Running, walking, music and altars make Olvera Street Los Muertos 5k a celebration

Early Saturday morning on Olvera Street, face painters worked in the dark, getting Los Muertos 5k participants ready with sugar skull faces – all in celebration of Day of the Dead.

The annual Los Muertos race is about more than running or walking, there are altars set up at the event site, honoring, celebrating and remembering those lost.

Race participants brought photos of loved ones, contributing to the altars of remembrance.

Event emcee, Fayad Garcia said it's a celebration and the altars are meaningful representations of what life is and a way to not let the memories of loved ones lost fade.

"It's hard to really correlate, how are you celebrating if someone passed away, but in this tradition, this is how we celebrate their life. We remember them by putting their picture out, things that they like, music perhaps that they liked, anything of that sort," Garcia said.

The altars are also decorated with cempasuchil flowers and candles.

"For us, it's such a meaningful representation of what life is, and this is sort of the only way to not let their memory die, is to always remember them every single year. And you can do it throughout the year, but this is like the big, big boom celebration," Garcia said.

The race started at 8 a.m., with Mariachi and dance getting festivities started for the 3,400 participants.