2025 LA Marathon

Written by Vanessa Vendiola

I’m pleased to report that we only received one noise complaint that morning.

On Sunday, March 16th, we were asked to play at the LA Marathon, a recurrent client. This year, we were stationed at mile six, just north of Echo Park Lake. It had been cold and rainy for several days leading up to the event, and though we escaped the rain, we certainly didn’t escape the cold. The team and I met at six in the morning to get ready. I guess I can appreciate that I was up to see the sun rise, which doesn’t happen often. 

We were drumming just before 7:00 am for the first couple of hand cyclists. I was seriously impressed, as our location was at the end of what seemed like a long incline. This was when we met one irritated, local resident, who was just trying to sleep. Yeah, we felt bad, but what could we have done? A few other race supporters also braving the cold quickly chimed in, “Come on, man. It’s the LA Marathon!” And we continued on. 

Soon enough, the path was full of runners. I loved seeing peoples’ faces light up as they saw us drumming for them. It was really fun watching them take their phones out to record this fleeting moment, or dance-run as they rounded the bend. This year’s memorable race outfits included Freddie Freeman (the Dodgers’ first baseman), Batwoman, and a pair of firefighters. After about two hours of continuous playing, that was a wrap. Believe it or not, my fingers were still cold after!

The last photo of my timestamp series was taken by a kind woman who had originally showed to support her friend in the race, but stayed to enjoy the drumline long after her friend passed mile six. She showed a lot of interest in us, and left mentioning that she was inspired to pick up drumming again.