If you’re staying at the Los Angeles Airport and planning to go for a run, beware!

I was staying at a hotel at the Los Angeles Airport.  I decided to go for a run in the morning and asked for suggestions from the front desk.  They suggested a run to the Pacific Ocean, which was just 3.5 miles away.  The front desk helpfully traced the route using a yellow highlighter on a street map, which I placed into my pocket.

Let me stop here and give you a quick overview of the Los Angeles Airport, also called LAX.   Like many airports, the airport is right on the ocean.  There is actually a nice wide stretch of sand bordering the airport called Dockweiler State Beach.  Running perpendicular to the sides of the airport are the Westchester Parkway and the Imperial Highway.  The primary access road to the airport terminals is on the opposite side of the ocean and is called Sepulveda Boulevard.  You can access this from several directions, but the most popular appears to be via Imperial Highway.  As you enter from the Imperial Highway, Sepulveda Boulevard actually runs underneath several runways of the airport to reach the central area where the airport hotels are.

The suggested route highlighted on the map did not involve any underpasses.  It was a simple right on Sepulveda and then a left on the Westchester Parkway ending at the ocean.

 Perfect!, I thought.  A 7-mile round trip in about an hour.  This is about the same as my runs back home in Boston and I would get to see the Pacific Ocean to boot.

I left the hotel on Century Boulevard, took a quick right on Sepulveda and then a left on the Westchester Parkway.  This was actually a very serene run.  On one side of the road was the airport fence.  On the other side was a grassy bank with no indication of what was on the other side.  The road itself was deserted at 7 am with no traffic.

I reached the ocean, as advertised.  The Dockweiler State Beach consisted of several hundred yards  of pristine clean sand, and again, practically deserted. 

Instead of turning around, I decided to run along the beach and circle the airport.  After about 1.5 miles of beach, I reached the corner of the airport and turned left on the Imperial Highway.  The contrast to the Westchester Parkway was immediately apparent.  First of all, there was a Waste Treatment Plant on the right-hand side of the road, that emitted a strong odor.  On the airport side of the road there were commercial aviation companies.  Traffic was much heavier here.  I also quickly ran out of sidewalk, which forced me into the breakdown lane of the Highway and a debris-covered strip of land.

It took some maneuvering through some concrete tunnels, but I finally was able to reach the intersection of the Imperial Highway and Sepulveda Boulevard and turned left for the home stretch to the hotel.  At this intersection are fifty-foot letters spelling “LAX”.  The road then dips into an underpass running under several runways of the airport.

As I approached the underpass, I was faced with a sign saying “NO PEDESTRIANS”. 

At this point, I was less than a mile from my hotel and could see it in the distance.  I decided that I could quickly navigate the underpass without anyone taking notice.

The sidewalk ended at the underpass and there was about a 15-inch ledge continuing into the darkness.  As I entered the darkness, I quickly realized that it was not a good idea.  I was facing on-coming traffic exiting the airport at high speed.  Their headlights were blinding me.  There was so little room on the ledge that I felt that a side-view mirror could easily clip my arm.  I quickly decided not to trust my fate to LA drivers, turned 180 degrees around and left the tunnel.

I now had to consult my map.  I had only two options:  re-trace my steps back around the airport (approximately 9 miles), or continue up the Imperial Highway to the next cross-road.  I decided to continue up the Imperial Highway.

I finally made it back to my hotel.   I received some strange looks as I walked into the hotel Lobby.  Looking down, I discovered why.  Both of my arms looked like someone had dumped a can of black paint on them.  From my shoulders down to my fingers, there was a thick coating of black ooze.  I realized this had occurred when I entered the tunnel for 15 feet and then beat a quick exit.  See below for a picture I took after my run.

All told, my planned 7 mile run to the Pacific Ocean had turned into a 11 mile run.  And I learned that LAX is not necessarily the best place for a run. 

See the run here:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/277633481

See my picture with black ooze on my arms here:

 http://www.lifedotsport.com/pg/photos/album/69548/my-run-at-lax

Tom Barrett