As you can see by our special section today, the Run Seal Beach event is this Saturday in the seaside city’s Old Town neighborhood.
Now in its 39th year, the event’s arrival is as clear a sign of spring in this northwestern region of Orange County as the return of the swallows to San Juan is to the southern part.
As a spectacle, the races could probably trace their lineage back to ancient traditions such as the original Olympics in Greece. They were likewise a celebration of health and fitness as exhibited by tests of physical prowess, not the least of which is running.
The event’s history also seems tied to Seal Beach’s own history. The founding fathers of the town formerly known as “Bay City,” promoted the area to potential settlers by touting its calm ocean waters that were perfect for bathing and wading. Even former Seal Beach Mayor John Nescher’s wife Dorothy wrote a song about the beach town titled “In Salubrious Seal Beach,” (Salubrious meaning “good for, beneficial to or promoting health or well-being.”)
Even at the turn of the 20th century, promoters trotted out Max Sennett’s silent movie cameras to film the bathing beauties of Seal Beach, an example of oceangoing charm dressed up in what today seem like somewhat comical swimsuits. The message was simple, however—there is something beautiful about being healthy and fit.
The Run Seal Beach event is all about that and more as it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote local sports and fitness activities throughout the year to multiple organizations and programs throughout the city and the Los Alamitos Unified School District. All of that is great stuff and I am proud to have actually run in the 10K event a few times. Even my daughter Casey did the Kids Fun Run portion of the event when she attended McGaugh Elementary School. I sill have a photo of her squirreled away somewhere around my desk of her crossing the finish line in her oversized t-shirt.
Yes, health and fitness is a lot of what the Run Seal Beach event is about, but to be fair, it brings many more dividends. One in particular that I appreciate is how it creates a sense of atmosphere and excitement in Seal Beach’s Old Town on the day of the race. It adds culture to the town by bringing a few thousand people to participate in some positive activities. In my book, you can’t get much better than that. Without the people and the culture what would be the point of even having Seal Beach with its Main Street, beach and pier? They are what life is all about – something to be lived together, not in a vacuum. Yes, we all like our portions of peace and quiet and time to contemplate the mystery, but the truth is people, most of us anyway, like to live among our fellow man. Why else would we have cities? Whether they are large or small, it seems we all want to be around someone—even if we don’t really like everyone who comes with the package.
On Saturday morning, if you go to the races or even if you live in Old Town and are still resting your head on you pillow, you might hear the patter of thousands of sneakers pounding the pavement as a flood of humanity passes your house. I hope it makes you smile to know that Seal Beach’s culture is alive, fit and healthy.
Dennis Kaiser is the Sun Newspapers’ editor.
