Fitness and Faith

So just over a week ago I ran the LA Marathon for the 6th time. There truly is something about the LA Marathon…at least there was. For the first time in 6 years of running (not consecutive years) I was very disappointed in the race as a whole. I mean even the year that they ran out of medals was better than this.

First was the expo, at Dodger stadium outside with minimal vendors. When I first started running LA the expo was packed with vendors, they were all trying to get a spot in the expo but now many of the vendors I expected to be there were simply not there. Instead they were at other races scheduled for this same day. It makes me wonder, who thought scheduling LA Marathon and OC Marathon on the same weekend was a great idea? These two races share many of the same runners and running communities and it appears that some of the vendors chose to do OC Marathon over LA. The expo was outside Dodger stadium and there were no convenient restrooms (there were Porta-potties if you went all the way back out through the exit part and then had to go all the way back through if you were not done). Overall rating of the expo was a definite thumbs down.

Race day was not much better. It felt very unorganized at times, people seemed to be unaware of where they were supposed to go before the race started. Some people were able to find good spots to sit and wait if they got there early and had done the race before but others were lost. The course was terrible. After doing stadium to sea for 5 years you come to have a certain expectation of how good a course is. One of the worst parts was on the back part of the race after you saw the people ahead of you getting to the finish while you continued to run several miles more. The last 6-7 miles were so long feeling, with stretches of nothing, no good views. Overall, after this race I decided I will not be running LA again (as long as it is not Stadium to Sea).

For myself, my running was not super amazing, I ran with a pacer that was keeping a decent pace. I was not trying to get a PR because I knew with having been gone for 2 weeks in October and time off from running in August and July (I sprained my ankle July 4). The last 6 or so miles were very hard, there were more hills (who has an uphill for the last mile or so of the race?) For now, I am glad I finished, that I got my LA Loyal Hat and my Conquer LA medal. Did you run LA Marathon? What are your thoughts?