Runners to honor late rapper Nipsey Hussle at LA Marathon

A run club honoring the legacy of the late Nipsey Hussle is bringing that spirit to the LA marathon this weekend. 

When LA icons converge, the energy is electric.

Tuesday afternoon, the Marathon Run Club took on just three light training miles. But on Sunday, it’ll be 26.2.

Begun by the late Nipsey Hussle in 2009 as a music brand, then expanded to apparel, and following his 2019 murder, expanded into the Marathon burger chain.

But his long time business associate Jorge Peniche says taking Marathon from figurative to literal was always part of the plan.

“He’s the one who put the battery on our team’s back and said we’re going to do it. And in order to make good on that promise, in 2024 our team took the initiative and said lets move forward on this,” Peniche said.

Peniche helped found the Marathon Run Club to fulfill that mission, putting out an invite to the community. 

The first run attracted about 400 to 500 people of different races and socio-economic backgrounds.

“It’s really great to live out the physical manifestation of breaking down those barriers,” Dasjanae Mosley, a first time runner, said.

Ralphy Vies moved to LA from New York a year ago, about the same time he joined Marathon Run Club. He’d never one any sort of distance running before joining this group

“Every weekend, there’s been times when I couldn’t even walk after running. And now we’re here. So it’s just about having a goal and just keep working towards it,” Vies said. 

This Sunday, about 100 runners in Marathon Run Club t-shirts are expected to cross the LA marathon finish line.

In some ways it will be symbolic, an end to a race. But in other ways it will be just one step in overall marathon

All of the run club participants are raising money for the Neighborhood Nip Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Marathon brand.

One of their goals is to convert the Crenshaw and Slauson plaza that used to house the Marathon clothing store into a community center.

“We’re chipping away one dollar at a time to make that happen, and one mile at a time,” Vies said.