> ## 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 kids push until the bitter end at marathon - URL: https://www.smdp.com/pal-kids-push-until-the-bitter-end-at-marathon/ - Published: 2004-03-08T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:56:39.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Sports, Santa Monica, #archive-import *PAL kids push until the bitter end at marathon* SMPD — Seventeen Santa Monica kids broke out their running shoes and their perseverance on Sunday and ran the LA Marathon. The kids, as young as 11 years old, have been training with the Santa Monica Police Department’s Police Activities League since September. In its sixth season, PALmembers run the marathon alongside police personnel to test their mettle. Last year, PAL had 11 kids running. And every year, the SMPD has successfully convinced more PAL kids to join in the race. Six of them are returning, and there are three sets of siblings running. It’s a test not only physically, but emotionally as well. And for some, it’s all about competition. For veteran runner David Ortiz, 17, and first-timer Sergio Vides, 16, the goal was to finish the race in less than four hours. On Saturday night, while the crew was loading up on carbs compliments of Italian restaurant Bucca di Beppo in downtown Santa Monica, the two Santa Monica High School students were confident they could finish the race at three hours, 30 minutes. It was Ortiz’s third race and Vides’ first. Ortiz, a soccer player at Samohi, said his first year he finished at five hours, 30 minutes. Last year, he shaved his time by an hour. Ortiz, who was running six-minute miles during training, was hopeful he could do that again this year. For Vides, who is on the cross country team at Samohi, he wanted to prove he could finish with Ortiz even though he had never competed in the race. But the real reason he signed up was to get in shape. That also was the reason Mahealani Barr, 16, decided to run. “My dad said I needed to lose weight,” she said, later admitting she hasn’t shed a pound since her training began last fall. She said training was difficult, especially the 18-mile run in February. For Vides’ sister, Emma Vides, 17, just showing up for the training was difficult. The long route for the PAL runners went from Ocean Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard to Federal Avenue and then down Wilshire Boulevard, back to the PAL facility at 14th Street and Olympic Boulevard. The short training took the young runners from PAL to the Santa Monica Pier. Sunday’s race was the fourth year for Bryant Villa, 14, who was hoping to finish under four hours. “Anything can happen at the marathon,” he said, adding he participates because of the friends he’s made. “It’s fun to be with my friends, and it keeps me healthy.” Villa, who said the highlight of the day would be the Japanese band playing at the start of the race, said he prepared the past week by drinking a lot of water, eating pasta and resting. The runners met at PAL at 5:15 a.m. and were at the race site in downtown Los Angeles by 7 a.m., with plenty of time to spare for the 8:30 a.m. start. Karina Oblea, 11, decided to make Sunday’s race her first marathon experience because she too wants to be healthy. But the sixth grader at Saint Anne’s realized quickly that the training wasn’t exactly what she signed up for. “I thought it was going to be easy, but it was hard,” she said. During the beginning of training, she ran with Emma Vides, but that soon faded. “She was too slow,” Emma Vides joked. So Oblea began training with Don Condon, 45, a support staffer at PAL and a veteran LA Marathon runner. And although he has run the race before, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s fast. “(The kids) hold up, we’re the ones that break down,” Condon joked. “They keep us going.” For Karen Humphrey, 43, also a PAL staffer, Sunday’s event was her eighth marathon. Last year, she finished just under seven hours. “When you get to be our age, you just want to finish,” she said, adding this year she has learned to trim her toenails because she has lost the same one every year due to running. The training and overall experience for the kids is memorable not just because it’s physically challenging, but also because it teaches them to set goals and achieve them. “It builds confidence and self-esteem,” Humphrey said. “They are dedicated, and they learn it’s important to stick with something.” Condon said many of the kids start out questioning their own abilities. “When they start, they say, ‘No way, I can’t run that far,’” he said. “But they’ll come back to us (during the marathon) and push us to finish.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/030804-02_01.jpg) Students load up on carbohydrates with spaghetti and meatballs during their “carbo load” dinner on Saturday at Bucca di Beppo in Santa Monica. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 8, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030804.pdf?ref=smdp.com)