This was my first marathon so I don’t have anything else to compare to, but I have run upwards of 10 halfs and a Ragnar so I do know a little something about races. Anyhow, I thought the Expo for this race was great. There were tons of booths and millions of things to buy including gear and food. Packet pick up was super easy but I didn’t like that there was no option to have someone get your packet for you. Race day shuttles were easy to get to and there were plenty. I arrived at Dodger stadium with plenty of time taking a 5:30 am shuttle from Santa Monica. Port-a-potty lines and gear check lines were long as expected at the stadium. Race started on time. First few miles were filled with a lot of dodging and elbows but once we hit about mile 5 things tended to thin out a bit. Crowd support was amazing throughout the race and each neighborhood offered unique music and performers to give us weary runners something to look at. There were kind souls passing out food and drinks all along the course which was amazing. Course was extremely sunny and insanely hot–especially from about West Hollywood on. I think it would be nicer if they started this race sometime between 6am-6:30am so that it didn’t get so darn hot and sunny so fast. End of the race was great with plenty of supporters in the shoot. Post-race stuff I did not participate in much (as usual) but it seemed great to have cooling vans, beer garden (although I heard it was closed early), and massages. Finish line support could have been a little more compact. Medal is awesome. Race shirt is kinda ugly but I will still wear it. Loved the giant billboards along the route with people wishing runners well. Would have liked to have Gatorade and Cliff products before miles 21, 24. Will do it again next year!
