Area’s 1st Half-Marathon Gives Athletes the Run of Ventura Blvd.

The half-marathon Boulevard Run, the first race of its kind in the San Fernando Valley, produced more than the usual assortment of blisters and shin splints Sunday morning.

Held primarily along an 11-mile strip of Ventura Boulevard’s eastbound lanes, the run also created frustration among hundreds of motorists who were trapped in their cars south of the Valley’s main drag, some for as long as an hour, until the constant stream of nearly 1,500 runners finally abated.

“This really stinks,” fumed Walt Miller, who was stuck at Balboa and Ventura boulevards. “I’ve got a plane to catch. It’s like I’m waiting for a slow-moving freight train to go by.”

“This is a stupid place to put a race,” said Gary Janes at the corner of Van Nuys and Ventura boulevards. “People can’t get in or out.”

The congestion didn’t affect runner Chris Schallert, who won the men’s division in 1:04.15, or Gretchen Lohr, who won the women’s division in 1:16.37.

But with dozens of cars backed up south of Ventura at such major arteries as Balboa, Reseda, Van Nuys and Sepulveda boulevards, tensions ran high among the motorists, most of whom professed no prior knowledge of the race.

As impatient, angry drivers leaned on their horns, some began trying to sneak across the boulevard when police weren’t looking and veered dangerously into the paths of oncoming runners.

Valley resident Louise Lovelace, who organized the race with her husband, Bill, and Ron Scardera, said she thought area residents had been adequately forewarned by banners, which had been stretched across Ventura and Sepulveda boulevards weeks before the race, and by stories and maps in newspapers.

‘Nobody Knew’

Evidently, however, most people paid no attention or forgot.

“Nobody around here knew,” said Jackie Epstein of Sherman Oaks.

“It could have been a disaster,” said Jim Auth, an attendant at the Union 76 gas station on the southeast corner of Van Nuys and Ventura boulevards. Auth had a ring-side seat as an unbroken line of runners, stretching out of sight in both directions, ran east past his station, squinting into the early-morning sun.

A late-model Jaguar peeled out of the station and across Ventura, forcing some runners to suddenly break stride.

“Almost got ‘em,” Auth said. “I’ve seen it happen a few times like that. These guys are shooting into the street like they’re getting on the freeway.”

Police, however, reported no accidents or incidents involving runners, pedestrians and motorists.

Traffic Officers Enlisted

Race organizers said they spent $10,000 for traffic control. Fluorescent cones separating the east- and westbound lanes were placed 50 feet apart from the beginning of the 13.1-mile course in Woodland Hills to the finish line in Studio City. Fourteen LAPD traffic officers were employed for the event, as were 59 officers from the city Department of Transportation and 33 Explorer Scouts.

“This is a Police Commission-approved event,” said LAPD Officer Lee Allen. “I guess some people just don’t have a sense of humor.”

What about the potential for danger? “That’s there for any race when you have motorists and runners,” Allen said.

Irate drivers are not unusual during long races, Scardera said. “At any race, a certain percentage of motorists will be unhappy,” he said. “The L.A. Marathon is 100 times worse than this.”

Said Lovelace: “We really ask people who live in the area to be understanding. This is something that will happen only once a year. Everybody has to accommodate each other. They have marathons much bigger than this in New York and Boston, and the residents support them. I hope we get the same support from our local people.

“Next year we’ll do everything we can to eliminate the problem.”

10 Minutes Late

Traffic tie-ups notwithstanding, Lovelace pronounced the race, which was the first the three had organized, a “great success.” Despite the unusually cold temperatures and logistical snags inherent in any first-time effort involving hundreds of people, the race began only 10 minutes after its scheduled 8 a.m. start time.

About 25 minutes later at Balboa Boulevard, the halfway point of the race, the lead police van cleared the way for Jim Knaub, winner of the wheelchair division, who was tearing through the downhill course at nearly 14 m.p.h. in a specially constructed chair with thin racing wheels.

By the time the men’s division winner passed the same spot about 15 minutes later, at least 40 cars were backed up south of Ventura, and that intersection would remain blocked for another hour.

Delayed Buses

With only the northern lane on Ventura open for westbound traffic, eastbound RTD bus service along the boulevard came to a halt for nearly the entire 2 1/2 hours of the event.

“I’ve been here forever,” said Angelica Quajano, who had been waiting nearly an hour at Van Nuys Boulevard for a bus to Santa Monica.

Although most retail shops weren’t open, some merchants said the race was hurting business.

“Business is off by 50%,” said Mike Angelo at the Sherman Oaks Newsstand, where unsold Sunday newspapers were stacked up on the pavement like cordwood.

The 1,347 runners who finished--152 didn’t--had no complaints. “It was a nice race and well organized,” said Schallert. “And it was really fun to run down Ventura Boulevard.”

Well, there was one complaint. “They didn’t have enough Porta-Johns at the starting line,” griped Peter Pallag. “I had to stop at a McDonald’s on the way and use the bathroom.”