[photo credit: American Heart Association]
The National Weather Service has an Extreme Heat Warning in effect from Friday morning through Thursday evening, Oct. 8, and forecasts a high near 99 degrees in Pasadena on Saturday. The association is asking walkers to bring a hat, a reusable water bottle, sunscreen and personal cooling items such as cooling towels, handheld fans or personal misters.
The festival area opens at 7:30 a.m. It sits southeast of the stadium on North Arroyo Boulevard, between Rosemont Avenue and Stivers Way. The morning includes an opening ceremony, hands-only CPR instruction, health-related activities and a children’s area.
Walkers can choose between two routes. The 3.1-mile 5K route starts at the inflatable arch near the festival stage and follows Stivers Way and Rosemont Avenue out to Washington Boulevard. It then comes back along West Drive and returns through the parking lot to the festival area. A 1-mile survivor route loops from the festival area along Rosemont Avenue, Seco Street and Stivers Way. The main water station is on the west side of the festival area, just south of the finish line, and there are two more along the 5K route.
Melissa Giebel will signal the start with a drumbeat. She went into cardiac arrest during the 2015 Paris Half Marathon and was revived with CPR and an automated external defibrillator. The event chair is David Morgan, chief operating officer of UCLA West Valley Medical Center. Sponsors include UCLA Health and Keck Medicine of USC.
The walk is the association’s main fundraising event against heart disease and stroke, which it calls the nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers. As of early Saturday, the Greater Los Angeles walk had raised more than $1.2 million toward its $1.5 million goal.
This year’s event puts special weight on CPR. The association says nine out of 10 people who go into cardiac arrest outside a hospital do not survive, and that CPR given right away can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. Hands-only CPR means calling 911 and pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest, with no mouth-to-mouth breathing.
Need to know: Event: 2026 Greater Los Angeles Heart & Stroke Walk. When: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. Time: The festival area opens at 7:30 a.m. and the walk starts at 8:30 a.m. Cost: Parking is free, and walkers register and donate through the American Heart Association’s event page. Where: Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena. Parking: Free in Lots F and K. Enter Lot K from Seco Street at the south end of the lot. Enter Lot F from North Arroyo Boulevard using the east entrance, then turn left. VIP and accessible parking is in Lot F, and rideshare drop-off is at the south entrance to Lot F, at North Arroyo Boulevard and Seco Street. For more, email la.heartwalk@heart.org or visit www2.heart.org/site/TR?fr_id=
