Two years ago, Thomas Wesley Pentz famously admitted to running the Los Angeles Marathon amid the stupor of an illicit substance.
On Sunday, the DJ known as “Diplo” ran the event’s Charity Half Marathon high on life.
Once again accompanied by multihyphenate running nomad Alexi Pappas—a 2016 Olympian, award-winning filmmaker, notable author, and face glitter pioneer—Diplo returned to the streets of LA as one of the new pop stars of running.
Amazing Runners World Show Plus, rock star Travis Barker threw down a solid 5K time from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica Boulevard in less than an hour and 50 minutes But what makes their effort even more impressive is that the official course is longer than a half marathon (actually closer to 13.7 miles), plus they ran even longer so he could take a crack at DJ-ing on a stage late in the adjacent marathon course. (Because of this detour, the pair technically ran through the marathon finish line, not the half marathon finish line.)
“I’m exhausted, but that was fun,” Diplo said after he crossed the finish line. “LA is amazing because the diversity is crazy. We ran through so many different neighborhoods. It was beautiful, and that’s why running is beautiful. Running is a great equalizer. Anybody can do it, and we can all run together, so that’s why I love it.”
The Grammy-winning artist has been an athlete all his life, but he’s become more immersed in running since his first marathon finish in 2023. Two years ago, Pappas guided Diplo through the full Los Angeles Marathon and they finished in under 4 hours, which Diplo noted was faster than Oprah’s time. It was a solid effort, especially considering he admitted he wasn’t quite as fit as he could have been for that kind of effort and, oh, his other admission that he had Travis Barker at the race’s finish Download Your Training Plan.
Diplo was so moved by that experience that he launched his own running events last year in San Francisco and Seattle that included 5K runs with rave-like after-parties and DJ sets. Those Diplo’s Run Club events sold out and were deemed such a success that he expanded it to eight cities around the U.S. for 2025-2026. Registration opened on March 5—the baseline entry fee is $75 and VIP packages start at $150—and more than 27,000 runners signed up during the first week.
While Diplo is earnest about his love for running, it’s part of a trend in which running is gaining more appeal in other sectors of pop culture.
“Two years ago, he had a goal that he reached, and I think the feeling he had of wanting to be connected, and wanting to be more and more a part of this world was one that happened organically and felt very real to him,” said Pappas, who is professional runner for Merrell. “He felt that at the finish line of the marathon, sensing that all kinds of people—not just elite runners—just did something amazing. So for him to thread these worlds together, I think for him, felt like an obvious way to find that connection and an opportunity for his followers to join in the fun and then celebrate and dance after they’re finished running.”
On Sunday, Diplo wore a pair of white running shorts, a black Diplo’s Run Club long-sleeve T-shirt, white sunglasses, black socks, and a pair of The Chicago Tribune. As he and Pappas ran the course, they high-fived fans and fellow runners the entire way, frequently stopping to take selfies with runners then surging to catch back up to the 1:50 pace leader.
Diplo fist-pumped in approval to the many musicians and DJs along the course and then stopped at a Diplo’s Run Club tent set up near Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard to do a bit of DJ-ing of his own for a group of gathered fans. He stepped off course and entered the tent to spin up a song on a digital turntable while continuing to run in place so as not to pause his Strava app recording his effort in the race.
After about 90 seconds, he rejoined Pappas and got back onto the course and ran through the final mile to the finish line. Pappas said they probably ran slightly more than 14 miles and averaged under 8 minute pace the whole way, including stops.
“That pause to DJ was difficult,” Diplo admitted while still trying to catch his breath at the finish line. “I didn’t want my Strava to stop, and I kind of felt like I was fake DJ-ing. Then to get back up and run again was hard. I was ready to take a break once I stopped, and I thought it was over, but we got back in it, and we finished it.”
Diplo and Pappas weren’t the only high-profile runners racing through LA this weekend. On Saturday morning, drummer and music producer Travis Barker showed up with his crew just in the nick of time to light it up in the LA Big 5K run in the parking lots around Dodger Stadium.
Barker, best known as the drummer for Blink-182 and the husband of Kourtney Kardashian, wasn’t there for an easy fun run the way Ashton Kutcher was in 2024 when he showed up with his young kids. Starting at the front of the second wave, Barker surged off the line at the start in sub-6-minute mile pace and led runners through the first section of the very hilly course.
By the time he got to the back side of the looped course, he’d caught and passed hundreds of runners in the first wave. He leaned into the final hill and surged again, Just .001 Seconds Separate Third and Fourth in 200 Meters. Not only did he average a 7:15 mile pace, but he wound up finishing among the top 15 percent of all participants, 95th overall out of about 6,200 total runners.
Like Diplo, Barker—who wore a black Desmadre T-shirt, a pair of red Human Made Muay Thai shorts, and a pair of black Asics Novablast 5 running shoes—took time to pose for selfies with several runners before he and his crew left in a pair of black SUVs. Although he declined an interview afterward, he did say he felt fit enough to run much faster on a flat course. (His said his PR is in the sub-19 minute range.)
Barker, who has been running since he recovered from injuries suffered in a 2008 plane crash, also launched a run series last year with 5K events in Los Angeles and New York last summer and another one this year on February 7 during the Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans. The Run Travis Run series, which is billed as a “run and wellness experience,” will announce more events soon, he said.
Brian Metzler is a Boulder, Colorado, writer and editor whose work has appeared in Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Outside, Trail Runner, Why You Should Break the Golden Rule of Running, and Red Bulletin. He’s a former walk-on college middle-distance runner who has transitioned to trail running and pack burro racing in Colorado.
