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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 81 to 91]
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J. A. from Los Angeles
(3/21/2011)
"Great Course and Great Team" (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 For this year's marathon in rained so much that the volunteers started lining up the animals two-by-two. That said, it was one of the best courses I've run (out of 9). It had just the right amount of city and park, hills and vistas. The organization was lacking a bit at the end (bag claim was a nightmare), but I chalk that up to the fact that there was so much rain hampering the post-race festival. Spectators were sparse, but again, the rain might have had something to do with it. In any event, the spectators that WERE there were amazing, as were all the volunteers. One of my favorite races so far! | |
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A. K. from Los Angeles
(3/21/2011)
"Great way to see LA!" (about: 2011)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is a GREAT race! Starts at Dodger's Stadium, ends at the beautiful Santa Monica pier. Fantastic LA landmarks all along the way. Run through different neighborhoods with all kinds of onlookers cheering you on! Pretty flat, with downhill the last few miles. | |
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J. M. from Nashville, TN
(3/21/2011)
"Good course but lack of organization overall" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I came from Nashville to run this marathon. Was apprehensive after reading other comments over the years. Went to the expo on Friday and it was pretty simple. The walk through the parking lot was pretty nuts. Why have partcipants park so far from the expo? The goodie bag was probably the best I've ever received! Race shirt was nice too! Sunday, the shuttle was superb. I stayed at JW Marriott in LA and was delivered to the start quickly. Tons of porta potties and good rest place inside the stadium, lots of food...all great points to this race. I was seeded to Corral B but the organization here was total crap. It was mass chaos with LA Runners trying to get into the seeded corrals. Here I was in Corral B with LA Runners group and a pacing sign saying 13:49 mile? Really ?? Whose decision was that? Nuts!! The race started about 17 minutes late too...and the conditions were miserable. 30 to 47 mph winds and 1 inch of rain that started at mile 3 and never quit. The course was not too hard, I ran well considering the circumstances. Lots of great voluteers and waterstops. The gel hand out could've been sooner than in the 20 mile range though...I was just happy there was a hand out. The volunteers were such troopers in the conditions. I overheard tons of them saying so cold they were. I really appreciated them so much! The finish line completely sucked. The wind off the ocean was so intense my abs are sore today from tucking in behind folks and drafting. At the finish there was zero crowd control and it took about 15 minutes to snake through the crowds! Something needs to be done about this!! By the time I got to gear check, more chaos. I was number 5054 and in that POD, the bags were strewn everywhere. I looked for my bag for at least 20 minutes and finally gave up - losing two shirts, a hotel towel and a stick of body glide. There was 1 volunteer there who was trying to be helpful. But, seriously, why didn't someone line the bags up before the race finished? They had 3 hours or more to do this!! Ridiculous. I had a good shuttle ride back but totally froze my rear off. My hands and legs were purple. Would've been nice to have my dry clothes...and would be even nicer if the race would contact me and mail them back. Won't be back to this race. Hopeful the race organization will improve because it sounds like the same issues over and over. | |
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A. m. from Rancho Palos Verdes
(3/21/2011)
"The race had a great course." (about: 2011)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The race had great entertainment throughout the course, and it also had a nice course. | |
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A. M. from Torrance, California
(2/25/2011)
"The race had a great start." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The race had a great start. The people were cheering all of the runners. | |
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M. W. from Santa Monica, CA
(11/14/2010)
"I LOVE THIS MARATHON, BUT BRING BACK THE EXPO" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have always loved this run and still do. The only negative was that the McCourts' (owners of the Dodgers) bought the race and put the expo in Dodgers' Stadium parking lot. Crappy. The LA Marathon expo has always been (since 1998 at least) the very best expo - hands down. It was in the LA Convention Center, and had the very best exhibitors and the most freebies. Now the expo is a disappointing, overcrowded, hot hassle. Please go back to the Convention Center. In that atmosphere I am very comfortable and happy - making me willing to part with lots of money. Good for the exhibitors and sponsors. Dodgers Stadium parking lot - bad for sponsors and exhibitors. Other than that, this is the best race in the world. The people of LA are so supportive. The race organization is fantastic and support - absolutely flawless!! Near perfect!!! I LOVE LA!! | |
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J. P. from California
(10/25/2010)
"Great Course, Poor Organization" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Great course. I'm originally from LA and ran this marathon back in 2006. It would have been my only LA Marathon, but the new course drew me back. The new course was great, but unfortunately, the overall organization was so poor, and with the price going up so much, I will probably not run LA again. Waited in line over an hour in the hot sun to pick up my number and shirt. Only got the number, since they ran out of shirts (finally got it four months later, after many emails and much work). Late start, because with so much traffic many runners couldn't make it to the starting line in a timely fashion. I was there in plenty of time. One problem with that - very limited toilets available. The lines were crazy long. It was cool being able to warm up in Dodger Stadium. Fans on the course were good. Lots of things to look at. Hopefully they get their act together, because this COULD be a great international marathon some day. | |
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p. h. from ontario, CA
(10/18/2010)
"Disgusting Race" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 There were people walking on the freeway, risking their lives to get to this stupid race on time. Once there, we were packed into narrow little lanes with people falling all around me the first two miles over all the debris left in the MIDDLE of the road by careless runners. I had to walk at every aid station as it was so slippery I could barely move. Nothing was cleaned up. One spectator tried to grab me and two other gals near me. Another disgusting man pulled his pants down in front of me. The crowds were mean and racist (I heard several racial slurs hurled at runners). I hated this race. I was sick to my stomach at the end by the dirty streets and nasty spectators! | |
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p. n. from Orange County in Cali
(7/28/2010)
"Great, new course; poor organization" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 After waiting in line for over 45 minutes at the expo for my shirt, they said they only had XL left (yet they said they ran out because the shirts ran small, so that doesn't make sense), but they said they'd send me a women's M. After over 4 months & many follow-up emails, I finally got the shirt today. They sent me a MEN'S shirt (which is huge), when I am a WOMAN and specifically ordered a women's shirt. How frustrating, disappointing and unacceptable when I registered EARLY and marked my size! I can go on and on about the organization, but many already have. It is on a nice, new course, and you get the coolest ribbon for an okay medal. I've now done 28 marathons and 15 half-marathons, and this was my 9th LA, so I should know what is reasonable to expect when you pay $130! It's hard to rate 5 stars for the fans when most are still sleeping the first few hours of the race, which could be the whole marathon for elite runners... but those who are there for slower ones are great! This is my city and my prayer run for the city, so I'm still committed to do it. | |
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C. D. from Columbus, OH
(7/20/2010)
"Great Course - Organization Needs Work" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 The course was great, covering the landmarks as advertised. This is the reason to do the race. If you are looking for a serious run, there are better events. Most of the previous comments about the race organization are accurate. I have run other large races - New York, Chicago, Marine Corps, San Diego - and this is by far the least organized. I do need to make a few comments, however. I did the Santa Monica park and shuttle, arrived very early, and it worked well. In addition, the stadium was open, and there were plenty of open restrooms for a short walk towards the home plate section. Although it was not terribly hot, I had done my training runs in 15-20-degree temperatures, and I got very warm at 20 miles. At about mile 23, we got into the cooler ocean temps and all was well again. |
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