Marathon

The Verdugo Hills Hospital Fitness Team is just $9,000 short of its goal to raise a total of $46,400 in sponsorship before it jets off to take part in the Marathon Des Deux Rives in Quebec, Canada, on Aug. 27. The 16-member team has been training at the Rose Bowl every Saturday morning for the past 10 weeks in preparation for the 26.2-mile marathon. While some plan to walk or run the full marathon, others are hoping to complete the 13.1-mile half-marathon. With only a couple of weeks to go before the big event, the team has put out a final plea for the community to help support its efforts by closing the fund-raising gap. "This is a great opportunity for our team members to meet their own personal fitness goals while at the same time raise money for the hospital," said Margaret Kean, president of the Verdugo Hills Hospital Foundation, who is also taking part in the marathon along with the hospital President and CEO Leonard LaBella.

Larry Meyer's marathon pursuits have taken him to some of the most far-flung regions of the world. There was a 20-degree race through snow and ice in Antarctica, and another that had him running across long stretches of the Great Wall of China, up steep slopes and through rural countryside. “It took me eight hours - I was dying,” Meyer, 64, said of the marathon in China. “There were parts of it where you had to go up goat paths that were just trails. Sometimes there were ropes that you had to hold on to.” He hits the pavement today for the Los Angeles Marathon.

After getting up for early morning weekend runs at the Rosebowl, running after school and in numerous 5Ks, 10Ks and an 18-mile run, the students from the Crescenta Valley Running Club are ready for the Los Angeles Marathon. The club is part of Students Run Los Angeles (SRLA), a program that is made up of students and teachers from Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School. The students began training for the marathon in September for what they thought would be a March run. Late last year the decision was made to move the date to May 25 which not only extended their training session but caused some concern about the higher temperatures expected on Monday.

Congratulations to the more than 100 La Crescenta and Montrose residents who participated in last weekend's annual Los Angeles Marathon, including the 28 student runners from grades 6-12. Listed are the top 20 finishers from La Crescenta: Donald Danlag 3:43:01 Brad McDonald 4:05:28 Vicken Sepilian 4:05:59 Eric Haag 4:12:17 Griffin Riedel 4:26:51 Cory Williams 4:36:52 Sooyul Byeon 4:44:46 Ann Eckels 4:50:36 Carols Gallegos 4:53:26 Josh Straschewski 4:57:09 Eli McDonald 4:57:14 Lora Anderson 4:59:35 Anna Jackson 5:11:04 Scott Parrish 5:12:20 Michael Weaver 5:12:20 Ramen Chmait 5:14:53 Jennifer Ahn 5:20:49 Byung Kim 5:20:51 Louis Mo 52:46 Li-Chyn Wu 5:22:46 denotes Student Run Los Angeles participants

The Verdugo Hills Hospital Fitness Team is training for the "Marathon Des Deux Rives," set to take place in Quebec, Canada on Aug. 27 — all in an effort to raise money for hospital services and programs. Each of the 16 fitness team members has a goal to raise, at least $2,900 individually, and as a group they hope to raise at least $50,000. The team is asking the community to help support it efforts by sponsoring one or more runners through an online donation at mailto:www.

Since September, students from Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School have given up their free time after school and met for early morning runs at the Rose Bowl to train for the Los Angeles Marathon. On Sunday, that sacrifice and dedication paid off when all 37 students crossed the finish line. “I saw parents who were excited; I saw parents who were relieved when their child crossed that line,” said teacher and running mentor Terry Parker. Those students are members of the Crescenta Valley Running Club and ran as part of the Student Run Los Angeles program.

Janine Marnien Local resident Jim Adams swore after running his first marathon that he would never do it again. Eleven marathons later, Adams is still trying to break the three-hour mark. His best time is 3 hours, 2 minutes. But when he takes to the streets Sunday in the Los Angeles Marathon, he won't be running just to beat his best time. He'll be running to raise money for Child SHARE, a Glendale-based nonprofit organization that finds foster and adoptive homes for abused children.

Janine Marnien Bank site of ribbon-cutting LA CRESCENTA -- The Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for California National Bank on Monday. The bank is formerly Fidelity Federal Bank at 3156 Foothill Blvd. Light refreshments will be served, and the public is invited to attend at no cost. The ceremony begins at noon at the bank, and will last about one hour. For more information, call Sharon or Jean at the chamber at 248-4957.

In the hours after a pair of deadly bombs ripped through the terminus of the Boston Marathon on Monday, it was shock, then horror, and then for many in the tri-city region who had ties to the race, a sense of relief. More than 50 people - from Burbank to Pasadena and the communities in between - were signed up to run in the marathon. Their conditions could not all immediately be verified, but family members of some of the competitors who were reached by phone expressed deep relief after confirming that their loved ones were OK. One of them was 17-year-old Alexa Dragojlovic of Glendale, whose mother, Kelly Dragojlovic, safely crossed the finish line just a half-hour before the explosions , which as of Tuesday had killed three people and injured more than 140. Kelly Dragojlovic, who was not injured, and her husband were under lockdown at a hotel near the site of the explosion in the hours after the blasts, their daughter said.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) on Tuesday echoed President Obama's vow to bring those responsible for the deadly bombing at the Boston Marathon to justice. Speaking about the tragedy for the second time in as many days, Obama said the nation's prayers go out to Boston. The two explosions on Monday killed three, including an 8-year-old boy, and wounded an estimated 176 people, the L.A. Times reported. More than 50 people - from Burbank to Pasadena and the communities in between - were signed up to run in the marathon.

With the public absorbing images of chaos and blood-soaked sidewalks after a pair of explosions ripped through the end of the Boston Marathon on Monday, there was one very relieved 17-year-old in Glendale. Alexa Dragojlovic said she was able to confirm that her 49-year-old mother from Glendale, Kelly Dragojlovic, had safely crossed the finished line just a half-hour before the explosions, which authorities said had left three people dead and injured more than 100. [Updated April 16, 2013 : This post was updated to reflect a higher number of casualities.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Monday his department will increase officer deployments at sporting events in response to explosions that killed at least two and injured nearly two dozen others at the Boston Marathon . Beginning with the Dodgers - San Diego Padres baseball game Monday evening, Beck said the additional police presence would include deployment of bomb-squad personnel, dogs and other "precautions geared to...

COLLEGE BASEBALL Glendale Community College 9, Citrus College 8 (16 innings): The visiting Vaqueros won their fifth straight game and their second extra-inning win in the last three games, as Julian Jarrard drove in the game-winning run on one of his four hits. . GCC is now 10-2 and remains in first place in the Western State Conference South Division and is 15-5 overall. Sergio Plascencia had three hits and three runs, including the game-winner on Jarrard's RBI. Justin Jones also had three hits.

When Ariel Drachenberg heads to Dodger Stadium early Sunday morning he'll be looking to keep a journey he began as a 23 year old alive. It will mark the 28th year in a row the Glendale resident has participated in the L.A. Marathon, which makes him an L.A. Marathon Legacy Runner, meaning he's competed in and completed every marathon since its inception. Just like every year, Drachenberg doesn't have any lofty goals of winning or even placing near the top of the 26.2-mile marathon.

Larry Meyer's marathon pursuits have taken him to some of the most far-flung regions of the world. There was a 20-degree race through snow and ice in Antarctica, and another that had him running across long stretches of the Great Wall of China, up steep slopes and through rural countryside. “It took me eight hours - I was dying,” Meyer, 64, said of the marathon in China. “There were parts of it where you had to go up goat paths that were just trails. Sometimes there were ropes that you had to hold on to.” He hits the pavement today for the Los Angeles Marathon.

It was just like any other day at the Glendale Galleria. Swarms of teens crowded the walkways and benches. Some young couples cuddled, as if unaware that the biggest sale of the season was in progress around them. Burbank resident Liz Martinez, 36, likely walked by a few as she executed her expertly planned  operation, with stops to pick up bargains at the Disney Store, Gymboree and Abercrombie. “I came to buy all the expensive clothes for my daughter I can't afford,” said Martinez, arms full with nine large bags of toys and clothing.  At Glendale's Americana at Brand, Glendale resident Adrian Villanueva, 19, was winding down -- and it was only 5:30 a.m. He had already traveled to Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, Target and Krispy Kreme.

OK, people of the 818. Listen up – I’m in need of some help. I am calling on you – all you avid readers of Fit for Life (don’t laugh if you are one of the only five people reading). Consider this as my first request: Give me some ideas on any running clubs in the 818 area. I love, and I mean love to run alone. In fact, when someone asks to come running with me, I most likely change my schedule in a second to a time when I know they can’t join me. I know, I’m terrible like that.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — What started as a game of baseball turned in to a game of beat the clock for Cam Silva and the Crescenta Valley High baseball team. Well into extra innings and pushing up fast on Stengel Field's 10:30 p.m. curfew at which point the lights were set to go out, Silva stroked a double to the deepest part of the park in center field to score Tyler Pollak, who had also doubled off Pasadena reliever Ives Brown to give the Falcons a 4-3 come-from-behind Pacific League win over the Bulldogs in 10 innings Friday night.