San Luis Obispo Marathon - 2012

Oops! Not the link you want? Here's a link to the SLO Marathon website: http://www.slomarathon.com/
For the race recap on the Inaugural SLO Marathon:
http://sloultrarunner.blogspot.com/2012/04/slo-inaugural-marathon-2012-april-22.html
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We knew it was going to happen sooner or later.  Branded by Oprah as the Happiest Place in America, I wondered why it has taken this long for the Central Coast to have its inaugural marathon.  Santa Barbara claimed its inaugural marathon in 2009, after a 25-year hiatus. More recently, Paso Robles kicked off theirs last fall. Why not San Luis Obispo? Well the wait is almost over--well sort off.  On Saturday, May 28, the SLDC was invited to attend a taping of the promo video for the upcoming SLO Marathon. The video will be used as a vehicle for advertisement on the SLO Marathon Website (not operational yet, but has a coming soon sign where you can drop your email address now and so you can get your notification as it gets going.) The video will also  be seen in YouTube and will later morph into a commercial on TV.  

The marathon is slotted for Earth Day 4/22/12, that will involve running through a loop of SLO town and parts of Edna Valley, starting and ending at the Madonna Expo. The course details are tentative of course as they are still on the permitting stages at this point in time. Co-race directors Samantha Pruitt and Heather Hellman were in attendance to spur the excitement. They did not disappoint as the hair on the back of my neck stood up at the mere mention of what sounds like a world class marathon in our backyard--there is no need to travel.  That's the perk! 

The shooting of the promo video was low-key event but it was a lot of fun.  Club members who showed up were Matthew and Chris Shuck, Dave Dunbar, Heidi Harrison, Janet Norem, and yours truly. We met a lot of fun runners who were goof-offs as soon as the camera rolled. People yelled out for "hair and make-up" after one take, "I'm glistening!" People playfully yelling, "That's a wrap" after only cresting one hill.  After a hard segment up a slight grade, one would comment, I hope he (videographer) got that on film." Another joker yelled out, "Is he even on that hill taping?" A triathlete from the SLO Triathlon Club named Bobby was in rare form. He made comments that are probably not appropriate for this newsletter. He had people in stitches. It made waking up early Saturday morning on a three-day weekend a little more bearable.  It was worth it.

We must have ran no more than 3miles total for the shoot. We ran up and down the hilly Tank Farm Road/Orcutt Road while the videographer shot us from atop Islay Hill for an aerial view. We were told to space ourselves out and not run in clumps to simulate a real race. The rabbits did their thing by separating themselves from the weekend Trekkers. Of course, when the director said make it look real, I had no reason to awaken the inner actress in me. There was no need because this seems to be my MO at races all the time. Yes, start out fast and putter near the end--just like in a real race. That was my contribution. 
The camera guy is a Cuesta College student named Robert Weber. He did a fabulous job while achieving some creative shots. At one point told us that he would run with us in the midst of the crowd as we were running. We must have run about 200 yards and he stopped. He said, he was winded and said he doesn't like it. I was not sure if I was the only one who heard him say, that he has never seen a race start before.  I wondered what kind of transformation he would feel after seeing an actual race. I know it will change him and what comes through in those lens of his. That would be a sight to behold. But I digress.

One shot that I thought that was pretty funny was when he asked us to simulate a race start with our index fingers on our watches as we took off running. I was sure it looked fake to me since you would never in a million years, find me in the front of a start line like that--Not even in my wildest dreams.  And the funniest thing of all, there were runners who actually started their watches as if it was a real race.  I heard actual beeps going off and people started cracking up. Such amateurs! Finally, he wrapped up the shoot with pictures of us from the back running, as well as side shots with the vineyards as the backdrop, and finally he took a shot of the most colorful assembly of shoes.  I cannot wait to see the final product. More importantly, I cannot wait for April 22, 2012.