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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 51 to 61]
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W. G. from California
(5/6/2012)
"A great tour of Los Angeles" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I'm from Southern Calif. but hadn't run LA until this year. It never appealed to me until they changed it to the Stadium to the Sea course. This was my 16th marathon so I have plenty of races for comparison. I normally don't like big city races, yet this one was enjoyable every step of the way. The course is well designed as far as providing a tour of the city. It has some challenging hills, but for every up there is a down, and the downhill final 3 miles are fast and awesome. I did not run this all-out yet was very happy with my time and ran negative splits. I think it is a course that should be run that way - save something for the 2nd half and you will be able to push it the final 3 miles. Water stations were plentiful, crowds were lively but not overwhelming like in some races, and course was not overcrowded. All in all an enjoyable race. | |
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D. K. from Rancho Cucamonga, CA
(3/30/2012)
"Great Course, Almost World Class" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have run three different L.A. courses (2006,2007,2008,2012) and the stadium to the sea course is BY FAR the best. The course is great for visitors and even better for locals. The expo could be better if it was held inside a large tent. The pre-race traffic is much improved. I got into the parking easier here than I have at races with 1/10th the number of runners. The start is a pain because too many runners ignore the corral rules and crowd to the front. Be aggressive or plan to run a really slow 1st mile. Frank McCourt has messed up the Dodgers, but he has done a decent job with the marathon. The worst thing that could happen to this race is another change in management, course, etc. Logistics and crowd support has improved every year and not changing the race will allow the logistics to get better and more spectators to get used to the course and allow the race to eventually become world class. | |
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R. F. from Chicago
(3/29/2012)
"ALMOST A World Class Race" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This was my 3rd year in a row running LA. The course is absolutely stunning! Hilly but constantly changing and entertaining. However to become a World Class Race like Chicago, Boston, and NYC here are 3 major things the need to improve on... 1) Start Line is very sloppy. 2) Aid stations need sports drink and water at each one. (they currenlty have sports drink only 3-4th aid station) 3) Expo needs to be inside. No matter how awesome LA weather is...A big time race does NOT risk the expo experience like that...(especially after 2 rainy years in a row) Don't get me wrong I love this race (mainly for its amazing course) and see it having HUGE potential....just needs better managment and planning. They need to know that they have a amazing opportunity in front of them! I will be back in 2013. | |
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Ernesto Garcia from no
(3/26/2012)
"I love the course it's gtting better and better" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Hope never changed the course. | |
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J. H. from Seattle, WA
(3/25/2012)
"A great course that keeps you motivated" (about: 2012)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 With highlights of LA every mile, this course kept me motivated during the training leading up to it, and kept me going during the race itself. The two years of monsoons during expo and race day notwithstanding (L.K., comment below: whining about rain-related 'organizational' issues is kinda unreasonable, plus it wasn't that bad, and outdoor tented expos are perfectly legit for LA), everything was well organized. The shuttle system worked like a charm. The race started on time. Volunteers and route support were great. No issues with traffic. Very unique experience to see and own all the major streets and boulevards as runners for one day. The course is NOT EASY, so don't look for PRs, but it is definitely a course that runs through 90% of all the highlights of LA. Will definitely do it again! (And there's NO WAY three years of rain in the row, so look for a sunny, dry race weekend next year. I guarantee it....I Think) | |
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W. G. from Chula Vista, CA
(3/24/2012)
"I love LA!" (about: 2012)
3 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Expo: The expo was big and diverse, and I had no problems with the process of getting my bib and T-shirt. I do agree that they could have chosen an indoor location, since if the weather is bad (as it was this year), then you're out in it. Maybe a couple more of the large tents that the main expo was in could be erected in the future. Course: Good course that goes past some iconic LA landmarks. I really enjoyed the Dodger Stadium start and the Santa Monica finish. The course is moderately hilly, although most of the hills were very gentle. There was one pretty steep hill around mile four, and the series of hills between miles 19-22 were tough simply because of their location within the race. If you prepare properly, this course is not significantly daunting; I trained in the hills in the Otay Lakes area east of San Diego, and I felt that I was more than adequately prepared for this course. Organization: Great! The bag check was set up by bib number...what a great idea! I had not problem checking in before or retrieving my bags after the race. Plenty of port-a-johns before the race and on the course. My only complaint would be that the entrance to the seeded corrals was jammed with people. It was not adequately marked so they had to turn around non-seeded runners that mistook the entrance for the open corral, which added more chaos to the confusion. There was no lack of water stations or crowd support; I could have run without an iPod and would have been thoroughly entertained during the entire race. Swag: Loved the medal and T-shirt! Lots of food and other good stuff being given away at the expo and after the race. I would highly recommend this race! It was a remarkable experience. | |
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J. F. from Ontario, CA
(3/20/2012)
"Early shutdown of marathon in Beverly Hills" (about: 2012)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The rules state that the runners are supposed to be pushed to the sidewalk 6 hours after the start of the race (aka 1:30PM). At 12:10PM, Beverly Hills police pushed us of the street, in clear view of SEVERAL signs stating that the road would be closed untill 1:00PM. BHPD motorcycle cops said that 'we have to open it some time'. Granted, some were at the 14 minute pace. But that would be the gun pace. Some did not get to the starting line untill 25 minutes after the horn sounded. Next time I will just push to the front of the line | |
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L. K. from California. USA
(3/19/2012)
"great city, lousy organization" (about: 2012)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I've run the LA marathon every year since 1998 and the past 3 years have been the most poorly organized of any major marathon I've run. Awful expo with no protection from the pouring rain (it used to be held in the Staples center, putting it on par with NYC, Chicago and Boston) terrible traffic getting to the start and finish lines, not enough rest room facilities in the staging area, If they want to return this race to it's prior stature among the premier races in the US, go back to the Convention Center and move the start back downtown. That said, it is a great course, albeit not particularly fast, and the spectators are great. | |
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J. A. from Los Angeles
(3/19/2012)
"Best of all Marathons" (about: 2012)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What a great course; fantastic views, great sights, beautiful neighborhoods. Add to that the best spectators I've come across outside of New York (but still in the US), and it has become my favorite marathon course. Perfect. And really great organization too by the way, I wanted for nothing. | |
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M. M. from CA
(1/7/2012)
"A Good New Years Resolution" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I love the whole deal! the course, the organizers, the finish is the best! even though last year the weather wasn't in our side! I still challenge myself by finishing under 3:40 |
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