Happy 4th of July from Hermosa Beach

Photo essay from odd Ironman celebration

There is an odd 4th of July tradition in the tiny SoCal town of Hermosa Beach that goes like this: at 8 a.m., hundreds of people will run a mile and jump in the ocean to paddle a mile on their boards, and then top it off by drinking a six-pack of beer.

And then, they will kick off the holiday by proceeding to throw up in the sand.