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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 81 to 91]
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B. C. from KC
(10/19/2008)
"Half marathon" (about: 2008)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first half marathon, and there were both positive and negative aspects to this event. Positives - The course was pretty good and very scenic, especially the part that went along the beach. Most of the volunteers were very friendly and helpful. The spectators were very enthusiastic, especially right after the course left the beach and went past a housing area (I think around miles 10-12 or so). Both the expo and the carbo load dinner (Queen Mary) were great. Negatives - I did not receive a finisher's medal because several "bandits" did the half marathon without paying, and took a medal when they were not due one. Shame on those who did that. I paid good money to do this, and so should everyone else. I am told I will receive my medal in the mail. One of the aid stations still had jugs of water left, but they ran out of cups, so no one in my area was able to get water at that aid station. Another aid station that was supposed to have some type of snacks ran out of those. My biggest beef - There was very little support, if any, for those marathoners that finished towards the last. I made it a special point to wait for those finishing the marathon, and made myself a self-appointed volunteer. I stood at the last turn before runners/walkers headed down into the finish chute area, so that I could direct them as to where to go. Had I not been there, some of them were unsure of, and would not have known where to go, as a lot of stuff had been torn down already. Some of the last people did not even get their finish times recorded, as even the electronic mat and time clock had been torn down. An event of this sort should NEVER take down the electronic mat and finish clock until the last person finishes. If the rest of the course markings are taken down, then there should at least have been someone there to guide them in. You should allow the half marathon walkers/slow joggers to start with the marathon walkers/slow joggers. | |
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J. C. from Orange County, CA
(10/17/2008)
"Good race, but getting too crowded" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Long Beach Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a pretty good marathon. The course is a little tougher than expected, not quite fast and flat. The course can be pretty crowded over the first 9+ miles, due to the width of the bike path. I think a wave start or earlier start for the marathon would really help. The new course going through CSULB was a nice improvement despite the hills. Those students did a great job of supporting the runners. Finish line food was lacking this year. Bananas, bagels and Clif Bloks just weren't enough. I needed more water and I needed something with electrolytes. Note to other posters - almost all courses measure long on a GPS. The technology just isn't all that accurate. In a race as big and as twisty as LB, it is nearly impossible to run all the tangents unless you are running right up front. | |
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J. P. from Colorado Springs, CO
(10/16/2008)
"Very enjoyable course" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I really enjoyed the course, which gave a good tour of Long Beach and was fairly flat. The volunteers were great, although some of the tables needed more volunteers handing out water and Gatorade. I would have wanted gels handed out sometime before mile 10, also. It was crowded, especially at the start, but I didn't have much trouble maintaining my pace or getting around people, except around the aid stations. A staggered start would have helped thin out the runners quite a bit and an earlier start would have helped with the heat. However, my main concern is always how enjoyable the course is and I loved it! The organizers were great about answering my questions and I had information about the race early. I would run this race again and would recommend this as a first marathon for anyone because of the course and the overall organization. | |
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D. C. from Salt Lake City, UT
(10/16/2008)
"Mediocre; should be better" (about: 2008)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The first 8-9 miles were nice, but the course got very boring thereafter. Poor organization at the start, finish, and aid stations. Also, they need at least a few clocks on the course (and drinks that are not warm). Should have been better. | |
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S. S. from Redondo Beach, Ca
(10/15/2008)
"No Results" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the half-marathon but ended up with no results (no gun time, no net time, no splits), most likely due to a failure of my timing chip, which was a type I have never seen before. This is a local race for me, so it's not a tragedy; however, if this had been a destination race for me, I would be very upset right now. On the other hand, other than the chip, my race experience was great. The course was scenic and flat. I had no problems with parking because I took public transportation to the race (my total cost for the expo and race trips was $5). There were plenty of restroom facilities along the course. I got my medal at the end and I thought the post-race food was as good as any other race I've been to. | |
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R. G. from Scottsdale, AZ
(10/14/2008)
"o.k." (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Long Beach Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 The first six miles are great. The rest of the race is fine. Adjusting the course this year was a great idea! Beware of two hills that can be challenging on the campus. Student support, for a commuter school, was nice. The aid stations needed six to eight more people per station. Great people and support, but the organizers need to work harder for us runners. Multiple times I had to grab my own water of the table. We also had a woman in our four-hour pace group trip to the ground because the aid station was not moving efficiently. Post-race food was embarrassing. Brown bananas and a plain bagel. I was looking for electrolytes - anything but beer or water - and I could not find any. Maybe pretzels or ANYTHING with salt on a hot day would be appreciated! ONE SUGGESTION: start the race at 7:00 a.m. One hour won't keep the people away, and it really will benefit the runners with running in cooler weather longer. I stayed at the Hilton. It was over $100 per night - cheaper than the Hyatt - and I got a 2:00 p.m. check-out. I highly recommend it. It is about a one-mile walk to the start line. | |
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A. S. from MEXICO
(10/14/2008)
"timing" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The only thing I did not like: there was not a single clock on the entire course. | |
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j. m. from Irvine, CA
(10/14/2008)
"good race" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran Long Beach a few days ago and it was a little harder on me that I'd hoped, but I felt it was a good race to run. I'm not really looking for or expecting a whole lot from a race; as long as the basic needs are met, I'm fine. They did a good job with that, except I didn't see any PowerAde until around 5 miles or so. I may have just missed it earlier, but I was starting to wonder. There was also a couple of points where we had to stop for traffic in an intersection and then be directed through. I also thought the section through Csulb was pretty hilly. I will try it again next year. | |
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L. M. from Sammamish,WA
(10/14/2008)
"Long Beach Marathon" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Pros: 1) Women's fitted tech shirts. YEAH!!! 2) Relatively scenic course, especially along the waterfront. But don't let the race director fool you; the bulk of the race is NOT along the water. 3) Run through CSULB was AWESOME!!! The college students were out and about with LOTS of energy. 4) Friendly neighbors with lots of homespun goodies. 5) Pretty medal compared to others I've received. 6) Disposable timing chip. EXCELLENT. I was nervous about it working correctly, but my time's posted, so it worked just fine. LOVED not having to wait in line at the finish to get the conventional timing chip cut off. 7) Very good traffic control, except that a couple of times the policemen made me wait as they let traffic go through an intersection. So frustrating. 8) Race day shuttle from the Guesthouse Inn was perfect. 9) Sufficient toilet facilities along the way... although some of them (bathrooms on the beach) had no doors. Cons: 1) Having to pay $10 for expo parking. RIDICULOUS!!! 2) Pitiful finish line food. I had a TERRIBLE run and ended up finishing towards the end of the pack at around 6.5 hours. The only thing left was bagels and very warm water. 3) Overzealous sag wagon. At about mile 22 the sag wagon drove by warning everyone that if we didn't pick up the pace, we wouldn't get our medals. This was around 5.25 hours into the race. The race had a course limit of 7.5 hours. There was no need to get us all panicked. I finished with PLENTY of time to spare. 4) Accommodations at Guesthouse Inn were less than desirable. Splurge for the higher rooms and stay in downtown Long Beach. | |
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J. C. from Newport Beach, CA
(10/14/2008)
"Great Sunday Morning Run in SoCal" (about: 2008)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Long Beach Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The start relies on runners self-seeding themselves, which never works. There were three corrals based on finish time, with Corral A being for half-marathoners running under two hours and full marathoners running under four. The half-marathoners who were running a two-hour race were lined up at the beginning of Corral A, with those full marathoners going sub-three. This made for a very challenging first two miles, but things spread out easily. The course was great, conducive for Boston qualifiers. But don't be fooled; the hills around Cal State were definitely an impact at that stage of the race. The support of the college kids was spectacular and the best support on the course. Definitely helped me power through those miles. Weather was great - very cool start and warmed to low 60's at the finish. Some killer ocean winds at several points. SoCal sun can be demanding even in lower temps. PowerAde on the course is garbage. PowerAde is total imitation electrolyte replenishment drink made by Coke. There was the blue flavor on the course and it was awful! But the support volunteers dishing it out were great! Finally, for a hundred bucks, I got the lamest T-Shirt ever, a total short-sleever with a weak print going straight in the bin. That's unfortunate, considering that you don't wear your medal around. |
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