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Jul 4, 2024

Long Beach Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Long Beach Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.0

Organization 3.6

Spectators 3.5

Number of comments: 240 [displaying comments 121 to 131]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 11 12 13 14 15 .. 24 > ]

M. P. from Santa Barbara (9/28/2007) "Good course" (about: 2006) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Long Beach Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 In my opinion, this was a good marathon. The course was generally flat - just a few freeway overpasses and a long incline near the end, which was probably very gently but felt tough because it was in the last 5 KM. Some people have criticized the surface as being too hard, but despite wearing the lightest pair of shoes the local running shop had, I had no problems. The first half of the course was very scenic in parts; later on, there were some drab sections, but by then it's difficult to appreciate the scenery anyway. Markers were present every mile (very clear) and 5 KM (painted on the road). I didn't miss any and they seemed to be in the right places. One doesn't get the same feeling of participating in a major event as in a really big marathon, like San Diego Rock and Roll, but this is a great marathon for the person wishing to get a fast time. Having to attend the expo was an inconvenience - I would much prefer to pay a couple of dollars extra and have my number and chip sent to me by post, but all major marathons seem to have compulsory expo visits. One can easily get to the start using the metro system. The only problem I had was that I was accosted by an overenthusiastic ticket inspector as I approached the ticket machine, in front of which he was standing. Apparently one is supposed to buy a ticket before entering the platform, but at this station the only machine was actually on the platform, so I was in violation of the rule. The marathon and half-marathon courses merge a couple of miles before the end. I quite liked this as I took great satisfaction from overtaking lots of people toward the end. This is a marathon that I would recommend, and I hope to do it again myself sometime.
U. L. from USA (9/28/2007) "Fast and fun race." (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Long Beach Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have been running the Long Beach Marathon for two years, and I always enjoy coming back. It is very well organized race, the air temperature is always perfect and course is nice. Highly recommend this race.
Jesus Gonzalez from Garden Grove, CA (10/25/2006) "I love this course" (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Long Beach Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was the third year in a row I've done this marathon and I love it. The course itself is relatively flat, scenic and fast. I would highly recommend this course for beginners to experienced marathoners. There were a few improvements from years past, one being the water on the course. I will definitely do this marathon again next year.
b. s. from Los Angeles, CA (10/24/2006) "First marathon - Great race!" (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Long Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I am so glad I chose Long Beach! I finished just under the average time and found there to be enough water, Endurathon (tasted good to me!), gels, changing scenery and entertainment along the way! I am especially grateful for the nice folks who rigged up speakers on their front lawn playing that song from Rocky! My husband required a bit of medical attention at the finish and we found the first-aid tent attendees to be very helpful! Thanks!
Kyle EricSon from Riverside, CA (10/23/2006) "Did I Run The Same Race?" (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Long Beach Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I'm always amazed to read others comments and can't help but wondering if I ran the same race. - To all the people complaining about traffic at the race; huh, no kidding? Maybe you should leave the house earlier (I live 60 miles away and got there in plenty of time with no problem). - To all the people complaining about the expo, T-shirt & goodie bag; is that really the reason you put all those training miles in and then ran a marathon? Send me your address next year and you can gladly have my T-shirt and goodie bag. - To all the people complaining about the water, sports drink & gels (either the taste of or lack of availability); maybe next year you should carry your own if you're that particular (a couple of gels will easily fit in a pocket and a couple of sports bottles filled with your liquid of choice will really not slow you down any). - To all the people complaining about the lack of spectator support or the volunteers; how many of your Sundays have you gotten up at some un-Godly hour and driven miles out of your way, simply to hand-out water or cheer on a bunch of ungrateful marathoners? Personally, I'm thankful for every individual who stands by the side of the road on their own free time to cheer for me or hand me water. - To the people complaining about lack of music on the course or entertainment; if music is really that important to you while you run, wear an Ipod or some other device (I can never really understand this particular complaint since you can typically only hear the bands for about 20 seconds as you run by them). The one criticism I do agree with however is regarding the start of the race. With 5,600 people doing the half and another 2,000 doing the full, the start is just way too crowded (especially considering that the runners are limited to only half of Shoreline Drive). Therefore, I'd like to see the marathoners get to start first, about 15 or 20 minutes before the half-marathoners to ease congestion and hopefully prevent the lead marathoners from encountering the last half-marathoners during the last couple of miles. All in all, I like the Long Beach Marathon and will keep coming back and suggest that the people registering any or all of the complaints above, stick to the zoo-like megamarathons like San Diego or LA, and leave Long Beach to the rest of us who are apparently completely different types of runners.
M. D. from Eaton, Colorado (10/22/2006) "Great Event - course deceiving" (about: 2006) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Long Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 11th marathon and I enjoyed the experience very much. We flew in from Colorado and I enjoyed the fact that we could stay at the Hyatt and access all of the race events very easily, the expo and the start finish area were adjacent to the hotel and made race day easy. We shuttled from the airport to the hotel and had an easy walk to the race activities and plenty of restaurants and entertainment options. The pasta dinner on the Queen Mary was fun and we took a short boat ride to the dinner and a short bus trip back to our hotel. I am afraid this setup has spoiled me for other marathons; it was great to be able to walk to the start line, check things out, return to your hotel room for necessary pre-race functions, then return to the start. The course also passes back by the start/finish area at about mile 6 which gives family an opportunity to cheer you on and then wait at the finish area. The course is advertised as flat and fast, I believe there is more elevation change in the course than realized, my Garmin Forerunner showed 3200 feet of elevation gain and loss over the course. The only really challenging uphill sections are the overpass sections (which are short), but it is definitely noticeable at times that you are running uphill or downhill. There is a considerable amount of the course on concrete so be prepared. The water stops were plentiful but the cups were only about 1/3 full and the replacement drink and water were not easily identified while running through the stops. I would have liked more fluid in each cup. The marathon and half marathon courses are combined for the last 2+ miles; the mix of runners and walkers was not managed. The runners had to weave through the walkers and at times the water stops on both sides of the roads had walkers standing in front of them making getting fluid for runners difficult. The course needs to be divided in this stretch to allow runners to run more easily and access fluids. If you want a one stop marathon and can get reservations at the Hyatt this is a great option. I dont know I would rate it a fast course due to the amount of slight elevation changes and the concrete but we had a great time. I would definitely consider doing this marathon again.
L. C. from West Covina, CA (10/21/2006) "A great "first marathon"" (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Long Beach Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed this experience. I enjoyed the relatively flat course. I really liked how at the start of the race they played the song from U2. It was very inspirational. However, I was a little frustrated in the beginning of the race since I was constantly dodging slower runners and walkers. It would have been nice if the race had corrals based on a person's pace per mile. The people at the water aid station were very helpful and I was very thankful. I was expecting to receive gel packets two times during the race (foolishly I did not bring my own), but when I arrived at the miles where someone was supposed to be passing them out, I found nothing. Thankfully, someone had a big box of pretzels and I was able to grab a handful. The spectators were really supportive. I plan on returning next year!
P. J. S. from Long Beach, CA (10/20/2006) "Awesome first-time half-marathon experience!" (about: 2006) First Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first time running in a marathon (and did only half) so I don't have any other experiences from which to compare. But I had a great time. It really pays to go early and take the time to research what I got myself into. I picked up my bib, timing chip, goodie bag early and got excited just from the energy of the participants and volunteers at the expo. I carpooled with others who knew their way around Long Beach streets and was able to park and get to the start area well before 7 a.m. I talked and listened to a previous participant; he gave me pointers on what actually happens on race day (start, aid stations) and the course. I'm fortunate to live in Long Beach so I've run part of the course on my own (by the beach) but was still amazed by the beautiful scenery throughout the entire half. Thank you to those who provided water, vaseline, music, cheering, and sprayed that sport conditioning during and after the race; I couldn't have finished it without you. I've fully recovered and am ready for another run.
S. F. from Foothill Ranch, California (10/18/2006) "Decent race, but better organization needed" (about: 2006) 1 previous marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my second marathon (did San Diego Rock N Roll in June). Overall, I enjoyed the course. Not too challenging (flat and fast), and decent community support. I liked the variety of scenery - some coastal, some by a golf course, some neighborhoods, some through the city. Here's what I didn't like: - I spent an hour waiting for my goody bag (they ran out five times at the expo?!?!). My bad for being stupid enough to wait that long, but the longer I had to wait, the more determined I was to get it. They kept trucking them in and one truck driver got lost. Why weren't they all there from the get-go? Small detail, but this poor organization put a damper on Saturday for my wife and kids. - At the aid stations, the sports drinks were not separate from the water; it would have been nice if there was one table of sports drink, one table of water, etc. Instead, it was totally random. Also, at the stations with GU, they had those after all the water and sports drink. Since there was water every mile, I chose not to carry my own; unfortunately, with the GU at the end, I didn't have anything to wash it down with. I'd think the organizers would logically know to hand the GU out first at those stations. - There was no water pre-race at the start line. If there was, I couldn't find it and the volunteers at the information booth didn't know anything about it. All in all, I enjoyed the race, but I was disappointed in the organization. I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much, but I'll be running a few more marathons between now and next year, so I'm going to wait to decide if I want run it again.
Paul Moeller from San Diego, CA (10/18/2006) "B minus. Could be better. A little too much hype." (about: 2006) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Long Beach Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Pro: Frequent, well-staffed water stops, relatively flat course, easy bib/chip pickup at (small) expo, nice weather, host hotels close to start and finish. Con: Over 13 miles of the course are on concrete, finish line is not spectator-friendly. I finished in 4:13 - the finish festival band had already quit (I heard they were good - too bad 2/3 of the marathon runners missed them), mass-start (marathon and half marathon - 8000 total runners) with no chutes or pacing groups. The course is pretty decent for an urban marathon (better than when I ran it in 2000), though the website hype saying that most of the course is within view of the ocean is much overstated. There are a few bland miles in the second half, but mostly it's pleasant, though unspectacular. There are several bridges/overpasses with inclines to make things interesting and/or frustrating (a reason, perhaps, why they don't provide an elevation map of the course). On-course entertainment was OK, The performers were good (I loved the Red Muffs band), but there was less entertainment than I had expected (mostly duos strumming guitars - I think there were two full bands). I encountered scattered pockets of enthusiastic crowds, but nothing like I've experienced at other marathons such as Flying Pig (a truly world-class marathon), Rock and Roll San Diego, Los Angeles, Columbus OH, or R&R Phoenix. I would compare this, in size, to the Carlsbad Marathon - which is much better overall (and definitely has more of a festive feel). Expo is small (couldn't even find a vendor selling gel - glad I brought some with me). T-shirt (the only premium to go with a goodie-bag full of junk) is crappy, boring, useless, and 100% cotton. Finisher's medal is nice. The whole experience was OK - but not worth the $95 entry fee. Overall, it seems that the organizers strive for something greater than they are willing to invest in. Part of the beauty of marathons is that, as a runner, on race day, undertraining will ultimately catch up with you - there is no hiding from reality. The reality of the Long Beach Marathon is that there is a bit more hype than substance, and it becomes apparent on race day. It makes me wonder how many of the organizers are actually runners. If they paid more attention, and were sensitive to some of the small details, this could be a much better mid-sized, urban marathon.

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