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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 421 to 431]
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A Runner from Conroe, Texas, US
(3/19/2002)
 "Most badly organized marathon ever" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 Worst of the 40+ marathons I've run. 8:45 scheduled start -- why??? It made the 9:15 actual even worse due to heat. NO porta potties at start -- runners subsequently lined up at the potties at miles 1, 2, 3 as much as 7-8 deep! Start was on what is actually an overpass, leading to tremendous crowding -- took 11 minutes to reach starting line. Finish was the worst part with unbearable crowding through tiny exit chute. I nearly passed out, literally, while inching through in the heat. Never again. | |
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A Runner from Boise, Idaho
(3/18/2002)
 "Poor organization" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 The late start was a drag. The start time was too late to begin with and by the end of the race it was Hot! Not enough porta potties, too many people for the start (you end up walking for several miles). The biggest SNAFU was the finish. 23,000 people plus family into one city block. Somebody actually passed out while trying to get out and the cops sat on their horses and did nothing. Get better organized LA, or this will be it. | |
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A Runner from Bishop, CA
(3/13/2002)
 "Earlier start and old course, please" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my 2nd LA Marathon and I was disappointed. The delayed start was understandable due to security concerns, but the new course left much to be desired and the finish area was a fiasco. Figueroa Street, the old start, is much wider and allows for runners to spread out and actually run. The 2nd Street tunnel was interesting and loud; I had plenty of time to appreciate this as I practically walked through the whole thing. I much prefer the old course's run along Hollywood Boulevard and through a variety of neighborhoods. This marathon will never be as flat as Chicago or Rotterdam, so let's make it interesting! I finished fairly quickly and was appalled at the exit to the reunion area. The gap through the fence and crowd was only two people wide and my family couldn't find me. My wife received conflicting information and directions about the start time (delays), the reunion area, etc. I can only imagine the chaos that engulfed the finish when thousands more runners packed into the area. The one area where LA really shines is spectator support. I loved the ice chips, orange wedges, beer, music, signs, etc. Gospel singers chanting, 'You can do it, yeah!' are a big motivator. Great expo, too, but I was in LA to run, not to shop. I probably won't run this one again if the course stays the same | |
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A Runner from LA
(3/11/2002)
 "Great Race, Great People, Room for Improvement" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 As always, a fun time and fabulous fans on the course, even for the ones trailing in the back. However, as one of theose trailers this year (I ran with my daughter (13) who started feeling ill almost immediatly after the start and ended up walking almost the whole way. She turned out to be running a 102.5 degree fever - I'm astounded and awed that she rebuffed the many chances I gave her to quit and persevered to the finish). We were shooed onto the sidewalks about halfway through, and more dangerous, almost all water stations were closed as we approached the end. I actually had to swing into a convenience store to buy a bottle of water at about mile 23! Better treatment of those slow pokes would seem the only moral thing to do in a race where the community, not just the hard-core, are encouraged to participate. Would extending the permits an hour or two and keeping the volunteers out there be that expensive? As far as the course: I liked the old course much better. Interesting, high-energy areas (most of Wilshire, a lot of Hancock Park, and especially Hollywood Blvd.) were eliminated in the name of flattening the course. I am not a super fast runner and never will be, but it seems that a marathon course should be taken for what it is - every course is different and has its own challenges. I think that many more run for the joy of testing themselves in this beautiful city in front of these beautiful people than those who are running just to get a PR. A more interesting and slightly more difficult course is preferable. After all, you could run the whole race on all those perfectly flat streets up in the valley and still call it the LA Marathon, but is that what anybody wants? Great expo, good race, great people - I will certainly run again - but please strive to make it even better. | |
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A Runner from Pittsburgh
(3/8/2002)
"Stupid organization at the start" (General Comments)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 This marathon could be greatly improved by three simple things, all having to do with the start. 1. Start the ract on time. This year's race was 30 minutes late. Really sloppy managment. 2. Schedule the race to start earlier, at 7am instead of 8:45. What's the matter? People in LA can't get up that early? 3. Straighten out the first several miles of the course. With a field of 23,000 runners they had several 90 degree turns in the first 2 miles of the course. Bad idea. | |
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A Runner from Los Angeles, CA
(3/8/2002)
"Good but not what was expected" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The late start was egregious. Why not wait until noon - at least it will start getting cooler at some point. The course was fine, but there was little shade. Also, for those of us towards the back, the vast majority of Gatorade stations had nothing but water. The spectators were good, but no more enthusiastic as those at other marathons. In its defense, plenty of water and plenty of support. | |
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a runner from houston from Houston, Texas
(3/8/2002)
 "FORGET THE BIG TIME" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 What a major disappointment after all the hype. The late start. Runners and walkers simultaneously. The flat course with four of the last five miles uphill and can I fail to mention the wonderful refreshments for finishing. The coup de grace was spending two full hours trying to find my wife at the conclusion. L.A. might be #2 in size but they're far down the ladder in this one. I did '97 and it was much better all around. With as many marathons competing for participants, this is the farewell to this one. | |
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A Runner from Los Angeles
(3/8/2002)
"Get rid of the bike tour" (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I totally agree with the prior comments about the Bike Tour. It prevents an earlier start to the marathon, and is a lame excuse for making money. Billboards around town tout it as if it's a grueling event that requires stamina. Anyone who seriously rides bikes knows this is not true. It takes nothing to ride that distance non-competitively. It is an event that former Mayor Riorden used as a political booster. And now on hot days, us marathoners pay the price with the late start. It's bad enough that the start area is one big mess, with multitudes of obviously much slower runners clogging the front of the pack. A late start to an already late starting time, a narrower starting area, it was all bad. And I'm not even going to mention the finish area...This is my hometown run, but I'm embarrassed by it all. | |
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A Runner from Los Angeles
(3/7/2002)
"An Event, Not a Race" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 I run marathons because I enjoy the competition and the joy of setting a PR. It is obvious that the organizers could care less about people like me: 1. The race starts close to 9 a.m. - ridiculous in a warm area like L.A. Rock n Roll in San Diego starts at 7 a.m. 2. Aside from the invited athletes, there is one large corral packed with people. No organization whatsoever regarding placing runners in appropriate spots. This leads to downright dangerous conditions when you have sub 6-7 min/mile runners standing behind 250 lb walkers and grandmothers, etc. It is a joke. I've seen plenty of people falling and many close calls. 3. The new start is even worse than the other race starts because it is a narrow bridge. There were so many people packed in that men and women were urinating off the bridge (a truly disgusting sight) and against buildings. 4. Race organizers say 'the chip' solves all. B.S. - it shaves off the time it takes to reach the starting line, but does nothing to make up for the time lost in traffic jams that lay ahead for miles. And you should have seen the lines to the john both before and during the race. 5. Too many damn people. The organizers are greedy it seems. Do they really need to do a bike tour and do they really need 23,000 runners when they can barely handle half that amount? They don't even give money to charity with all this money; instead, charities are allowed to be associated with the marathon and try to raise money on their own. Please organizers, learn from well organized races like Chicago, San Diego and Boston (to name a few) so that L.A. becomes a real race. Limit registration, start earlier, organize the start and get rid of the bike tour. It is obvious that competitive runners avoid your race when a 3 hr race gets you into the top 100 in a 23,000 participant race. | |
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A Runner from Camarillo, California
(3/7/2002)
"Terrible organization!" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 This was my second marathon, and having had a wonderful experience at the Suzuki Rock 'n Roll in San Diego last June, was expecting more of the same. I was wrong. Even without the late start (9:15), 8:45 still seems a bit late given Southern California weather. I was unimpressed by the corporate sponsorship. The Gatorade ran out after about mile 10, and the 'Clif-Shot' gel was almost non-existant. I found that I relied most on the wonderful fans and their orange wedges, bananas, and ice chips. The clocks were few and far between, and I did not even notice one at the start. A half-mile marker would have been nice before the finish, and there needed to be way more room at the finish area. I am from the area, and I know LA can do much better than this! |
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