All of LA seemed to be out there to cheer us on, and that was just great fun, even though the organizers tried their best to screw things.

1. It started 40 minutes late. What is up with that?

2. I fell and hurt myself on mile 8, and had to drop out at the halfway mark at 11:30am. The first aid booth nearby had absolutely nothing, and had the most clueless volunteers I've ever seen. One of them led me to an SUV nearby and asked me to wait there for the driver, who'd drive me to the finish line area. Turns out that was somebody's personal vehicle and they obviously turned me away. Then, she said she'd called for the shuttle, and it would be there in 20 minutes. (By then there were 5 of us, and one guy was bleeding heavily.) That shuttle never came, and all the volunteers nearby kept telling us 20 min, 20 min, 20 min. Finally, at 12:53, 83 minutes after I'd dropped out, one of the spectators took pity on us and gave us a ride.

Somebody could have died on the course and I'm sure nobody would have bothered.

This was my sixth running of the LA Marathon over the last 11 years and it is not improving as the years go by. While the course is flatter than last year, it travels through rather uninspiring and downright ugly areas of the city for most of the route. There should be clocks at every mile. Miles should be properly measured, at least one, mile four was off significantly. There should be enough water and gatorade and adequate toilets. Didn't expect a gourmet buffet at the finish line, but for a major marathon the refreshments, etc. were a bit lacking. There is no excuse for these details to be overlooked.

The marathon should start on time. While there were regular announcements that the start's delay was due to 'clearing the course', to those of us who were nearer the front of the start and could see what was going on, it appeared more like the start was delayed so that photo taking of dignitaries standing at the starting stage could occur. Let the runners run and take pictures another time. We really didn't need to be packed in for an additional half hour so they could have their pictures in the papers. And don't make flimsy 'clearing the course' excuses. It was a hot enough morning and only getting worse.

The finish line bottle-neck and mess at reunion areas was also disappointing. The greatness of spectators and the massive number of participants make this a good marathon, particularly for first timers. The organizers however, considering all the resources they have to work with, do a poor job. As for me, number six was the last. Despite the convenience of a hometown run, there are too many more favorable alternatives.

Los Angeles really can do better than this.

This is my 2nd LA and 7th overall marathon and it ranks well up there as far as the crowds and excitement goes but there are some areas that really need to be improved. This is supposed to be a walker friendly marathon and there are a lot of walkers that participate. However, they start opening up the roads to traffic way too early and start closely up aid stations long before the masses are through. I didn't have any problems here (I'm a 4hr marathoner) but my wife (who was doing her first marathon) was very dissappointed in the lack of support for the back of the packers.

Also, the finish line area was VERY crowded and needs to be improved. The runners were funneled through a small opening in the fence that was meant to keep spectators out and it became a horrible long wait after running a marathon. Also, the post-race goodies were nothing to write home about. I'm hoping that since this was the first year for the new finish area it was just growing pains and they will improve on some of these course related issues before next year.

I would do this one again but mostly because of the crowds, they are the best!

Suspicious packages and hot weather can't be helped, but no gatorade as promised for anybody running slower than 4.5 hours is not right. Many of us were counting on gatorade at every odd mile. I was running a 5.25 hour run and the only place I had gatorade after mile 9 was on the soles of my shoes. How very disappointing. Next year, I hope the organizers do the right thing and provide equal services for all the runners who pay equal entry fees.

LA '02 was my first marathon and it won't be my last. Nothing can compare to the crowds of a big city marathon for the encouragement and energy from the positive vibes of the citizens of LA. The new course is good, but save some for the last half because it's uphill.

For this to have been the 17th run, I found that the following could have been improved by now: not enough restroom stops, just like you have volunteers handing out water, you should have them hand out toilet paper. Do anything you can to comfort the runners & walkers. Finally, the most disappointing of all, you ran out of medals. I witnesed three teens & a kid around nine years old in tears. Myself, this was my first marathon also, and i was disappointed. I have done the bike tour four times & have some of the same complaints. You charge a late fee when we are not on time, what do we charge for no metal when we've paid our money?
They started cleaning up the course so early which was not fair to the walkers that were still on the trail. It was loud & distracting, and the trucks gave off a nasty smell. What was up with that. Sincerely, Disappointed

2002. It was too warm, especially with an 8:45 start delayed until 9:20. Temp at the start was 60. It hit 70 but felt like 80 in the sun. My big gripe concerns the finish area. We were packed into a small area and it was tough to find family at the reunion area. There were thousands of people packed in like sardines - no one was happy. Typical problems with too few toilets along the course. Who wants to wait on lines 5 or 6 deep to pee? At one point early in the course around 8 miles they had toilets along the course. The toilet lines actually blocked half the road and forced us to stop and funnel to the left to get around. The cross street 30 feet away was empty and closed off. Why couldn't they have put the toilets there? Several water stops ran out of gatorade. Listen here, I finished in 6,500 place out of 22,000 starters. That means no luck for the 15,000 people behind me. I hope they at least had water for them. Crowd support was great. People had bagel pieces and candies to hand out and were very supportive. The course was fine. Not too hilly. The heat was much more punishing. Expo was large with lots of run & bike vendors with good deals. At the carbo load dinner, the entertainment was the national sport aerobic championship. A bit expensive at $15 but I only paid $60 for my hotel. Finisher's medal looks good, my first one.

Last year (2001) was my first LA Marathon. I'm a bit new to marathon running over the last two years, but have run Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Rock 'n Roll (San Diego), Tampa and Richmond. All were fun, but nothing matched LA. The course is (was) hilly, but that's what it's supposed to be I think. Flat and fast, that's for track runners. Road runners should embrace the hills, the crowds, the weather and the overall experience. The LA Marathon offers the best of all these things, and the organization is spectacular. If you're not an elite runner, this is the wrong place to come for a PR attempt given the crowds and hills. However, the atmosphere that the city puts together makes even middle of the pack runners like me feel like Olympians!

I highly recommend this marathon to anybody who just loves to run!

When I ran the LA marathon a few years ago, I still think of it everday in my life. I can recall every enduring moment of the pain, pleasure, camaraderie, happiness, personal accomplishment of just passing over the finish line in one piece. I'm still recovering from internal injuries from it. The race was well organized and I certainly would recomend it to anyone; especially for a first time marathon runner. Good Luck

As a competitive runner in high school and college, I decided to continue running as a leisure activity beyond school. My first marathon was the Chicago LaSalle Bank Marathon in 1999. It was great. However, realizing 26.2 miles of running is not all fun and games, I decided to make it fun and games for me. Always dreaming of visiting Southern California, I entered the 2001 LA Marathon. What a blast! I stayed at the Biltmore and loved the city, course and truthfully the greatest part was the support of thousands of cheery spectators. Did LA give them pre race cocktails? What a happy crew. At mile 14, I realized my pre marathon flu was not over. Finishing in 3:52:00, I was content. The crowd carried me from mile 15 to mile 25. Miles 25 to 26.2 were a fog for me. Thanks to the audio system toward the final stretch of the last mile, I heard over the loud speaker 'Kenna O'Leary will make sub 4 hour time.' Whom wouldn't want to hear their own name at this point. Fame for ten seconds. Or at least completing my second marathon in style. Thanks LA, see you in 2002.