On a hot summer day in July, Barry Morrill planned to run 18 miles as part of his training for an upcoming ultramarathon. With so many miles under his belt, Morrill tried to think of a place he had never run.

Starting out in Santa Monica, Morrill decided to head to downtown Los Angeles along Wilshire Boulevard, a route he was familiar with since childhood.

Morrill neared the Los Angeles County Museum of Art when his runner’s high, an extra jolt of energy, kicked in at about mile 15.

“All of a sudden, I was seeing everything as it was back in 1972 when I was walking that area going into Hollywood. I could almost see all of the old buildings,” Morrill said. “It was just amazing.”

For the past three years, Morrill has been a member of the L.A. Leggers, a Los Angeles-based running group. In addition to being a member, Morrill has spent two years on its Board of Directors and one year as Vice President.

The L.A. Leggers are just one of more than 20 running clubs that meet all over the Los Angeles area. While many groups, like the L.A. Leggers, often run near the beach, the Downtown Los Angeles Running Group enjoys running through the streets of the city.

Morrill has always been an avid walker. In high school, he would walk 18 miles on a Saturday from Venice to Hollywood just to go to a comic book store. 

“I was an athletic geek,” jokes Morrill. 

But it wasn’t until three years ago, that he went out for his first run. At age 56, he began running for health purposes and has since lost 67 pounds. Morrill has completed 16 half marathons and one full marathon.

One day, he picked up the book “Marathoning for Mortals.” Soon after completing it, Morrill headed to The Village Runner in Redondo Beach to buy his first pair of running shoes. One of the employees told him about a St. Patrick’s Day 5k run. 

On race day, Morrill laced up his shoes, put on his bib and ran. It was a rare overcast day in Southern California when it started pouring rain. Morrill remembers the first drop hitting his face when he yelled, “Oh my gosh, I’m a runner now.”

He thinks back on that day, saying, “After I crossed the finish line, I was like, ‘When is the next one?’ And I was hooked.”

Running with the Pack

Before participating in the St. Patrick’s Day run, Morrill had trained by himself. He tried meeting with a few running groups, and in the fall of 2012, he discovered the L.A. Leggers. This running group is the oldest training club for the L.A. Marathon. Though he originally planned to stick to shorter races, Morrill soon converted to running half and full marathons after joining.

“It’s an amazing community,” said Morrill.

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The Downtown Los Angeles Running Group is much more lax than most. Many clubs require annual membership fees, like the Leggers. Runners interested in the DTLA Running Group can simply show up or join the club’s Meetup and RSVP to a run. 

Some of the runners meet consistently throughout the week, running from places such as Pershing Square or Grand Hope Park. 

“I started running with this group because I learned that running with someone else is more motivating than running by yourself,” Loni Santana said. “Back home in Boston, before I moved here, I had a running buddy, and once I moved here, that was no longer.”

Others come every once in a while.

“I live pretty close by and it’s a really great way to get to know the city,” said Aaron Tarbell. “You see it from a different perspective than just sitting on the freeway all the time. You actually get to run the streets and get the layout of the land, so it’s nice.”

Each DTLA Meetup attracts new runners, too.

“I haven’t actually ran in downtown L.A. before so it was just a different experience,” Marissa Lopez said. “I run in Griffith Park so basically lots of hills, lots of mountains, lots of dirt so this is a totally different perspective on running.”

Whether they were leading the practice or it was the first time out, the runners agreed on the positive impact of training with a group.

“This is a great running club. Everyone’s really talkative. There’s lot of camaraderie,” said Lopez. “It was really tough because of the hills, but I’d definitely come back again.”

Santana explained her personal connection to the DTLA Running Group. “The people are amazing. I honestly feel like this is my community away from home, especially if you came to L.A. by yourself with no family and friends, the group really just makes you feel like you’re a part of something.”

Training for a Goal 

Many running groups train for races that group members will tackle together. 

The Los Angeles Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon is the next big running event in the city, which will be held on Sunday, Oct. 26. This weekend racers will run all around Los Angeles. Some will be running for causes, while others will run to attain a personal record. 

Gillian Clow and Andres Cruz are members of the DTLA Running Group and have been training together for the upcoming race.

Both runners competed in the Los Angeles Marathon last spring and continued their training to prepare for the half. 

Both Clow and Cruz admit they have a hard time taking a day off. 

“One of my biggest challenges is learning to listen to my body and know when to push it and know when to be more gentle with myself and take a rest day,” said Clow.

Cruz agreed, saying, “My biggest challenge is just kind of knowing when your body needs to rest because sometimes you’re just kind of motivated. You go out, do a run, and when you’re sick or not feeling well, sometimes you just need to know when to take it easy and just sit back and recover.” 

SEE ALSO: Legally Blind Runner Runs His Eighth Boston Marathon

Twenty-six-year-old Clow has been running since the fourth grade. “I’ve done two full marathons and 14 half marathons so Rock ’n’ Roll will be lucky number 15,” Clow said. 

Cruz has been running for six years and has run four full marathons and 10 half marathons.

The two enjoy running through the downtown area and taking in the sights of the city. However, as they train for their longer runs, both runners explained they like to go to more open areas with less stoplights and traffic, such as the Los Angeles River. 

Clow and Cruz were filled with excitement when discussing the upcoming race. While they both have personal goals, they did share a very common outlook for the day. “I’m looking forward to the post-race beer and also just seeing my friends PR and having a good day at there,” Clow laughed.

Chasing Dreams

Most runners take pride in the day-to-day successes. Getting up before the sun, finding time to lift and taking care of their bodies are just some of the daily tasks on a runner’s list. 

While runners measure their success one day at a time, they are constantly reaching for better times and new lengths. 

“I have a personal record that I would like to accomplish and hopefully do a little bit faster than that. That’s the only thing I’m hoping to do,” explained Cruz about this weekend’s race. “Ideally, I’d like to get into the 1:30’s mark.”

Morrill is busy preparing for next year. “The ultra I was training for was last weekend, and it just turned out that I wasn’t ready so I’m putting that off for a year,” said Morrill.

Clow is also looking forward to 2015. “I definitely am eyeing to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2015, so I need to figure out a target race for that and kind of map out some strategy, but that’s on the horizon for my plan,” said Clow. 

Celebrating the Community

Despite their personal goals, one thing is certain about all of these L.A. Runners: They would not be where they are today without their community. 

“Just the motivation you get from your peers that run with you, it’s a social element on top of the motivation factor of being able to go faster, go longer,” said Cruz. 

Rather than asking, “Where do the L.A. runners run?” The question seems to be, “Where do they gather?”

“I like running downtown because of the people. I don’t know if I’d feel the same way if I ran alone, but I have definitely met awesome people who’ve pushed me to be faster and are supportive, but we’re also goofballs,” Clow said.

SEE ALSO: Rising Above: A Success Story

Los Angeles running groups have taken advantage of finding people with similar passions and have taken the idea of a team one step further. 

“I remember when I first joined the group, we ran 4.5 miles and I thought that was impossible, but I made it,” Santana said. “And I only made it out because of the people I was running with. They were pushing me. I swear this lady, she’s like over 60 years old, and she was like ‘You can do it, Loni. You can do it.’”

Despite the leaps and bounds that Morrill has made personally in the three years since he crossed that first finish line, he looked outside of himself for his greatest running accomplishment.

“I’m most proud of the fact that I’m able to give back to the community of the runners,” Morrill said. “When I’m out volunteering or I’m out racing with other runners, I realize what a great big family we are.” 

Reach Staff Writer Danica Ceballos here or follow her on Twitter here.