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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 341 to 351]
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J. D. from Los Angeles
(3/18/2004)
"Give us ALL a 22 Minute Head Start!" (about: 2002)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Why is it that course organizers allow the elite women to start at 8:10 a.m. while forcing the rest of us to start a 8:32 a.m.? How about allowing us ALL to start at 8:10 a.m., or better yet, 7:30 a.m.? | |
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T. L. from Santa Clarita, CA
(3/17/2004)
"Start this race earlier in the day" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my third L.A. Marathon - I ran in 1988 and 1989. The course change is so-so, I preferred Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and Hollywood to the Fairfax District. Hills I don't mind. 75 degrees I can live with. I can handle an uphill finish. But at Olympic and Normandie (mile 24) the thermometer read 92 degrees. The main problem was the start. 6 AM would be preferable. I don't care if that would impact the bike ride -- hold that on Saturday or don't do it. This is a marathon with a fun bike ride added, not a bike race with a fun run of 26.2 miles. 8:30 is far too late. Also there was no attempt to line up the runners at the start except on the honor system, which didn't work, and one sub-4 corral which was close to empty. Let's go back to sorting the runners based on their PR's or on 10K times. The crowd was great. God bless all those residents with their hoses, their bowls of ice, their drinks, their oranges, and their cheers. The expo was good and the parking was no problem. I may enter this one again next year, but I'd really like to have an earlier start and have a chance at breaking my PR rather than settling for a time 17 minutes slower than PR (set 3 months previously) just to get through the race without killing myself. | |
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alan t. woodruff from la quinta california
(3/17/2004)
"Too Late, Too Late, Too Late" (about: 2004)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 13th LA Marathon, and I have been through hotter... but this one was tough!!! The crowd has always brought me back, but the course sucks - bring back Hollywood. I'll be back! | |
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R. M. from Chicago, IL
(3/16/2004)
"Hot Hot Hot Hot!!!" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Okay, it was hot! I agree with the other comments, hopefully they will have an earlier start next year. I do like this new course, I ran this race in 2001 and whoa....tons more hills. As for the spectators, you gotta love them....to sit out in the heat! Not sure if I'll be back next year for the race. | |
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k. p. from greeley, colorado
(3/14/2004)
"Soooooo HOT!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Has anyone mentioned that the marathon starts way too late? Most marathons here in Colorado start by 7:00, I can't imagine why one in LA would start so late! The course wasn't bad - nothing special but the hills were short and I didn't really notice the slight uphill during the second half of the race. The spectators were amazing - I can't imagine better support. Names on the bibs were great - very inspiring to hear people cheering you on. It was fun to run in such a huge event, but the start time definitely needs to be changed. | |
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J. P. from Salt Lake City
(3/14/2004)
"Great course/spectators" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ignored previous posts about the heat and ran the 2004 race anyway. Now I understand. Much too late a start for the intense heat. This was my worst time in 4 years. The fan support was great and the sub 4 corral was awesome, but the heat had people dropping like flies. | |
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E. N. from Sothern Cal.
(3/13/2004)
"Thank God for the spectators!" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 3 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This is my 3rd L.A. Marathon. Last time was in 2002 when it was also very hot. I'll add my voice to the chorus of those who want an earlier start time. Hopefully, organizers will listen. As a racewalker, I'm very aware of race etiquette(i.e. starting toward the back, staying to the right to allow others to pass, etc.) but I really wish the marathon training groups would also teach race etiquette to their walkers and slower runners. Can't tell you how many times I had to cut through groups of walkers (and slower runners) going 3-6 abreast! If it weren't for the people in the L.A. community being out on the street with ice trays and garden hoses, and for all the water stops, I would have been among the masses taken to the hospital. The people of L.A. were incredible! I just wish the organizers would listen and offer an earlier start; I stayed at a hotel near the finish area and I swear all I heard were sirens as people were being hauled off to local hospitals due to the heat. Aside from that, I enjoyed the race, the spectators, and seeing Muhammad Ali at the start. Don't let the negative news reports about the people of L.A. be a barometer for your perceptions; on race day, I saw the REAL L.A., and it was wonderful...the people make the city. A big high five to the people who lined the street to cheer us on, and to keep us cool with their garden hoses and ice trays! | |
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R. H. from San Diego, California
(3/13/2004)
"Great crowd, too hot" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Lots of posts here from people who say this might be their last year running this marathon due to the heat. Count me in that crowd. I ran it last year and it was hot and tough, but this was even worse. One of the crew at the finish told me that parts of the course had reached 93 degrees. I believe it. After mile 18 I saw people lying on the grass everywhere. I met several 4:00-4:30 marathoners who finished in the 6:00 range because they were reduced to a walk by the heat. Really bad conditions. What makes this marathon great is the crowds. This includes both the running crowd (20,000 plus runners makes for a LOT of energy), and the crowd of spectators. I would guess few marathons with so much intense crowd support. Sorry to say I might not be back. | |
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H. T. from Westchester, California
(3/13/2004)
"Hot first marathon!!! " (about: 2004)
First Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 For me it was the first marathon. Since living in LA it was obvious to start here. I liked the course, it was a real challenge for me. I agree with one of my fellow runners that the markers should have been more accurate. This threw me off a bit since I don't have any experience with pacing such a run. Still I liked the organization although I don't have any comparison (yet). The crowd was amazing. After I started cramping between mile 22 and 23 it got so bad that I thought that's it, but thanks to the help of the people it got me going again and I could finish in an ok time for a first marathon. I will be back because I want to prove that I can do better! | |
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C. L. from Los Angeles
(3/12/2004)
"Whew! Way too hot!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is my first marathon and I ran with Student Run L.A. The course was not so bad, but they should reverse it - start with the hill and then finish with a downhill. The start time is also way too late - it was SOOO hot! The fans were GREAT! Couldn't have finished it without them, thanks for all the water, fruits, snacks, and those people spraying with hoses, that was awesome! I'm not sure if I would run it again, but it's not bad for a first-time marathon. |
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