This was my 24th marathon but first LA.

Expo - After sitting in the car in traffic for hours I finally got to the Expo and then waited in a line for another hour in the heat. When I picked up my bib I was told they ran out of T-shirts. I had a feeling this was a sign of things to come so I knew I had to get to Dodger Stadium early the next day.

Before race - I took the 4:00 a.m. shuttle and had no problems getting to the stadium. Well, I hope not at 4:00 a.m.!! Thank goodness I arrived early because many runners said that they witnessed some people getting out of their cars on the interstate to get to the start. I was in the sub 4 corral and had a blue wrist band to prove it (why not just go by the bib#??) but never found the special corral. I was smashed like a sardine way behind the 4:00 hour pacers. The race started about 25 minutes late.

Race - I found myself passing walkers the first mile and didn't realize there would be so many steep hills. I don't mind the uphills but the downhills were too steep for a marathon in my opinion. My quads were thrashed by mile 6. I should have been more familiar with the course and will take credit for that. The crowd support at the beginning was sparse and the course was quite boring. However, it really picked up around Hollywood and I was very impressed the last 6 miles of the course. I was really hurting and I appreciated the encouragement.

Finish line festivities - No comment because I ran past the finish line and went straight to my hotel. I wanted out of LA as fast as I could.

This was not a horrible marathon - it was just not what I was expecting from a large city and all of the hoopla.

This was my first marathon and thought the course and oganization was great. The spectators really pulled me through the last 5 miles.... Awesome support!!! I'm from Spokane, WA and plan to make this a yearly event! Thank you to LA for some great memories.

Los Angeles has a new course that is much, much better than the old one, starting at Dodger Stadium and ending in Santa Monica. That alone is reason to give this race another look. However, the expo, held in the enormous Dodger Stadium parking lot, was crammed into a little space the size of a matchbox. It was really ridiculous... hot and crowded and unpleasant. There is no excuse for this with so much space available. Also, the shuttlebus/parking system was a mess, causing a delay in the start of the race. This race needs much better organization. On the other hand, excellent crowd support and a nice, rockin' finish line festival.

The New management of the LA Marathon is SO BAD that I will never enter this race again. I heard this sentiment over and over all weekend. I've run 4 LA Marathons and over 20 marathons total, this one was by far the worst ever.

We arrived at the EXPO on Saturday to pick up our bibs and the line was an hour long, standing in 91 degree direct sun. Once we were able to get into the tent there were errors on our bibs and they had run out of shirts. (Did they not know how many people had entered the race?)

The logistics of the race were terrible. It was a point to point course, but they wouldn't allow people to leave their cars at the start. What, not enough parking at Dodger Stadium? The race started 30 minutes late because they couldn't get everyone to the start.

Two of my biggest disappointment with the course were that they didn't have fuel on the course. Considering my entry fee I would think the could have found a fuel sponsor. The other was the run through West Hollywood. This is a premier event for SRLA and having all of these kids run through what was basically a pornographic exhibition was totally inappropriate. These people have chosen a lifestyle that isn't consistent with healthy living and forcing these kids be exposed to it is wrong.

Finally the logistics at the finish was the biggest disaster. Traffic was complete gridlock getting out of Santa Monica. Again, since it was a point to point course parking was a disaster and the ability to get back to the start was challenge. If they are going to do this course again they need to completely rethink the start and finish logistics.

I would suggest that the owners of this race need to completely rethink their strategy if they want to have anyone return to this race. I for one will not.

The LA Marathon staff, volenteers, and spectators did a fantastic job at this years (revised) marathon. The race course was much more hilly than I expected but the wonderful scenery helped make the miles pass. The organization was first rate and the crowds ranked right up there with those in New York and Chicago. Truly a great Marathon experience...one I will seek again next year!!

The location of the expo and the start at Dodger Stadium created some logistical difficulties. But, the race is a total winner - from organization, to course, to fan support. It turned out to be a harder course to run than my previous LA Marathons - there is net elevation loss, but there are also hills throughout. While they added a sub-3 and sub-4 starting area, there need to be more starting corrals. I loved the sights along the way. It was warm at the start of the race - but around mile 22, the coolness of the ocean breeze made the run beautiful! I received an email saying that registration for next year starts soon. Count me in - I want to run this race again!

This is my 6th time running the LA Marathon. The new owners did a fabulous job.

Positives:
1. Loved the new stadium-to-sea course. Highlighted the best of LA.
2. Course support and entertainment were top notch. Really appreciated the drummers on the hill at mile 4!
3. Excellent support from the community and spectators.
4. Very nice medal at the finish.

I did encounter some negatives but I think they can easily be corrected:
1. Expo layout - way too crowded. Felt like I was running a gauntlet just to get my bib.
2. T-shirts for women ran very small and some racers did not get one at all.
3. Traffic to the stadium on race morning was chaos. Our 3-mile ride using the downtown hotel shuttles took over 45 minutes. We saw people jumping out of cars and walking along the freeway to make it to the start on time. Very dangerous. A quick fix: Allow only shuttles to access the stadium and make all others park at the finish and shuttle in.

I'm not a big LA-the city-fan even though I live in Orange County. I'd done this race 3 times on the old course and wanted to check out this new one. We drove down from OC because I didn't want to shuttle. Even though they sent out an email last minute telling us to arrive TWO HOURS early we left two hours before the race started and were parked within 45 minutes. Much easier for us than others who had done as they were told and parked at the finish and bussed for TWO hours to the start line. This caused the race directors to start the race later and as an experienced marathon runner I feel this was a HUGE mistake. I don't know their reasons why, but what the heck, with chip timing why not start on time and alleviate some of the congestion, they did it last year for the first RNR in Seattle, didn't bother us, especially on a day it was supposed to get HOT. The rest of the race was fine, just really hilly, much much hiller than it used to be. Nice finishing at the beach, the breeze off the ocean kept us for getting too hot. Took HOURS to get home.

I have run Chicago and New York City and I must say that Los Angeles is by far my favorite marathon of the the three.

The course was extremely challenging, especially the hills. I live and train in Chicago, so I was very unprepared to handle this hills and after training all winter, the heat also got to me. The course was beautiful and ran through many popular tourist destinations.

The LA Marathon was extremely well organized. I parked in Santa Monica in a lot that was available for runners who purchased advanced tickets. The walk from the parking lot to the buses was very short. The buses were very nice, not your standard school bus. They let us walk on the field at Dodger Stadium before the race. Bathrooms were clean and the lines were short. Every aid station along the course was well stocked. After the finish, it was a quick walk to get your medal, food, pictures and your bag if you dropped one off.

Most important and the least expected was the amazing spectators. They were just awesome!! Many brought their own oranges, pretzels, water, gatorade, candy, etc to hand out to the runners. They were extremely supportive and of my three races, the best I have encountered!!

GREAT JOB LA MARATHON!!

The 2009 edition was my first full marathon. (I ran a half in Detroit a month before.) And I must say the supporters did a great job. I could not have finished without them.