...And I Ran, I Ran So Far Away...

Fresh off her finish in last month's L.A. Marathon, Jess ran the much shorter-- and much kitschier -- Nike Run Hit Wonder this weekend in downtown.

Jess even grabbed Jeff to join in and see artists like A Flock of Seagulls, Devo and Tone Loc performing along the 5K route. She files this report:

My boyfriend, Jeff, and I ran the second annual Nike Run Hit Wonder yesterday down by the Coliseum – along with about 20,000 other people.

It’s more than your standard 5K/10K – along the way you get to hear a bunch of one-hit wonder bands perform live. First up was A Flock of Seagulls. We took a little break by their stage just so we could hear them sing the chorus of “I Ran.” These guys sounded great, but they still need to work on their hair. Remember their big ’80s hair? It’s been replaced by long, scraggly ’90s hair.

Next up was General Public. They too sounded good, but we were too anxious to get to the next performer to take a break here. As strains of "Tenderness" faded away, we could here the thump-thump of rap off in the distance. We ran
closer. The thump-thump got stronger. Then we started to hear it – bits and pieces of lyrics:

“wild thing on my leg…”
“…used to scratch and bit me…”
“…he was much much meaner….”

I knew what was next: “But now all the poodles run to my house for the Funky Cold Medina.”

That’s right – Tone Loc. As we approached, though, he stopped singing and started chatting. We moved on just as he
started rapping over Michael Jackson’s “Man inthe Mirror” – I have no idea why.

Right outside the entrance to the Coliseum, we saw the VH1 Bands Reunited “mystery band” of the day: Dramarama. For the life of me, though, I can’t remember any of their songs. (You probably know their one hit, "Anything, Anything" -- it's the one where the guy screams, "I'll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills, I'll give you anything you want, hundred dollar bills. I even let you watch the shows you want to see, because you married me, married me, married me"
-- Mike)

Then we got to run through the dark tunnel of the Coliseum to the finish line where everyone got a medal. (We missed Tommy Tutone – we was only on the 10K route.)

We grabbed some water and donuts and started to make our way over to the stage where the final band (Devo) was going to perform. Then I looked up and saw him – the star of my favorite TV show from my college years.

“Quantum Leap’s” Scott Bakula.

Woo hoo! He was all hot and sweaty. (It looked like he’d finished the 10K right around the time we’d finished the 5K.) I wiped the smile off my face and we continued toward the stage.

Devo took to the stage (in some awesome Nike-designed outfits, by the way) about 9:20 and played their hearts out for 45 minutes. Aside from a small fire (caused by some lights getting too hot) (Wait, did the roadies for Great White handle the stage? -- Mike), the show was perfect.

I can’t wait to see who they get to perform next year. Personally, I’m hoping for Toni Basil.

Thanks for the report, Jess! Maria and I may have to join in next year...