For a first-timer, this marathon was an eye-opener. Great, small-town feel and very welcome staffing at the start.

No lines or delays for anything. Excellent organization at the bib handout, and plenty of water if you needed it.

A past review did not recommend this as a 26.2 for the beginning marathon rookie; that couldn't be further from the truth. The famed hill at mile 2 was OK if you include hard, honest hill training in your regimen. It's not your marathon if you want a flat, easy course.

Very well laid out course with good traffic control at the intersections. Watch out for the few close cars, though.

At the aid stations, there were plenty of bananas, Gatorade, water, Gu and Shot Bloks. Great staffing here as well. I had my own Hammer Gel and Clif Bars just in case. Plus the overcast weather was a big plus.

I did it in 5:30 and was very satisfied. That's not bad for a big, 6'3", 230-pound, 46-year-young man.

I will do it again next year. The scenery is so worth it, and the great camaraderie amongst runners shines through.

Great job to all Kiwanis, PV volunteers and staff. You earned an A+ in my book on my very first 26.2.

This was my first 1/2 and I'm training for a full. The course was a bit of challenge (hills) but the view lends extra inspiration.

PROS: volunteers were very nice; some locals held up signs for motivation; they had water, sports drinks, bananas, restrooms at stops; the jazz band in the middle of nowhere was awesome; the booths, music, freebie samples at the end of race were nice; did I mention the beautiful view?

CONS: my official time was off by almost 9 minutes and they listed me finishing at the exact second as two other runners when I actually crossed the finish alone; my name was misspelled on the official list when I filled out the Scantron correctly at pre-registration; I guess these are minor aggravations considering that I'm not an elite runner, but come on....

I would run it again, if only for the challenge of the hills and the beautiful views.

The course is beautiful, but after hitting the "wall," that was of no help. What was very helpful was the guy at about mile 20ish with some spray-on painkiller. If it weren't for him, I'd hate to think of how much more pain I could've endured. By the way, this was my first marathon, and I now realize that I underestimated it badly - besides the fact that I was overconfident in my training. True, there are few spectators offering support, but the few that were out there kick-ass. Thanks to all of the volunteers!!

P.S. I didn't get my finisher's t-shirt.

The course is very challenging, but spectacular. The weather was perfect in 2009. I really enjoyed this small-town gem and would definitely consider doing it again. It was very sparsely attended, but I enjoyed that. There isn't really spectator support other than the aid stations, so bring your iPod for motivation. It's a no-frills race for the purists!

Pros - Course beauty; police/security support in the intersections; good signage on the course; real bathrooms with soap and water at the start (such a luxury!); race-day bib pick-up; small size; well-stocked aid stations (Clif Blocks, Gatorade, water, bananas).

Cons - The long climb from miles 20-23 is a killer; markers are not present at all miles; race organizers don't tell you in advance where Clif Blocks will be (so I ended up carrying my own gels instead); sharing the course with cyclists; running on a rather busy road shoulder. No chip timing, but the field of ~300 probably crosses within 20 seconds of the start, so that's not a big deal.

The heat was a killer in 2008. Not one breeze the whole time. I saw a guy go down right in front of me. Some idiot lady brought her dog. I don't recommend this marathon for beginners. If you live in LA and want to try something different, go for it.

It was a nice run, the course was quite beautiful and the hills were manageable. I did not receive my finisher's medal. They RAN OUT! That is amazing to me, when registration is required. I gave my name and bib number to a guy with a list at the end of the run and I haven't heard a thing. Now the email address above doesn't work.

I liked this race! It has a nice small-town feel, especially compared to some of those "big box" marathons! Running the road on the cliff above the ocean was very scenic! The course did have its challenging parts. The early start helped a bit with the heat, but one can't plan a picnic and predict the weather. Water/aid stations were fine, given the size of the marathon and level of support the organizers received from volunteers/sponsors. My experiences at running events: I always make sure I have my own supply of water, gels/energy bar... etc., just in case. Vendors at the expo were handing out tons of sport drinks, though. I didn't notice sunblock, but I did enjoy the relief for my sore calves from that muscle spray on mile 8. It had a bit of menthol smell, but nonetheless, refreshing. Mile markers didn't bother me either. I can understand if someone is timing their run or trying to PR. All in all, I was happy and will do this event again! Kudos to all involved!

Nice race - my sixth and most challenging marathon. (If you're not going up, you're coming down - there's not a level 1/8 mile in the whole course). Overall, good administrators and volunteers

I tried to get a t-shirt at the beginning of the race but was told I couldn't. I finished right at six hours and didn't ask about it again, because I felt like I was begging for it.

I never understand why they pack these things up right at about 5 hours. There is usually a skeleton crew left, and most remaining officials and volunteers make it very obvious that they would prefer to be somewhere else.

Get out your calculators. Something like 25-30% of all runners finish after 5 hours in just about every race. The entry fees from that sample probably constitute the net profit that these events generate (after expenses). Also the future "regulars" start from this pool.

Yet every time I've run (with few exceptions like Surfside in Texas) there remains nothing but a few empty tables and sometimes an annoyed chip collector at the end of the race. Certainly no food, but sometimes no water either!!!

They do this once a year. Stick it out and commit. We're not all built to run 26 miles in three hours.

- Marathon Finisher, Participant #325

I have an emotional tie to this event. The 2008 run was the big 40, and I HAD to do it. I first ran it in 1968 and ran 2008 wearing my 1968 finisher's shirt.

This is a local, basic marathon that hasn't changed much over the decades. It's you, the hills, views of the blue Pacific and coastline, plus some helpful volunteers and a few enthusiastic locals. That's it.

If you want to be pampered, or be part of a big production, this event is not for you. You can do same-day registration, there is no goody bag, and you get your finisher's shirt and medal when you complete it. No finish, no shirt; it has always been this way. Like with international futbol (soccer) matches, the national anthem is played at the start of the event.

Knowing that it would be a hot day, the race directors did an excellent job in that there were aid stations on average every 1.5 miles, if not more frequently. Most had water and Gatorade, and some also had bananas and gels.

Temps are usually mild and you are blessed with salt-air cool breezes, but not this time. The main problem this year was that temps got into the upper 80s, or may have hit 90; there was no breeze and it heated up early.

You run along a bluff until a steep climb at mile 2. The course out goes into Palos Verdes, trending down except for a noticeable uphill stretch at mile 7, and levels out soon thereafter for a few miles as you pass a small shopping center and head toward Lunada Bay. There, you do a five-mile loop through a residential neighborhood, where there are lots of little ups and downs. Then you head back toward San Pedro, with road trending up, with the toughest part being a slow and steady climb from miles 20 through 23. Mile 24 is the steep downhill you climbed at mile 2, and then you run back on the initial bluff to the finish.

I am used to running on the roads, so I thought traffic control was fine. However, as I am a lot slower than I used to be, I noticed less road space coned-off for runners, and less traffic control after I was out for five hours, than earlier (though to be candid, very little traffic control is really needed in the last few miles). At the last three aid stations, I didn't see any people, but there were plenty of cups of water and Gatorade. Also, by the time I finished, the exhibitors had all packed up and gone home.

I had a very difficult time because of the heat, and walked more than I would have liked to because of it, but in a marathon, you do what you have to do.

The comments mentioned regarding traffic control, and the last few aid stations and exhibitors do not bother me in the slightest; I do PV to run a marathon, period. I think the race directors did a very good job. But if a runner is used to a big production, he/she might think differently about these matters.

This is the first time I've run Palos Verdes but I was forewarned of the rolling hills - especially mile 2. However, I felt that there were other difficult hills throughout the course. The weather didn't help; it was hot! I appreciate all of the water and fuel drinks - I really needed them to survive the heat.

I really enjoyed the beautiful views and also the hills. Call me crazy, but it felt good to have a challenging course like this one. I wish, however, that there were timers at each mile; I had no clue how I was doing until I hit the finish line.

Better control of the traffic would be helpful, especially between miles 10 and 15, through the residential area. Vehicles did not want to wait for the runners and I had to dodge them. Plus these little kids on bikes thought it was cute to ride their bikes across the runners' paths. The residents in the area should be more cooperative or the route should be changed to avoid running by their homes.

Overall, I loved it and will do it again!