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May 19, 2024

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: 472 [displaying comments 91 to 101]

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R. G. from Los Angeles, CA (6/8/2010) "Despite some serious issues, a great race!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my fifth LA Marathon, and it was by far the best of them all. Kudos to the new organizers for FINALLY convincing the cities of West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and, of course, Beverly Hills, to allow us all to run through their neighborhoods. The crowds throughout were great! There were plenty of water stops, medical tents, toilets, and the most wonderful volunteers. As already discussed, the expo was horrible. I mean if I owned a parking lot roughly the size of Rhode Island like Frank McCort does, I would have gladly provided more space for more vendors and more room for entrants to roam around. It was a bleak group of booths, and those that I wanted to visit I couldn't even get near. In the past the LA Marathon expo was always a highlight - the roomy, air conditioned convention center was the perfect venue. So perhaps the expo can be moved back there. I too found the drive to Dodger Stadium a nightmare. Ditto regarding the party at the pier. As for the crowds at the beginning of the race, I had no issue with them. In every large race I've ever run, the corrals have been crowded. It is what it is. Oh yeah, make no mistake: this is one tough course. Not flat. Not fast. Hilly. Challenging. Tough. In other words, it was GREAT. But come on, guys, let's have a little truth in advertising. So with all of this said, I must thank the new organizers for an amazing first marathon. I know that you will fix what needs to be fixed, and in the meantime, count me in for next year!
R. Y. from San Francisco, CA. (5/26/2010) "Great Route, Poor Organization" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I was really impressed by the route. I thought it was fun and scenic, and it went by all of my favorite drinking holes. The medal was beautiful - great design compared to the others I have from this year's marathons. The spectators truly made the race. The block parties in each neighborhood were centers if excitement and fun. The cheering from each neighborhood, from each bar, made me want to push myself even harder. Love the spectators during this race - best yet of the year. Unfortunately, I have to agree with other reviewers. The expo was a joke - crowded, hot, ill-planned, and unable to accommodate the crowds. There were no medium shirts on Saturday. I was told they ran out on Friday. Not sure how this could happen; we had to check which shirt size we would need when signing up 6 months ago. It shouldn't have been a mystery how many of each size shirt were going to be needed. At the end of the day, it's just a shirt, but for $120 bucks, I would have appreciated it. The finish line party was also too far from the finish line; making it there was almost impossible after running a full marathon. I guess that's why people were lying on the street instead of walking the mile down to the beach. All in all, it was a great run on a great route in a great city. I hope that the organization gets better for next year. There is so much potential for this marathon....
D. H. from Redondo Beach (4/25/2010) "Still waiting for my shirt." (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons \| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I can't tell you how many times I gave the organizers a pass on things before I decided they just weren't up to the task. I know it is difficult to start up a new course. However, the criticism the race is getting is justified and deserved. I ran the LA Marathon in 2006. Among the many things they got right that year, everyone got a shirt and the race started on time. This year, I was lucky to find a "goody" bag to have my sweats transported to the finish. No goodies to be found; obviously no shirts either. How does that get screwed up? I don't know because the event has yet to return my phone calls or emails and I still don't have a shirt. The race was far too expensive for this to happen. It is easy to get shirt samples (to get the sizes straight) beforehand. It is easy to order the correct number. It is easy to COMMUNICATE to people what is going on. I don't believe there was adequate communication before the race. If I hadn't participated in previous events, I think I would have been confused as to what was supposed to be happening. It seemed like information came out at the last minute for things that should have been in place far in advance. For example, course drink. How can you train using the course beverage when they don't tell you what it is until a few weeks before the event? I think they should give the organization of the event over to the RoadRunners. I have only interacted with them peripherally, but they seemed to have a much better grasp of what the athletes need, and were far better at disseminating information. This event COULD be tremendous. I like the fact that it is GREEN. The bus situation is what it is. I didn't take the bus, so I can't comment. The spectators were fantastic. Thank God for them handing out bananas, etc., as most of my pre-race drink went to waste due to the half hour (or was it more?) delay in the start. PowerAde is a waste of space, in my opinion. I normally could care less whether there was food or not, but with the late start and the almost infinite congestion at the start, bars or gels would be a much better idea. I realize this is an ADVANCED race critique. The organizers haven't even got the basics sorted out yet. And I am STILL waiting for my shirt.
J. C. from The OC (4/9/2010) "great crowds, good course, poor organization" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 The new course was a huge improvement, as we really got to see some of the best of what LA has to offer. Be warned: anybody who thinks that is a fast course has yet to run it. The volunteers and crowd support were excellent. The city really rallied behind the race, which was great to see. The expo was terrible. It was as if they had no clue what 25,000 runners would look like. It was totally inefficient, with huge, unnecessary lines for bib pick up. Just bad planning. Getting to the starting line was worse than the expo. Getting in and out of Dodger Stadium is never an easy task. If they really want to start there, then they have to keep cars away and have dedicated bus lanes in. You'd need local drop offs perhaps at Staples Center or something. The starting line was the usual LA nightmare: 25,000 runners, most of whom want to start way up front. The current system of corralling only the sub-3 and -4 runners DOES NOT WORK. There were tons of people hopping the fences into the sub-4 corral. Get with the program, LA! The start really needs to be addressed. Boston, NYC, and R'n'R all seem to have it figured out. Lastly, I was really sorry that there was no acknowledgment of any problems after the race. I think a simple "we know there were problems with traffic, timing and shirts and we are working to make everything better" would have gone a long way. All that said, I'll be back next year.
John Waddington from Crestline, CA (4/6/2010) "Stop whining and take some responsibilty!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I've read comment after comment about how the LA Marathon organizers didn't do their job. Well here are some facts: 1. They reserved every parking garage in Santa Monica for this race. They even arranged for PREPAID RESERVED spots for runners to take advantage of. 2. They had ample, nice charter buses to take the runners to the start. They even had reserved spots on those to avoid EVERYONE showing up at the last minute! 3. They opened up Dodger Stadium so runners could hang out in comfort prior to the race I got e-mail after e-mail from the organizers encouraging runners to take advantage of these things. I actually heeded their pleas, leaving home at 1 a.m., arriving in Santa Monica at 3 a.m. I think I was the only car on the road! I had no trouble getting on a bus at 4:30 - no lines! I had no trouble getting into a porta-potty (thee times!) prior to the race! All of this because so many runners decided they could just sleep in a little longer and get dropped off at the stadium instead of taking a bus. Well, I think that's one of the biggest reason for the fiasco at the start line! If more people had LISTENED to the suggestions of the organizers, perhaps things would have gone a little smoother at the start? Anyone who has ever been to a ballgame at Dodger Stadium should have known that traffic could be a nightmare; why do you think Dodger fans always show up late? And another thing.... runners are supposed to bring their OWN GELS when running a marathon; I can't believe the many runners whining about the lack of gels on the course! Those are niceties provided by marathons. Again, take some responsibility, people! OK, I'm getting off my soap box now. See you all next year (hopefully getting on the buses!!).
S. R. from New York, NY (4/3/2010) "Good course but race organization needs work" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The LA Marathon marked my eighth marathon, and while the course was well supported, the expo and finish were the worst that I have experienced. If the race organizers focus on these issues, LA will be a great race. First off, the expo was very poorly organized, and volunteers were not well trained. I waited in line for 45 minutes for my bib, far longer than I ever waited for NY, Chicago, or Marine Corps. The space for the expo was quite small, and there was a surprisingly poor mix of vendors. Samples of soy milk are fine, but I would have rather had more vendors with gels and running products. I had no trouble taking the shuttle from Santa Monica, and I purposely went early. The course was fun, but is far from flat. There is nothing wrong with a hilly course, but I wouldn't advertise it as flat. There was plenty of water along the entire course, and volunteers were top notch. The finish was poorly organized, especially the gear pick-up. Bags were strewn all over the ground and anyone could have taken any bag. I'd never seen this before, and this is embarrassing for the race organizers. Overall, I would not do LA again until these issues are worked out, but they are all fixable. I hope to see the race improve in the future.
K. S. from Phoenix, Arizona (4/2/2010) "Good course; logistic/organizational challenges" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 This is was my first marathon, though I have raced in six half marathons. I traveled from Phoenix for the race. Here are the good, bad and the ugly: Good: Race course was nice, but hillier than advertised. Good landmarks to see and finishing at the ocean was nice. The fans were great, especially over the last 6 miles. Cool finisher's medal. Pre-paid parking and shuttles were seamless until we hit traffic 3 miles from the start. On-course support was good, with plenty of aid stations. Bad: The race was delayed 30 minutes, meaning I stood in the chute for 75 minutes, completely throwing off my eating schedule and bathroom needs! The finish party was a half-mile from the finish and downstairs - ugh. The finish line food was not substantial enough. Ugly: There were only three corrals and stiff qualifying times were required to get in them (they do not except half marathon times). There were lots of walkers at the front of the general corral. The gear check was a DISASTER. It took over an hour to get my bag back. Traffic and parking for fans were a nightmare. For an out-of-towner, there are a lot of logistical challenges (between bib pick up, getting to the start, getting your family to the finish, and getting back to your hotel). It was the new organizers' first year, and they seem very committed to improving the race. For me the Rock 'n' Roll races are a benchmark for the organization of large races. They have some work to do to get there. Getting the race started on time and adding more corral seedings would constitute a first step. I think you will see improvements each year.
J. T. from melbourne, australia (4/1/2010) "does the city justice" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I loved this marathon. I am from Australia, but I have done several of the big-city marathons in US. Usually they concentrate on taking runners through a series of neighborhoods, but this one did not, instead going past a series of landmarks. It was a joy all the way. Running down Rodeo Drive was a highlight for me, and arriving at Santa Monica in fog was fun. I thought the number of spectators was just right, and the aid stations were well stocked. Only downside I found was the emphasis on the legacy runners - I didn't have my name announced at the finish line because a legacy runner finished at the same time and the announcer made a big thing about him - and that was unfair because I had run the same distance. By the way, if you want to avoid race-day hassles getting to the start, there is a motel right on the corner of Sunset and Elysian Park Drive that would be a five-minute walk to the start. It looked quite OK for one night.
J. B. from Chicago, IL (4/1/2010) "Great Course, Great Fans, Great Race" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have run several marathons in different parts of the country; LA was second only to New York. This was a great race. The course was scenic, the fans were supportive and the entire course was very well managed. The volunteers at the aid stations were great. Although I didn't need them, the porta-johns at every mile was great to see! The start was a little crowded. I am surprised that there was a traffic backup at the start. We stayed in Marina Del Rey and got to Dodger Stadium in about 25 minutes, at 5:30 a.m. We had no troubles. I thought the expo was great; I'm not sure why people were complaining. Really fun race. I highly recommend this race.
G. J. from Florida (3/31/2010) "don't waste your time" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The expo from downtown LA one way $17.00, and I only stayed for 30 minutes. It was too small and too hot. Everyone on my shuttle got off on the freeway and walked. I run in the back of the pack, and there were no nuts and no sponges. What's up with that? The course is great for fast runners, but the hills... forget it. I had to ask 5 people at the finish how to get to the buses for downtown. Take lessons from NY or Chicago or DC on how to manage a marathon of that size. Maybe have it earlier in the year so that it would be cooler. The shirt was so small - yet what's up? No date on the shirts you were selling?

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