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☰
Long Beach Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Long Beach Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.6
Number of comments: 242 [displaying comments 101 to 111]
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D. C. from OC
(10/12/2008)
"Not worth the money...." (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The T-shirt and medal weren't worth all of the money. Tack on the $10 I paid for expo parking and $10 to park for the race, and it just doesn't add up. The finish area food and drink was pathetic. I have had better fare at a lot of 5Ks. A Dixie cup full of water, an overly ripe banana and a bagel? Hey, I'm not saying it wasn't edible but I didn't get my money's worth. I won't do this one again.... | |
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ok lang from los angeles
(9/18/2008)
"new course" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 6+ Long Beach Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have run this marathon for the last nine years. Finally they've changed the course, scrapping the stretch of Studebaker, which is a ghost town. Now it goes inside Csulb, with more shade. I love the marathon. | |
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L. B. from Riverside, Calif
(8/19/2008)
"Tons of fun" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Long Beach Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course is great, and it's nice for beginners. I can't wait to run again this year. | |
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R. C. from California
(11/16/2007)
"Wonderful.... Recommend to Everyone" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Long Beach Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Overall, it was great. Love the scenery and the weather. Runners need to listen to more music throughout the race.... Please add that next year. | |
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M. S. from Keokuk, IA
(10/29/2007)
"Nice, if crowded, marathon" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I enjoyed the Long Beach Marathon and the Long Beach area. The pluses: 1) Great weather. 2) A good portion of the course was along the beach. 3) Relatively flat course. Everyone's definition of "flat" is different, but compared to other races I've run, this was pretty flat. 4) Good expo. 5) Nice post-race party. Things to work on: 1) The start area is way too crowded. My suggestion is to find an area that is a bit more open. Keep the spectators farther back from the start area! Mark the corrals better. 2) Similarly, the early part of the course is too crowded. Because much of the course is on a fairly narrow sidewalk, there is not much room to spread out. Institute a wave start. Instruct walkers to stay to the right. 3) Water stations weren't always at the mile markers, and three-quarters of the way through the race, I really didn't want to be guessing where they would be. Overall, I enjoyed the race, but it's not one I would put on my "must do" list. | |
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A. G. from Orange, California
(10/23/2007)
"Well organized and a beautiful day!" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Long Beach Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'm getting ready to run NY on November 4th, and quite honestly, I was getting sick of patting my self on the back for 22-24 mile training runs. Because Long Beach was 3 weeks out and the weather forecast looked good, I thought I'd get a medal for my last training run. Boy, am I glad I did! My last experience in LB was in '03 and it was so hot, I thought I would never come back - but I did. This time it was great! The course is pretty flat, although watch out for those bridges in the 2nd half. Little bumps seem much larger as the miles go on. I ended up finishing in 3:34:01. That's just 1 1/2 minutes off my PR, and this was supposed to be a training run! I guess the atmosphere got the best of me. I actually started to hyperventilate at the finish and had my 1st experience in a medic tent. They were great as well. I'm sure I will be back in Long Beach sometime in the next few years! | |
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A. F. from Yuma, AZ
(10/23/2007)
"Very Enjoyable" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A very scenic course; it hit nearly all the highlights of the Long Beach waterfront, and includes a very scenic section of the beach. Aside from a short jaunt through a semi-industrial area, the portion of the course that was away from the waterfront was also very pleasant. I have no complaints about the organization of this race, the water stops were frequent and well stocked, the expo ran smoothly, traffic control was excellent, and the course was well marked - all the elements necessary for a successful marathon were in place. Two things that are not complaints - but that people should be aware of - regard the type of surface of the course and race-morning traffic. Take seriously the organizers' suggestion of leaving early the morning of the race; the geography of where the race starts limits the number of ways to get into the area, and as a result, traffic can get seriously backed up. The second thing is: be prepared to run a lot of the course on concrete. I don't have a problem with this, as it is necessary to take the course into many of the scenic areas it goes through. But it does makes the course harder that it might seem at first, so be prepared. | |
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D. C. from San Diego
(10/18/2007)
"Beautiful first 15 miles..." (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I've got more than a few marathons under my belt and was looking forward to my first experience at Long Beach, as I've heard very good things about the course, the spectators, the organization, and the weekend itself. I was not disappointed! It was a well put together race, with fairly smooth organization and a beautiful first 16 miles. The rest of the course leaves a bit to be desired, but I have yet to run an in-city marathon where there wasn't at least a portion of it that tested your mental, as well as physical, strentgh. I do believe LB could benefit from a staggered start - as the marathon continues to grow, it would be nice to thin out the crowd on the beach path nearer the start. Plus, in a place where the temps can rise into the high 70's (as they did last Sunday), an earlier start would be appreciated by most marathoners who are finishing in over 3 hours. I began my run with the 3:15 pace group, and want to give a HUGE thanks to Road Runner Sports and (I believe his name was) Jonathan for keeping our group dead on pace for the first 14 miles. I'm not sure what happened after that as the heat ended up keeping me back, and I had to slow down. From everything I experienced and heard from other friends who were running, Road Runner did a fantastic job of covering the bases with pacers. It is great to see such localized community involovement from a company often seen only as a retail giant. It gives me new faith in the company as a whole. I will come back to Long Beach and try to get my goal of 3:15 in the future. Well done and big thanks to all the volunteers, organizers, pacers, and crew. | |
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D. H. from Long Beach, California
(10/18/2007)
"Perfect" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Running the LB Marathon was one of the best days of my life - from the start with the national anthem playing and the sunrise over the water to the finish down Ocean Blvd. The course was beautiful, the weather was perfect, the runners were having lots of fun, and the volunteers and citizens were so supportive. A million "thank you's" for everyone who volunteered and came out - you made the day. Long Beach is a fabulous city! | |
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C. L. from La Canada, CA
(10/18/2007)
"Flat, fast and well worth the traffic" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Over the past 20 years, I've run over 100 shorter races (mostly 5K and 10K, plus a few 15K) but this was my first half-marathon. I decided on Long Beach because I live in the LA area and the half marathon course is flat - particularly good for a first timer. The race temperature was in the 60's, a bit humid perhaps, but overall good running weather. The race website warns of Long Beach traffic delays on race morning. Believe it; there are about 18,000 runners and bikers, plus volunteers and spectators. I live 40 miles away, and it took me 90 minutes to get from my house to the parking lot. Fortunately I had left my house at 5:15 AM. The Convention Center lot costs $8 to park, but it's worth it for the convenience. The corrals were well labeled and organized, although on honor system, so I wonder how many people actually were in their correct corral. Nevertheless, the race started on time, which is a lot better than I can say for many shorter races. It was a bit crowded, so a split start for the marathon and half marathon would have been helpful. I didn't mind the twists and turns over the first few miles; as a mid-pack runner (9:20 pace here), it made the course a bit more interesting. The half marathon course is really flat. The only hill is the trivial one over the Queensway Bridge. Be forewarned that miles 6-10 is a concrete bike/ped path. Fortunately I knew this since I've run on that path before, so I taped up my knees in advance. The end of the race, about the last quarter mile, is a slight downhill, which was nice. There was plenty of water at every mile. I made 4 water stops and had no problem getting a drink. I use only water during my runs, so I can't speak for the sports drink. The volunteers also made the water accessible without getting in the way of the runners, which was very helpful. The direction signs and mile markers were oversized and well placed, which was helpful; but it would have been even better if they'd also had time clocks and split time callers at each mile. I had written split times on the back of my bib, but I couldn't really read them during the race. The pace groups were a great idea. I used the two-hour pace group as a guide and aimed to finish a little behind it. I did finish in just about 2 hr 2 min, so I was very pleased. Spectator support along the race was good. It tended to run in spurts; largest crowds near Shoreline Village (mile 6, where the course bends back towards the start) and within half a mile of the finish. Moreover...at least for me, I'm used to 5Ks and 10Ks, where there are often long stretches with few spectators. It was wonderful to see all those people watching the race and cheering us on. |
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