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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: 472 [displaying comments 401 to 411]
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R. C. from Westminster, CO
(3/3/2003)
 "Great race!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Well - this one gets a bad rap by some - starts too late, hilly course, hot, bad start, but I can't complain - everything is as advertised. The hills are there, the course isn't all that easy, but it is possible to run strong if you prepare right! The start could use some improvement - perhaps corrals or better organization, but this isn't a real big deal - Figueroa St. is plenty wide to handle the runner traffic. The spectators are great, and 2003 provided great weather. Yeah, a bit warm towards the end but nothing intolerable! I'd love to do it again given the chance. It was a lot of fun! | |
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E. o. from Oak Park California
(3/3/2003)
" The 8.30 start is way too late" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I ran this race in 1997, 98 and this year 2003. The race needs to start at least one hour earlier since this new course offers very little shade on a warm day such as this year. I love the support from the crowds. The race was well organized considering the large number of participants. | |
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J. J. from Redlands, CA
(3/3/2003)
"I had a blast" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first ever marathon. I had read all the other posts saying how bad the LA marathon was so I wasn't expecting much. What did happened was that I had a really great time. I think the people of LA should be commended for coming out and cheering the runners. I didn't notice the 4 across walkers or anything bad. The volunteers were great and there were ample water stations throughout the course. The worst part of the race was the last half was mainly uphill. Like I said, this was my first marathon so I have nothing to compare it to but I thought overall everything was handled just fine. I can imagine the logistical nightmare to put on an event like this. I happen to like the late start of this race. (I'm a nightowl). I will run this again next year. | |
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L. L. from Cailf USA
(3/3/2003)
 "First Time marathon runner" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'll have to do it again it was great. | |
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A. J. from Tucson, AZ
(3/3/2003)
"Still has a few rough edges, but had a BLAST" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Ran this at mellow pace and I think I grinned the WHOLE WAY - absolutely fantastic spectator support and aid fron start to finish. Better entertainment than Rock n Roll, gently rolling course with a few very short steeper bits, sunshine but not too hot - I was supercharged the whole time and the rest of the day! Areas for improvement - they still need to fix the start area problem by directing/helping people to line up in order of predicted finish time (still had walkers up front and the first 1.5 miles were scary), and the finish area was a madhouse - they put up signs with letters to help you find family/friends, but A-C was INSIDE the runners-only area, and the help tent was not visibly marked. Also, not enough junk food near/at the end, so have your crew bring you Oreos. Cellphones were a big help in finding my ride. Otherwise, this marathon was a load of fun because of all the people who ran, watched, volunteered, cheered, etc., a beginner-friendly course, and plenty of music and sunshine to help you along. | |
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R. M. from Firehouse grill marathon racing, Whitter CA
(3/3/2003)
 "visit www.whosnyc.com!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race has everything that's typical in LA. The start is like driving on the freeway, and you can almost see why 'road rage' is so popular. No matter how they try to keep people in corrals, somebody decides the rules don't apply to them, just like the freeway. However, after the first couple of miles, they drop away and the course becomes... hilly! After all, you can see the mountains but I don't think anyone expects these quick uphills. This year had a very nice crowd supported finish. Over all a really nice marathon to start the season. | |
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B. L. from Los angeles
(2/28/2003)
 "prefer original course and start finish area " (General Comments)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The new course takes away the excitement of Chinatown and Hollywood, Olvera street and Little Tokyo. For the purposes of family and friends watching you along the course and enjoying the scene before and after the Marathon the new start/finish area do not lend themselves to this very well. I do not plan to do the Marathon again unless the course and start/finish area change. The start time has always been ridiculous. Too late for S. Cal. | |
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B. L. from Los angeles
(2/28/2003)
"prefer original course and start finish area " (General Comments)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The new course takes away the excitement of Chinatown and Hollywood, Olvera street and Little Tokyo. For the purposes of family and friends watching you along the course and enjoying the scene before and after the Marathon the new start/finish area do not lend themselves to this very well. I do not plan to do the Marathon again unless the course and start/finish area change. The start time has always been ridiculous. Too late for S. Cal. | |
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N. K. from California
(1/6/2003)
 "miserable" (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 The fans were great, as were the aid stations. Other than that, this race is a dog. It starts too late, it gets too hot, and it's just too crowded. The organization of the start and finish areas couldn't be worse. These organizers are more concerned with their political standing than with the race itself. For the charity walkers and first time runners, this is probably a good race. For a marathoner looking for a good marathon, this is not it. | |
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R. K. from Los Angeles
(12/24/2002)
"a mad zoo" (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I have run 23 marathons, including this this race 3 times. After each LA, I come out of it saying 'NEVER AGAIN'. There is no worse start/starting area than this race. It is a complete zoo. If you are thinking at all about your splits, forget it. Walkers and slow runners line up wherever they feel like, and unless you want to be a football player knocking people out of the way, you're not getting by these people. Many groups run/walk side by side in this race, blocking the way. It will make you want to pull your hair out, or rather, pull their hair out. Even by mile 8, you can still be dodging people. They also start this race very late. It could get very warm in this city, which it did last year. They should start this race at 7:00, but this organization apparently does not consist of any runners. The finish area is the by far the worst of any of the big city runs that I've done. It's as if it is run by a government agency rather than a race organization. After you've run 26.2 miles, you don't want to have to stand in a long line just to leave the area! If I didn't feel the 'peer pressure' to run this race with friends, I certainly wouldn't. |
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