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Marathon Details - Operation Jack Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > CA > Los Angeles > Operation Jack Marathon

Operation Jack Marathon

Operation Jack Marathon & Half Marathon, 5K

Los Angeles, CA USA

~~January 8, 2022~~ - CANCELLED

http://www.operationjack.org

News

Marathon Results

By Year:

2019 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Top 3 Finishers

Race Details

Two loops of a 13.1-mile out-and-back bike path, mostly along the Pacific Coast, with a short run along Ballona Creek.

Contact Information

Name:	Tim Bomba
Address:	PO Box 4922 Culver City, Ca. 90231
Phone Number:	323-610-8462
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (7)

Course 4.3

Organization 4.7

Spectators 2.9

Write a review

Number of comments: 7

W. W. from los Angeles (12/27/2016) "A Good Event for the Day After Christmas" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Run a marathon a day after Christmas may help you to eat healthy in Christmas parties. At least, that's my motivation. The day after Christmas in Los Angeles was in low 40th in 2016. With wind, it was chilly. The news reported that it was colder in LA than Chicago for that day. The course loops twice along the beach bike path, starting Dockweiler beach next to LAX. You run 4.5 miles north side, then loop back to 2 miles south side. The route is quite flat and scenic. As the race director said before the starting, if you don't see water during your run, you may be in a wrong router. Because heavy wind in the last few days, some sections of the path were fully covered by sand. It's like running on the beach sand in those sections. The route shares with other bikers and beach goers. It's good that the event is fairly small. No congestion happened along the way. The event was well organized. The start point and finish point were the same, which was in the parking lot where you could park your car. All were convenient. There were an aid station less than 3 miles apart. The aid stations supply water, Gatorade, trail mix, and some other snack. A couple of them supplied gel. There were mile marker every mile. However, the mile markers were inaccurate. For example, 26 mile marker was exactly on the biker path 9 mile marker. However, the finish line was way beyond bike path 9.25 mile marker. It made me wonder that if the total distance was accurate. This does not matter to me. I had good time running down the beach with about marathon distance. The results were viewable right after you finish. However, it was slow to appear on the web. There were sufficient volunteers to support the event. Like all the other small marathon event, you would not expect many people to cheer you up along the way.
S. J. from New York, new York (12/28/2015) "What a BEAUTIFUL RACE!!!" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I flew in from New York to run this race and it was absolutely a beautiful low key race with perfect temperatures along the ocean. And, it was for a great cause as well! Definitely recommend this one, and they should have a lot more people doing it now that it is a Boston Qualifier. It is a double loop course, so it makes for a better half marathon. While it was a cool day, there is no shade, and the sun wears you down for 26 miles. If it was not for the sun, this could be a PR type course. There are water and snack stops every two miles or so, but some of them were closer to three miles. The mile 22 aid station was closer to mile 21, and the next station came almost three miles later which was too long for no water or Gatorade. This is the only negative comment I would make. I finished 2nd in my age group and the plaque was awesome! The medals are also great!
Darcy Leo-Thiha Ike from CA (12/28/2012) "This is one of my favorites out of 46" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Operation Jack Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Flat fast, clean air, perfect weather & temp after a rain storm. CRISP not cold. I am truly honored to support Sam and Jack and all that they and the volunteers do to make this a kinder world. It is rare WIN-WIN and a wonderful day at the office for any marathoner. For me the marathon is like trying to tune up a 70-year-old car to run the Indy-500. Seven weeks out of heart surgery and the old crate ran just fine. See ya next year
D. K. from Rancho Cucamonga, CA (1/25/2012) "Wonderful Small Race" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 A great race for charity. The course is a double out and back. Not real interesting BUT bring your friends and you will have a blast as you get to see them repeatedly during the race. The organization is outstanding. I have no problem with the cotton shirt when I see the devotion of the organizers to the charity cause.
M. A. from Lemon Grove, CA (12/26/2011) "Great Marathon for Charity" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Well Organized, great marathon. The organization was great, the medal was great. My only 2 problems with it were 1. A course on a bike path gives me a lot of pain at my age, and the cotton shirt isn't my cup of tea. But a great race for a great cause.
Joe Reilly from Orange County (12/25/2011) "The Pacific Ocean Marathon! I love it" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I absolutely love this course. Having run over 160 marathons, I can say that this venue is one of my favorites. Operation Jack has a small hometown marathon flavor. Of the 300 participants, only 120 runners are marathoners, the rest are half-marathoners. However, I feel that it is necessary to make a correction concerning a previous runner's depiction of the course, concerning the terrain and asphalt. Because the marathon is run completely on a bike path, 70% of the course is hard concrete. This concrete segment is the 4.7 mile stretch from Manhattan Beach to Ballona Creek. So, if you have weak knees, take it easy on this stretch. Now, if I remember correctly, the Jetty Run, a 1.8 mile stretch going east along Ballona Creek to just before the Marina Freeway, is more asphalt, and a lot easier on the joints. The proceeding is not a complaint. It is just a clarification for would-be runners of the course. On the other hand, an advantage to concrete is that you do get great traction, lift-off. Operation Jack is a great tour of 5 California beaches: Manhattan, El Porto, Dockweiler, Playa Del Rey, and Marina Del Rey. Except for Manhattan, these beaches are mainly for bike riders, joggers, dog walkers, and strollers. These are not popular beaches for sun-bathing to the extent that Manhattan or Hermosa or Santa Monica Beaches would be. Yes, there are sun-bathers, but not a whole heck of a lot. I often tell my fellow runners that this course is more for viewing the maritime scenery of the South Bay, not for ogling bathing beauties. 'Caveat Emptor': Marathoners must share the path with cyclists, local joggers, etc. So, mutual courtesy should be 'de riguer'. Unfortunately, I have often found that some of the cyclists are not willing to share in this concept of mutual respect. Therefore, ' Beware of Cyclists'. Run defensively. Most important, Operation Jack, and its satellites in other states and Kabul, is run for a great cause, the fight against autism. My hat is definitely off to Sam the Race Director who has put so much of his energy into the fight against autism During the 1970s and 1980s, I often ran this course for my long training runs. In fact, I would start my run at Palos Verdes and then run north to the Santa Monica Pier. The Operation Jack Marathon course is about 1/4th of that course that I ran 30 years ago. And, I still love it.
C. S. from Glendale, CA (1/4/2011) "Great Day-After-Christmas Run on the Beach" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon is a great run on the beach the day after Christmas. The race is a double out-and-back on an asphalt bike path next to the Pacific Ocean. The course begins in the north edge of Manhattan Beach and runs north for 4 miles going under the take-off flight pattern of LAX. The course then runs east on the jetty next to Ballona Creek. The course is relatively flat with a couple of gradual 20-foot hills. In 2010 the weather was perfect - overcast with a light ocean breeze and temperatures in the low 50's. It was my fastest time of 15 marathons in 2010. I look forward to running it again in 2011.



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W. W. from los Angeles (12/27/2016) "A Good Event for the Day After Christmas" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Run a marathon a day after Christmas may help you to eat healthy in Christmas parties. At least, that's my motivation. The day after Christmas in Los Angeles was in low 40th in 2016. With wind, it was chilly. The news reported that it was colder in LA than Chicago for that day. The course loops twice along the beach bike path, starting Dockweiler beach next to LAX. You run 4.5 miles north side, then loop back to 2 miles south side. The route is quite flat and scenic. As the race director said before the starting, if you don't see water during your run, you may be in a wrong router. Because heavy wind in the last few days, some sections of the path were fully covered by sand. It's like running on the beach sand in those sections. The route shares with other bikers and beach goers. It's good that the event is fairly small. No congestion happened along the way. The event was well organized. The start point and finish point were the same, which was in the parking lot where you could park your car. All were convenient. There were an aid station less than 3 miles apart. The aid stations supply water, Gatorade, trail mix, and some other snack. A couple of them supplied gel. There were mile marker every mile. However, the mile markers were inaccurate. For example, 26 mile marker was exactly on the biker path 9 mile marker. However, the finish line was way beyond bike path 9.25 mile marker. It made me wonder that if the total distance was accurate. This does not matter to me. I had good time running down the beach with about marathon distance. The results were viewable right after you finish. However, it was slow to appear on the web. There were sufficient volunteers to support the event. Like all the other small marathon event, you would not expect many people to cheer you up along the way.
S. J. from New York, new York (12/28/2015) "What a BEAUTIFUL RACE!!!" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I flew in from New York to run this race and it was absolutely a beautiful low key race with perfect temperatures along the ocean. And, it was for a great cause as well! Definitely recommend this one, and they should have a lot more people doing it now that it is a Boston Qualifier. It is a double loop course, so it makes for a better half marathon. While it was a cool day, there is no shade, and the sun wears you down for 26 miles. If it was not for the sun, this could be a PR type course. There are water and snack stops every two miles or so, but some of them were closer to three miles. The mile 22 aid station was closer to mile 21, and the next station came almost three miles later which was too long for no water or Gatorade. This is the only negative comment I would make. I finished 2nd in my age group and the plaque was awesome! The medals are also great!
Darcy Leo-Thiha Ike from CA (12/28/2012) "This is one of my favorites out of 46" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Operation Jack Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Flat fast, clean air, perfect weather & temp after a rain storm. CRISP not cold. I am truly honored to support Sam and Jack and all that they and the volunteers do to make this a kinder world. It is rare WIN-WIN and a wonderful day at the office for any marathoner. For me the marathon is like trying to tune up a 70-year-old car to run the Indy-500. Seven weeks out of heart surgery and the old crate ran just fine. See ya next year
D. K. from Rancho Cucamonga, CA (1/25/2012) "Wonderful Small Race" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 A great race for charity. The course is a double out and back. Not real interesting BUT bring your friends and you will have a blast as you get to see them repeatedly during the race. The organization is outstanding. I have no problem with the cotton shirt when I see the devotion of the organizers to the charity cause.
M. A. from Lemon Grove, CA (12/26/2011) "Great Marathon for Charity" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Well Organized, great marathon. The organization was great, the medal was great. My only 2 problems with it were 1. A course on a bike path gives me a lot of pain at my age, and the cotton shirt isn't my cup of tea. But a great race for a great cause.
Joe Reilly from Orange County (12/25/2011) "The Pacific Ocean Marathon! I love it" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I absolutely love this course. Having run over 160 marathons, I can say that this venue is one of my favorites. Operation Jack has a small hometown marathon flavor. Of the 300 participants, only 120 runners are marathoners, the rest are half-marathoners. However, I feel that it is necessary to make a correction concerning a previous runner's depiction of the course, concerning the terrain and asphalt. Because the marathon is run completely on a bike path, 70% of the course is hard concrete. This concrete segment is the 4.7 mile stretch from Manhattan Beach to Ballona Creek. So, if you have weak knees, take it easy on this stretch. Now, if I remember correctly, the Jetty Run, a 1.8 mile stretch going east along Ballona Creek to just before the Marina Freeway, is more asphalt, and a lot easier on the joints. The proceeding is not a complaint. It is just a clarification for would-be runners of the course. On the other hand, an advantage to concrete is that you do get great traction, lift-off. Operation Jack is a great tour of 5 California beaches: Manhattan, El Porto, Dockweiler, Playa Del Rey, and Marina Del Rey. Except for Manhattan, these beaches are mainly for bike riders, joggers, dog walkers, and strollers. These are not popular beaches for sun-bathing to the extent that Manhattan or Hermosa or Santa Monica Beaches would be. Yes, there are sun-bathers, but not a whole heck of a lot. I often tell my fellow runners that this course is more for viewing the maritime scenery of the South Bay, not for ogling bathing beauties. 'Caveat Emptor': Marathoners must share the path with cyclists, local joggers, etc. So, mutual courtesy should be 'de riguer'. Unfortunately, I have often found that some of the cyclists are not willing to share in this concept of mutual respect. Therefore, ' Beware of Cyclists'. Run defensively. Most important, Operation Jack, and its satellites in other states and Kabul, is run for a great cause, the fight against autism. My hat is definitely off to Sam the Race Director who has put so much of his energy into the fight against autism During the 1970s and 1980s, I often ran this course for my long training runs. In fact, I would start my run at Palos Verdes and then run north to the Santa Monica Pier. The Operation Jack Marathon course is about 1/4th of that course that I ran 30 years ago. And, I still love it.
C. S. from Glendale, CA (1/4/2011) "Great Day-After-Christmas Run on the Beach" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Operation Jack Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This marathon is a great run on the beach the day after Christmas. The race is a double out-and-back on an asphalt bike path next to the Pacific Ocean. The course begins in the north edge of Manhattan Beach and runs north for 4 miles going under the take-off flight pattern of LAX. The course then runs east on the jetty next to Ballona Creek. The course is relatively flat with a couple of gradual 20-foot hills. In 2010 the weather was perfect - overcast with a light ocean breeze and temperatures in the low 50's. It was my fastest time of 15 marathons in 2010. I look forward to running it again in 2011.

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Marathon Details - Operation Jack Marathon