Imperfect Paradise: How one man rebuilt his life, 100 miles at a time

California Love

LAist Studios

Music

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Struggling with addiction and reentry after multiple stints in prison, Cesar Quijano discovers ultrarunning, a hobby that turns into his addiction and salvation. Through Cesar’s story to complete a 100-mile race, Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido and producer Lucy Copp explore urgent questions around what support people need to successfully transition out of prison and into society.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for LAST comes from the Soraya, producing the West Coast premiere of Fiddler on the roof in Yiddish.
0:06.1	Enjoy a special concert production with English super titles featuring Tony nominee Stephen Skybell and award-winning Joel Gray.
0:13.0	Learn more at the Soraya.org.
0:16.1	Support for L.A.S. comes from Pasadena Playhouse presenting Eureka Day.
0:25.1	Jonathan Spector's Razor Sharp 2025 Tony Award-winning satire.
0:29.3	Eureka Day is on stage at Pasadena Playhouse beginning September 10th.
0:32.8	Tickets are on sale now at Pasadenaplayhouse.org.
0:37.2	This is Imperfect Paradise, the show about the gap between the dream and reality.
0:38.7	I'm Antonio Ceregido.
0:44.9	It's the middle of the summer, 2024.
0:48.6	Cesar Kejano has been out of prison for two and a half years.
0:50.6	He's a former heroin addict.
0:53.0	And he's running the San Diego 100.
0:58.8	The first 20 miles, that was the first chapter, right? Let's call it beginnings.
1:05.6	The second chapter, that one, the pain really starts. The third chapter, man, ultra runners call that being inside the pain cave. Ultra runners are people who run races longer than the length of a marathon.
1:13.3	In Seizade's case, 100 miles, in the mountains of East County, San Diego.
1:18.7	It's a course that takes him through narrow hiking trails,
1:21.5	where he might trip over rocks or tree roots,
1:24.1	through weather that dips into the 40s at night and climbs over 90 degrees during the day.
1:29.5	Past the edge of a cliff, up and down mountains, climbing 13,000 feet of elevation.
1:35.3	To pass the time, he daydreams.
1:39.9	I don't run with my headphones on, and sometimes I get a little crazy up there.
	...

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