 1pm today to pick up my race packet. One bummer of the Expo is that parking will cost me $10. However, Superhero Events did provide us with parking info.

We got this very helpful map. So, even though it’s a bit of a downer to have to pay to go to the Expo, at least we have all the information we’ll need to get there.

*We will have numerous red carpet photo opportunities at the expo, so dress to impress as if you’re attending the Oscar Awards in Hollywood. Make it fun =)

I am looking forward to seeing what this is all about. Unlike other race Expos I’ve been to, this time around I don’t have any info about who or what to expect at the Expo. I just know that I have to pick up my race packet before the race as there will be no race day packet pick ups. Much like the old runDisney policy, runners may pick up race packets for family members, friends, or co-workers with a copy of their ID. There is no waiver to print and sign beforehand. So, even though I’m not entirely sure what to expect at the Expo, I’ll head out there in a couple hours. I will be posting pictures to Twitter and Instagram. So, if you’re not following me on those platforms yet, please do so to follow along for the weekend.

One point of concern for me is the race course itself. In the final race instructions, we got the link to the half marathon race course pictured above.

However, when we got the email informing us that Marathonfoto is taking pictures along the course, there was this course given to us with the locations of the Marathonfoto photographers. As you can see, it’s a different course. This course is the one that had been displayed previously on the Hollywood Half Marathon web site.

As a matter of fact, the Marathonfoto course matches the above video made by the race director. In the Final Race Instructions, they did mention “By request of City Council, Silver Lake & Echo Park have been removed from the route.” So, the newer course could be the one we run. I’ll find out tomorrow.

The other major concern I have going in, logistically, is parking. The parking lots in Hollywood are pretty pricey. I could choose to drive down and park at the Hollywood and Highland Parking complex early in the morning, allowing extra time for the race traffic. Or, I could choose to take the train in to the same place.

The train was how I originally planned on arriving to the start line. However, as I looked at the train schedule, I learned that the earliest train from the train station by my house leaves at 4:45am. If I took this train into Union Station and then transfer to the subway that would take me to the Hollywood and Highland train station (by the start line), I’d arrive at 5:30am. With a  race that starts at 6am, I’m a little nervous about cutting it so close. Usually, I try to arrive at the starting area 1 hour prior to the start of the race. So, 5:30am is going to cut into my cushion. Oh the decisions I have to make, I tell ya.

No matter how I end up getting myself to the starting line, I’m running the Hollywood Half Marathon tomorrow morning! I can’t wait! By the way, I’ll be wearing bib #3476 and starting in corral 15 (I wonder how many corrals there are…I could be in the last one).

Final Thoughts

I feel totally unprepared for this half marathon. So, I have zero expectations as far as time goes. Whatever happens, my goal is just to enjoy being out and running in Hollywood. Pictures I saw from this race last year made it look fun. Some parts of Hollywood are not all that glamorous, but others are. The pictures of a red carpet finish area is something I’m looking forward to experiencing first hand. Much like my last half marathon (the Surf City USA Half Marathon), I’m going into this race with a “let’s see how my body reacts” approach. If I’m feeling good, I’ll go with it. If not…I’ll have fun taking pictures along the route and enjoy being amongst fellow runners. Time will tell whether or not I’m ready for that Academy Award. However, I will work hard to get that Star on the Walk of Fame.

Question of the day…How close to the start time of a race are you comfortable arriving?