What a long, strange marathon it will be

No matter what the weather, Dennis Marsella will be bundled up when he runs in the L.A. Marathon on Sunday. His standard racing attire consists of a heavy jacket, tie and wingtip shoes, which is appropriate because he also carries cake on a tray, waiter-style, and I hate sloppily dressed waiters.

Marsella is known as Coat Man, not be confused with such other marathoners as Pancake Man (who carries a skillet with a rubber pancake), Perrier Man (who lugs a water bottle on a tray) and Juggling Man (who tosses three balls into the air).

Coat Man, a 57-year-old Fort Lauderdale resident, has completed more than 100 marathons, usually finishing in about 4 1/2 hours. His secret, he says, is his daily early-morning workout, which consists of spinning himself around 16 times.

“It realigns your pituitary,” he told New Times, a Florida newspaper. “I infuse my system with super amounts of oxygen and photon light. . . . The way I breathe, combined with the running, creates neuro-plasticity.”

Well, he should feel right at home with all the plastic people in L.A.

--

To live and drive in L.A.

“This head looks down at me every morning on my way to work,” wrote Rosmarie Kienzle of L.A. (see photo).

“It hangs on the telephone wires on Palms Boulevard in Mar Vista. Kind of creepy.”

Better be careful that there isn’t a traffic camera hidden in there.

--

Roadside mysteries (cont.)

In Kansas, Cheryl Heady spotted an unusual site for a traffic signal (see photo). Turns out the blinking red light was temporarily placed there because the road narrowed to one lane ahead due to construction. Drivers were supposed to stop, then proceed if no one was coming from the other direction.

--

Dueling Signs

In a London department store, Steve Melendez found a less-than-inviting juxtaposition of instructions for shoppers (see photo).

--

An American Idol winner?

David Chan of L.A. noticed a dish that seemed to be named after a rock star (see accompanying).

--

He had it covered

A customer at a South Coast Plaza clothing store, who didn’t speak much English, indicated he wanted to buy a pair of shoes for his wife. Asked her size, he pulled out a piece of paper that bore an outline of her foot.

--

Food for thought

UC Irvine baseball coach Mike Gillespie, dismissing complaints that his team’s mascot isn’t formidable enough, told The Times the other day: “We know what we are: We are the Anteaters. . . . If you’re an ant, then an anteater is ferocious.”

I’ve got to say that they do seem more ferocious to me than the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz or the Fighting Avocados of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College. I’m not sure who I’d take in a battle between Irvine’s Anteaters and the Poets of Whittier College. Some poets can get pretty rowdy.

--

miscelLAny

The Eddie Murphy comedy “Norbit” has certainly been taking its lumps.

Murphy, who played several characters in the movie, won Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Supporting Actress dishonors the other day at the Razzies, an Oscars parody.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the next day Oscars host Jon Stewart noted that “Norbit” received an Academy Award nomination for makeup and said he thought that was “great.” He added: “Too often the academy ignores films that aren’t good.”

--

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com