Imperfect Paradise: How one man rebuilt his life, 100 miles at a time
Norco 80
LAist Studios
4.2 • 887 Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ 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 | Listen to GoFact Yourself, the new weekly trivia show from LAist. |
| 0:03.8 | Hosts Helen Hong and Jake Heath Van Stratton, that's me. |
| 0:06.7 | Quiz celebrities on what they love. |
| 0:08.5 | Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Sundays at 8 p.m. or anytime on the LAist app. |
| 0:15.0 | Step into an unforgettable night at the library on Saturday, February 1st as the iconic central library in downtown Los Angeles |
| 0:21.5 | transforms into an after-hours wonderland with live performances interactive art, DJ, storytelling, |
| 0:26.8 | and more. Get tickets now at LAS.com slash events. |
| 0:30.4 | This is Imperfect Paradise, the show about the gap between the dream and reality. |
| 0:34.9 | I'm Antonio Ceregido. |
| 0:39.8 | It's the middle of the summer, 2024. |
| 0:42.9 | Cesar Kejano has been out of prison for two and a half years. |
| 0:46.5 | He's a former heroin addict. |
| 0:48.4 | And he's running the San Diego 100. |
| 0:50.8 | The first 20 miles, that was the first chapter, right? Let's call it beginnings. |
| 0:57.0 | The second chapter, that one, the pain really starts. |
| 1:01.1 | The third chapter, man, ultra runners call that being inside the pain cave. |
| 1:06.0 | Ultra runners are people who run races longer than the length of a marathon. |
| 1:10.6 | In Seizade's case, 100 miles in the mountains of East County, San Diego. |
| 1:16.0 | It's a course that takes him through narrow hiking trails, |
| 1:18.8 | where he might trip over rocks or tree roots, |
| 1:21.3 | through weather that dips into the 40s at night and climbs over 90 degrees during the day. |
| 1:26.7 | Past the edge of a cliff, up and down mountains, |
... |
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