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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 361 to 371]
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Jen Berardinelli from Idaho
(3/10/2004)
"WAY TOO LATE!" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 If they would start this marathon at 6:30 maybe we could actually have a chance to achieve our time goals. I've done this 2 years in a row and it just gets too hot! This year was a joke - even the wonderful spectators couldn't make me run this again at 8:30!!! | |
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scott casamassa from San Dimas, California
(3/10/2004)
"The best marathon in the United States" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The race was awesome and all the fans and helpers what really make this race spectacular. This was my first Los Angeles Marathon, and eight overall amazing venues keep up the great job. I will be back next year. | |
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S. B. from Las Vegas, NV
(3/10/2004)
"Hot. Very, Very Hot!" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Was hoping for the annual average temp of 69 degrees; instead got 80+. Looked on weather.com for the hourly temps on a record tying day (87 degrees), and the temp peaked out between 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. Brutal! Nice course, much of the entertainment seemed to be in the first half. Well organized for its size. Great expo. Got to see Ali and a few other celebs. Would really like to run this event again in kinder conditions. | |
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A. R. from South Gate, California
(3/9/2004)
"It was great, except it was very sunny" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran this year's marathon with Students Run L.A. and even though the course was too hilly and it was very hot, it was still great. There were plenty spectators to cheer you on and when running through the residential zones there were people that were nice enough to hose you down. | |
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Carol Bautista from Southern California
(3/9/2004)
"STARTS TOO LATE EVERY YEAR!!!" (General Comments)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 Thank God for the homeowners along the course and their water hoses... they are WONDERFUL!! It's WRONG for runners & walkers to have to wait for the former mayor to finish the bike-a-thon before the marathon can get started. This is supposed to be a MARATHON for MARATHONERS... let runners and walkers start at 6:00 a.m. Offer an early start for walkers!! People have been screaming for an earlier start for years -- why don't Burke & Buddies DO something about it? | |
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E. L. from Pottersville, NJ
(3/9/2004)
"A study in extremes" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my 31st marathon. I ran LA in 2004 and also 12 years ago. The race does an excellent job in some departments, such as registration and parking. The expo is likewise excellent. The course is about average, and a little disappointing because LA has so many interesting sights not on the course. The drawbacks are that the mile markers are inaccurate or missing, and the start is very poorly managed. I can't recommend that any serious marathon runner consider running this race for time until accurate mile markers are in place on every mile. It isn't that difficult to draw a chalk line across the street every mile; having a banner ('within 100 yards or so') isn't good enough. Also, the start is on a wide street with a three mile straightaway, so it's unnecessary to have Air National Guard Volunteers keep everyone 50 yards from the start line until well after the gun is fired. Likewise, can't at least one volunteer walk through the crowd and tell the walkers to stay away from the front? It would take so little for this race to have the finest start of any major marathon, as it was 12 years ago. Another problem is the little kids on the race course in the last 5K or so walking with their parents. I don't know whether they were the tail end of the concurrent 5k or charity runners who had started early, but they posed a hazard to themselves, and their parents apparently didn't know any better either. | |
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R. C. from Tucson, AZ
(3/9/2004)
"Hot-hot-hot" (about: 2004)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 At about 10k, running elbow-to-elbow, I threw away my strategy and adopted this one: 'Relax, enjoy the spectators, drink LOTS of water, and don't get heatstroke!' It was too hot by far, but my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The names on the bibs were great. Unlike other runners, I liked the diversity of the course. We had a great room at the Bonaventure, about half a block from both start and finish lines. We were off our best times by almost an hour, but what the heck! | |
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Keith Lewis from Pasadena, CA
(3/9/2004)
"Way too hot!!!" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 When are the organizers going to get it? An 8:30 A.M. start in March in LA is just too late. I ran this marathon two years ago and the heat was uncomfortable, but the 80-degree-plus temperatures this time were almost unbearable. It made for my worst time out of five marathons. I live in Pasadena right next to LA, but I won't run it again unless they start it earlier in the day or move it back a month or two. I have fun when I run marathons, but this one was not fun. The organization also still can't compare with the Rock and Roll marathons, especially the inaugural P.F. Chang Rock and Roll in Phoenix, which I HIGHLY recommend. | |
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J. H. from Los Angeles
(3/8/2004)
"What a Blast!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon and I had such a great time! I'm an LA native, so it was so exciting to run through the city. The first half of the course was a little dreary and there were some spots with little to no spectator support... but this was all made up for by the last 13.2 miles. People were really excited and cheered you along. It was hotter than I possibly thought it could be... it felt like it hit 90 degrees at some point! But, I still had the best time and can't wait until next year! | |
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c. c. from los angeles, ca
(3/8/2004)
"First race, not too bad... but not great" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This course was drab, the sights did not do this city justice. I was more content looking at the flattened cups along the water stations than at the ugly dilapidated buildings along the route. It was hot. I don't know the exact weather conditions, but as far as I know we began in the upper 70s and by late-morning it was in the mid 80s. At one point, the temperature hit 92. It was nearly unbearable. Starting the race earlier would not have made a difference, running this marathon was like traipsing through Hell. However, homeowners along the route spraying us with their garden hoses as well as the Fire Department completely drenching us really really helped. If it weren't for them, I would probably be in the hospital right now, along with the many other people sent to the ER as a result of the heat. The volunteers and the rest of the crowd really helped in the teen miles. Many came out with fresh delicious oranges and other snacks and goodies. Local cheerleading squads were also out, having our names on our bibs is an AWESOME idea. However, my only gripe is that in the last two mile stretch of the race, I did not hear a single cheer from the crowd. In the last .2, there was a dead silence. There I was, finish line in sight and I did not hear a peep, just stares from onlookers. I don't know about running this one again... HOWEVER -- I would definitely train with the Marathon's official training program again, The RoadRunners. THEY ARE AWESOME. |
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