On Sunday, a South L.A. crew tied to Nipsey Hussle’s Marathon brand plans to turn the ASICS Los Angeles Marathon into a moving tribute, with organizers expecting roughly 100 runners to cross the finish line side by side. Every mile is tied to a purpose. The group is running to raise money for the Neighborhood Nip Foundation and to back plans to bring new life to the plaza at Crenshaw and Slauson, the former home of the Marathon clothing store. The team mixes veteran community runners with first-time marathoners, and organizers cast the whole effort as both a tribute and a long-term investment in South L.A.
As reported by NBC Los Angeles, the Marathon Run Club expects about 100 runners to cross the finish line together as a team. According to The Marathon, the group is taking part in the 41st ASICS Los Angeles Marathon, and all funds raised are set to support the rebirth of Nipsey Hussle Plaza.
How the run club formed
Jorge “JP” Peniche helped turn the Marathon Run Club into the community arm of The Marathon brand, then opened its public training initiatives in 2024. Leaders describe the club as a direct extension of Nipsey’s steady grind philosophy and his focus on community investment, a framing detailed in Forbes. In other words, the miles are meant to look a lot like the message.
Fundraising for a neighborhood center
Organizers say every member of the run club is raising money for the Neighborhood Nip Foundation, which has been named an official LA Marathon charity partner. Before marathon day, the team put on a large public run that drew hundreds of people, an initial outing that organizers estimated brought in roughly 400 to 500 participants. Now they plan to channel marathon fundraising into the foundation’s project to convert the Crenshaw and Slauson plaza, listed as 3420 W. Slauson Ave, into a community center. That charity partnership and the plaza plans appear on The Marathon site and in the McCourt Foundation’s charity posts about the LA Marathon.
On the ground
“We want to see people cross that finish line with us,” JP told Forbes, explaining the club’s training focus and team-first push. The run comes as the city recently dedicated the Crenshaw and Slauson corner as Nipsey Hussle Square, a civic moment that organizers and family members say turns the marathon effort into part of a larger push to translate memory into concrete neighborhood resources, per The FADER.
Race day and how to help
The ASICS Los Angeles Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, and organizers, along with The Marathon team, are directing would-be supporters to their event and fundraising pages for donation links and runner details. For more on the official charity partnership and how the money is expected to be used to rebuild the plaza and launch youth programming, organizers point readers to the McCourt Foundation’s charity partner information and the Marathon event page.
On race day, spectators can expect to see a tight pack in The Marathon colors coming through the finish line, a visual reminder that Nipsey’s work was always about long-term investment in South L.A. For many in the neighborhood, this run is an early, public step in a multi-year effort to turn memorial energy into real community programs and shared space.
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