Who's with me in Chicago?

I've arrived safely at the Hilton Hotel here on Michigan Avenue. As the official host hotel of the Chicago Marathon, there's a lot of activity here: The Nike pop-up store in the lobby, daily warm-up runs, a travel desk and the Marathon logo all over the place (even on the room keys--nice branding!). It feels like race central, and it is. Ran into Kenyan elite runner Vincent Kirpruto in the lobby tonight, along with Miriam, his agent. She says he's fit and ready. That's saying something, considering he's run 2:05:47. It's also worth noting that Wesley Korir, our 2009 LA Marathon champion, is racing here. I have to say that I'll be rooting for him, if it's possible to do that while I'm out huffing and puffing at my 9:00 pace!

Will be up first thing in the am for a warm-up run, then it's off to the Expo at McCormick Place. If any of you are here, please come visit us at BOOTH 689. I'll be there both days, and Russ will be joining me on Saturday.

Peter

Pete Carroll invites us to practice

From one legend to another: Pete and our own Rod Dixon

Pete took time to pose with the LA Roadrunners pace leaders

Today our SRLA leaders and LA Roadrunners pace leaders got a special treat. USC Coach Pete Carroll invited us down to watch him run practice at Howard Jones Field on campus. After that, Coach spent almost an hour mentoring our leaders. It was a fascinating afternoon, and Coach shared with us many of his secrets of success. He's distilled his vast experience down to some very practical bits of wisdom. My particular favorite was this question that he asked of the leaders in attendance: "How many of you have a philosophy that you can explain in 25 words or less to your runners?" That's just great advice. His philosophy at 'SC? "Always compete." Coach also talked extensively about the importance of a winning attitude, and he took time to answer questions and sign autographs afterwards. We'll soon post a video of his talk so you'll be able to learn more about his Win Forever philosophy. And look for more great things coming from our friendship with Coach Pete in the coming months.

Peter

New Performance visits Roadrunners

Matt Mahowald of New Performance Nutrition is getting me up to speed for next Sunday's Chicago Marathon. He will also be visiting our Roadrunners training program on a regular basis. On Saturday Matt stopped by to give us "Marathon nutrition 101." As someone who's been following his program since the middle of June, I can vouch for the benefits of his knowledge. For instance, in that time, my body fat has dropped from 23% down to 12.5%, I've lost 14 pounds, and my cholesterol is down 20%. It's been so educational, and without the annoyance of some draconian diet. The program is really about making smart choices and paying attention to what one eats. Many of us go out of our way to follow a detailed training program for our runs, so why wouldn't we do the same thing for what we're eating? It's like a nutrition road map. I've kept a log detailing every single meal I've eaten since June. With blood tests every two weeks, Matt is able to dial in a program that really works. I highly recommend getting in touch with Matt if you're at all interested in getting a nutrition point of view while you're training.

Peter

Malibu recap

Last weekend's Malibu Xterra Trailrun was as much fun as I've had in years at a running event. This photo shows my colleagues Russ Pillar and Stacy Embretson along with myself and our crack pitcrew. Stacy posted a smoking fast time of 1 hour 41 minutes for the 18K route. Good for 7th overall and first place in her age group. Well done! And thanks to Brennan Lindner for putting on such an enjoyable race.

Peter

Sunday in Malibu

How many of you are into trail running? We love it, too, and Sunday some of us from the office will be out in Malibu running the Xterra Pt Mugu Trail Run. Having run parts of this trail, I can tell you that the scenery is spectacular. And they've got both 18K and 11K options. Why not come join us and mix up your training a little bit? There's not better way to try out this sport than at a fun event like this. See you there!

Peter

Our new bigscreen TV

At Dodger games this season, I've often wondered what it would feel like to have a fun LA Marathon video playing on the big screen in left field. Well, I need not wonder any more. Thanks to our friends in Chavez Ravine, we're now represented at the Stadium. The course video is now playing live during games for all 50,000 spectators to see. Love the great energy when it comes on. Here are some photos from last Monday's game against Pittsburgh. Bert Whitson, the runner in the video, is our new Marathon celebrity!

Peter

How to shoot a course video

Gallo following Bert in Santa Monica. He's riding a skateboard, which went under the fence and nearly over the cliff at one point.

In front of the Troubador on Santa Monica Blvd.

Pat getting a shot of Bert on Hollywood Blvd.

This shot is a no-brainer.

"OK, Bert, just follow the yellow line in the middle of the road, and I'll scream at you if you're about to get hit by a speeding car."

I hope you've had a chance to see our video highlighting the new stadium to sea route. I'm proud of how it turned out, and it successfully captures the energy and spirit of the 2010 LA Marathon.

Here's how the project came together, in 10 not-so-easy steps:

1. Meet with race director Nick Curl and director of operations Stacy Embretson. They suggest some sort of video highlighting the new course. Great idea, I tell them. Inside I'm thinking, "I have NO IDEA what the concept of the piece should be." But my wheels are turning.

2. One week to go, and still no concept. But I meet with my friend Pat Solomon of Newhouse Films. He has some great ideas that we cover over breakfast, like the visual of the single runner heading down the middle of the route at 6:00 in the morning. I'm getting close, but I still need that conceptual framework to plug into.

3. Pat calls. Bad news. He's been booked to shoot a commercial, but he recommends his friend Chris Gallo to help. I call Gallo (most people don't even know he has a first name) and he's available. And he has an editor who can cut the piece. We're getting closer.

4. Now it's Thursday, and we're shooting on Sunday at 6:00 am, when the streets are completely empty and the light is beautiful. Still no overall concept. Just a runner in the streets won't cut it--not interesting enough. Stressing about it. Only four days to pull it together!

5. Another problem--I need just the right runner. Someone with a great stride. How to find that person? Of course, I call Eric Barron, coach of Track Club LA. He's out of town but recommends Bert Whitson. I find Bert's website and send him an email. Even though Bert is a successful investment professional, he agrees to devote his Sunday morning to running with us. I see his photos and recognize him immediately as the guy who consistently blows past me and many others in the track workouts at Santa Monica High. In fact, I've only ever seen him from the back.

6. I decide it's time to call my lifeline and get help on the concept issue. I get in touch with two longtime friends who are creative directors and brief them on the video. By the way, I ask, can you get me some ideas tomorrow? After some nervous laughter, they insist that it's not a problem and they'll come up with the goods. These guys always deliver, but I feel bad about waiting until the last minute and then pressing them to come up with something overnight.

7. It's now Saturday morning. The crew is locked, we've identified the locations we want to cover, but still no concept. Just a runner and the route. Is this all going to fall apart? Should I live with something simple and not overthink it? I can't push the shoot back any further because the website and registration are going up in a week. Our backs are already against the wall.

8. Saturday night. Making dinner for the family. My creative director friends call, "We've got an idea!" They propose the tagline, "A Landmark Every Mile." I immediately like it. Then they talk about structuring the video with some archival footage to emphasize the "Landmark" status of different parts of the course. They also talk about the "Mile 1" graphic, etc. So perfect. Exactly what I needed. We still will shoot Bert in the streets, but now we have a framework.

9. Sunday morning 6:00 am. Meet at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Still a little dark, but we start shooting. Pat rallies and joins us with his camera. We rip through the shots: Stars on sidewalk, Pat and Gallo shooting from skateboards beside Bert, Mann's Chinese Theater, Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive, back to Dodger Stadium and finally out to Santa Monica. A whirlwind, but we get a lot of good stuff. We somehow manage not to get arrested for skateboarding down the middle of all these streets.

10. The edit comes together nicely with great graphics supplied by the creative directors. Working even better than I had expected. We get it posted to Youtube barely 24 hours before registration opens. Whew!