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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 3.8 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 4.4
Number of comments: 473 [displaying comments 181 to 191]
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E. C. from OC
(3/18/2008)
"Bottleneck!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I prefer the old course prior to the 2007 change, but only because of the huge bottleneck at the beginning. When are they going to implement corrals (not just for the super fast folks) and do wave starts for everyone? Some of those walkers/joggers that insist on lining up behind those elite runners are going to get trampled over one of these days! Allowing us to use the Metro system is the best idea since sliced bread! | |
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D. A. from WEST hOLLYWOOD Ca. USA
(3/18/2008)
"Mi sono divertito molto. Bravo L.A.!!" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Had the most enjoyable time of my life. The red line was great; no hassle getting to the start. The people were great - very helpful. Great way to see L.A... the beautiful people all through the course. Bravo, L.A.! Thanks for the 26.2 miles. | |
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C. S. from LA, CA
(3/14/2008)
"Why not have the LAM in February, when it's cooler" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran LAM '08 as my first marathon. I think it would be great if the LAM could be in February as apposed to March (it begins really to warm up in LA in March). Every year it's been really warm. | |
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T. C. from California
(3/10/2008)
"A HUGE disappointment this year...." (about: 2008)
2 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Wow.... This was the worst! I ran it in 2006 and loved the course, the gels and Clif Shots they gave - even the expo and goody bag were awesome. But this year, it SUCKED!! Who organized this one? Whoever did it... they need to be fired! The course was basically through the worst areas of LA. NO gels, or Clif Shot blocks... NOTHING. Just water and Gatorade. SO disappointed!!! Also, the goody bag was full of paper! Nothing more. Well, there was a protein bar and some pain relief patches. But that's basically it. I could not believe it! This is my last year running LA. No more! You guys screwed up BIG TIME this year! | |
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D. K. from Rancho Cucamonga, CA
(3/9/2008)
"A Good Marathon that Could be Great!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my third L.A. Marathon. In my opinion this is a media-driven event, not a runner-driven event. Hence, many of the comments of other runners: no corrals, limited entertainment along the course, late start time, not enough port-a-potties. Many of these are choices by the organizers to cater to the media or cut costs. Without making changes this race will not grow and gain the reputation of the races in other large cities. The course is not easy, but is not as tough as some make it sound. Understanding the pacing requirements of the course and not running the hills too hard in the first six miles are critical. The first 1.5 miles are uphill and can hurt the rest of your race if you push too hard. Ditto to the next 4-5 miles of downhill. I PR'd this year (my 12th marathon) because of good pacing and careful hydrating. The late start leads to warm temps at the later stages of the race and requires careful hydration and running in shade wherever possible. The variety in neighborhoods throughout L.A. is interesting and highlighted throughout the course. This is L.A.; it is not beautiful and it is not the beach! The spectators are great. I noticed many more neighborhoods and families out in support this year over 2007. Keeping the course the same will encourage more and more of this. You don't have the constant support of N.Y., Chicago or Boston, but there are a lot of people along the course. Lots of food and water at the finish line. | |
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bike los angeles! from Los Angeles, CA
(3/8/2008)
"profit, profit, profit" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I love Los Angeles and it is great to run a marathon in the city I live in. Positives: Public transport to the start. I bet many runners didn't even know LA has multiple train lines! Spectators can use the trains to see runners at a few spots along the route. The crowd. The course runs through many different neighborhoods and the people there come out, cheer you on and give you water and snacks. Negative: Late start time. No gels on course. They get cheaper every year and for 2008 eliminated having gels. The logistics at the end. "Congratulations, you've just finished the marathon; now walk through a giant crowd we have funneled through a food-court." They close off all the side streets so that you are forced to walk many blocks in the opposite direction of the train just so you have to walk past all the sponsors selling ridiculously-priced food. So frustrating! | |
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Tim McGinty from Cleveland
(3/7/2008)
"Race Worthy of the Stars!!!" (about: 2008)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I loved this race! After reading some of the Marathon Guide comments beforehand, I was expecting a tough course. But I found it to be one of the most pleasant marathons I've ever run. The first 10K are lightning fast (even with the 1.5-mile mild uphill start) and the rest of the course is pretty flat. The race was extremely well organized and staffed. The start was interesting, especially with the women given a head start of 19 minutes and the men offered a $100K if they could catch 'em (they didn't). The Olympic torch relay take off after the Star Spangled Banner by LAPD honoring their recently fallen comrade was tremendous. The crowds and the sights though Hollywood were downright fun - even more so because it was still a fast downhill grade and we felt like Jesse Owens. I got a kick out of the mansions as well as the enthusiastic crowds in the barrio (one street vendor offered me a taco when I joked I was hungry). It was entertaining to hear the on-course bands and I liked going through the Coliseum area. The big hill promised going into downtown must have evaporated, because all that was there was typical overpass hump. The volunteers were abundant and no shortage of water or sport drink at any of the 26 stations. The friendly crowds downtown pushed me right into a good finish. The finish line was organized as nicely as the rest of the marathon. The medal is designed to look like the '84 Olympic golds, complete with the red ribbon. The post-race offerings, bottles of juice, yogurt, cookies, and over-sized chocolate/protein bars hit the spot. It was to much to wolf down standing, so I walked over to the grassy area on the hill, laid in the sun, and listened to a first class band entertain us. After a bit of a nap after that over-sized lunch, I took a stroll around the "aluminum wrap" Disney Music Hall, found the subway station, showed my bib number, and took the free ride back to my car at the Universal Studio's starting line. Some of the guys were going directly from the train to take the studio tour, but I headed back to my hotel for an easy swim. For the past 25 years I've run marathons all over the country, but LA has more fun than any other one. This is a class event! I left with a very positive impression of an lively and beautiful city. It certainly was not the city I had imagined from the news. | |
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T. S. from Brockton, Ma
(3/6/2008)
"I loved it!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I would to do this one again! Yes, it was hot, but run in the shade if it is there - it makes a difference! So many of us weren't doing that. Very well organized for a big race. It made you feel welcome. Signs and billboards were everywhere. A very international presence to it. One tip though: I and others walked right by our bags at the finish line and had to double back through the runners to claim them. No easy task. | |
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G. H. from People's Republic of Berkeley
(3/5/2008)
"Never again" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 My spouse ran this race in '04 and '06, so we tried this year. Changing the course was bad and the second half is really dreary. The spectators are great but the second part of the course kills the soul, especially the hill at mile 22. The students run LA; participants are cute but are mostly way under-prepared, texting or on cellphones, or listening to iPods and really getting in the way if you run over 5 hours. The race starts too late. At the finish they act like they don't want to give you a medal and you could only feel disgust as they ran out of blankets (and you saw plenty in the trash or with non-runners, but they could only tell you to buy one - after you have run 26+ miles). The goody bag was fit for a small 5K - it was not the great bag they are known for - and the expo was really a car show. Never again. | |
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T. L. from Canyon Country, CA
(3/5/2008)
"Good tour of the city; improvement would be easy" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 First and foremost: an army travels on its stomach, and a marathon stands or falls on sanitation. Same problem as 2007. With approximately 25,000 runners, spectators, and volunteers crowding into the starting area, you'd think someone would realize that a crowd this size needs a lot of porta-potties. There were fewer than 100 total, some on the bridge over the 101 and more on Cahuenga north of the starting line. Only 100 potties for 25,000 people? That's not a porta-potty; that's a porta-pittance. And with that much demand, the johns were all out of toilet paper over an hour before the start. For a registration fee of up to $115, I don't expect to have to bring my own TP. The sanitation situation aside, this is an enjoyable race. It's a great tour of many of the neighborhoods in greater Los Angeles. Personally, I like the East L.A. portion - Boyle has some shade - and the return across the Sixth Street Bridge is gorgeous. The fan support in the areas around USC was considerable. (Hint to complainers: smile and yell, "Thank you spectators!" and they will clap and cheer and feed you energy. They're out there for hours watching you run; you can darned well thank them for their support!) Water stations were plentiful, fire hoses welcome (though you should wear tech socks to avoid blisters if your shoes get wet, which you should be doing anyway), and nobody said there would be gels on the course this year. I did worry about the slipperiness where the spectators were handing out bananas and oranges; more trash bins would help. And I'm very glad nobody has suggested finishing the race by the Music Center and the Disney Hall. If you think the incline up Flower from Seventh to Fifth is bad at the end, think about climbing all of Bunker Hill. My seventh LAM, and whereas I've never done particularly well here, I like it and will continue to run it. But I will make sure to sign up as late as possible to avoid the bombardment of emails exhorting me to buy merchandise, raise funds for charity, sign up with a training group, and so on. I just want to run the race! |
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