RUNNING : Fun on the Run--It’s a Way of Life for Many

Jacob Bishin is an 86-year-old volunteer at Brockton Avenue School in Los Angeles who has completed 420 races since 1983. Bishin is just a weekend runner, though. During the week, he rides his stationary bicycle, works with dumbbells and practices yoga.

“I don’t know why I do this,” Bishin said, laughing. “I guess I just enjoy running. Even when I go to the store, I don’t walk, I always run there.”

Tom Wogamen is a 35--year-old Los Angeles County firefighter from Palos Verdes who runs with 12 of his colleagues in a centipede that features an orange suit with flame streamers at the head and a plastic fire hydrant at the end. Runners are connected by a 50-foot hose.

“We just have a lot of fun,” said Wogamen. “To me, running is a boring, redundant sport. This way it’s entertainment and a lot of flare is added to it.”

Then, there is Dave Beed, a 43-year-old runner from Manhattan Beach, who pushes his 3-year-old son in a stroller that has special wheels designed for speed. He often competes in the baby buggy jogger division with his son Ian screaming joyfully as he cruises through the course.

“I’ve entered a lot of different races,” said Beed, “but the Redondo 10-K is by far the most fun because there’s more people. That’s what I’m out there for, to have fun, get some exercise and not be a couch potato.”

Beed said that winning is still important, even if it doesn’t look all that serious when he competes.

“Inevitably I’ll try to beat anybody I see,” he said, laughing. “I mean, the fun only goes so far.”

What could possibly be the connection between world-class runners like two-time New York Marathon winner Orlando Pizzolato and Ruth Wysocki, who placed sixth in the 800-meter and eighth in the 1500-meter races in the 1984 Olympics and the less serious runners mentioned above?

They’re all competing in the same race on Super Bowl Sunday.

That’s right. Big names in the world of running like Wysocki, Pizzolato and Great Britain’s Christina Cahill will unite with costume bearers, senior citizens who huff and puff after every step and joggers who insist on competing with their kids. They will all meet on the course of the 10th Annual Redondo Beach Super Bowl Sunday 10-kilometer race.

“It’s a good occasion to train in short distance and work on speed,” said Pizzolato. “Short distance is not my specialty, but it’s good for training, specially since you lose speed after so many marathons.”

That’s your hard-core athlete, who’s always training and competes in two marathons a year.

The Redondo Beach 10-K has several of those, but it’s best-known as a festive event and one of the largest Super Bowl pregame parties. It is said to be the biggest 10-K west of Chicago and attracts competitors in 15 different age groups and four additional categories that include wheelchair, baby jogger, six-pack and centipede.

So far, more than 6,000 runners have signed up, and race coordinators expect another couple thousand before race day.

“It’s always so successful,” said Ernie O’Dell, Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce executive director, “because of the day it’s on and the spirit of the crowd. It’s really just one big party.”

Runners will take off at 8 a.m. in front of the Sheraton Hotel on Harbor Drive, wind through King Harbor, Riviera Village and along the South Bay coast.

Because of the storm that damaged the harbor area, the course will go around Redondo Beach’s pier and International Boardwalk into a harbor parking lot adjacent to the Seaside Lagoon recreation area.

“That’s just a little gift from Mother Nature,” said race coordinator Mark Conte. “But we didn’t really have to make that big of a change. It’s not going to hurt the race in any way.”

The detour favors runners because it will make the course a road race from start to finish. Before, the course included about nine-tenths of a mile on the Redondo Beach Pier.

“It will definitely be a faster race now,” said Conte, a former runner. “Before, they had to bottle neck it on the pier because it’s so narrow.”

There is also a new promoter because Redondo 10-K founder and former race director Hans Albrecht decided to leave and even started another race in Long Beach on the same day.

Albrecht’s departure hasn’t had an effect Redondo Beach entries, according to Conte and O’Dell.

“Our race is the original,” Conte said. “In fact, we’re slightly ahead in entries from last year. Plus we have almost twice as many categories this year.”

The overall male and female winners will receive $500 and trips for two to Hawaii, with second-place finishers each receiving $300 and $200 for third. Trophies and shoes will be awarded to the top 10 finishers overall and every age group and class will have an award for the top three finishers.

Also, the winner of the new centipede category will select a school or athletic fund to receive a $500 donation.

“If anything, the race has improved,” said O’Dell. “We have better world-class athletes and more awards this year. I really think it’s going to be better.”

Proceeds from the race, which costs more than $100,000 to put on, will go to the Redondo Beach City of Commerce, which supports charitable organizations and local clubs.