{"id":237125,"date":"2026-03-26T06:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T06:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237125\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T06:50:16","slug":"what-its-like-to-walk-l-a-s-half-marathon-bakery-crawl-the-sweetest-part-isnt-the-pastries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237125\/","title":{"rendered":"What it’s like to walk L.A.’s half-marathon bakery crawl? The sweetest part isn’t the pastries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was 6:20 a.m., and Chaumont Bakery & Cafe in Santa Monica was already buzzing with lo-fi music and the chatter of dozens of people wearing bibs \u2014 not for eating (though they were doing just that) but the type you wear for a race. In this case, the half-marathon L.A. Bakery Walk.<\/p>\n

About 2,000 people had signed up for the chance to join the February event, according to its organizer, with 100 tickets offered by lottery \u2014 for the opportunity to walk more than 13 miles through L.A.\u2019s Westside, eating several pastries along the way over the course of eight hours. <\/p>\n

L.A. might not be the most walkable city, but add six bakery stops and the steps (30,000 of them) become easier. It helps that new bakeries are popping up<\/a> all over the city, where wellness culture can intersect with treat culture. <\/p>\n

For participants Dganit Shtorch and Michelle Boll, the bakery walk was a chance to taper down their L.A. Marathon training<\/a> and a rare chance to see the city in all its glory on foot.<\/p>\n

\"People <\/p>\n

Half-marathon walkers take a break to eat Manifold Bakery\u2019s matcha pistachio buns in Venice.<\/p>\n

(Lexi Wimberly \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just sit in your little car box, and nobody talks to each other, and you don\u2019t get to do anything,\u201d said Shtorch, an architect. \u201cBut here, having this opportunity to walk, all of a sudden, you start seeing people. You see more and it\u2019s a different perspective of the city that you actually get to experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irene Chang, a 25-year-old working in tech, created the event last year, hosting a 50-person half-marathon walk through the Pasadena-Highland Park area in November, featuring popular bakeries including ID-Eclair and Neighbors & Friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone just has their own kind of reason to be there,\u201d Chang said. \u201cBut ultimately we\u2019re just having a good time walking and eating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event blew up on social media, garnering thousands of likes and views on Instagram<\/a> and TikTok. The comment sections were filled with people begging for a Round 2. <\/p>\n

\" <\/p>\n

Irene Chang organized the first L.A. Bakery Walk in November, and there was so much demand she held another last month.<\/p>\n

(Lexi Wimberly \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

So on a recent Sunday, 100 people \u2014 some early risers, some willing to get up early for pastries \u2014 gathered for the trek to Chaumont, Fat + Flour, H\u00e4si Bread, Manifold and Petitgrain Boulangerie, on a looping route starting in Santa Monica, winding through Mar Vista and Venice before circling back oceanside. <\/p>\n

In exchange for opening early, Chaumont was met with a constant flow of people in desperate need of caffeine, slowly coming to terms with the miles they had signed themselves up for.<\/p>\n

Half-marathoners mingled in a sprawling outdoor area of the Colorado Avenue bakery, bumping shoulders and breaking the 7 a.m. ice.<\/p>\n

Just as the sky\u2019s blue began to brighten and the sun rose, Chang stood on a chair to grab everyone\u2019s attention. \u201cIf you can hear me, clap twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Matcha <\/p>\n

Matcha pistachio buns from Manifold Bakery, filled with vegan whipped cream.<\/p>\n

(Lexi Wimberly \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

She led a group stretch, and Chaumont employees began rolling out trays of freshly baked pastries and tea. Before any steps could even be Strava-ed, the first in line for pastries grabbed a vegan strawberry croissant filled with vanilla custard in one hand and a za\u2019atar jalapeno olive roll in the other.<\/p>\n

As the sunlight intensified, so did the conversations, and groups began melding together as they set out for the next bakery, four miles away: Fat + Flour in Culver City, known for owner Nicole Rucker\u2019s pies. <\/p>\n

But this group were there for white chocolate macadamia cookies. Participants spilled out of the storefront onto the road, with the line for a cookie almost as long as the one for the bathroom. Layers of sweat-wicking long sleeves were peeled off, and sunscreen was reapplied.<\/p>\n

Just a half-mile up Washington Boulevard at H\u00e4si Bread, the living room-esque ambience and close quarters fostered more socializing while everyone waited for the viral bakery\u2019s prosciutto and cheese sandwich with saba, arugula and local blackberry jam on sourdough bread marbled with turmeric and butterfly pea flower.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Dara Jovkar with his chocolate croissant from Petitgrain Boulangerie, last stop on the L.A. Bakery Walk.<\/p>\n

(Lexi Wimberly \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

H\u00e4si owners Matias and Dawn Barang said they have a consistent flow of regulars and designed the bakery, which opened near Mar Vista last year, with community in mind. <\/p>\n

\u201cEntering other people\u2019s communities is like our, pun intended, bread and butter,\u201d said Dawn Barang.<\/p>\n

Many of the walkers made the trip from Pasadena, Burbank and even Orange County for the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nice to try new things that you would never expect to try,\u201d said Pasadena resident Mia Dixon. \u201cIt gave us more exposure. So we\u2019re gonna go tell more people, \u2018You should go try this place.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

At a surprise stop, Japanese bakery Uncle Tetsu on Sawtelle Boulevard supplied samples of fluffy souffl\u00e9-style cheesecake and a selection of matcha and Oreo cookies. <\/p>\n

\"People <\/p>\n

A surprise of Uncle Tetsu cookies and cheesecakes during the L.A. Bakery Walk.<\/p>\n

(Lexi Wimberly \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s moist, it\u2019s fresh. It\u2019s my fave,\u201d said Priscilla Noriega of the cheesecake,. <\/p>\n

Noriega, who came from the Valley for the event, used the walk as an opportunity for scouting: \u201cIt\u2019s helpful to know which bakeries to hit, where to get my goods,\u201d she said as she tucked a cookie away for her husband.<\/p>\n

After catching confused glances all through Venice, traversing neighborhoods and winding along Abbott Kinney, the group landed at the home of Matt Ricotta. Ricotta started plant-based Manifold Bakery in late 2024 selling pickup pre-orders and later hosting pop-ups out of his backyard in Venice. He has since paused them to work on a bricks-and-mortar.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Manifold, a stop on the L.A. Bakery Walk, is located at the home of Venice baker Matt Ricotta.<\/p>\n

(Lexi Wimberly \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

As an exclusive for the bakery walkers, Ricotta prepared his signature brioche bun filled with matcha and pistachio cream topped with whipped vegan cream cheese, as well as a pistachio macaroon.<\/p>\n

They were a crowd favorite. <\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God, the [bun] was literally butter,\u201d said Evy Favretto, who is from Pasadena, where she went to high school with Dixon.<\/p>\n

After gathering in Ricotta\u2019s garden-lush backyard, some defected to return home or to their cars. They missed out on the last few miles. <\/p>\n

The loop finally came to a close after one last, highly anticipated stop at Petitgrain Boulangerie in Santa Monica, the nearly two-year-old bakery widely praised for its flaky, buttery pain au chocolat. Oven-fresh chocolate croissants flew off the table \u2014 the only evidence: dough flakes clinging onto T-shirts.<\/p>\n

At nearby tree-lined Douglas Park in Santa Monica, Little Treat Factory cookies, electrolyte drinks and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 the finish line awaited. <\/p>\n

\u201cJune, you made it!\u201d The group may have dwindled, but all of the community remained. <\/p>\n

\"About <\/p>\n

(Lexi Wimberly \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n