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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: 473 [displaying comments 231 to 241]
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R. S. from Salt Lake City, UT
(3/11/2007)
"Applause for the volunteers!!" (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the volunteers at the aid stations. They kept me going in the heat near the end as they called my name and said how good I was doing, even though my mind was telling me how bad I was doing. The crowd was sparse at times, but also very enthusiastic. Congratulations L.A.!! Unfortunately, this was another DEVINE disaster. The organizers of this race ran last year's Salt Lake Marathon. Like this race, it had a late start, in June, in Salt Lake City. If you thought this race was hot, and it was, try mid-80's to 90 degrees. The crowded finish corral was ridiculous. I would cut ties with Devine. | |
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M. K. from Southern CA
(3/11/2007)
"What little I saw of it..." (about: 2007)
4-5 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I was only able to complete 9 miles before dropping out due to heat illness, but what little I saw of the course wasn't too bad. However, I didn't see the bleak final miles. I do know I could live without the uphill start; great way to tax one's glycogen stores from the start. Saw lots of people darting ahead and wondered how they would fare in the later miles. I do know that a lot of the water stops were already starting to close down, and the earlier ones were more of a "self-serve" variety. Inexcusable in the heat! I'm just glad I had a water bottle with me. A race that advertises itself as welcoming of back-of-the-packers needs to have better staffing at the water stops. Not sure if I will do next year's race. We really do need an earlier start - 8:30 is ridiculous! I'm afraid that will fall on deaf ears, because myself and others have been pleading for an earlier start for years now. | |
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B. G. from Other coast- CT
(3/11/2007)
"Not a big-league marathon" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Thought that Los Angeles would put on a better event. There was nothing special about it, from the expo through the finish area. Felt like the route was designed to make sure runners didn't get in the way of LA traffic flow on a Sunday morning. One long strech went through an industral zone with few folks along the route and no support. Not much to see after Hollywood Blvd. Hot and very dry. Runners scattered down on the road everywhere after halfway. Generally no reason to return to this one. Not what I would expect from a city that prides itself on image and outdoor activity. Maybe they should stick to surfing competitions and leave marathons to towns that see them for more than traffic detours. | |
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DON ANDERSON from FERGUS FALLS MN
(3/10/2007)
"THE END OF DEVINE" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 Been to marathons all over the US!! Devine just put the worst on!! From the lack of signs at the expo - which was the worst I've ever seen - to spending over an hour looking for warm-up bag clothes, to very poor info before the race, Devine is on their way out and they're showing people just how bad things are! -Don | |
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M. B. from Visalia, CA
(3/10/2007)
"I expect MORE from Devine Sports." (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Three corrals for 27,000 runners? Come on. Is that organization? Ask Boston how to seed runners for a smooth, safe start. Bag drop-off was the most ridiculous - in fact, the worst ever in 61 marathons; not the volunteers, but the organization was elementary school. Ask Napa Valley how to use a school bus. Bag pick-up was ludicrous, requiring well-meaning volunteers to have each runner sign their name to find the bag and again to receive their bag. What is Devine Sports doing with my entry fee??? Ask Rock N Roll how to get help from UPS. Medal plain, even for Honda. T-shirt fair due to the bright colors! You can't control the weather, but if you start at 6:30 a.m. you avoid a lot of over-heating and dropouts: what was it, 7,000 DNF's??? The 6th Street Bridge view of LA was awesome. But my race time at least 10 minutes longer than expected.... I love LA, but Devine Sports, wow, what happened? I'll think twice before registering for Chicago, Salt Lake City, or "new" Las Vegas. I'm sure Devine Sports treats its ambassadors with care! How about the regular marathon runner? Oh, I almost forgot the race expo... or was it a car show? | |
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p. n. from nyc
(3/10/2007)
"please change this course" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I love LA, loved last year's race and was planning to keep coming back for this marathon. However, unless a course change is made for next year's race, I will be running somewhere else next March. Way too much of the course was uphill during the last eight miles and no shade or cover to speak of. I was running a 3:40 pace until then and got crushed by the heat, the sun and the steady climbing the last 6 miles - finishing in 4:03. I would prefer to see this race start at 6:30 (like Miami) so that getting off the roads before the sun and heat really kick in is practical. The organizers need to understand that the field for this race is way slower than most marathons. Only 8-9% of runners finished in under 4 hours which (I think) is unheard of. With that in mind, they should be catering to runners who on average are spending 5 hours on the course, and this requires an earlier start. This is a Southern California (AKA desert) marathon after all. | |
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R. A. from Pasadena, CA
(3/8/2007)
"Hot and Crowded" (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 If you want to run a fast race in Southern California, do not run this one. 1) The new "mostly" downhill course is only downhill for the first half. The second half is rolling to uphill. 2) The trip to Boyle Heights (East LA) was miserable. There were no fans along most of this section, which happens to be miles 20-24, right when you need them most. It was through an industrial area, and we actually ran through a garbage dump by the LA river. 3) The race started 10 minutes late, and it is already delayed to 8:15 because of the bike tour. 4) The temp at the beginning of the race was about 65; at the end about 80. It feels much hotter than that because there is no shade along the second half of the course. 5) The course could be so much more shaded and scenic if more of the course was spent in Hollywood and less in downtown and South Central LA. 6) 25,000 runners and only about 100 porta-potties at the start line?? People were peeing on trees and on barricades and on the fences. I even saw a guy squat down, pull his shirt over himself and pee in a bottle. Overall, the idea of running from Universal to downtown was good; just remove the East LA loop and do a stretch along the Sunset Strip and through more of Hollywood. Then move the start time to 7 a.m., with the wheelchairs starting at 6:30 and the elite women starting at 6:45. There was no reason to delay the start so late because the bike tour wasn't even done on most of the marathon course anyway. | |
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G. M. from Chino Hills, Ca.
(3/8/2007)
"The change in route was not supporter friendly." (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 The route was very non-runner supportive. The fans of many neighbor hoods were not involved or just didn't care. No oranges, water etc. let alone a cheer. Were running in closed warehouse areas, not a soul to be seen. Maybe more volunteers or water stations in those locations. And also running through a major shopping area where no one gave a hoot about us, just wanting to cross the street to get to the other shopping areas. Bad idea. Two years ago I sent a similiar email, complimenting the organization for the volunteers and their very friendly neighborhoods with PLENTY of oranges and water and lots of CHEER. Not this year, sorry. Thank you and good luck next year! | |
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R. K. from Los Angeles
(3/7/2007)
"Cursed weather" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Except for the torrential rain of 2000, this race has consistently had extremely hot conditions. No matter if the weather is cool the weeks before the race - race day is always scorching. Oh well... | |
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e. m. from SEATTLE
(3/6/2007)
"One of the worst courses in LA Marathon history" (about: 2007)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The times prove it. Even the elite runners were about 10 minutes slower than last year. I'm not a legacy runner, but I've run 15 LA Marathons and I believe this course was hillier than last year - especially going over the bridge on mile 20 or 21. I don't think I'll run next year's race. |
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