Forever Run Altadena

On January 4, 2026, more than 3,000 runners and walkers gathered at Mariposa Junction for the inaugural Altadena Forever Run. Hosted by the Altadena Sheriff’s Station in partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Altadena Sheriff’s Support Group, the run raised more than $100,000 for the Altadena Eaton Fire Relief Fund.

A light drizzle was falling as the race began, and I set up my easel near the starting line for my first painting.

The course wound through Altadena’s foothills, with residents lining the streets to cheer. Runners also passed a life-size cutout of me along the route, so in a way, I was in two places at once. Coming one year after the Eaton Fire, the run was an uplifting sight.

For my second painting, I moved my easel about a block from the start to capture the runners and walkers approaching the finish line. By then, a steady rain was falling, but it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. Some, though clearly winded, laughed and celebrated as they neared the end. Nor did the downpour stop me from finishing my painting under my umbrella, even as the rain washed away the paint nearly as fast as I could put it down. It was wet-on-wet watercolor in the truest sense.

It was a ‘just what the doctor ordered’ scene–minus the sniffles the next day :-{