Getting Vomited On Is A Total Upgrade For Some Residents Of California Beach Town

“You people are stupid. I remember Pier 52 and the End Zone, Hermosa used to be a scary place. The youth hostel used to be known as the heroin hotel. Hermosa has cleaned up so much over the last few decades, let the people have their fun. I’ve grown up in Hermosa, live in Hermosa, and think it’s a great place. If you don’t want to drink on the beach, don’t. If you don’t want to get puked on, don’t go to the Ironman. Hermosa is a mellow fun-loving town, leave it that way! If you want to talk about investments, money you don’t have, or how great you are, stay in Manhattan!”
— The debate over the annual July 4 Ironman event in Hermosa Beach, Calif. — an “extreme athletic test” in which “participants must run a mile, paddle a surfboard a mile and then consume a 6-pack of their favorite beer” — is getting pretty heated! Because things get, well, kinda vomity among the participants, as well as among those spectators who just want to feel like they’re “supporting the contestants.” (I do like how the last sentence of that mini-tirade can almost be fit in to an anti-gentrification rant emanating from the opposite coast!)