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OC Marathon Runner Comments
Back to OC Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.5 
Organization 3.4 
Spectators 2.8
Number of comments: 181 [displaying comments 151 to 161]
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R. K. from Irvine, CA
(12/13/2004)
"Promising, needs some improvement" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Like almost everyone else, I enjoyed the running part of the race(I ran the 1/2 marathon), and thought the number of - and support at - the aid stations was great. Similarly, what I didn't enjoy was getting to the start, and more importantly getting back to my car after the race. After the race, I lined up behind about 50 people for a shuttle to Fashion Island. About 20 cold & wet minutes later, the approximately 100 people in line found out, after yelling to a bus driver, that the shuttle wasn't picking up there. I ended up walking/limping up the hill back to my car, shivering the whole way. Then I took an additional half hour to find my car. I enjoyed the last few miles of the race on the back bay, but would trade that for a course that either ended where it started, or had ample parking at the finish so I could have had my family meet me there. The congested finish area, both for runners & parking, is simply not suited for a race of this size. I think that would be the case even without the problems brought on by having the kids' race run towards the finishers on a narrow path. I look forward to the race organizers fixing these problems and having the race grow in future years. | |
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J. M. from Irvine
(12/13/2004)
"Not worth the price of admission" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 First of all, I want to comment on their number of runners. They were claiming the next day that they had 10,000 runners there. You have got to be kidding me. Either someone failed math or they had double vision because they were lucky if they had 5,000 total. Now to the disaster that was the race. Someone in an earlier post stated that Kathy Kinane was the director; she was not, it was Bill Sumner, who definitely has his work cut out for him if he wants to make this a race worth going to. From the beginning to the end, this was nothing more than one poorly planned event after another. Let?s start with the parking situation. I don?t know who thought up the logistics for how to get to the parking, but I think waiting nearly two hours to drive two miles is a little much. Once I did get to the parking lot, there was no parking available, and I had to let my wife take over as I sprinted to the starting line. Once the race started (by the way it was very late starting, which when it is cold is not fun) the course had many problems. There were barricades that were missing, so traffic on course was a constant problem, and the mile markers were way off. The course was not well marked and I even heard that the leaders took a wrong turn. Then to make matters worse, there were hardly any portable restrooms which created these long lines for the few ones that were out there. There was no on course entertainment and for the most part the course was boring. The only bright spots were the fact that the course was relatively flat and the volunteers were cheerful. Once you got to the finish line, it was a total mess. There was hardly anything to eat, the personal baggage check in was an absolute mess, everything was wet and muddy and there were no frills at the finish line area whatsoever. The lines for the shuttles to get back to the parking area was over an hour wait, always a fun time in the pouring rain after having run 26.2 miles. It is amazing to me that they could charge $85 for this fiasco. It was high price to pay for a race that had the appearance of a weekend 5k at your local park. I suggest that the organizers of this race take a 30-minute drive up the freeway in October to look at the Long Beach Marathon to see how a really well run event is organized. | |
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B. Z. from SoCal
(12/11/2004)
"Some organizational glitches, but overall good." (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Since it was the inaugural event, I expected a few bugs, but overall it was a great experience. Judging from the turnout, I expect the event to grow in popularity, prestige, and organizational quality. Pluses: Organized start! Pace groups, chip timing, etc. There were relatively few people blatantly starting out of their pace groups. Flat course. Great aid stations placed very frequently with both water and numerous flavors of Gatorade. Wonderful volunteers. The few spectators along the course made up for a lack of numbers with enthusiasm. Very nice one-of-a-kind finisher's medal. Minuses: Wacky, wacky U-turns. I missed one and wasn't notified until I was past it, then nearly missed a second. The course is very confusing and wasn't very well-marked. The merging of the marathon and the half-marathon at mile 20+ was a big mess, as the front of the marathon pack runs into the back of the half-marathon pack. It was almost like an obstacle course, and some of us ended up running in the dirt just to get around people. If the bike path had been split with instructions for half marathoners to stay to one side and marathoners to stay to the other, it would have been very helpful. The finish line was also very, very confusing. I couldn't tell which side I was supposed to finish on, as there weren't any signs pointing me to the right or the left. It was nearly impossible (I really lucked out) to pick up your stuff at the finish, since bags were just dumped in enormous bins with thousands of other bags. No food at the finish? Also, the line for the shuttle back to the start looked like it would take hours to get through, so I ended up walking 2 miles or so back to the start, which is also a very confusing area. I ended up hitching a ride with some nice people back to the hotel, because I had no idea where the shuttle pickup was. The Fashion Island Mall is a very big, very confusing complex. My suggestions (if the race organizers ever read this site): 1. Alter the course to make it less confusing, and mark it better. I think most people hate the U-turns as much as I do. 2. Either move the start/finish closer together, or improve the shuttle system. 3. Either start the races at different times, or organize the half/marathon merge so that runners won't have to dodge walkers. 4. The expo was good, but the location was very strange and not very close to anything else. 5. Some low-cost simple OCM shwag would have been nice. I would have liked to buy some cheap OCM running hats, socks, etc, but I didn't want to spend the money on an expensive shirt or jacket. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience, and the organizational glitches were not unexpected for a first-time event. I imagine I'll be back. | |
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A. S. from Blue State
(12/9/2004)
"Knucklehead Turns, Cruel Finish line" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The traffic snarl to park was unnecessary: 4 lanes of traffic funneled to 1, moving at standard light-change intervals. Could have used police traffic control. No time to find porta-johns at the start (where were they?). Course was okay: plenty of elbow room through the first miles. Open utility hole in road at 3 miles could have caused serious injury to someone preoccupied with a running conversation. Entertainment along the course was missing. Thought I heard a kazoo, but it was a runner wheezing. 'Cul-de-sac' type loops were a little annoying, but become an issue later. Mile markers were erratic. Support at every mile was great. Return on the bike path was good. Insecticide-spraying under the bridge was puzzling. You sucked in the fumes even if you didn't get sprayed. Finish line was a disaster: - They had kids' races running into the finishing half-marathoners. - The Mylar blankets were gone. At least they gave us garbage bags. - Plenty of water around but no food. - Return to parking by shuttle was poorly planned. I had to choose to walk 2 miles back to the car (volunteer sent us back the long way up the hill) to avoid getting hyperthermia by standing for an hour in the rain for the bus. Shuttles would not be needed if a few of those mid-course out-and-backs were omitted so the finish would be closer to the start. ...And my medal's ribbon broke! Lots of things need to be fixed before this race is considered a premier event. | |
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D. O. from Woodland Hills, CA
(12/8/2004)
"Overall, a good race" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Despite the handful of organizational glitches (expected for a first-time event), I enjoyed running in the OC. The course was reasonably flat with no major hills. I liked the view of the bay the last few miles. The rain didn't bother me. It was much nicer than running in the heat at the LA Marathon earlier this year. The number of fans was small, but I give a lot of credit to the ones who showed up to cheer us on in the rain. | |
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R. S. from Illinois
(12/8/2004)
"Polish will make it perfect!" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I completed the half-marathon. The good points were: the medal was colorful and unique. the half course was fast and seemed nearly all level or downhill. The workers were all friendly and very helpful. The area was great for a vacation for an out-of-stater like myself. And for a first-time event I believe the money they raised for kids was terrific! I hope the organizers read my other points. Coming from out of state, your expo was hard to find, and the chamber people were helpful considering they really didn't know much about the event. Parking at the expo was very limited. I had to wait for someone to leave. I didn't see any sweats or shirts to buy with the OC event logo except for the New Balance booth with a very limited and costly selection of blah items. Many were grumbling when told the race would be late due to a couple thousand runners tied up with parking problems. But turns out they never showed anyway. It was too cold and windy and your brochure said come early. Also maybe this event should be moved ahead a few weeks. Sharing a lot with thousands of Christmas shoppers made the mess at the end. But having more than a few buses to move a few thousand runners in between several thousand shoppers and spectators would help. I realize weather can't be helped. And I realize first events are hard. I would do this one again and recommend it to anyone once it's polished up. | |
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J. A. from San Diego, CA
(12/8/2004)
"Overall not too shabby" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I actually liked the course. Mostly flat and I didn't mind running on the bike path for most of the time. Finishing the last 3 miles on Backbay Dr. was cool. Didn't like the numerous 180 degree hairpin turns. Degrade for that. I can't blame the fans for not showing up as it was cold and raining. Plus, the inaugural ones will always lack fans. 3 stars for potential. Would be a 5 if the girls from 'The OC' were there...sorry, wishful thinking. The organization was inexcusable, even if it was the 1st. The forecast was known for a full week that is was going to be cold and raining. The finish was utter chaos because not enough buses were deployed! People were freezing in the cold, windy, rain waiting for the shuttles! I was lucky that my sis picked me up at the finish. The start area was way too crowded to do a 1/2 and full M at the same time. The traffic getting into Fashion Island was horrendous also. Hopefully these are problems they will remedy for next year. | |
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J. J. from Valley Village, California
(12/7/2004)
"Wet, Cold, Glad I Did It" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 It was my first marathon so my comments aren't as well traveled as others. Being inaugural, there were the usual glitches for being the first-time out, but I'd like to thank all the volunteers for being there, especially in the cold and rain. You guys rock! I pre-ran most of this course on a sunny day and I liked it. Makes it a shame the pretty section, the back-bay, is the last third of the course when you have the least amount of energy to notice it. Fortunately, I stayed at the Hyatt, which was next to the finish line. Good call to stay an extra day. | |
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Northern California Runner from Northern CA
(12/7/2004)
"horrible marathon overall" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 First off, the volunteers were very friendly and tried to be helpful... if anything, there were too many volunteers. Otherwise, this race was horrible. * Pitiful communication from the race directors. An e-mail I sent to them 6 days before the race was never responded to. * Expo was held in an industrial park, in a vacant trucking warehouse. The small parking lot had speed bumps so high that you needed an SUV or pickup to navigate them. Those of us in cars (me included) ended up getting the undercarriages of our cars banged and scraped on the speedbumps. * Getting to the marathon was a DISASTER. I followed the race directions, and the three-lane road getting to the parking area was coned down to ONE LANE. Traffic was backed up for miles. I'm certain many runners were not able to make the start. Porta-potty lines were still 6 to 7 deep with bibbed runners 15 to 20 minutes after the start. * Race organization didn't attempt to enforce lining up by pace at the start. * Very boring course. Spectators along the route mostly consisted of volunteers. * Finish line was another DISASTER. The weather was cold with wind and rain, and there was no sheltered area at the finish to towel off and put on some dry clothes. Runners were forced to walk a long way to get out of the fenced off finish area. I could say much more of the same. Forget this race. | |
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G. D. from Temple City, CA
(12/7/2004)
"Nice course, but hypothermia in SoCal?" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 OC Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I was quite looking forward to this event as I was familiar with the area as a student at UC Irvine 15 years ago. The course was fairly enjoyable, and the last few miles on the Back Bay trail was a very nice touch. Unfortunately people in Southern California are not used to bad weather, and the rain probably kept most of the bands, cheerleaders and spectators away (bands, what bands?). On the other hand, the volunteers were all very enthusiastic and supportive throughout, and fluids were plentiful throughout the course. As for porta-potties, it seemed that there was exactly ONE of those per mile except at the start and finish. With the rainy weather, I wouldn't be surprised if not a few participants took a leak in their shorts, since no one else would have known it. I'd have to agree with the earlier comments about the finish line area problems, especially the lack of adequate shuttle bus transportation back to the parking lots. Many of us ended up walking back in the rain, and not a few of us seemed to have gotten lost on the way. It felt somewhat odd walking around in wet shorts and standard-issue plastic bags mingling with holiday shoppers at Fashion Island. There was, however, one silver lining to all this - since I spent all that time walking around in the rain, my legs were pretty well-iced by the time I got to my car, and I felt much less soreness than usual the next day. |
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