The night has begun with an assembly of both friends and strangers. There are some familiar faces in the crowd from previous years that have come to once again embark on a journey. It’s a journey like no other. We have been gathered at the starting point- Pan Pacific Park. The Runners were all getting ready. They all had accepted the challenge of Journey and had their blue bands on. The Runners had started to make groups and cliques making plans on routes, strategy, and meet up point. Some where there in their running shoes and running attire. But then there were those that did not know what to expect when they agreed to partake. Some were in jeans, some carried backpacks with them, and they were plainly unprepared. But the attire of the Runner does not defy the winner. As I looked around I could see no red bands. The Chasers were not to be seen. This was to be expected; they were already given their red bands and had taken to the streets. Plotting. Hiding. Awaiting the chase.


They Runners had been called forth for a last reminder of the rules. “There are rules in the city we live in. We call them laws,” a humorous reminder by Lincoln, the coordinator of the event, of the laws we have to abide in Los Angeles. Whether these laws are going to be obeyed was unknown yet. As I headed out, taking part as a Documentarian, to the first check point I could hear the whistle sending the Runners off in all kinds of directions. I could hear their feet pounding on the pavement as they started off to the first checkpoint. I was later told that many people were caught right out of the gate and were turned from Runners to Chasers.



I soon arrived at Checkpoint 1 – The Pacific Design Center. The Runners were given the instructions to find a large, bald man who will be with a dog and a child with a cast on his arm. And I soon found them. Adam Francis had them do a physical challenge.



They were to do summersaults or roll over these five small hills. Then, after Lemon Baardsen gave them some information about design, they were presented with a second challenge. They were to tie a tie on someone else or wrap a sari. Both of these were to done blindfolded. I managed one young lady quickly wrap another young woman with a sari with no trouble at all.



I saw that more and more Runners were approaching. I decided that this was the best time for me to get ahead, take a street parallel to N San Vincente Blvd, and see if I can find some Chasers on my way to Checkpoint 2. I was fortunate to run into my first Chaser. He was waiting patiently for the Runners that were going to soon leave Checkpoint 1 around a corner on a small residential street. I left him there anxious about getting his first catch of the day.



At the second checkpoint I was welcome by Suze and Heatherlynn. They were under the North stairs of the Beverly Center. I asked about their challenge. They were and did paint little hand puppets on each of the Runners’ hands. The Runners were then to create a back story for said hand puppet.



It was then to the judgment of Heatherlynn and Suze if the story was good enough to get them the signature that would allow them to head on over to Checkpoint 3. I began to witness a scatter of Chasers gather and surround the checkpoint in order to catch some unsuspecting Runners. While they waited, since not that many Runners have yet completed Checkpoint 1’s challenge, they began to share stories of how some have already caught a few Runners. This is where I found out that a lot of Runners were caught just getting off the Start Point. At last the first number of Runners begun getting close.



Some of them were lucky enough to cross the middle of the street unbothered by neither Chasers nor oncoming traffic. Remember those “rules” the city has that we call “laws”? These were signs of those going out the door. Regardless of how you feel about this, the action was there. Some people made it safely onto the sidewalk where they were safe and others were caught just by a hair.

I knew that this was the perfect time to head over to Checkpoint 3, La Cienega Park. Since I was a Documentarian there was no need for me to go out of my way in order to get to the park. So I took the most direct route walking South on La Cienega Blvd. Just as I was about head of Checkpoint 2 I ran into some Runners that were on their way to Checkpoint 3. They had told me that they were going to take the bus to Checkpoint 3, but as soon as they finished telling me this a pair of Chasers walked out of the Beverly Center to join us.



They even continued to chat for a little bit before the Chasers went on ahead to join me on the walk to Checkpoint 3. Although the direct route there was empty of Runners, these two Chasers had stories to tell of people jumping over walls and other stories of the exodus from the park that led to some of Runners capture. The walk was quick with the company of these two and we were at the park in no time. They stopped to get some water while I went ahead and located M.E. Dunn, the keeper of the baseball diamond and of Checkpoint 3.



Her challenge to the Runners was either to answer baseball trivia or sing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” and have her record it. They were then required to run the bases before getting the signature they needed to go to Checkpoint 4. While the Runners were slow to get to her, I still witnessed some take on the trivia questions, which mostly pertained to the Los Angeles Dodgers, before I left for Checkpoint 4.



The most direct route from Checkpoint 3 to 4 was heading East on Wilshire Blvd where I would meet up with Captain Barbapoca, who had taken shelter among the La Brea Tar Pits at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The travel from the park to the tar pits was a long and lonely trip. I encountered no Runners, no Chasers, and hardly any civilians. But I pressed on. Before meeting up with the keeper of Checkpoint 4, I walked through the open areas of LACMA. I eventually found myself hearing familiar dialog being played over loudspeakers. As I approached the source of this, what I had now recognized as Jurassic Park, I thought that this showing added to the many possibilities of what you may encounter on this journey. I soon spotted a man dressed as a privateer. I need not ask what his challenge was for he spoke it to each single Runner that dared challenge him. They were to fight this man with swords. The first to three points wins.



If Captain Barbapoca won, then the Runner was simply given his much needed signature and then sent off to Checkpoint 5. But the reward for defeating the fearless Captain was to be truly treasure. If defeated, the Captain will hand you a scroll with a time stamp on it. This scroll allowed for FIVE full minutes of immunity from the Chasers. A pure treasure indeed. However, many of these victors did not take advantage of their prize and decided to wait for the rest of the group they had created. A poor decision on their individual parts, but I had witnessed my share of madness in these events. These Runners did not know to what to expect from Captain Barbapoca, for he was moving more agile than the Runners. But some were lucky enough to strike three blows before he could. The rules were obvious, any place on the body with the exception of the private parts and the face- that’s how Captain Barbapoca makes a living, you know? I joined forces with a fellow Documentarian, Anna One, bid farewell to the Captain, for he had many challengers waiting, and we headed to Checkpoint 5.

Now Checkpoint 5 was unlike any other. It located in a residential area just East of La Brea and in between Beverly Blvd and 3rd St. Upon our arrival, my fellow Documentarian spotted the given address and proceeded to enter. We quickly saw a sign that we were to be quiet. We were also greeted by a light being controlled by a woman, Sarah, who then reminded us to remain quiet through this checkpoint.



We proceeded to walk up some stairs what seemed to be her home. We were then greeted by a gentleman, David, reminding us to remain quiet. As I contemplated in my head that I was about to be murdered, I saw many signs reminding us to remain quiet but also to read.



Something that I did not expect to encounter. We were then taken to an area where we were told to pick a book and it was ours to keep. And soon after that, we signed a sheet that asked for our name, our favorite book, and the book we chose from the table just now.



We soon were escorted outside using the back entrance. The other Documentarian and I were stunned at what we had just encountered. Being left speechless we then continued to the last and final checkpoint.

We then went West on Beverly Blvd. and North on Fairfax Ave. to locate Checkpoint 6- Greenway Court Theater. The king of this castle was no other than Aaron, otherwise known as Lincoln. The other Documentarian arrived to find that a man had managed to claim victory this night as the first Runner to reach the final checkpoint.




But to those that still wanted to claim a successful night of evading Chasers, weaving through the city, and reaching the end, they had quite a challenge ahead of themselves. The Chasers had assembled in front of the theater in order to catch some Runners coming in hoping to reach the end untouched. I witnessed some Runners managed to get through what seemed the impenetrable wall of Chasers and declare victory. Those that hung around at the last checkpoint shared their stories about almost captures and getaways. Among those that finished were some people that are involved in parkour, sports, and some non athletes, that crossed the finished line with aide and some self-sacrifice. We witnessed a small group of guys sacrifice themselves in order to distract the Chasers so a small group of girls will cross. The reason? At Checkpoint 5, where they chose a book, a girl had found a book titled “Journey To The End Of The Night” – the same name of night’s event. All thought the sacrifice was definitely worth it.



The winning Runner and Chaser were given their trophies, maybe they'll encounter each other next year!!



As the coordinators and I decided to call it a night and head home, we left with people still sharing stories of the night. We shook hands with those that were leaving at the same time and wished that we would see each other next year. Journey to the End of the Night has always been filled with mystery. You never know who or what you’ll find. Whether it’s a checkpoint where you are given a free book, make a new friend, or a privateer challenging you to a sword battle. Whatever the night holds, it is a guaranteed adventure.