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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 281 to 291]
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P. B. from Canada
(3/21/2006)
"A long way from the big leagues" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 LA might boast one of the biggest marathon fields, but it is a long way from matching other major marathons. This was my 8th marathon and by far the worst course. It was downright boring - strip malls and light industrial zones with no LA reference points whatsoever. Crowd support was sparse and even the expo was a big disappointment, with a number of major companies notably absent. And what's with the young kids on the course? At about mile 22, I was dodging two kids chasing each other with a water bottle. How about keeping the roads clear for marathoners? I managed to re-qualify for Boston, so I was happy with my result, but I cannot imagine ever coming back to LA for the marathon. It's shame - because the city has so much to offer, I really expected a whole lot more from a race this big. | |
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D. D. from La Crescenta, California
(3/21/2006)
"L.A. Marathon XXI was cool!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Thanks Mother Nature for a cool day. Thanks to all who cheered the runners along the way. You gave us runners the extra push to finish. Thanks to all volunteers. You guys did such a great job. To the cute kids handing out water at Rossmore, I thank you. Seeing that while going through that neighborhood was priceless. My prayers go to the families of the fallen runners. This was my second LA Marathon and will run again next year because it's nice to see the city coming together. I love LA! :o) P.S. To future LA Marathon runners: Save some extra energy for the second half of the marathon because it is uphill. | |
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A. M. from LA, CA
(3/21/2006)
"Nameless bib and unable to track online" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was my second LA Marathon. I signed my fiance up this year as well. Though we signed up online well before the cut-off date to have our names on our bibs, when we picked them up at the expo, we were disappointed to find they were nameless. My parents greatly enjoyed tracking my progress online last year; unfortunately this year when they typed in both my and my fiance's info to track - no matches were found. The thing that most disappoints me is that as of right now, there is no "unofficial time" for my fiance listed on the results page after looking up both his name and bib number. Though we know we both finished, it would be nice to have an official record. I am disappointed. | |
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R. C. from Los Angeles, CA
(3/20/2006)
"I Love LA!!!" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I really love this race. I'll be back again and again. This race shows off the best of LA - the 'boring neighborhoods' people talk about are filled with spectators who are thrilled that the marathon remembered their neighborhood. The race starts late, but to start earlier and skip the bike tour would be missing the point of this race. Boston starts at noon - that's tradition. So is everything that this race is all about! | |
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F. M. from Los Angeles
(3/20/2006)
"It could be better!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This marathon is over-promoted and consequently over-crowded. Unless you can prove you have run a faster marathon you end up in the general population. Basically you have no control over your time until about the 10 mile-mark when the field starts to break up a little. For example, I can comfortably run 7.5 miles in 1 hour, but after one hour running the marathon the "pack" had only gotten to about 5 3/4 miles. I expended a lot of energy trying to get through the crowd. At the end of 10 miles I felt I had run 15 miles (and if the truth were known, I probably did). The field never really thinned out to where you were not bobbing and weaving to get around people. The course was routed through some narrow residential streets where the pace slowed to a near walk. There were not enough portable toilets on the route - lines of 20+ people were common. In the end I wound up using a vacant lot for relief. If you want to experience what it is like to just run a marathon and you do not care about your time (a fun run), I would recommend this. Otherwise pick a venue with less crowding where you can run at your own pace. The catch-22 of this whole thing is that no matter how fast you are, if you run in the general pack you will have a tough time beating 4 hours and hence will never graduate into some of the faster corrals for next year's race. | |
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C. J. from Granada Hills, CA
(3/20/2006)
"Good crowd support" (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Because of lack of training I mostly walked the marathon but still finished with about a 14:20 pace. This was the first time I had (intentionally) put myself towards the back of the pack so I got to see what it was like. The first Clif Shot station on Crenshaw had already packed up and left, leaving behind only empty boxes and lots of empty packets on the ground. Water support, as usual, was good, though one of the stations (mile 18 or so) was out of cups and it looked like the last water station at mile 25 was about to run out of water. Crowd support, as always, was excellent. I got a few orange slices from people I didn't know at just the right time. And thanks to the guy with the ice at mile 22! For at least the last 2 years you could set up wireless alerts so your friends could track you while they were waiting for you. This wasn't available this year as far as I could tell. (I checked as late as 6:30 race morning and there were no links to set it up.) This was very handy for my friends in the past; I hope they bring it back next year. Also, on the marathon's website it listed two different starting times for the main pack in different places. | |
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ginger lassy from Los Angeles
(3/20/2006)
"L.A. - What a Great City" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run numerous marathons, including most the the Los Angeles Marathons. The spectators in Los Angeles are the best! What a feeling to be high-fived along the 26.2-mile course. Plus, now that our names are printed on our bibs, we get that personal boost of hearing our name and "You rock" called out. It's as close as one gets to feeling the rush that elite athletes must feel. The spectators handing out food, vaseline, drinks, etc. could not be more encouraging. It really touches me everytime I run a marathon. My small criticism is that if anyone is new to the L.A. Marathon, they have missed out on running when the course included a run through Hollywood with all of it's throng of tourists, spectators, quirky sights, and excitement. And, Chinatown, oh my. A unique experience. Beautiful Miss Chinatown waving to the runners while the colorful, ferocious dragons, writhed along the street! The course was harder in those days, but more fun. Thanks L.A. for your big heart and for this big event. You rock. -Ginger Lassy | |
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M. J. from bermuda
(3/20/2006)
"SWEET" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Five times in a row, it just doesn't get any better. What a party!! Keep up the great job. I look forward to running it again and again. WE LOVE LA!!! | |
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J. G. from Garden Grove, CA
(3/20/2006)
"Bag drop-off was horrible" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Pros: The course was really organized and pretty interesting. Crowd support was awesome and there were plenty of refreshments at every mile. The volunteers were very supportive as well along the course. Cons: Nobody anywhere knew where the bag drop-off was. Some volunteers would send people to one location and another would send them back to opposite way. I spent about 35 minutes trying to find the bag drop-off and had to run to the start line. Overall this marathon was good, although I have run better ones. If the race organizers see these posts: please do something about bag drop-off. I saw so many stressed out runners trying to get to the start line. I even saw some runners running with their bags. | |
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Greg Johnson from Los Angeles
(3/20/2006)
"What a Feeling!" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. I have never experienced anything like it in my life and I have to say that this was the bomb!!! I was so overwhelmed that I just broke down in tears when I crossed the finish line!! Loved it.... Now how do I get my photos? |
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