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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 11 to 21]
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B. C. from Worcester, MA
(3/10/2016)
"LA's fine, the sunshines most of the time..." (about: 2016)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Neil Diamond got it right for this Boston boy who made the trip to the LA Marathon. I loved the course and scenic trip thru Los Angeles. Add this race to your destination marathons and be pleased. Some notes are in order: 1. The course was much hillier than I would have imagined. 1-2 mile sloping uphills met with steep downhills. I found myself seldom on flat route for long stretches. 2. The last 6.2 miles was a party while running downhill. Save your quads because its a 6.2 mile run down to the shore (shows you how high up we were). I welcomed the party tents lined along both sides of the road. Enthusiasm +++. 3. Getting to the start was a mess. Not being near a race bus, my cab could only drop me off at the bottom of the Dodger Stadium entrance. A 1 mile uphill walk in the dark with impatient cars & buses buzzing me. Its a miracle no one was killed. Either have us all walk the hill safely or only allow buses. 4. Aid stations, volunteers and supplies were first class for a big city race. 5. Loved the finish line in Santa Monica. Check out the showers for the surfers for a post race rinse off on the beach. Surprised no one used them. Orlando Bloom was sitting next to me while I ate lunch. It's LA man! 6. Expect a $120 Uber ride back to town! 7. Keep the race in February. It was hot enough. I can't imagine why its held in March for 2017. | |
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L. S. from Goodyear, AZ.
(2/22/2016)
"Great place to plan a vacation around a race." (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Things that are awesome: 1) spectator support and the spectators who are passing out food they brought 2) awesome course (nice finish) 3) lots of things to do in L.A. Things that are not so awesome: 1) For the price of the registration fee, it is shameful that the L.A. marathon charges to park for the expo and for the parking of the day of the race 2) the food at the finish line was minimal could have had chocolate milk/bottled gatorade. Overall, the course and the organization were awesome but this has the potential of being one of the top races in the western United States if they would consider realigning their registration fee to coincide with Rock n Roll and to consider free parking as well as maximizing their finish line food area. | |
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B. G. from Cupertino, CA
(2/20/2016)
"Great support, but could use better organization" (about: 2016)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I stayed downtown at the Westin (in order to see the trials and be close to the expo). I thought this was a good choice, and the shuttle to the start was easy (right near the Westin). I had signed up for 'premier race day hospitality'. People at the expo gave me a VIP sticker and told me to go to the VIP area on race day. I mentioned premier race day, and they said that was something else that they didn't know about. On race day, we went to the VIP area as told (which was wrong). Once, we found it, the 'premier race day' was just a tent with some bagels. The 'private rest rooms' were just 10 porta-potties that had 20 minute lines. This was not a worthwhile expense. However, they did offer same day bib pick-up with this premier race day, so locals could avoid an extra trip to downtown on a Saturday. I really enjoyed the race. It felt that there was almost a continuous water stop when you included the stops every mile and the additional people handing out bottles of water. One recommendation; it seemed like the plan was to have gatorade first (in gatorade cups) followed by water (in blue cups). But, this wasn't followed well. At most of the stops, the water was intermixed with the Gatorade, and gatorade cups sometimes had gatorade and sometimes had water (I think more education to the volunteers is needed with respect to this). The course was fun (though somehow I didn't notice a lot of the landmarks I was expecting to see). I didn't notice any problems with the mile markers that others had; I saw them all. I would however, have liked to have seen a 1/2 marathon split/time. There wasn't even a marker for the 1/2 marathon point. The sun/heat around mile 19-22 was difficult, but the last three miles into Santa Monica saved me. I struggled a bit, but was still able to BQ by over 15min, so was happy about that. I think I'd run this marathon again with hopefully cooler weather. Though I don't think I'd opt for the premier race day hospitality next time. | |
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R. C. from Los Angeles, CA
(2/20/2016)
"Overall great run, but cheap shirt and medal mixup" (about: 2016)
4-5 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is my 4th LA Marathon, and I did see increased water/gatorade stops. Spectators better than last year, and entertainment lasting longer as well. Veteran's detour was more painful, but ok. My biggest complaint will be the initial Medal they gave me was small with no words on the medal and lacked the graphics on the necklace part. Not sure who those were for, but I walked 1 mile to my car and my husband convinced me to walk back and get the right one. I was hesitant due to soreness, but I'm so glad I made the extra 2 mile trek to get the proper medal. Before realizing it was wrong, I know of some legacy runners who got the same lame medal as I initially got and that is terrible. Someone dropped the ball big time there. As far as the marathon shirt. I only wore it once and I washed in cold and air dried and all the graphics and writing is falling off. If there is a section to post a picture I will. Other than those 2 things I had an awesome time! | |
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B. J. from Los Angeles
(2/19/2016)
"Go back to the mile markers used in the past" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The course was poorly marked I didn't see a single mile marker until Mile 11 and then they seemed sporadic until Mile 16 in Beverly Hills. In the past this race has used big inflatable arches that were visible from a distance. The cardboard towers with the non-functioning time clocks that you had this year were not effective and not representative of a world class marathon. I'm not sure if the decision to go with something less effective is due to the change in presenting sponsor and the former sponsor's name on the inflatable arches, but this just wasn't good to run almost the entire first half and not be sure how far into the course I was. This is my 4th LA marathon since 2005 and 3rd time on the Stadium to Sea course so I know how it should be done right. You simply blew it with this year's mile markers. I give high marks for the ease of getting into seeded corrals and the effectiveness of security to make sure only those registered got in. Water stations were plentiful and well-manned. Fix the mile marker issue and you'll go a long way to getting me to return to this event. | |
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D. G. from Michigan
(2/19/2016)
"Needs a few fixes to be Great" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 So first of all, kudos to the Volunteers and Spectators - first rate! Next, it is a really nice course, but perhaps a bit hillier than expected/advertised. Third - it should not be moved back to March - it was hot enough in February! I downgraded the Organization on three key points: 1) The documentation provided did not make it clear exactly where to go to catch the shuttle buses in Santa Monica to the start area - I had to ask at the help desk to be sure. 2) The starting area was poorly organized. The only way I could find to get to the seeded corrals from the Porta-Potties was to fight my way through the crowded open corral - they should be located on the side of the corral that you enter through, or even put some in the corrals. You have a lot of room at Dodger Stadium to make this better. I saw several people peeing in the corrals before the race because they could not get to the Portos with any hope of getting back into the corrals. 3. Bag check and retrieval needs work - having a tag to tear off of your BIB with no good way to attach it to the bag is not the way to do it - organizing alphabetically seemed to make things worse because apparently the bags were not ordered by number within the alphabetical range - my wife waited an hour to get her bag. | |
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YV RK from Canada
(2/18/2016)
"Great but room to improve" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Hot but organizers seemed to ensure that all 22 hydration stations had plenty of water and Gatorade. The great people of LA lined the course starting around mile 7, with many even supplying their own bottled water, coke, pretzels, red licorice, and even beer to runners. My only complaint would be getting into the Stadium and getting out of Santa Monica. We paid online for a parking spot through the marathon website in Santa Monica, but the lot was supposedly full. My wife missed my finish because there was simply nowhere to park. The attendant said that paying for a spot didn't guarantee you would actually get a spot, which I find hard to understand. The only entrance for drop off and parking was bottleneck on I5. Inside the stadium area, attendants frantically barked at car drivers, even swearing at them, rushing to get everyone in for the start. It was chaotic to say the least. If you get dropped off next year, go as early as possible, like 5am to be sure you are not late. Otherwise, this is a great city and great course, with very friendly supportive fans. I would like to say a huge thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who made this a great event. | |
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T. L. from Dallas, Texas
(2/17/2016)
"Great course! Finish area needs work" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my 41st different marathon. The course was scenic from start to finish, lined with diverse groups of peoplevery entertaining. The water stops, although busy with the heat, were efficient, and there were many of them. The gear bag was a disaster. It took us over an hour to find and retrieve our bags at the finish. The beer tent was a disaster too. The space was way too small and overwhelmed. We didn't even bother. | |
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Marc Phelps from California
(2/17/2016)
"Terrific Experience" (about: 2016)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is one of my favorite races. The course is a beautiful tour of the city, and running on streets normally gridlocked by traffic through the various neighborhoods is fantastic. Beware, the race is generally very hot and the first half is very hilly, so your quads will suffer on the back half; this is not a PR race. Fan support is second only to Chicago and of course NYC. Lots of handouts of popsicles, banana, oranges etc from spectators. Medal was great in 2016. Dodger Stadium is a great staging area for the start. Bag check always an issue in this race for some reason, they seem to have trouble getting this simple aspect down. Other than that I find it always well organized and a pleasure. Will likely run again next year. No notable differences in the transition from Asics to Sketchers sponsorship - better medal than in the past, less good mile markers. The expo is one of the better ones (not as good as R n R, but better than most other races). Overall I would absolutely recommend this race. | |
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Old Runner from Missouri
(2/16/2016)
"Great spectators and community support" (about: 2016)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The logistics of the shuttles and the finish so far from the start are murder. Folks waited for hours at Dodger Stadium after being dropped off by the shuttles. Parking and traffic near the finish were madness. The miles are poorly marked, and almost none of the on-course clocks worked. Food at the finish was a joke for such an expensive event. The medal was quite nice. This race seems to draw tons of first-time marathoners, and they bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm. The support along the course was excellent from volunteers, community groups, and neighbors. On the whole, a good experience. The Embassy Suites near LAX was great to me. Highly recommended. |
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