“Never let ’em see you ache. That’s what Mr. Mayer used to say. Or was it ‘ass’? Never let ’em see your ass.”
Shirley MacLaine in “Postcards From the Edge”
The Cause
Concrete Hero, the ultimate urban obstacle challenge and race, raised over $400,000 on July 15. Benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles, the funds will go to support life-saving services for the over 60,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles.
The Setting
Held at Downtown’s L. A. Live the race kicked off between the ESPN Zone and the Nokia Theater. Participants crawled over a sea of parked cars in “Carmageddon,” swung over the “La Brea Tar Pits,” hurdled over “forest fires,” and finally scaled over the “Hollywood Sign” to get to the finish-line. The chip-timed 5K race included 10 obstacles throughout streets and alleys in downtown before concluding with an urban-themed block party back at L.A. LIVE.
The Revelers
Hundreds of participants, including gym junkies, extreme athletes and regular folk put themselves to the challenge for a great cause. West Hollywood’s Revolver was represented by Team Kick Ass. Equinox gym was also represented by a team that received several sideways scowls from the Starbucks team, you can imagine why. Realtors from Beverly Hills and Los Feliz also joined the challenge on the Scene Stealers team. Speeches from a few APLA representatives including club promoter and APLA Board Chairman, Tom Whitman,opened and closed the event.
APLA’s Executive Director, Craig Thompson also ran the race and said “We are grateful for every participant, donor, sponsor, volunteer and everyone that helped make our Concrete Hero Urban Obstacle Challenge an incredible success in its first year.”
To learn more and to register for next year’s event, visit www.concretehero.org.
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