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Malibu International Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Malibu International Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.1 
Organization 3.4 
Spectators 2.5
Number of comments: 48 [displaying comments 21 to 31]
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I. S. from LA
(8/15/2011)
"Awesome run with fantastic people." (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Malibu International Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'm a legacy runner and I think this is one of the best marathons and I have ran a few. The scenery, people and atmosphere are fantastic. | |
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k. M. from Long Beach, Calif
(8/11/2011)
"BREATH TAKING COSTAL VIEWS..FUN TO RUN" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Malibu International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Last year was my first race in Malibu but it was great. Smaller than my usual in number but waiting to start the run on the sandy beach felt home town. Beautiful ocean views most of the run. I am doing it again this year. | |
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J. S. from Los Angeles
(8/11/2011)
"Beuatiful course!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Malibu International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran the half marathon last year as my first ever race. I thought it was an amazingly beautiful course and everything was well done. I'm planning to do it again this year! | |
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M. K. from Pasadena, CA
(8/9/2011)
"Great view can't be beat!" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Malibu International Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Loved the race. Running along the ocean is the perfect way to complete a marathon or half. The organizers have a rough time with Malibu being notoriously strict but every year it keeps getting better. Definitely a race you should do. The local friendly vibe plus the ocean keeps me going! | |
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J. L. from Seattle, Washington
(8/5/2011)
"I enjoyed the 1/2 marathon last year." (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Malibu International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Hello! I enjoyed the 1/2 marathon last year and plan to go back again this year. I think we will see more water stops and for everyone's sanity, please ditch the coconut stuff. Gatorade would be so much better. But, that is all I can complain about. It was a beautiful day, beautiful view of the ocean and a great start for the 1/2 marathon right on the beach. I am from Seattle, and really enjoyed the sand and sun! More water stops would be great...but, I bet you are planning on that! Loved loved loved my towel. Fun to bring and show off at Yoga! Hope there are towels for this year too. Thanks for all your work. Judy | |
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K. S. from United States
(8/4/2011)
"Small but enjoyable race" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Malibu International Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran this during the early part of my training season for LA Marathon 2011, and found it for the most part very enjoyable. The opening miles are a little boring but once you get out on PCH it's quite spectacular. The cyclists were annoying, as expected, and water stations were a bit hard to come by, but for a small (<600 full marathoners), a good run. Definitely going to see about repeating this year. | |
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m. D. from SAN FERNANDO VALLEY
(8/3/2011)
"hard coyrse but great race" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Malibu International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first half marathon. The hills were difficult and challenging but well organized. The expo was small, since its a new race. Race support was present for the half, and it was awesome that every finishers name was announced as they crossed the finish line. | |
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J. A. from Malibu
(8/3/2011)
"I have run twice and was hit with bogus fees" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Malibu International Marathons
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The first year I ran I was given a discount code but that was moot because they then added another non advertised clean water fee of ten dollars per runner on top of that! That's a sneaky way of getting extra money from us. It's expensive enough as it is. Why be deceptive in advertising. Then someone from the race told me I would get my fee returned and of course it never happened. The people running the race were also rude to me when I tried to explain what happened. | |
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A. H. from Los Angeles
(8/3/2011)
"Great Course and Views, Logistics Needs Improvemen" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Malibu International Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I did rate 'spectators' as a 1. While this is true, spectators in this race are non-existent, this is mainly because the races takes place on a major highway overlooking the ocean. Logistically, this is a very hard course for Spectators. HOWEVER, the fact that these guys were able to pull of a marathon on PCH is an amazing feat in its own. Where else are you going to hold a MAJOR marathon in the heart of Malibu if it's not on PCH, offering the most beautiful views Malibu has to offer. While bad for spectators, good for the scenery. Can't have it all, right? Let's move on.... So, two of the biggest issues I had with Malibu marathon are: 1. Half Marathoners start exactly 90 minutes after the Full RIGHT from the 13.1 mile mark on course. If you're trying to pull off some kind of a time goal, at mile 13.1 you will have to run through 2000 half marathoners that will set you back a few minutes. I really hope that the organizers fix this as I am sure that this was something that was overlooked. If you reach mile 13.1 in under 90, you don't have this problem but that's clearly applicable for only a few full marathon runners. 2. Lack of REAL sport drink. Coconut water is good and provides some electrolytes, but it's not comparable to major sport drink counterpart (although marketing folks at coconut water would like you to believe it is). I get the 'greenness' of the event, but most people don't train with it and having it on course for the first time can be bad. To their own defense, Coconut water was advertised way in advance on their website so people had plenty of opportunity to train with it. But it doesn't work for me as it gives me terrible stomach cramps. Towards the end of the marathon, starting at mile 18ish, aid stations ran out of coconut water. Plain water was the only option... If you're going to charge $150 for an event, make sure you have plenty of on course support. Besides these two points that I considered 'negative', Malibu Marathon is truly an AMAZING event. It's a challenging marathon with spectacular views of the pacific ocean. When the going gets rough, all one needs to do is look to their right and watch the dolphins play. How many marathon in all honesty have this kind of beauty? I command these guys for pulling off a major marathon in Malibu. This marathon will be in its 3rd year and I am confident that as the years go by, it will grow to a near perfect event. Who ran LA in 2010? What a mess that was during the introduction of the new course. Let's not place too much blame on the organizers as a lot of it isn't their fault (spectators). I found expo small, intimate, easy to get to, and informative. No problems there. Small expos mean less money blown on useless stuff. True, it was in a beach parking lot, but it was also in front of the most beautiful beach in So Cal... after picking up race materials, I was able to walk on sand, put my feet in water, and lay on sand while reading a book. How many expos give you the opportunity to do this? To conclude, I loved Malibu marathon and I cannot wait to run it again. | |
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J. H. from California
(8/3/2011)
"Challenging course that needs logistical help" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Malibu International Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 First off, I DO plan to run this race again in 2011, mainly because I am local and because I enjoy a challenge. The conditions were dry and warm in 2010, with a strong headwind over portions of PCH. I have run over 30 marathons. This is the first one I can recall where I literally CRAMPED UP on the course. No, I did not 'hit the wall' but my legs were cramping. Why? Because THERE WERE NO ELECTROLYTES ON THE COURSE. Or maybe they were hidden in some special geocache or something. I certainly could not find one ounce of an electrolyte replacement drink along the course. One single time I saw Coconut Water but it was so far away from the actual course and no one was working the table they I couldn't even get that. It sucked. And even the water stops seemed rare. I passed by a few unmanned tables with boxes of water. Get some freekin electrolytes on the course next year for pete's sake. This was utterly ridiculous. The headwinds at Mugu Rock were so strong that they blew my cap off. Be mentally prepared for that. This is a P.R. course only for beginners or those that have made some major training advances. The hills are the end are pretty brutal, made worse by legs cramping up. This year I'll have to bring my own salt tablets or something, which I've never had to do before in a marathon. I find it comical that they call it the Malibu Marathon yet only the last 5 or 6 miles of the course are in Malibu, but that's o.k. The t-shirt 'issue' didn't bother me. Hey, we got a nice towel out of the deal. What bothered me last year is that I purchased way far in advance to get the early bird discounts and such, then, like 6 or 8 weeks prior to the race, I notice they're doing a Groupon half price deal. So here I am, serious runner, planning far in advance, paying double what all these other runners paid, less prepared for the race. That also sucks. If that happens again in ANY race I sign up for, I'm asking for a refund. Not fair. All that said, I do want to go back and attack those final hills, this time without cramps. Hopefully the organizers 'get it' this year and provide electrolyte drinks every mile or two. Ditch the towel, the t-shirt, even the medal if you want...just get me some Gatorade or whatever along the course. Is that asking for too much? |
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