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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 251 to 261]
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R. C. from USA
(3/5/2007)
"I ran around walkers the entire way! AAARRRGGG!" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 Ok, where to start? I started at the 9 mile pace sign. I had to run around walkers the entire course until the last 2/10ths. It was incredibly frustrating. My husband was a seeing-eye runner with our blind friend running his first marathon, so they needed a wider space to pass through. They had to snake about the entire way. Next... the porta-potties at the beginning were all in this circle with 10,000 people or more all crammed in trying to find out how to get in line. Then in the middle were the trucks for checking in belongings. Who's bright idea was that? Next... the water stations were disorganized and improperly manned. I had to actually wait at half the stations for water. It slowed my time down considerably. The porta-potties at some miles were right in between the water stations making it confusing. And my husband had to wait in a 10-minute line, which of course threw off his time as well as his "groove"! They needed more porta-potties at least in the first half of the race. I saw lines at everyone till I hit the coliseum, which was the half-marathon point. The only good thing I can say is that I do like the new course better than the old. They need a new race organizer though! | |
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C. N. from Los Angeles
(3/5/2007)
"Most of the course was very depressing" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Thank goodness for out wonderful fire department! Without them the heat would have been impossible. Much love! On the other hand I had high hopes for the new course. Unfortunately most of the changes were for the worst. The course was hot because of the high temps. But in cooler weather it still would have been depressing. The streets were some of the worst smelling areas of LA. We lost the green belts like San Vicente Blvd. and Lemert Blvd. They were replaced by bridges in industrial areas and the grimy areas of downtown and Hollywood. Can't a city like LA do better? At least we didn't lose Rossmore. Maybe the organizers should tour some of the uplifting, pleasant courses in northern CA. Check out the course for the Nike Women's Marathon for starters. The metro setup was great! I, for one, had never used the system, but would consider it now. | |
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N. F. from Orange County
(3/5/2007)
"2007 LA Marathon was horrible." (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 They ran out of resources for the walkers LONG BEFORE the race was over, yet they bill this as a race for walkers as well. All I heard all day was how horrible the new course was and that if this was the course next year, people would find another marathon to attend. VERY POORLY DONE. | |
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C. M. from Los Angeles
(3/5/2007)
"Definitely the hardest thing I've ever done" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Wanted to break four hours in my first marathon, and I did it. Faced every demon I've ever had - a profound experience for me. | |
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N. T. from Ventura, CA
(3/5/2007)
"New course - better, stronger, faster!" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The new course was more interesting, going through Hollywood, the LA Coliseum, etc. Relatively flat except for the beginning, and a bridge at the end. Organization was fine. Plenty of support. The new arrangement with the LA Metro was excellent. Should have a big directional sign at the finish, so tired runners know where to go towards the Red Line Metro. LA Roadrunners corral was a plus, although tricky to get to... you had to snake along the side of the starting line. Weather was better than expected. Not too hot. Missed the stripper giving free lap dances from last year on Wilshire Blvd.... | |
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C. F. from Orange County, CA
(3/4/2007)
"A poorly organized race." (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 My advice to Devine Race Management is visit a major marathon like New York or Boston and take notes on how they organize a race. Your notes will look like this: (1) The other major races have unlimited water, Gatorade, bagels, coffee, PowerBars, etc. at the starting area. Our race had none! In fact, a race volunteer in the staging area was asked where the water was located and he merely shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know." (2) The top marathons have spirited entertainment at the start in the form of live bands or lively D.J.'s as most runners gather two hours prior to the starting gun and enjoy inspirational music and entertainment while waiting. We had virtually none, and although there was one Randy Newman song played about the time the race started, nobody heard the music because there was only one speaker near the front. The sound system at the start was low-budget. Next year rent enough speakers so they can extend the entire length of the starting corral. (3) The major marathons have starting corrals where the faster runners are seeded toward the front and walkers are seeded at the back. We were supposed to have corrals, but the corrals were not marked, nor did volunteers enforce the corral concept. As a result, several Clydesdales and numerous 12-year-olds from Students Run L.A. were all up front. I love the S.R.L.A. program, but there were too many small 12-year-olds at the front. It is a safety issue. I know this was Devine's first year organizing this race, and it always takes a race or two to figure it out, but L.A. deserves a marathon as good as New York, Boston, Chicago, et. al. and L.A. is not even in the same league with those marathons. On the positive side, the post-race family reunion area was great, and the entertainment there was good. Also, the residents of L.A. that came out to cheer were fantastic. Come on, Devine! Let's step it up next year and give us a race as good as the other major cities. | |
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kirsten miller from los angeles, california
(3/4/2007)
"Longest race of my life." (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I did the marathon last year with my best friend. I ran it in 4:03, as a 12 year-old. Me and a group of 12 other people in my age category trained for 8 months before we were ready. I didn`t run it this year, but the same best friend I ran it with last year is running it this year. I wish her luck. I am going to go watch her finish. I don`t think I will ever do another marathon, as I only do track and field now, but it was a great experience. | |
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G. M. from U.S.
(2/13/2007)
"It feels good once you're finished" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great experience for me! Running isn't a sport that I "enjoy." So I can't believe I ever wanted to start, but I'm glad I did. It was a great experience. It was 26.2 miles of pain and exhaustion, but it always feels good to finish something that many people don't even have the guts to start.... I'm glad I started! Because once I start, and I set my mind to finish, I'm a winner. I ran it in 5:39. My first marathon! And I'm running it for the second time this year! | |
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Jesus Gallardo from Chihuahua, Mexico
(10/4/2006)
"I really enjoyed this race!" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I cannot put it in words, but everything went perfectly for me running this marathon, except that I wanted to break four hours and I couldn't. I am looking forward to running it again in 2007. | |
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LIllian Safarian from Los Angeles, California
(8/10/2006)
"It's not the hardest thing you can do in you life." (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The marathon is and isn't extremely hard. I knew all along I would finish; I just wanted to know my time. I wanted a good time and I got it... I ran 3 times a week for about an hour and a half, and I finished the marathon in six hours and nine minutes. It just proves you can do the physically impossible and you can move on to harder things |
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