Run down the World Famous Hollywood Walk of Fame with fans and spectators cheering you on! The race starts in front of Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy Awards. Earn your Star Award upon crossing the red carpet finish line to complete your running tour of the Entertainment Capital of the World!
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RACE: Hollywood Half Marathon
DATE: April 11,12015
DISTANCES: Half Marathon/10K/5K
LOCATION: Hollywood, CA
START TIME: 6:00am
WEATHER AT START: 55 degrees
FINISHERS:
Half Marathon- 3261
10K- 1686
5K- 1491
(Updated from 2014 Review)
Lace up your running shoes and join the H’wood crowd for a fun run up & back along the city’s legendary “Walk of Fame” for the 4th running of the Hollywood Half Marathon. This past Saturday over 6,000 runners gathered outside of the Chinese Theater for the pre-dawn start to the Half Marathon/10K and 5K races.
REGISTRATION/PACKET PICK-UP
Registration costs for the Hollywood Half Marathon are quite reasonable when compared to other similar races as I only paid about $70. And while prices do climb as race day approaches, the Hollywood Half offers plenty of discounts on social media, various websites and through its many ambassadors. If you can’t find a discount code, it’s just because you didn’t look. Packet pick-up for the race was at another city landmark, the Hollywood Paladium Theater on Sunset Blvd. Their expo ran on Thursday and Friday and was quite easy to navigate.
The Paladium features a limited parking lot, but metered street parking is available if you don’t mind circling a block or two (just make sure you don’t park on Sunset during rush hour). One note, the race doesn’t offer race day packet pick-up (although you’ll still be able to get your medal if you show your race confirmation at the finish line). For future races I suggest they offer a raceday “solutions” table for those who can’t make it to the expo or have a travel snafu (a simple $10-$20 fee would probably make everyone happy).
TRANSPORTATION/PARKING
Since the race starts at the Chinese Theater, there are several solutions to your transportation/parking needs. You can either park at the Hollywood Highland complex or one of the many nearby lots (expect to pay anywhere from $10- $25, depending on the lot). Just be sure to get down there before the streets close. Another very viable option is to use the Metro Rail since there is a station that lets off right at the Hollywood Highland complex. I parked at the Universal City Lot and purchased a Metro Rail day pass ($6, plus $1 extra if you don’t already have a TAP card) and it was a short 5 minute ride to the start line.
T-SHIRT/MEDALS
In its inaugural running in 2012, the Hollywood Half Marathon introduced the “Walk of Fame” inspired star-shaped medal, red in color, which I really enjoyed. In 2013 it was white and last year the medal was blue. 2015 is the last year of this theme (curious to see what’s on tap for next year) and this final medal in the series was yellow in color and a nice addition to the prior three.
A slight change up in the race T-shirts for 2015 as prior years were white with colored side panels. This year’s shirt was a standard black shirt and featured the H’wood Half Marathon race logo on the front. It’s a fine shirt, but just felt a little less inspired than previous shirts. Here’s hoping next year’s shirt starts up a new theme as well.
For Legacy Runners (yours truly included), this year featured a sweet Hollywood Half Marathon running hat which complimented the legacy shirt from last year. I enjoyed seeing dozens of fellow legacy runners clad in their shirts trekking up and down the boulevard. Next year’s legacy prize I believe is a duffle bag (I think we get a gulfstream jet around year 10, but don’t quote me).
COURSE
Over it’s four year history, the race course for the Hollywood Half Marathon has undergone numerous facelifts (hey, LA knows its facelifts). Last year the race had to juggle things around at the last second and the course featured numerous turnoffs of the main street for a few blocks in order to add some distance to reach the 13.1 mile length. This year’s course continued its “wonky” ways (the race directors promise things to get better for next year’s race).
As mentioned before, the race starts in front of the Chinese theater and more or less does an “out and back” configuration utilizing Hollywood Blvd. as its main route. All of the runners (half marathon/10K/5K) start at the same place (and time). Signs tell the runners of the 5K/10K distances when to turn around.
For the half marathon runners there’s one little additional hiccup near the end, as we need to run past the finish line (which is off of Vine) for an extra half mile or so before doubling back. It does play a little bit with your head and that last mile just feels extra long as a result. Here’s hoping the 2016 course irons out all of the remaining bugs and loses the turnoffs.
COURSE SERVICES
Course services for the Hollywood Half Marathon are pretty standard fare, with water and energy drinks being provided approximately every mile and a half to two miles. The volunteers were a little on the light side in numbers (but still appreciated), so at times you were left grabbing your own cup off of the table. It would be wise to bring your own water bottle, just in case.
The course featured markers for most miles (no digital clocks, so bring your GPS along), but I did notice that a few of the signs were looking a little beat up (and Mile 10 was just a banner draped over a barricade). It might be time to invest in some new mile markers. And while they’re at it, the shoe chip timers could be upgraded from the old hard plastic tags that need to be cut off after the race and replaced with the disposable shoe tags or bib tags.
FINISH LINE SERVICES/POST PARTY
The race featured a decent finish line area where runners received some good snacks and water along with a chance to take a finisher’s photo.
RECOMMENDATION
Being a founding/legacy runner, I have a real soft spot for this race. I consider it to be the “little race that could” and continue to support it even with its shortcomings (we all love underdog stories). As the race prepares to hit its fifth year in 2016, I’d like to see the Hollywood Half Marathon resolve any ongoing issues and take it to “the next level” (sorry for using the entertainment industry cliche). Hollywood is known for movie sequels that fail to live up to the original. I hope that Hollywood Half Marathon can channel its inner “Fast and Furious 7” and show that the latest installment can be the flashiest of the franchise.
Nice – tshirt, medal and challenge medal, lots of water stops, starting @ Hollywood/Highland and finishing @ Hollywood/Vine.
Not so nice – the expo is inconvienently located and not open late enough. If your packet pickup is only on weekdays, leave it open one evening until 9pm. 6am start is too early. Really hard to park around this race. The course was nothing spectacular except for the start and finish. Just running down Hollywood/Sunset and branching off on to side streets. A circuit around Hollywood would be much better. Need better security at the corral entrances. I was weaving around walkers already in the first half mile.
“Hooray for Hollywood!” This past Saturday morning saw a “premiere” like none other as over 10,000 racers lined up outside of the famed Chinese Theater to take part in the 3rd running of the Hollywood Half Marathon/10K/5K. Started back in 2012, this race happens just a few weeks after the Los Angeles Marathon and utilizes some of the same course. For those of us who pounded the pavement at the LA Marathon, this race serves as a nice follow-up and a second chance to hit the streets of Hollywood. The race raises money and awareness for local homeless youth shelters (a very worthwhile cause) and has a very positive vibe about. The Hollywood Half Marathon/10k/5K features a combined start for all three distances, meaning the beginning of the race has the feel of a bigger city event. In 2014, over 5700 entrants ran the half marathon (making it the most popular distance) while the 10K and 5K each had between 2100-2300 participants.
REGISTRATION/PACKET PICK-UP
Registration costs for the Hollywood Half Marathon are quite reasonable when compared to other similar races as I only paid about $70. And while prices do climb as race day approaches, the Hollywood Half offers plenty of discounts on social media, various websites and through its many ambassadors. If you can’t find a discount code, it’s just because you didn’t look. Like some other aspects of the race, the packet pick-up was slightly different in 2014. This year’s expo headquarters was at the Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Blvd. While the famed concert hall’s layout doesn’t really lend itself to serving as an expo hall, the race organizers did a pretty good job making the square peg fit into this round hole. Packet pick-up was on Thursday and Friday and was extremely easy to navigate. I was able to walk right in and get my bib and T-shirt. The expo itself was rather limited in size, featuring only a handful of recognizable vendors, but you could still find some race supplies and a few interesting items. I recommend against paying the $10 parking fee as this is a quick “in and out” expo and metered street parking wasn’t too difficult to find (just make sure you don’t park on the street during rush hour or you risk being towed.)
TRANSPORTATION/PARKING
Since the race starts at the Chinese Theater, there are several solutions to your transportation/parking needs. You can either park at the Hollywood Highland complex or one of the many nearby lots (expect to pay anywhere from $10- $25, depending on the lot). Just be sure to get down there before the streets close. Another very viable option is to use the Metro Rail since there is a station that lets off right at the Hollywood Highland complex. I parked at the Universal City Lot and purchased a Metro Rail day pass ($5, plus $1 extra if you don’t already have a TAP card) and it was a short 5 minute ride to the start line.
T-SHIRT/MEDALS
In its inaugural running in 2012, the Hollywood Half Marathon introduced the “Walk of Fame” inspired star-shaped medal, which I really enjoyed. The first year’s medal was red and subsequent years have kept the design the same and just changed up the color, which works fine for me. Last year’s medal was white in color and this year’s is blue, making for a nice triad o’ stars. Similarly, the tech race T-shirts have had been a base white with the race’s logo on the front, but had colored side panels to give them some flair. The 2013 race had red panels and this year’s version sported blue. It’s actually a pretty cool looking shirt. In addition, this year marked the first year of the legacy program (for those who have run 3 races) and the inaugural gift is a red “legacy” tech shirt with side panels showing off a star pattern. And for those of you who like your bling really really big, this year’s race also featured a “Challenge medal” that you earned by completing both the 2014 New Year’s Race and the 2014 Hollywood Half Marathon. One additional bit of swag worth mentioning is in the “virtual goodie bag” where racers are given a coupon for a free race photo from MarathonFoto. Given the cost of race photos, this is a really nice surprise and one I hope other races pick up on.
COURSE
The half marathon race course is definitely at home in Hollywood as its undergone a facelift each year. The first year’s race started at Universal (and featured that killer hill). Last year’s installment shifted its start/finish to in front of the Chinese Theater and a more friendly course. But for the 2014 race, the course again went “under the knife.” From what I’ve heard, Echo Park wouldn’t let the race use their streets this year, which forced some creative choices with mixed results. In addition, some of the course changes happened just 10 days before the race started, so their options were a bit limited. The course itself is basically an “out and back” configuration utilizing Hollywood Blvd. as its main route. Unfortunately in order to make up for the distance loss by not being able to utilize Echo Park, the race featured several turnoffs onto side streets running for just a few blocks before heading back to the main course. These turnoffs did nothing to enhance the course experience and the turnarounds caused several instances of logjams and runner slowdowns. It made this year’s course a step backward from the 2013 route (but understandable given the last minute changes). Here’s hoping they can make adjustments in time for next year’s race that alleviate this issue. And while the route does run through Hollywood and along the Walk of Fame, it’s not the prettiest of courses as we spend most of our time running down streets past storefronts of businesses that aren’t yet open for the day.
COURSE SERVICES
The course provided your basic services, water stops approximately every mile and a half, with an instance or two of energy drinks being offered. Unfortunately, the race suffered again from not enough volunteers and cups (although nowhere near the big problem at the 2012 race when they ran out of cups and runners were drinking from jugs left on the tables and ground). Twice near the end of the race I ran past tables where they just didn’t have enough personnel and supplies to meet the demand. I highly recommend for this race (and any other smaller race) that you carry a water bottle on you, just in case. Since I had two bottles on me, I filled up at mile 6 and was good for the rest of the race. The water/cup/volunteer shortage is another issue I hope can get sorted out in time for next year’s race. The course featured markers at every mile, although no digital clocks present, so carry a GPS or watch if you want to keep track of your time. One nice touch was a contest where each mile of the race was “presented” by a particular runner. Of course I’m kind of biased as my name graced the sign at Mile 5 (gave me a nice boost).
FINISH LINE SERVICES/POST PARTY
The finish line for the race was was nice, featuring a “red carpet” at the end for us Hollywood-types to run along as we crossed the finish line. Volunteers were present to hand out the finisher’s medals and post-race food (little bags would have been nice so we don’t have to lug our snacks around in our arms). There were also a few vendors on hand giving out food/drinks and a bit of swag. The challenge medal booth was also nearby, although it could have been better marked and given the large size of the line, could have used a few more volunteers. Otherwise it was pretty standard fare as it featured a music stage and space for people to congregate and gather their gear bags.
RECOMMENDATION
Being a founding/legacy runner, I have a soft spot for this race. I consider it to be the “little race that could.” Starting up a race is difficult enough, let alone dealing with the headaches inherent to Los Angeles. I give kudos to Ken Nwadike Jr. and his wife Sabrina for undertaking this challenging endeavor. The race has certainly suffered from growing pains over its short lifespan (course issues/ course services and organization) but I’ve seen much bigger races suffer from similar issues in spite of their greater resources. The Hollywood Half Marathon also does certain things right and has grand aspirations. I admire that and this is a race I want to see succeed. So while I do need to point out the race’s shortcomings in a review, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and plan to continue my legacy status in 2015 and beyond.
Pre-race: Packet pick-up was quick and easy, and there were lots of good vendors giving away free stuff! Parking at the expo was $10 or $15, but there was street parking a couple blocks away.
Course: I don’t know anything about the “killer hill” that they supposedly took away (I didn’t run this race last year), but there were still some really challenging hills! I’m glad there was plenty of water and gatorade along the course (I read a review that said they ran out of cups last year).
Post-race: Super crowded at the finish line. I just left and went to the Hollywood Chic-Fil-A, where they were giving away free food for showing your race bib.
Overall: Great! I’m already registered for next year. The Hollywood star medal is my favorite one in my collection 🙂
The 2012 HHM was my first ‘big’ race so I didn’t have much to compare to, but having run a dozen races since, I can say with certainty this year’s race came with many many improvements!! The organization, the energy, and the course were all very much improved upon. I can tell that Ken, the race director, takes feedback very seriously and is passionate about putting on a great event.
The Pre-Race was nice, I usually do my own routine so I don’t get too involved. But the energy of the crowd was high and everybody seemed anxious to get going. The only thing I would comment is some better training for the corral separators. They didn’t do a very good job keeping us separated and by the time we reached the front it was a bit of a blob/mess, could have just been my corral though. We crazy.
The COURSE! Oh man I liked this course soooo much better, that one giant hill was killer for me last year. I was in much worse shape though so who knows. I liked this course better though, the abundance of water/aid stations was nice. I did just read up on something called the hydropouch. I think it would be nice to see that implemented in the race to cut down on all the waste.
Post-race was good but I felt it was too short, I’d like a longer section with more groups handing out cool down water/refreshments. I had to run off for my next race so I couldn’t stay for the headline but I definitely liked the area we finished in!
Overall I had a great race, good time, and very proud to be in the Legacy Club!!
Great improvements from last year!
Expo – This year the expo was held for two days which kept traffic to a minimum. It was much more spacious than last year.
Parking race morning – I parked around the block from the finish line which was just under a mile walk from the start, not bad at all and this made leaving the race very easy.
Starting line – There was a lot more room at the starting line then last year but it seemed to be lacking enough bathrooms.
Course – This year the large hill was taken out but there were still some very tough hills on Silver Lake. A big part of the course runs on a section of the LA marathon course so it had nice sloping roads.
Finish line – A little crowded because there were two other races (5k & 10k) that started at the same. Many runners trying to take pictures blocked the exit path and it became a little congested. The medal is a start from the walk of fame which is very unique.
Overall a great race and a must do!
This was my second time doing HHM and my 4th half overall.
I felt like they did a good job of addressing concerns from last year (running out of cups, removing the cahuenga hill, not enough time at the expo, etc).
Pros: As I mentioned, they did a good job of addressing concerns. My biggest concern last time was the running out of cups at the water stations. This was not a problem with this race. I know because I’m really fat and slow and was in the last couple hundred to finish. Additionally, I thought the course was just challenging enough for a newbie like myself with one serious hill thrown in to make you feel it. I thought it was great that they had two days for the expo, made it pretty easy to get over there and pick stuff up. The reservoir was a prtty nice view to get after that climb. Gave it a kind of zen feeling. A suggestion for that area: When we pass sunset junction maybe have a water station set up that also hands out ironic fake mustaches so we blend in to the silverlake neighborhood?
Cons: Nothing is perfect, and this race was no exception. While I didn’t see the problems many did with the porto-potties at the start of the race (There were 8-10 on HW Blvd., and another half dozen or so up Orange), I did feel like there weren’t enough on the silverlake portion of the race (I seriously considered peeing in an alley or behind a building). I felt like the finish line area was a little underwhelming as well. I realize that I was finishing way in the back of the pack, but I felt like a lot of the volunteers were just kind of looking to leave. Maybe try to set up the volunteers to be in two shifts so that the people handing out medals/water/bananas to us slow fatties at the end of the race are still high energy? If anything people should be most excited for US to finish not these guys who can bang out 13 miles in an hour five. Hell, most people looking at me wouldn’t guess that I could run 13 steps, much less 13 miles!
This isn’t a con so much as a general suggestion, but, I think that with the course heading east you’re missing out on some opportunities to go south and west and see more of what visitors expect to see of hollywood. Maybe if you go down Sunset in the strip area (I know that;s weho, and a different city, but it’s worth looking into)or south towards Wilshire so people can see LACMA, the Petersen, Etc. Again, this is something more for visitors. I think those of us who live in LA are area of what Hollywood actually is, but I think east of Vine might be a bit of a shock to the non-angelenos who run with us.
This race improved so much from last year. The killer hill is gone but don’t be fooled there is still a hill to manage but it is around mile 5 and still challenging. The route is flat with slight inclines but so doable. Plenty of water/electrolytes very well spaced out. Appreciated the entertainment on the route and the crowds cheering us on where great! Will definitely do this run again. Everything was so simple and fun. Thanks for a great event!
I am an inaugural Legacy Runner for the HHM and plan to continue. Maybe I am easy to please, and I also finish in the middle of the pack, so I do not experience what some other runners might as far as logistics go. From reading the other reviews, here are my comments:
Parking: The race director attempted to provide a shuttle service. I recommend he not in the future and make it your problem to get to the starting line, just like every other race (anyone seen the crowd at Surf City in Huntington Beach)? Ever heard of Metro? I parked at the Universal City Red Line Station. Took the train 1 stop to the starting line. After the race, took the red line 2 stops back to my car. $3 total. Take this to the expo also and save on parking.
Expo: I went on Thursday night (thanks for 2 days of expo) and breezed through the room, got a few goodies along with my bib. It was a little odd to have to leave the expo area to get the shirt, though. I did not have to wait long for anything.
Race Day: LEAVE EARLY!!! If you have ever done a race, you know it is difficult to get to the starting line due to the number of people, cars and road closures. Plan ahead (see Parking, above). There could have been a few more porta-potties for us to use, as the lines got really long. Also, in the back corrals, it was hard to hear the announcements and the national anthem. More speakers, please.
Race Course: As mentioned, I was in the middle of the pack (1:56 finish time) so there was plenty of water, gatorade, and Clif Shots. The hills were tough, but being in the middle of the course (miles 5-7), one had plenty of time to recover. The biggest problem was that the 5K and 10K runners started with the Half Marathoners, causing walkers at mile 1 and having to dodge other runners cutting over for the turn-arounds. Please separate the races in the future.
Finish Area: I got water, a banana, and a bagel. I opted not to wait in line for the powerbar and juices. I thought I read that there was supposed to be stuff to buy (shirts, race gear, etc) at the finish line, but I did not see that. The area needs to be bigger, though, since there was not enough room for all of the participants to wait, and to meet friends after crossing the finish line. Better crowd control is needed.
Overall, this was a fun race and a lot of the bad reviews I have been reading are due to poor planning by the participant (unless they are a Rookie, it is unforgivable). I am already registered for next year and will continue to run this race every year. Lastly, the Race Director is receptive to comments and feedback, so instead of just complaining, offer some suggestions. This race was much improved over last year’s and I expect it to get better and better.
PROS:This is a great race with an awesome medal. nice, challenging course with hills in the middle of the race (perfect). I did this race in 2012 and 2013 and i’ve already registered for 2014.
CONS:only issue for me is the pick up day’s. thu- fri till 7pm.. but i know that because most volunteers wont stay till 8 or 9 i have to take a half day off of work to go to the expo but that’s about it..
I’m an avid half marathon runner (I do one about every two weeks) and think this is by far one of my favorite events!
Pros:
Cool Swag from the bib, to the t-shirt and the medal (by far my favorite out of 18 I have)
Legacy Runner status – I did the inaugural half and this year’s half and I’m please to be part of this group and receive its benefits
Race coordinators – You give them feedback, they listen and change/adjust! I don’t know what more you can ask for out of them. Really down to earth and nice people and I can’t say enough good things about them.
Lots of water, and gu’s for even back of the back runners as myself (I average 2:45) which was fixed after feedback from the last year’s event
Improved course (no killer hill) that was also changed from feedback from the previous year, but it was a little more boring as you missed going through universal studios for the beginning and ended up going through a neighborhood
Parking – this always tends to be an issue with races but this one seemed as though there was ample parking and no traffic (although I had to leave at 4am)
People on the course are always there for fun and to support each other – I love the energy of this race!
Cons:
Race pick-up at the expo was a little bit confusing (and only open till 7pm wish it had been 9pm), but there were lots of nice volunteers who answered my questions and gave me direction
Needed more bathrooms at start line/on the course – but I find during these races no matter how many you have there are always lines!
Overall I give this race an A and have already signed up to participate in next year’s events. I think this is one of the few races I know I will go back to every years as I believe they will just get better given the race coordinators’ dedication to improvement and happiness of the racers. I’ve been to a lot of different sized races and next to the Rock’N’Roll events this is truly a great race and a favorite!
This race is awesome. Challenging course. I took the metro to the start line so getting there was not an issue. A lot of people had a problem with the shuttle, but that’s not the RDs fault. There were plenty of cups this year! The medal was blingy, which I liked. what else can I say? See you all next year!
Packet pick up was a breeze! Took the red line to City Walk and spent no more than 15 minutes picking up my packet.
Race day was finally here!!! I woke up early and headed to the shuttle stop, which never showed, but I had plan B so I headed to the start line.
Once I was coming up the escalator I could feel the energy from the happy runners!! It was electrifying! I loved the new course!!!!! Plenty of water stations and crew support. The hills were killer, but hey, its LA and it made it even more challenging and rewarding at the end!! I saw plenty of friendly faces during the course!! I was so happy to see our amazing Race Director at the finish line greeting all the runners! I am one of the slow ones so it made it even more special he was there for everyone. We took some photos and he asked what we thought if the race, and if we had fun, which we did!! Can’t wait to do this again, year after year, after year, after year!! A+ !!!!
I ran this race last year and although I did not experience any problems (I always bring my own water, GU etc to half marathons 🙂 I was aware of them so I carefully read and re-read (like I always do anyway) the website and all pre-race instructions that all runners get. We were told about the parking fees at Universal for the Expo (actually website said $15 and on Thursday afternoon when I went we were told free if out in 15 or less minutes, $8 for an hour or $10 unlimited-we opted to go to CityWalk so I paid $10) we were encouraged to take the Metro to avoid race day parking fees of $10-25, the HOST hotel listed on the site was the W, not the Hilton and I wondered why shuttles were being provided for people at the Hilton with the Metro at the bottom of the hill, nice, but not necessary IMO. The course was described as “mostly flat” and fast so there was a clue that there might be some hills! I feel to complain and grade a race about any of those things that you could have taken the time to know about ahead of time is unfair.
Onto my experience this year….as I said I paid to park at the Hilton for the Expo (tried to park free at Metro park n ride at the bottom of hill but it was full) The Expo was smallish, but there were some fun vendors and my kids had fun spinning the wheel and El Capitan and sampling the Odwalla, Naked Juice and Clif goodies, we got our free RUN Hollywood tattoos from Alpha. I think the Expo will get bigger and better as the race gets older.
Race morning, parked at metro park n ride at Universal station. Took Metro 2 stops to the finish line to check my gear (gear check info was also in the pre-race instructions, apparently a lot of people complaining about that didn’t read theirs) then walked less than a mile to the starting line, easily found the port-a-potties and got in my corral. I was a little frustrated the pacers weren’t’ in the corrals yet and no volunteers knew the est. finish times for the corrals as I couldn’t remember what time I put and I really wanted to run with a certain pace group. Would be great if that info was on the website next year! Start was well organized, I was in corral 7 and energy was great still as our foghorn sounded. Course, not so pretty sure, it’s Hollywood. I guess if you’re not from here you could be expecting more glitz and glamour but what it was didn’t surprise me. Nice and flat for the most part with some short but slightly challenging hills around miles 6-7. Pretty views of the reservoir in that section. Great downhill finish last mile. Not as many on course entertainment and spectators but I think that too will grow with the event. The finish did bottleneck a bit due to the short chute and the photo op being right there; hopefully that can be spread out a bit next time. Enjoyed the full water bottles, bananas, bagels, protein drink and protein bar. Line was long but went fast. Fun band and entertainment post race too. Grabbed my gear, short walk around the corner and rode the Metro back 2 stops with lots of other happy racers.
I am giving the race an overall of an A because I believe that the Race Director is truly committed to solving every problem that people had this year re: the shuttles (which weren’t his fault) The communication with the Legacy runners has been AMAZING! He even gave us his cell # if any of us had issues on race day! Hosted a reception for us when there was some issue with the printer re: the Legacy bibs. He really puts his all in the events (and his lovely wife does as well) and I believe once the kinks are out this will be an A+ race that many people who won’t give it another chance will be missing out on in the future 🙂
My first time running this race and I’m hooked. The course was really great, compared to what I heard last year, and absolutely no problems for me whatsoever. I got a room at the Roosevelt and accidentally booked for the 7th instead of the 6th, so that was my fault, but luckily my friend had a spare bed at his hotel so we were set at the Start line. I parked at the H&H center and it was a breeze to get where I needed to go for my corral and everything.
From hearing and reading everyone’s reviews last year, I was hesitant to do this, but as a first timer to the Holllywood Half, I’m definitely coming back. There were plenty of cups, the course was challenging but not too hard for a beginner, and actually not as boring as one would imagine. Great bands and entertainment throughout the course, and great volunteers & support from them as well. Gatorade stations well placed, water stations a plenty (LOTS of cups this time).
The finish line festivities were awesome, and there was Superman at the finish handing you your medals too! Plenty of food, bananas, bagels, juice and band still going strong. 🙂
I wasn’t looking to PR, but since the challenging rolling hills were at Silver Lake Blvd were in the middle of the course, it helped to speed my time up big time. I hit my PR with just over 3 hours (my previous PR was 3:20, so now that it’s 3:06, I’m incredibly happy with how things worked out. The Superhero crew is incredibly supportive and listen to all critiques & suggestions.
Truthfully I don’t even know where to begin here. I’ve run a race a month for almost one year now and have never experienced anything quite as horrific as this particular race. To say it was a monumental disaster would truly be an understatement. My girlfriend and I chose to say at the HOST hotel to insure we would avoid any possible traffic delays, etc. We were up at 3:30AM and in the line with hundreds of other guests awaiting shuttle service by 4:00–some folks came as far as Wyoming to participate in this race. The first shuttle arrived over a half hour late. At 5:30 when everyone became antsy, we contacted the front desk. They had absolutely no information for the myriad guests hovering in their lobby awaiting shuttle service. By 6ish, a second shuttle finally arrived (supposedly after getting lost and dropping runners off a mile from the start line) and crammed us unsafely onto a bus in a last ditch attempt to get as many of us to the start line as possible. They left at least 2 more busloads of guests behind. Our arrival was met with no one to direct us and, in fact, they began the race without waiting for hundreds of runners. They even began to dismantle the start line and had no one around to check our bags so we could run late! Whoever organized this event did not plan it well, execute it well, nor did they even bother to communicate with their host hotel, the guests, or the shuttle service. They owe hundreds of people a formal apology and a refund ASAP. This was the most disorganized event I’ve ever attempted to be a part of. Shame on the Hollywood Half organizers!
I’ve had a great experience at this race both the inaugural year and the 2nd year. I have never been to the expos, I opted to pay a little extra and have same day packet pickup. That is very convenient. It’s a bit rough driving in from OC to Hollywood for a 6:00 race but I wouldn’t change the start time. It’s wonderful to get out there early and finish up and still have most of the day left. The course was absolutely wonderful. I don’t know if I loved the course this year better or last year. I am glad they got rid of the monster hill at the end of last years course. This time they put the grades in the middle and it was perfect. We stared right outside of El Capitan and it was so beautiful and exciting. The start line was awesome … super cool pace car. The roads were great … a little bit too crowned in some places but not bad. I loved that you turned the corner and there was the finish line. What a rush that was. The traffic coming in was very light and I paid $10 for parking, which I think is outstanding. The parking structures had a good maps and were easy to find. I didn’t stay for the after party but it sounded amazing. The race directors are so incredible and care so much. I love this race and plan to keep my Legacy status as long as I can still run. I suggest it highly to anyone. I did hear about some issues with the shuttle and that is really unfortunate. I would not base the race on one unfortunate situation but I do understand the frustration of those who had a bad experience.
I ran last year in inaugural race and it was horrible (No cups, no electrolytes, no gels) and naively believed the race director that it was a fluke and bought the Kool-aid and signed up for round 2. The communication with the Race Director that was so evident in the first race was gone in the second race. After posting the 2013 medal almost all communication or the race stopped, except when the race directors wanted to self promote their own other races or post pictures of them dressed as “Michael Blackson” hanging out in “elite” places.
At expo, there were maybe 16 vendors and half of them were other races. No Legacy bib pickup like promised and no safety pins for bibs. The shirt was identical to last years race which is hugely disappointing Also only thing in bag was 2 ads (one for a movie that has been open for over a month, and one for a chance to win $1000000 when you give them all your info and agree to be spammed), one packet of 80 calorie protein powder and a packet of mens towelettes. I took the red line so no issues with paying for parking for me.
At race morning I asked 4 different volunteers where Port-o-johns were and none knew. Finally a police officer directed me. Corals were full of all race participants and tat was awkward. The 5k/10k runners in my 6th corral were WALKERS and we had to maneuver around them. The course was OK but what was advertised as “FLAT and fast” was NOT flat. Huge hill from mile 5 to 6.75 then back down. The last mile of the course was swarming with spectators not on the sidewalk but in the street trying to get pictures of the runners. Very aggravating to have to move around Joe Blow with a camera yelling at you to get out of HIS way.
Finish line was around a corner and all of a sudden BLAM wall of people standing around. Less then 3 feet past the last mat was a huge cluster of people just standing there and trying to get pictures of the finish line in the background. All the 5kers and 10kers were wandering about tripping up the half runners who were finishing in 2 hours. “Finish line expo” promising more goods and samples was non existent. Only thing at finish line was a small bottle of water and a warm and mushy brown banana. I saw a couple volunteers holding a bag of bagels but they were holding the bagels with their bare hands an I heard one of then coughing so no thank you.
I had apprehensions about the second race after all communications stopped and should have listened to my gut. I WILL NOT sign up for race #3 and will take the history of all Super Hero Events (without an event without some major glitch yet) and steer as far away as I can
Wow!!! Ok…Well this WAS TO BE my 10th 1/2 Marathon and I paid $318 to stay at the “host” hotel to avoid any traffic or parking issues on race day…EPIC FAIL.
Pre-Race was OK at best. Expo parking was exorbinate for an Expo that didn’t have much going on and was totally crowded. But since I was staying at the hotel and had to pay for parking anyways…no biggie. One line to get your bib and bag and yet another in a whole different area, outside of the expo was kinda silly…but I wasn’t there for the expo…I was there to enjoy what I thought would be super fun run.
Course…ok…maybe not fair to give it an F, but no choice on the matter since all I really got to do was was walk from the Start Line to the Finish Line to cheer on the runners that actually go to run.
Post Race..super crowded and impacted and impossible to really see anyone or manuever thru the crowded mess.
Overall…Well this grade is a deserved F. Staying at the host hotel should at a very minimum provide some type of communication when things go so totally wrong. First shuttle was to be there at 4:30am and did not show up until after 5:00am…and from what I have heard got lost. Really??? So with 2 large buses running back an forth the first one came back to pick up the 3rd bus full of runners AFTER 6am…I was pretty sure, with as many of us that were stranded at the hotel that the event would be held, since it was no fault of the runners still standing in the bus lines at 6am. We made it onto the 4th bus, where the bus driver allowed at least 20 to 30 runners to STAND IN THE AISLE!! Ok…I get it…we were late…but really?? So we arrive at the start line, with our gear in tow…and the start line is empty…no one there to let us know what to do…no one to direct us anywhere. So we meander and look for the finish line to check in our bags…and realize that it’s about a mile away..ok…we can still do this…nope we can’t…so back to the start line….really??? So now it’s after 7am, traffic stops are lifted my friend runs a 1:35 half time and I am closer to 3 hours…so we would basically be running alone…for 13.1 miles with traffic stops lifted and no way to really know if we were heading in the right direction…so we take the advice of other runners in our position and walk to the finish line to at least cheer on our fellow runners. What a bummer!! Watching all those people we were supposed to be running with cross the finish line. Still no explanation, no mention of what a debacle it was, comments of others getting deleted from the Facebook feeds with no answers given….this was a disaster.
I can say it is definitely interesting to run through Hollywood and old Los Angeles.
I skipped the expo and paid $5 to pick up my bib at the start line (big thanks to RaceGrader for saving me $10). A big bummer with this was we did not get the free bag. So, I pay $100 to run in the race but I don’t get the same perks as everyone else because I can’t take a day off from work to drive 100 miles/4 hour round trip to pick up a bib on a Friday afternoon. Hmmmmm, a strategy that needs to be re-thought.
My family and I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn a few blocks up Highland and it was a quick walk from the hotel to the start. I wanted to bring a sweatshirt to stay warm and then check at bag check but when I saw it would be a 1.5 mile round trip I chose not to and tried to keep moving to stay warm. As per my usual pre-race strategy I made my way to the port-a-potties which by the way no volunteer knew where they were. And I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, 30 minutes later and still 24 people in front of me I heard what I thought was the Star Spangled Banner. Great, i was in wave 4. I had to choose, relieve myself or get to the start line pronto. Opted for the start line however I was late, and got in with Wave 8.
I had to dodge a lot of traffic as I passed groups after the start, thankfully the streets are wide. There were a lot of side by side runners but that’s a common theme amongst a lot of halfies so it was expected.
The course’s hills crushed a lot of people, I could see it on their faces after you come out of the neighborhood and it made me feel bad for those who were racing for the first time. The course was difficult, especially if you don’t train on hills. I cheered for them as we met to help encourage them that it would get better.
In the final 2 miles there were a lot of random people crossing the street and I ran an unfortunate person over. I was in my kick and didn’t see them, they obviously didn’t see me plus I thought they were restricting crossing of the course and I wasn’t looking.
The finish line was okay, water and bananas and a place to stretch are all I ask for, I got two of the three (water and banana). It seemed like a lot of non-runners were in the finish area making it more congested than it already was. The medal is cool, I rank it as one of my favorites. My bib personalization did not happen for whatever reason, that was another $20 out the window. Easy come easy go I guess.
I am on the fence whether I’d do it again. I would hope the sparse pre-race communication would improve given more experience to Superhero Events. Some days I felt as if I’d been scammed since I rarely saw updates.
It would be fun if somehow the course traced the entire Walk of Fame and mile markers were linked to individual walk of fame names along the course.
They cannot raise the price on the event any more either otherwise it is going to be in the ‘high end’ range and Superhero Events will force people out.
This was my 2nd year running the Hollywood Half Marathon and while I didn’t have any major issues with the Inaugural Race you could see evident improvements this year.
Packet Pick Up: Easy Peasy. I was with a non-running friend (stopped on our way to the Kings Game) so I didn’t get to stay long but we were in and out in less than 10 minutes. Got to check out the awesome pace car, talk with the race organizers a bit and headed out to the game.
Getting to the Race/Race Start: I had heard some people had issues with the shuttles from the Universal Hotels to the start. People, I don’t work for them, not generally a fan of Public Transportation, especially in LA, but the Metro Red Line is THE WAY TO GO!!! We got from Universal Station to Hollywood/Vine Station in about 6 minutes. Exited the station and Bag Check was RIGHT THERE. Checked my bag, had a nice walk up Hollywood Blvd to the start and got there in PLENTY of time. Took some pictures with some friends, got to use the potty and was in my Corral with about 10 minutes to spare. Race Started right on time. No stress.
The Course: The course was great. Running up Hollywood Blvd. never gets old. The hills on Silver Lake while somewhat expected still brought a challenge, which I love. I don’t mind hills, I train on them often and I always look to be challenged on a course. Flat courses are fun too but sometimes you need the challenge. There was plenty of course support, some musical acts and spectators sprinkled throughout. I think once this race really catches on in the local area spectators will become more prevalent. This was the first year for this course remember.
The Finish: The Medal, what can you say. It’s amazing. But what else would you expect? Finish area’s are always crowded but I had no trouble finding friends at the finish, getting water, bagel, banana and my bag. Then it was a quick walk back to the Hollywood and Vine station and an 8 minute subway ride. I was back at my car in no time flat.
So pre-race: I didn’t like that they had the packet pick up on Thurs/Fri until on 7pm. I had to take a half day off work to get there on time. The packet pick up was quick and easy though, friendly staff at the Hilton. Kind of sucked to pay $10 to park for 10 min in the packet pick up though.
The start was quick and on time, probably the best start of any race I have participated in. I didn’t use the port-a-potties, but the lines were ridiculous because there were only about 20 of them at the start. Didn’t mind that the 5k/10k/Half were all smashed in to start together because the streets were wide enough to accomidate this.
Course: Deceptive. When they said “kill the hill” was gone and that the course was flat, they lied. Mile 5 I think had a large hill, then there was another one around 6/6.5 and then a gradual incline from mile 8.5-9/9.5. These were killer!!! Especially when you don’t know they are coming. The participants were great though because the people on the downhill gave a lot of encouragement to the people on the uphill. Also when the elite runners went by, everyone cheered for them which I thought was pretty cool. Finish was great, but this was the only area where there were spectators which was kind of sad.
Post race: No me gusta. It was so congested and there was not enough water or food (only bagels and bananas that I saw). The line for the bars was about a mile long so I didn’t get one. I also had to walk 1 mile back to where I parked near the start.
Overall, B. I would do it again because the medal was awesome, running through Hollywood was interesting because there was a lot to look at and next time I would be ready for the hills. My advice for next year is bring snacks to eat in the car after and park near the finish!!!
This was my second year running this half marathon and it was fourteenth half marathon so far. This race was only in it’s second year and I could see that it was more organized than last year.
The race expo was held on Thursday and Friday at the Hilton at Universal Studios. I attended on Friday morning and parking and packet pick up was very easy and very fast. There were no lines to pick up your race bib, t-shirt, and backpack. The vendor area was small. Hopefully there will be more vendors next year as the race becomes larger. The volunteers at the expo were very helpful as well.
I rode the Metro Red Line on race morning. The start line was at Hollywood/Highland, right across from the train station. Going home, I took the Red Line again from the finish line at Hollywood/Vine and the train station was right around the corner from the finish line food area. I would definitely encourage everyone to ride the Metro. There were lots of other runners on board, so we all went to and from the race together.
I love the fact that the race starts at 6AM. It was a little cold at that time and I found out that gear check was at the finish line, nearly a mile away from the start line. I found this to be frustrating. Hopefully next year, the gear check can be at the start line like most other races. But, the race started exactly on time and there was plenty of space for runners in each corral. The corrals were sent off about a minute apart, so there wasn’t much wait from the time the race started to when you actually crossed the start line and started running.
The course had plenty of music and bands. It also had plenty of challenging rolling hills. Clif shot gels were around mile 7 and there were plenty. There were also water/lemon lime Gatorade stations about every mile or every other mile. I didn’t see mile markers at every mile. I didn’t see any other food or drinks on the course. Overall, the course was better than last year, but it still is quite a challenge with all of the turns and rolling hills. Some streets near Silverlake were quite narrow and had a lot of cracks in them, so you really have to watch your footing.
There wasn’t too many spectators on the course, except for families of the runners and some residents who live along the course. I liked the fact that the finish line was organized and volunteers kept runners moving so you could get out quickly. However, I was disappointed in the selection of food. After running 13.1 miles, I was looking for more than just a water bottle, fruit, and a bagel. There was several vendors handing out very small amounts of their juice, but the lines were very long. I didn’t notice any other things going on at the finish line.
I did appreciate the Legacy runner bib and registration discount for legacy runners. The medal was just as awesome as last year – a large star covered with silver glitter.
I’ll probably be back again next year – it’s close to home and super easy to access via the Metro.
Concept is great and very fun to start on Hollywood Blvd. From what I heard, it was a big improvement over last year, which is good. However, you can tell this race is a young one, as there are many elements that more veteran half and full marathon courses have, that were missing. There were not enough port a pottys at the beginning of the event, which is a must. The bag check was at the finish, almost a mile away?? The idea is to have runners bring their stuff to the start, and then the race staff brings it to the finish. My friend had to take her jacket and stuff with her. Poor selection of the shuttle service from the “host hotel” left many runners missing the start time, not good. The course is not “mostly flat” as the website says, but I am sure was an improvement over last year’s 2 mile killer hills. The course has a series of long inclines, long declines, steep hills and rolling hills.
I was expecting a little more “wow” factor on the course, Hollywood looks a little beat up.
We stayed at Loews Hotel, which would have been a great host hotel, as the start was right outside the door.
Course support was good, ample water, gatoraid and a Clif Shot station.
Not alot of spectators during most of the run, but good support at the start and the finish.
Medals were cool.
Pre-race: Not enough Porta-johns for all runners. Some people missed the start because they were in the potty line. The people in the cheap seats (Non-elites) couldn’t hear the national anthem (if they played it) or anything that was said before we actually got to the line. The spotlights were cool though.
Course: Again not enough port-a-johns at break areas. There were lines there too. Nice course. Cool scenery for an Urban run.
Post-race: Cool little finish area. Sucked that it was so far from the start though. Long walk after a long run.
A good experience. Can’t wait until next year.
I live a mile from the the starting line, so parking was a non issue. This was a great, fast, flat race that let me take in parts of Hollywood that I wasn’t familiar with, I usually run west instead of east and to the Reservoir.
Packet Pickup was relatively painless, the expo was a little small, but it is a smaller race than others I had been too, definitely not the smallest.
The start was well organized, though for some reason I was in Corral 13, and I am usually in the middle in a half, perhaps there were faster runners here? Either way, I was passing a lot of walkers the first part of the course. I really loved the course itself. The finish line was fun, though my only complaint was that I didn’t see any thermal blankets and I would have liked one since I was walking a bit further back home. Will definitely do this again next year!
Packet pick up was easy, and quick. Corrals were organized, easy to get into, and well marked. Kept warm at Graumann’s theatre, and all was good. The course itself didn’t have many landmarks, beyond Hollywood and Highland/El Capitan/Graumann’s at the start – but then again, that’s the reality of Hollywood. Trade in your dreams of celebrities and gold-lined streets in for homeless people on the corners, medical marijuana dispensaries, and Scientology churches. Only in Los Angeles, right?! 🙂 I parked at the finish, with no glitches, and I spotted my car as I cruised through the finish chute. Maybe next year if the Hilton wants to be the host hotel, the race directors can negotiate free parking under 15 minutes for packet pickup. Just a far-fetched dream, but it would be sweet. Overall, couldn’t have asked for a better organized or smoother event.
This is my second year running this HM. The expo was fun and had few vendors. could have like a bit more but it was ok. It was much better organized then last year. We had enough cups this year and the big hill was gone. We did have a couple challenging hills which made it an even better race. They should have a booth at the end so we can check to see what your official time was…
Pre-race: I didn’t see anything on the website indicating that we’d have to pay for parking at Universal. $10 is pretty steep when you’re there for 10 minutes. The expo was small and it could have benefited from signage showing visitors where race packet pickup was located. We wandered around until we found it. It wasn’t the worst expo I’ve been to, though. Once we picked everything up it was pretty easy to get back out and go. For race day, we drove to the Universal City Metro Station and parked there (free) and took the train ($1.50 each way, plus $1 for a TAP card if you don’t already have one.) Get off at Hollywood/Highland station. Very quick and easy, and quite a few other runners did the same. One more thing: Gear check. We found nothing in race materials about a gear check, but we saw a gear check area marked on the finish line map (but not the starting line map). So we left our stuff in the car. Would be good to have those details specified in the race materials.
Course: Whether this course is flat or hilly all depends on what you’re used to training on. I’d describe it as gently rolling. It has some pretty significant hills if you are trying to get a fast time, but they’re certainly not debilitating. Based on my mile splits, I’m guessing I finished about 30 seconds slower than I would have on a flatter course, so take that for what it’s worth. I took my own electrolyte drink so I can’t speak to how well-stocked the aid stations were. They could use more portapotties at the start, but that applies to most races. The drummers were cool and there was occasionally music on the course. Best was the LAPD cop blasting AC/DC out of his car. Class. As for the corral system, it seemed to work pretty well. I was concerned about slower 10K runners being placed in a corral in front of faster half marathon runners, but the race is small enough that faster runners could easily weave around slower runners/walkers. If the race grows in size, though, it could be a problem. Race organizers: consider completely putting people in corrals by pace, even the 5K and 10K runners/walkers.
Post-race: Can’t say much about this because I pretty much wanted to get out of there ASAP. Post-race food included bananas and Odwalla bars. Drinks included water and Odwalla and Naked juice. I asked if anyone had drinks with protein in them, which is needed for race recovery, but nobody did. Maybe they can get Bolthouse Farms there next year — they have a great cappuccino protein drink. Even chocolate milk would work. Anyway, the race finish is right around the corner from the Hollywood/Vine Metro Station, so we hopped on a train and easily got back to the free parking lot. Make sure you have a way of carrying the TAP card with you when you run.
This was my 2nd year running this race, and they made a lot of improvements!
Pre-Race – Expo was well organized. Parking was pricey, but it’s Universal, what can you do? The pre-race communication was excellent, tons of updates. Registration price is pretty normal for a half, and you can usually find a $5 or $10 discount code.
On race day, I was able to snag a free spot on the street right near the start, which was awesome, but I’m sure everyone was not so lucky. Corrals were well managed, with volunteers checking your bib to make sure you entered the right corral. The DJ did a good job of pumping up the crowd, and the race started right on time.
Course/Post-Race – I like the new course a lot more. There were still a couple hills around the Silver Lake Reservoir to make it interesting (but I’m SO glad they took out the huge hill from last year). Tons of police support along the course blocking traffic and keeping things running smoothly. The start line right at Hollywood and Highland was pretty awesome. Finish line area was good – bananas, water, bagels, and a couple vendors like Naked Juice and Odwalla handing stuff out.
Overall, this was a very well organized race. They really took the feedback from last year and worked out a lot of kinks.
Having some mixed feeling about this event. Some people are saying they had a horrible experience with the shuttles running a few hours late. Thankfully I didn’t traffic and was able to get from my house to the event in a little more than half an hour. I had no issues on the street and was able to get parking right away in the big structure. I figured I would have to pay parking so I wasn’t too upset about it but I wish I would’ve known it would be $10! (Wish they would’ve discounted it for the runners) I had to pay $10 yesterday for the expo too so that’s $20 in just parking. ( I stuck around and hung out at the City Walk after the expo to make up for the cost of the parking ) Now, as far as the race goes, I liked the course, it was a nice flat course with a lot of great entertainment along the way. I loved the cop blasting music, the drummers and the rock band. The finish line was great because it wasn’t crowded or dis-organized. I wasn’t too impressed with the finish line expo though. Not much to see or do and very few samples. I expected some music, maybe some celebs taking pics ( I didn’t see any out there, but I’m sure they were there:/ ) or some food trucks, freebies, something. My biggest complaint is about the kid run. I still think the kid run was extremely too early in the morning. My Jr. Runner is only 2 so 6:30 was just too early for her. She ended up not wanting to run and got pushed along by my Mom most of the way. I was still running. I finished up with enough time to find my Mom towards the end of the race and run across with my kid so I was happy about that. I hated the fact that the finish line for the kid run was the same as for the rest of the runners. I doubt the runners enjoyed having to slow down for a bunch of little ones running in and that wasn’t safe for the little ones either. I’ve never before seen a kid run blend in to the adult run. My Mom said the course for the kid run wasn’t very nice. It didn’t sound like it was the way it was announced at all and I’m still extremely upset at having to miss out on the majority of the race with my girl because of the start time. When I registered the start time showed 8:00am and then it was switched to 6:30. I spent weeks asking why with no official response. To top it all off, I have no clue what the kid run medal was supposed to be because my girl never got hers. I don’t understand how she could have ended up without her kid medal because the race supposedly capped at 100 kids. When she crossed they handed me a 5k medal and I gave them back and told them I needed the kid run. The volunteer told me to ask another volunteer, who sent me to another volunteer who then asked another volunteer about the kids medals. After a few awkward moments and a very anxious 2 year old, The 4th of the volunteers handed the 3rd volunteer a medal which they gave my little one. I stood there a little shocked at the fact that it was not the kid run I was expecting at all but at this point the medal was around her neck and taking it away would’ve been horrible for her. I’m happy with our beautiful medals but I really wish she would’ve gotten the right medal. I’m not sure if I will be returning next year but if I do, I think I’m steering clear of the very poorly organized kid run and instead will run it alone or push the stroller along. As far as my run goes, I give it a B+,… The kid run gets a D from me. Guess, I’ll have to wait and see what the cost is like for next year to see if it’s worth a repeat run. Good job on the course, it was a nice easy run and a lot of great entertainment, just hope it gets even better next year. Definitely change the kid run to a later time and don’t have the finish lines be the same. Sorry about the venting but I had to get it out. Other than that, I had a great time at my race, they just need to fix the kid run and make it later in the day. Also, a better finish expo wouldn’t hurt. Not sure if I’ll be back yet. 🙂
Would I run it again? Yes!
Positives:
-AWESOME Hollywood medal
-Great facebook communication
-Challenging course (aka Kill the hill)
-People dressed in costumes
Things that needed work:
-water stations ran out of cups ( I ran a 2 hour half and I didn’t get cups, felt really bad for the people behind me!)
-no Gu, or Vitalyte ect
– no course entertainment! its hollywood make it lively!
Overall Great concept of a race, made rookie mistakes that I am very sure will be corrected next year and excited what else they will bring to the table!
I really like this race course and medal but the total organization of the race needed a lot of help. The expo was not well prepared with the parking. Very long lines. I liked that the decoration of the expo though with the wax figure of Marilyn Monroe.
The course going down hill was great but I wasn’t prepared for climbing that same hill back. The fact that they were out of cups during the race was not cool and could have easily been prevented. Luckily I always carry a water bottle but I felt bad for the other runners. I liked how a lot of the runners were in costume and it made the race more fun.
The post race needed more photographers near the finish line. Getting the awesome medal was the best part.
Overall it was a rocky inaugural start but I’m sure next year it will be better. I’ll be back to run it again.
Very chaotic scene and location. Not all the gear was in place as advised. Lack of quality & quantity of supplies and staff. Rookie learning curve. Too much disorganization to have at that location 🙁
I think the people complaining about this race are going into it unprepared. This is LA people there is ALWAYS a ton of traffic, add 7,000 runners plus their family then you get a madhouse. I thought about that before the fact and got dropped off outside of the hilton. Had my husband circle around and pick me back up. I was in and out in 15 minutes. I walked right up to the table and had my bib and timing chip handed to me. They gave out nice tech shirts that were gender specific and I got some samples of the on course beverage and walked out.
The morning of the race I took a cab from my hotel that was 4 miles away. Lots of street blockage caused us to circle around over and over but we eventually found an additional freeway entrance and made it there with plenty of time to spare. I got dropped off once again to avoid the line of cars. The corrals were clearly marked and I made my way to the specified one. (of course walkers were still in the 9min corral) The course started out with the sun just rising and it was really nice to see the RD out there cheering on the runners as they passed by.
It was an out and back course so as I was hitting sub 8:30’s for the first few I got a little nervous because I realized that was the hill we had to climb back up at the end. For the first 5 miles there was tons of on course support, then after mile 5 or 6 They ran out of cups 🙁 that was mentally defeating. It was warm and I was recovering from a stomach flu. I really needed electrolytes. I hope next year they figure that out.
All in all it was a great event finishing up on a red carpet runway and being shuttled back to the start in a limo. I had a great time and will be back next year!
PreRace:
There were major issues with incompetent volunteers giving out wrong numbers and the timing company whose solution to aforementioned problem to give out a random chip with no bib was a joke. The timing company said the “race organizers” sold the 200 bibs that were put aside to deal with problems. At 7 pm, I watched as at least 50 people in a line were able to purchase bibs that had not been picked up. I wondered how long that line had people joining it.
Yes, porta potties are always an issues. There are never enough at the start. This race was no exception. The line was at least 25 people long ten minutes before the start. FYI – if you are going to make announcements, you need to have speakers angled to where the runners are cued. No one could hear what was being said, so we had no idea that there were staggered starts with random groups of people. There were corrals but they were way way too small so a good 200+ were outside each trying to get in (that’s where I was trying to get into the 9 minute group).
Heard the horror stories of the bag drop not being set up and heard it from dozens but didn’t experience it myself. I knew this would be a screw up, so I only brought what I planned to run with.
Oh – I was picking up my shirt and overheard they were out of an entire size group for the half marathon (fortunately not mine). I feel strongly that what you sign up for is what you get, and if you want to switch you do it on race day and a shirt exchange post. Its only fair to those who paid the full fare to run and deserve to get the size they asked for. No one at the shirt stations was checking what we signed up for in sizes – they just handed you what you asked for.
Expo was so-so. Lots of booths for future races in the Southern California area. Not so great for out of town runners or for those who like to shop.
Course:
The downhill start was interesting. First time I’ve done that in 20 years of racing. The uphill at the end was brutal. Most of the course from miles 4-10 were downright boring. Few spectators which I would assume will improve over the years.
Seriously though….I predicted they would run out of water so I brought my belt. The good news was that they only ran out of cups from aid stations beyond the 6 mile point. This was only a problem for those concerned about germs. The wonderful volunteers were willing to dump water into our hands, on our heads, into our mouths, and give us entire jugs to run with (which meant you picked up a jug, ran with it for 10-20 yards, and put it down for the next runners).
Appreciated the GU available for runners in the second half of the pack. That was greatly appreciated.
Tons of very positive young volunteers – thank you for getting enough help to the course.
Post-race:
Heard the horror stories about the shuttles from a dozen people at our hotel, but I didn’t experience it as hubby picked me up. Trust that those who continued to tell me the stories were accurate so there were issues with the shuttles.
This race needs work. The only great part was the medal. But I need more than that. I need a race crew who respects my role as a real runner.
This race failed to protect the health and safety of its participants and therefore receives a failing grade from my perspective. The best medal I’ve ever seen, all the great marketing and fun social media interaction in the world can never supersede the importance of the health and safety of race participants. Period.
There were lots of organizational/logistical problems with this race and I will discuss them, but chief among them is the failure to plan adequately in the area of health and safety. Water stops ran out of cups (at about mile six of the half marathon for the majority of runners). Volunteers did not coordinate with earlier stops to obtain cups nor did anyone as far as I know, simply go to Target, Walgreens etc. to buy more cups. By the time the 5K and 10K participants started, there were no cups, so my assumption is that this was not done. At least one water stop along the half marathon course was abandoned and participants were left to negotiate the jugs of water left behind on their own. Furthermore, I never saw the promised Vitalyte on the course. Clif Bar and Co set up a Gu stop at around mile 10, but my understanding is that that ran out as well. I consider myself a middle of the pack runner and my friends behind me had no access to gels, vitalyte or safe drinking water for the majority of the race. Granted we should all prepare for contingency by bringing our own hydration and gels and I did. However, many folks do fairly expect that after paying upwards of $100 for a race, these items will be provided, as promised. The RD is darned lucky that no one was hurt. I did read an account from a blogger whose legs gave way after crossing the finish line because she didn’t get enough electrolytes on what was a challenging course, by all accounts. I am disappointed by participants who feel that folks should have sucked it up and embraced a “go hard or go home” mentality. While I certainly respect their view, I hope they would respect mine in rejecting a waterfall, in particular after a witnessing previous participant after previous participant wrapping his/her lips around the very same jug of water. I should not have to drink unsanitary water after having paid over $100 all in for a race. I plan better for my own long runs. And notwithstanding my own planning for this race, I ran out of water and ran thirsty for the last three miles or so. Not acceptable.
Expo
Traffic was horrendous (even by LA standards) getting in and getting out of the Universal Hilton. The Expo was a madhouse. The room was too small for the number of vendors and the thousands of participants picking up their bibs. There was no signage nor were there volunteers directing participants to the back of the room to pick up their bibs and then to the side to pick up t-shirts. The location of the bib pick up was unusual (why at the back of the room?) adding to the confusion. Neither safety pins nor zipties were provided. The vendors were unremarkable and the room was overcrowded. And I paid for parking.
A friend had her packet mailed to her in advance. She noted that no information regarding race logistics was included in the package. More on that in the section titled communications.
The Start
We purchased our parking pass in advance which went smoothly. There was no signage nor were there volunteers directing us from the parking lot to the start line. Participants were left to figure it out on their own. Traffic was quite bad getting in. Mercifully, the race began late.
Although there were pacers, there were no corrals. Hence you had walkers/very slow runners at the start line with the 5:00 pace runners (look at the pictures of the start line…the evidence is there). There were no wristbands or pace notations on our bibs so there was nothing the volunteers could do about it, presumably. There was lots of confusion regarding gear check. Volunteers were not trained sufficiently. Some told participants that there was no gear check. Others indicated that there was. The RD indicates in his apology on Facebook that gear check instructions were announced numerous times over a loudspeaker. However, the loudspeaker was unintelligible to participants and volunteers alike, hence the confusion. I stopped to ask volunteers a few questions until I realized I was able to get accurate information from the security officers. Sad. Also, there were children selling the technical tees for $10. Have no idea what that was about.
The Course
Medical tents weren’t always tented and there weren’t enough of them. There weren’t regular mile markers. In fact there were very few. I have a watch but not everyone does or was wearing one. They really should have had mile markers. At least one mile marker read “Holywood Half”. They should get their money back for that one. The Hollywood Half finish line was used for the 10K and 5K races, in error. Issues with water, electrolytes and gels have already been discussed.
The Finish
Again, I’m a middle of the pack runner. I could barely retrieve my medal because it was so crowded after crossing the finish line. Post race nutrition was adequate. Plenty of bottled water (I drank two and usually can’t drink after a race! Why didn’t they bring some of that water to the water stops?). No mylar blankets. The finish line area was just too tight for the number of participants. I didn’t take a picture or get a massage I just wanted to get out of the crush of people. Friends who crossed later said the race ran out of post race nutrition, so the race was insufficiently stocked in this respect as well.
I waited for my friends to finish the race and off we went in search of the promised shuttles back to Universal. That was fruitless, as the Limo Buses apparently stopped bringing participants back to their cars at 9:30 a.m. and the RD, by his own account, was tired of arguing with the city about it (would have been more impressed had he said he weighed what was important and made a run to Smart & Final for some cups instead, but I digress). I too was tired after running a 13.1 mile race and wanted a ride, but at the end of the day, the two mile walk uphill didn’t kill me. It took FOREVER as there were thousands of us trudging up that hill together at a 53:57 min pace (yes, I checked my watch). We were so very cold (no mylar blankets provided) and the crowd started to get the angries. It was difficult negotiating the park participants back to the car. I don’t know how to fix all of that but there had to be a better way.
Apparently, folks paid for a post race brunch and the brunch closed an hour earlier than stated (at 9 instead of 10). Hopefully, they’ll get their $25 back.
Communication
There were several emails, lots of communication on facebook and of course the website. Problem was that the emails linked us to the website for certain information and the website crashed from demand. Lots of folks claimed they didn’t know about this or that. In these sorts of matters, I believe in making this stuff idiot proof. I would suggest sending one email with all the information several times and not require linking to the web to read more about anything. Would also suggest including this information in the mailed packets.
Conclusion
This race had/has a lot of potential but it seems as if organizers focused their energies on the marketing, the flashy, fun ideas and the hype at the cost of nailing down the logistics. Bottom line. I don’t care about breakfasts, parties, limo buses or celebrities if I don’t have access to clean water and electrolytes and mile markers on the course. I would have run the race without all the fun stuff. Get the basics down, first.
The course was challenging and fun. I hated the hill, but would run happily run the course again. My medal is gorgeous. The technical tee was great.
I stayed at a hotel near the start line, so I did not experience any of the traffic issues some people did. Pre-race, it was a bit hard to hear any announcements from the stage past the third corral, but the corrals and wave start were well organized. The course was definitely tough, but not not unexpected. Be prepared for the hill. Post-race seemed a tad bit disorganized. The medals were awesome, but there wasn’t a lot of signage to tell runners where to go to catch the shuttle and F&F seemed scattered throughout the secure area instead of in an easy line. Overall, for a inagural race, I thought it was well done and fun.
Positives:
– Running through CityWalk, Hollywood Blvd
– many runners dressed up, friendly fun vibe during the race
– taking the limo shuttle after the race
– massage after the race
– race director worked hard to communicate pre-race via Facebook
– low race fee if you registered early
– Saturday raceday (Sunday’s are busy for me)
Negatives
– hill at the end makes the course maybe too difficult for many
– ran out of cups during the race
– no race day race packet pick-up
– cost of race day parking (I bought a parking pass on the Internet before the race for $10)
Overall, a very decent first time race. I would come back again for sure if I could get a good price next year. Kudos to race director Ken for organizing this massive event.
wow what can i say about the race..it was something else compared to other races i ran …. pick-up during the expo was a bit confussing as the bib pick up was towards the end and on the side they had the shirts, it was crowded b/c only one day was offer for runners to pick anything we needed…
best part was the race director, Ken, kept us updated with information through facebook and had contest to keep us motivated..that was a super plus!!
although all runners wanted to keep the famous “hill” it was a killer hill running it back. Ken said it will be removed from the race next year, so that’s something to be excited about.
that take off was good b/c it was downhill although i do have to complain about some runners who walked at the start…i mean what runner walks something like this..not nice, runners please take a note of this..we want a personal record come on!!..i was able to have my PR, and very well deserved i should say.
i was able to register with a voucher offered on facebook..thank you!! it was all great!!
downside of the course was that between mile 10-11 stations ran out of cups, and next stations we saw lots of gallons unattended and runners came up opened them n drank straight from the gallon….i was super tired and not even knowing that the hill was awaiting for me.
overall it was good..first aide station very helpful..1st time i was in the 1st aide due to a fall right after crossing the finish line.. =/
day after the run Ken and Sabrina posted pictures from the run which allowed runners to tag themselves, and save the picture at no extra cost..now that’s for a change!! thank u thank u!
i would totally run it next year! =)
This race bit off more than it could chew when it allowed 6,000+ runners to register for the half marathon. It was evident even at the race expo that there could be some problems the next day. What this meant for my own race experience was that the race was not even able to provide me with a race bib but, instead, merely a race chip. This has never happened to me before in 100+ races and I predicted that they would have insufficient aid on the course, which turned out to be exactly the case, at least when it came to drinking cups.
I was also bothered that I was unable to get a response out of the race in the week leading up to the race. I bought a voucher on Facebook last summer for $37 to do the race and tried to register, without success. It was only after online registration was closed that they put up the list of confirmed entrants and I did not see my name listed. I e-mailed three separate times, wrote on the Facebook page of the race and looked, in vain, for a phone number, yet couldn’t get a response. Meanwhile, however, the race director, Ken, was all too ready to post Facebook updates on the days leading up to the race yet my Facebook posts were never responded to or simply disappeared into thin air after a while.
The course difficulty did not bother me as what goes down must eventually come back up on a point to point course. This wasn’t entirely point to point, but nearly so. I liked the course well enough…it did go all the way to the eastern most side of Hollywood which is not so great but, still, to have the opportunity to run on Hollywood Blvd. was great. Also, the last quarter mile downhill to the finish was great and it was nice to run alongside the 101 Fwy and be able to see that we would be hitting a peak and have a downhill to the finish. I was still able to set a very minor PR (30 seconds) despite the difficulty of the course, so a PR is not 100% out of the question and it still is a slight net elevation loss given that we didn’t return all the way back up to Universal Citywalk.
Post race was pretty good with good post race nutrition and lots of massage tables. I took advantage of this while waiting for my wife to finish her own race and was treated to a nice, complimentary, 10 minute massage.
I would do this race again if the price was right and providing it remains an early start. I never quite believed the hype or else I’d probably be more disappointed with the race. But, it is definitely a welcome addition as there are not enough half marathons of this size in Southern California.
For a first-time race, I thought they did very well. And the organizers openly acknowledged and apologized on Facebook for any mistakes they made. Pre-race, I found it difficult to access the website (I guess it couldn’t handle all the traffic). And the access to the expo by car was a little difficult. Thankfully, there is a metro station right across the street so on race day, I avoided the whole parking situation by taking the Red Line. So overall, I would have to say that access to the event was convenient. During the race, they ran out of cups – there was plenty of water, but not enough cups. The water volunteers were having to pour water into the cupped hands of runners who were not carrying their own water. Fortunately, I had a hydration belt so this didn’t really affect me. But it’s still a problem, although I objected to those runners who took it out on the volunteers (it wasn’t their fault). I really enjoyed the course; it’s so much nicer to run Hollywood Blvd. than it is to drive it. There were a lot of port-a-potties (this was very important since I was running with a pregnant friend who had to avail herself of them). And the volunteers were great. Post-race, I loved hearing them announce my friend and I as we crossed the finish line and there was food and refreshment available, which I appreciated. I heard there were problems with people getting back up to Universal because of the shuttle situation, but since I just walked downhill to the Metro station, I can’t speak to any of that. All in all, I enjoyed this race and I’m already signed up for next year.
The Expo was a nightmare. Parking $15. That is the highest I have heard of for a race Expo.
The shirts are nice.
The course is HARD. Last 3 miles were pure hell.
The Start was a mess. no order in the corals..walkers with coffee cups in the front with 5:00 runners?!!!
Gear check…first they say yes, then no go back to your car, then yes again. Volunteers had no clue about anything.
Running out of cups at mile 6 is ridiculous. I was in the middle pack I would say…so many people were behind. It was warm this could have been a disaster
not enough aid station
some water station..mile 9…had just a bunch of cases of gallons of water with nobody there..runners had to stop and open the boxes to get water…
if you are going to charge $$ for a race you need to have WATER! and CUPS!
Medal is nice.
Lots of people with no time on the final results or mistakes in their finish time. Lots of people got the wrong shirt also.
they have some stuff to fix before I give them more $$
not coming back next year, will do another race
I wasn’t able to go to the expo so I had to have the race packet sent to me and there were no safety pins for my number but overall I really like the idea of having my stuff mailed to me when I can’t make it. I usually expect to pay for parking but I had no idea the price. ($15.00) That should be clearer next year.
The course was a tough course but I really liked it. I thought the water stations were well maned. I’ve read that the last couple of miles were void of cups but I didn’t experience that.
I liked the down hill finish. I like the medal.
There were no signs or indicators as to where the awards ceremony was. I had several people ask me where the awards ceremony was.
Oerall I enjoyed the race and hope the work out the kinks for next year.
For it’s first year the Hollywood Half had some really good things go right for it and it has some room to improve. First off, the communication and interaction with the race director Ken was outstanding! He consistently talked with and answered questions on Facebook with everyone!
-The race Expo was held at the Universal City Hilton, traffic was horrible and the expo i’s self was WAY too small for the amount of people attending. I will say this Ken, immediately noted that they would look into changing this to a 2 day event next year to lighten up traffic. Also while in the expo bib #’s were way in the back and shirts were off to the side with very little organization.
-Race morning – Parking was great, it’s Universal City so they have plenty of it, went very smooth.
-Starting line – The corrals were very confusing and weren’t being policed at all. In the first wave where the elite runners were, walkers were there and started with them.
– The course – The course was great and wasn’t too difficult until the the hill from miles 11 to the finish. I’ve never done a race with such a long hill at the end. This isn’t a deal breaker for me just super tough at the end of a half.
– Water/Aid stations – How do you run out of cups in the middle of a race? 2 back to back water stations around mile 8 and 10 did not have enough cups so many people including myself went without fluids. i wasn’t even at the back of the pack so i can’t imagine what they went through. This was an out and back course so water stations were being hit going and coming.
– Finish – No complaints here, the finish are was great, from the red carpet to the food and drinks that were waiting and the medals were pretty cool.
-Spectators – My family always goes to these races with me and their biggest issue was, no one knew what was gong on form volunteers to security. the finish line was just under a mile from the start and when my family asked the volunteers they had no idea where it was. Also when they actually found out they had to walk on the course with the runners to get there because all the sidewalks were blocked off.
Overall I would do this race again, it’s the first year and they have and I’m sure they will fix the issues that arose this year.
Over-hyped, under organized, oversold. This is my 10th half marathon and by far the WORST. Parking? Not as advertised on website ($7 packet pick up and $10 race day). $15 PER DAY! You had to go through a crowded Expo to pick up race numbers; Expo was mediocre at best. Insufficient porta-potties at beginning of race resulted in hundreds of people going off late. Foghorn only on first two waves, then organizers lost interest. Course was harder than advertised, of 13 miles probable that over half was uphill with last 4 miles or so VERY uphill. Ran out of cups early in race – inexcusable! Street conditions very poor. Post race area narrow and crowded. Organizers obviously accepted more registrations than their support team could handle. Nice medal but I won’t be doing this particular race again.
well the pre race was ok, the start wasnt very exciting. they didnt let the slower heats know that we were starting, everyone was in the corrals, and they only sent off the first 2 or 3 corrals with the fog horn. it seems after that, everyone is the middle to end corrals just followed and took off, they didnt really show any enthusiasm to the runners at the start. the course was ok, a lot of bumps and cracks in the road, the course probably could have detoured towards sites that people dont see very often, maybe towards gromans chinese theater, instead we traveled through town and just small shops. they ran out of cups at mile 6 and 7!!! people were drinking out of their hands, and the gallon jugs. not ok. the final mile was a hill, which isnt that bad, but it was hard. the finish line wasnt very glamorous. the finish for the 5k and 10k had a big blow up sign that said hollywood half and the marathon runners just had a simple sign that read finish line. we crossed the line and everything seemed to be stacked on top of each other at the finish line. water and snacks should be farther down the line, so not everyone is piled up at the finish line. they stopped the limo busses from picking people up at the end of the race, so runners had to walk the hill to get to the parking structure. we had to wait in a line a mile long to get up the walkway to the parking lot. not very organized for a first inaugural race. the times werent posted anywhere that we could see, so runners knew their times.
