‘There’s Just Something About Hot Weather’

Some like it hot.

Encino jogger Gary Goldman, for instance.

On Monday afternoon, while most people stayed near air conditioners or fled to the beach as temperatures in the San Fernando Valley neared 100 degrees, Goldman ran eight mirage-filled miles through scorching city streets.

“When you push yourself to that point, you get a feeling of euphoria,” said Goldman, covered with sweat, after his run. “There’s just something about hot weather.”

He grabbed a garden hose from his front yard, shut his eyes and let the cold water stream over his body. “This morning, I said, ‘Gee, I think I’ll go running.’ And then I said, ‘You’re crazy.’ ”

A mile away, at Balboa Golf Course, Todd Mumma, of Sherman Oaks, a 22-year-old employee, wiped perspiration off his brow. “The heat keeps the golfers away . . . except the maniacs who’ll golf through heat, sleet and snow,” he said.

On the driving range, golfer Ed Bryant, 67, of Encino said he didn’t feel the heat. He could see it, though, in waves that seemed hot enough to melt golf balls.

Bryant grew up in southwest Texas. “This is wintertime to me,” he joked.

Like many Valley-area residents moving about in the heat Monday, Bryant said he has a formula for keeping cool.

“This is the key right here,” he said, taking off a wet white terry-cloth hat with a flourish.

“Keep the head wet, and you’ll keep your blood cool. Besides,” Bryant said, leaning forward as if to impart a secret, “the hotter it gets, the better golf I play.”

At Sepulveda Dam Tennis Courts, tennis instructor Chris Androkitis, said his secret is a wet bandanna wrapped around his neck.

“If I stop sweating, it means my body’s shutting down on me, and then I’m in trouble,” he said.

In Balboa Park, dust rose on a baseball diamond as Keely Bumpus of Sylmar watered the field. Bumpus, a Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department employee, wore brown slacks with her T-shirt.

Bumpus said she is used to working all day in the heat. She came here three years ago from Tyler, Tex., which is near the Louisiana border, she explained in a soft drawl.

“The Valley is cooler than Tyler. It’s not so humid,” she said. “You just have to pace yourself and take breaks if you get dizzy.”