> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # PAL program supervisor Karen Humphrey runs the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon for local kids - URL: https://www.smdp.com/c-o-m-m-u-n-i-t-y-p-r-o-f-i-l-e-s-i-s-a-w-e-e-k-l-y-s-e-r-i-e-s-t-h-a-t-a-p-p-e-a-r-s-e-a-c-h-m-o-n-d-a-y-a-n-d-d-e-l-v-e-s-i-n-t-o-t-h-e-p-e-o-p-l-e-20060116/ - Published: 2006-01-16T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T17:03:20.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Sports, Santa Monica, #archive-import POLICE ACTIVITIES LEAGUE — A program supervisor here will be running her 10th Los Angeles Marathon in March, but she’s no longer doing it for the glory. These days, Karen Humphrey is running for the kids. Humphrey has been working with the Police Activities League for 10 years this May. Since 1999, she and other volunteers at PAL have been part of “Students Run LA,” a group that encourages thousands of struggling youngsters each year to participate in the 26.2 mile annual Los Angeles marathon. Long before Humphrey, 45, began running with PAL youth, she would often take off at night and run to her heart’s desire. “I’d be sitting around watching TV and think, ‘I want to go running,’” she said. “It would be 10 p.m. and I’d take off. No problem.” But running, Humphrey said, is different than it used to be. “Sometimes I’d run two times per day, morning and evening,” she said. “Now I just dream about loving it.” Raised in Cerritos, Humphrey and her brothers and sisters were active in sports growing up. In high school, she participated in the high jump, long jump, hurdles and the 400-meter relay. In basketball, she played forward and center and continued through college at Cal State Dominguez Hills. After graduating from Cal State in 1984, Humphrey participated in a semipro ‘pink and white’ ladies league. “They wanted us to wear make-up when we played,” Humphrey said. “It was a little funny, but I didn’t mind being in the league. We enjoyed played basketball, but none of us wore the make-up.” Humphrey worked various jobs, including a two-year stint as limo driver, before she started putting her college background in recreation to use professionally. She came on board with the city of Santa Monica in 1991 and started with PAL in 1995\. She has one daughter and grand child. In addition to running with PAL youth, Humphrey also enjoys camping, scuba diving, bicycle riding and making scrapbooks. Did college prepare you for your job? “College was mostly textbook. Here you get first-hand experience. In college, they never showed me how to work with kids and deal with parents in certain situations. In this job, you’re really thrown into it and learning from there. “But college was fun. I had a camping class. We learned how to take a simple grill, take four boulders and put the coals between and then lay the grill on top of the boulders. Take some hamburger meat and wrap it in foil and cook for 10 minutes. The best burger I’ve ever eaten. It’s a lesson from college I’ve used since. “I was a forward and center in high school and the same in college. I loved basketball. I loved to jump.” How did you get involved running marathons? “The first marathon I ran was just to have the goal of running it. I found two girls in the city who were willing to join me. We would do sprints and run hills for a few miles and stuff like that. “Then it came time to do the marathon. The first 13 miles were easy. So at that point we decided to stop and stretch and listen to the band, that kind of thing. “After about an hour, we decided it was time to run again, and that’s when I thought, ‘What did I do?’ “Then I see elderly people much older than me, their pace is faster than me, and I’m like, ‘I just have to keep going.’ “When you’re coming around the bend and people are saying, ‘just.2 miles,’ and it seems like the finish line is getting further and further, and your body’s done and you’re thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’ “I was exhausted. So when I finally finished...I can’t tell you the feeling it was like to cross the finish line. I was so sore and hurt. I lost two toe nails. I thought I would never run the marathon again.” What’s training like? “Whenever people see kids running around in those orange reflector vests, those are the PAL kids. Those vests, of course, are for their safety. When you run at night, they’re important to wear. Part of the uniform. “We try to run three nights per week starting in September. We run four or five different courses, so we don’t get bored. We run to the airport. Running to the pier and back is our shortest run, and the kids love it. You didn’t do it right if you didn’t touch the pole at the pier. “Another one we like to do is if you take San Vicente to Bundy, and then cross over Sunset, there’s an elementary school next to a hill. The hill goes straight up and levels, then goes straight up again. It’s a mile, and we try to do two. “When we first started it, I can tell you it’s the longest mile I’ve ever run. It’s great training for the marathon. “We have a 13-mile run coming up this weekend, and an 18-mile run coming up next weekend, and so this will tell the kids what it’s going to take, because so far they’ve only run half the marathon. “Kids who want to continue running after the marathon can sign up with “Students Run LA,” the nonprofit group PAL is associated with, which provides shorter, year-round runs. They run five miles.” What keeps you running? “The second time I did it was with my daughter, and that was even better. It was good because we were together, bonding. “But by my second year running the marathon I received a foot condition, inflammation of my feet and tendons. I didn’t know what I had, but it was very painful. “When I first would get out of bed, it was so painful. Then after three minutes or so the pain would go away. But when I started running the pain would flare up, and it was really bad. There was no ice or aspirin that would make it go away. “I thought I had really bad shin splints. I finally saw a podiatrist. He explained that the condition had to do with improper stretching and my Achilles’ tendon and heel. “The podiatrist fixed the problem. I wear orthotics now. I still have some pain, but it’s nothing like what I had before. Now I have to walk the first mile to get my feet numbed, and then after that I usually won’t cramp and will be OK. “The condition has been minimized, but it hasn’t gone away. It’s not the love of running, why I do it anymore. Not these days. It’s the kids that keep me running. “Now what do I look forward to? I look forward to having a hot dog wrapped in bacon at the end of the race. The vendors sell them downtown. That’s what I look forward to when I run the race.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 16, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011606.pdf?ref=smdp.com)