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City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) Runner Comments

Back to City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) Information & Reviews

Course Rating Course 3.8 
 
Oranization Rating Organization 3.6 
 
Spectator Rating Spectators 4.4 
 
 
Number of comments: 473 [displaying comments 111 to 121]
More Comments: [ < 1 .. 10 11 12 13 14 .. 47 > ]

 

M. N. from Kansas Cityl, MO (3/24/2010)
"Not well Organized" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 2  FANS: 5


I think they took on more than they could handle. They ran out of shirts on mid-day on Saturday for men, which made no sense to me if they knew how many were signed up and the fact they had asked our sizes before the race. Race day start was a mess. Only one lane for drop off which created a huge bottleneck and backed traffic up on the freeway for miles. Luckily, we had a person not running with us so we got out of the car and walked in 2 miles to get to the start. Then, they delayed the start almost 30 minutes to allow for more people to get there and left us waiting in the corrals for way too long. I relly think everything would have been fine if they would have capped it at 20,000 and stuck to it. Rumors are they kept taking runners well over the 25K cap.

 

D. L. from Riverside,CA (3/24/2010)
"The Good ,The Bad and The Ugly" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 2  FANS: 5


The Good
1.Course was outstanding,a few more ups & downs than thought would be there but most enjoyable.
2.Spectators & volunteers were fantastic. Was even surprised by the support in Beverly Hills & Brentwood.
3.The bling(medal) was top notch.
4.Thanks Frank for opening your stadium for everybody. A great way to relax before the race.

The Bad
1.No GU or GU type of energy gel or food on the course. Also the water stops were a little confusing the cups said Poweraide but would have water or visa versa.
2.The expo was cramped & crowded which seemed silly since we were in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium.
3. The shirt was nice just expected to see a referance to the 25th or the new course on the shirt.

The Ugly
1.The start needs to get organized with corrals that work.San Francisco Marathon does a fantastic job with there start. You would think 25 years later they would have it figured out.
2.I know they have no control on the weather but you need to start the race earlier.No reason not to start everthing at 5:30- 6:00 to help beat the heat.

Now with all that said I did enjoy the race and I will be back. But you want to be a World Class race tighten things up a bit and you will be.

 

B. U. from bulrich001@gmail.com (3/24/2010)
"Great Start" (about: 2010)

1 previous marathon | 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 5  FANS: 4


This was my first Marathon and it was a great start to learning and working towards many more personal goals in running. Thank you.

 

A. B. from Burbank, CA (3/24/2010)
"Great new course- worth the trip" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


I am an LA local with the goal to run in all 50 states. This was my 15th marathon, I've already run CA, and I only ran this race because of the new course. Finishing at the beach?!!? I'm there! The expo is outdoors, which was a little odd but seemed to work. It was crowed! Go on Friday if you can. Way too many people there on Saturday. Hopefully the organizers will spread out a little next year. Tons of samples but not much LA marathon stuff to buy.
The course is really hilly, so prepare for that. There was plenty of water (I was running at 6hr race so was near the back. They didn't run out of water or sports drink.) There was no Gu given so bring your own food. Plenty of porta-potties and very easy to follow course.
The spectators were wonderful and hats off to all the Angelenos who were stuck at home due to the road closures and still cheered us on. This race showed people that LA has nice people and supports runners.
I recommend this race to anyone who likes BIG races. You are never left alone and there is always someone to cheer you on or talk to. This race is worth it!

 

Anthony Pirro from Granada Hills, California (3/24/2010)
"First full marathon was a sucesss!!!" (about: 2010)

1 previous marathon | 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 4  FANS: 5


I'm just writing this top let everyone know how much fun I had running my first full marathon. I was so excited about being able to do a full marathon, have completed 7 half marathons starting in 2008, and LA was my first full marathon. I loved the course it was like taking a trip and seeing all sorts of fun and neat places i've always seen on TV but never seen in person. Really looking forward to next year. Thanks to all the volunteers and race coordinators, see you in 2011!!!

 

C. M. from SF California (3/24/2010)
"Logistics Need Improvement" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3  ORGANIZATION: 2  FANS: 3


The new course was definitely hillier than advertised. Expectations should be adjusted so that people are aware of the hills. The logistics seemed amateurish. Barely any signs, and clearly no training for the staff. Buses were late to the start. Parking at the finish was a scam. Paid for a reserved spot, yet required to pay an additional $10 that morning. In short, it seemed like a little marathon got big overnight. Internet info. and updates from organizers was very helpful.

 

J. F. from Victoria, BC (3/24/2010)
"Outstanding Course and Fans" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 1  FANS: 5


Thank you LA for such a great race. The fan support was as good as Boston and NYC! I ran this race 3 years ago and returned when I heard about the new course.

The course was tough with many hills and was challenging. The fans were manic and deep throughout. The drums at mile 4, the colourful cheerers in West Hollywood, the Nike store green monsters?, the high school bands on Santa Monica Blvd (Wellesly loud), feeling the cool ocean breeze after the 405 and the incredible throngs of cheering crowds in Santa Monica were all highlights. ...and I think I spotted Elvis on a shuttle. :)

The volunteers at the water tables and at the intersections (including the police officers) did an amazing job! Thank you, thank you and thank you!!!

If LAM puts some effort into the logistics...MOVE the EXPO back to the convention centre and give the major brands (asics, adidas, NB) the space and encouragement to show up it will elevate the race. As it was, the race expo felt like a flea market. Way too crowded and narrow for 25,000 runners and their families to circulate.

Unfortunately, the start of the race was a fiasco. Race was a half hour late to start (I've never heard of this happening ever). There were traffic jams to the start and tons of runners had to hoof it up the hill under huge stress to get to start line and likely did not enough time to get to a porta-potty. Control to the 4 hour corral was lost as it flooded with runners without 4-hour wrist bands. This combined with a half hour delay made for an interesting start.

So there it is, the good the bad and the ugly. If LA truly wants a world class race, they have a beautiful course and incredible fans, now all they need is to solve their front end operational logistics.

Randy Newman's I LOVE LA was a great way to start the race. Made my blood boil!

RTYP

 

T. C. from Carmel, Indiana (3/23/2010)
"Love LA" (about: 2010)

11-50 previous marathons | 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 5


My first time going to an expo that was outdoors. What a great idea.

Wow, I love the new course, from start to finish.

Police officers and volunteers, you are the very best. Thank you.

Students Run LA, you ARE an inspiration to me!!!!!!

Plenty of food at the finish line.

 

K. E. from California (3/23/2010)
"worst organization ever" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons | 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 2  ORGANIZATION: 1  FANS: 1


Very poor organization from the expo, to the morning shuttles, to the timing, to the finish line and results. I'd stay away until they figure it out.

 

Christopher Sherwood from Lemoore, CA (3/23/2010)
"Awesome marathon - just a little crowded" (about: 2010)

6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4  ORGANIZATION: 3  FANS: 5


The run was nice, with challenging hills. Support from the volunteers and crowd was the best. Wish the air quality could improve, but then that wouldn't be LA. The only thing to consider is the traffic; it took two and a half hours to travel to the starting line, but LA with no traffic isn't LA. Expo needs help, but this will not stop 25,000 runners from returning to the 26th LA Marathon - at least not me.

 

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