Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Valiente.
Erik, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I remember witnessing my first marathon before I was a teenager. At the time, I did not know it was a marathon. But I walked up to Olympic Blvd and was amazed by how many people of all different races, countries, size were participating in this foot race. Before this spectacle, I thought streets were only for driving.
Fast forward to a summer vacation in high school where I decided to run from my parent’s house near Mid City to Venice Beach. Not sure what came over me, but I just had the urge to run. This trek to Venice gave me life and made me fall in love with the sport.
Being a basketball player for most of my life at the time, I was always involved in team sports. But running was more of a single person sport. Biking to work and running more often made me fall back in love with Los Angeles. I started noticing all the little book stores, coffee shops, murals, schools, and mom and pop spots.
Before running, I only experienced Los Angeles through my car. I would drive from point A to point B and back to point A. But interestingly enough, I would never remember the details of my commute. It was a blur. I felt like I was wasting my time on this earth. Now running, I would remember everything: the sights, the smells, the faces of Los Angeles.
I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to share this feeling of exploration and adventure with others? It would be so cool to run with others and feel that camaraderie that I missed from my days hooping. So in 2013, I decided to bring the community together with the only way I knew how – though running and sport. However, I did have experience creating a running club. Unfortunately, it was not successful.
Most people are not runners and dislike any cardio activity. Partly because it’s done alone or in a gym. So I remembered the feeling of discovering my city. It made my workouts better knowing I was going to experience something new along with my run. I specifically remember running up to massive murals filled with colors, shapes, and hidden messages.
This was it! This is how we’ll get people to stop scrolling through IG or binge-watching their favorite shows. Merging community, art, and running was exactly what Los Angeles needed to reach its fitness potential! Now in our 5th year, BlacklistLA continues to run the city and showcase street art all over Los Angeles. We grew from one run a week to four weekly runs to serve our community
We keep 500 runners a week active through our efforts. We have our Monday Art Run, Wednesday Speed Session, LISTA Thursday (women-lead) run, and Double Digit Saturday. We just trained over 100+ runners to complete the Los Angeles Marathon. We host our annual city-sanctioned 5K celebrating LA’s birthday in September called Happy Birthday LA 5K.
We also have cool events throughout the year like the Rose Run and #24HoursofRun for Global Running Day. All of this is possible with the help our core team, pacers, photographers, videographers, and most importantly our runners! We’re excited for the next five years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road. From organizing to become a non-profit to offsetting event costs, it has been quite the journey. Since we are a non-profit with an extremely minimal budget, keeping our runs and events free’s become more difficult throughout the years.
Not to mention that running in Los Angeles is dangerous. We’ve done work with Vision Zero which is an initiative by the Mayor to lower pedestrian fatalities. It’s a surprise when I can run eight miles, or even three miles for that matter, without almost getting struck by a car.
It becomes a norm for runners in Los Angeles, and that is something that BlacklistLA wants to reverse. We deserve safer streets. I know I briefly mentioned it above, but funding the organization continues to be a struggle. We have a funding strategy in place but haven’t found the right match.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about BlacklistLA – what should we know?
BlacklistLA is a homegrown community-driven organization. We are known mostly for providing access to running 4X a week. Our most popular run is our Monday Art Run.
We start at 10:00 PM at night, run 3-4 miles and discover art along the way. Loving Los Angeles is another thing we’re known for. I mean, we created a city-sanctioned 5K for our cities birthday because we wanted it to throw LA a party. 🙂
BlacklistLA specializes in keeping our community active with engaging runs, positive feedback, expert advice, and free training plans for local races.
We’re most proud in welcoming everyone, keeping our programs free to reduce obstacles, and being community-driven. Plus we have a Rose Run that I’m super stoked about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFA9eduLFvs.
What sets us apart is our year-round program and how we protect the community. We limit brand or corporate sponsorships to keep the focus truly on the community rather than the product. We’re resourceful and use the city as our urban playground.
We board the Metro Rail and run back. We use Chinatown as an urban track. We train for the marathon at Griffth Park.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Yes, absolutely. BlacklistLA is 100% volunteer driven.
We have legal, financial, and non-profit experts on our Board that help grow BlacklistLA. We have pacers, photographers, videographers, team managers that contribute to the success of our weekly runs.
Pricing:
- Happy Birthday LA 5K 2019 – $30 – 50
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blacklistla.city
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blacklistla/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runblacklistla/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/_blacklistla?lang=en
Image Credit:
BlacklistLA Photographers
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
