Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair 10K!
October 6 Fun Run Has Bands And A Beach Bar
After the run the real fun begins with bars in Shellback Tavern.
The annual Manhattan Beach Old Hometown Fair starts at 7:30 in the morning with the annual 1OK, which brings in about 5,000 area runners. It's a great way to start the day which for many, means an afternoon in the beer garden, a tradition if ever there was one in this seaside city in L.A.
PubClub.com runs in it every year (well, when not at Buccaneer Days on Catalina) and provides this look at the course, the finish line and the unofficial post-race party at Shellback. Exercise and socialize!
The course has a few hills – gradual grades at 22nd Street on Valley/Ardmore, a somewhat challenging rise past Sand Dune Park and a big uphill on Rosecrans – but there are bands along the way to provide entertainment relief.
The 2012 race is Saturday, Oct. 6. Registration is now open, you can do it on line here but save a few processing bucks by doing it in person at Village Runner on PCH in Manhattan Beach. The cost is $25 before Sept. 24, $30 after that date.
The course starts at Valley/Ardmore at 3rd Street, rolls through downtown, up Manhattan Beach Blvd. and south along Valley/Ardmore. There's a couple of hills at the end of this stretch, which is beyond Marine Ave., but a couple of bands here help the psyche.
People pack the start of the course at 3rd and Valley/Ardmore.
She's ready to run, but will she also be in the beer garden later?
A cool element to the Hometown Fair 10K are bands along the course.
A steel drum about 2 1/2 miles from the finish provides late insipration.
The 10K runners roll through scenic Manhattan Beach.
The Hometown Fair 10K gets about 5,000 runners.
The course then goes through the tree section, past Sand Dune Park – the little rise past the Armory is tougher than it first appears, much more of a grade than the uphill at Rosecrans – past El Taracso and a nice little whiff of what you'll be having for dinner later that night after being in the beer garden all day, a little jog to 36th Street, then the beachside Strand for the final 1 1/2 miles to the finish at the Pier.
The finish line is, predictably packed. This is where you pick up your t-shirt (and they have had some great ones over the years), with sponsors giving out free stuff in the Shellback parking lot.
One of the most popular of those is the one giving away free cans of Monster energy drink; there are often more people there than at the water table.
Also highly popular is Shellback Tavern. In fact, it was far more packed after the race than it was for 6-man. And the people were not drinking Bloody Marys, as has been the case in the past – they were pounding down the Buds! (Even a few race officials, which shows this is really the official post-race gathering spot).
As always, the 10K proved to be an excellent warm-up to the two-day Fair. For many, that means the beer garden.
MANHATTAN BEACH HOMETOWN FAIR 10K RUN FUN PHOTOS
People grab for the free cans of Monster energy drink, a good idea for the long day.
Here's the scene on Manhattan Beach Blvd., after the run.
Exercise and socialize – many runners head to Shellback after the finish.
After the run, Shellback is as crowded as it is for the Manhattan Open.
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