Daniel Hernandez's Staging Area

Ironman California was my first Ironman and overall it was a great race that I would highly recommend to any first timer.

The course was designed to be fast and easy and it delivered. The downriver swim had an insane current and the water was pretty warm compared to the Pacific Ocean that I am used to training in. T1 and T2 were a bit long and people didn’t seem to like that, but I am pretty sure it was to balance out the crazy fast swim. Seriously, I was expecting to swim 1:40 and I came out of the water in under an hour. Having to run 3/4 of a mile in transition is worth the swim time savings. Doesn’t really matter because I guess they got so many complaints they announced transition will be shortened in following years.

The bike course was completely flat. I barely had more than 700 ft of elevation gain in the 112 miles. I also saw a lot of complaints about the strong winds and while the winds were indeed very strong.. talking sustained 15-20 mph, the bike course was still easy and very scenic through beautiful Sacramento wine country. Sure, the way back you’d be crawling at 10 mph, but on the way out you’d be flying at 25-30 mph easily. I just held steady power and was done with minimal trouble.

The run course was probably my least favorite part. The first part along the river and through old town was great, but the second third goes to and out and back through Discovery Park and that’s the part I didn’t really like. There was just minimal crowd support and it was the hardest part. I was also pretty quick so I got out of there before sunset, but I imagine it’s much worse after sunset. It’s scenic enough.. it is a park, but it’s just lonely.

The last part through the city was better and the end with the two loops of the capitol building was epic. I know I read a lot of complaints about people forgetting to do two loops and then getting DQ’d, but I don’t really understand how that happened. I was asked multiple times by volunteers to make sure I had ran the correct number of laps around the capitol before being allowed to run down that red carpet. I don’t know how people just “forgot” to run 3 miles. I believe the course changed this year to avoid that so it shouldn’t be an issue anymore.

In terms of overall production, I think it was pretty good.. it is an Ironman event after all, but as it was the first year, there were a few hiccups. The biggest one is the lack of buses to transport swimmers from transition to the swim start area. As a result a lot of us slower swimmers started almost an hour after the race began. Not a big deal since we are chip timed, but it got pretty annoying. I think the organized addressed this and said there’d be more next year.

Also, there seemed to not be enough volunteers at the finish line. I was fine and made sure I got all my swag.. medal, shirt, banner, backpack, etc. but I heard not everyone did. It was also not clear were the post event food was, but I did eventually find it. Perhaps better signage is needed. For that, I ding them 1 point on production, but other than that it was great.

Bay to Breakers is a 12km party race. You really have to be there to experience it. It’s not really a race to be taken seriously. Right from the beginning, it was one giant celebration of running and the bay area’s quirky residents. Tortilla fights, tons of ridiculous costumes, naked people, centipede teams, people chugging copious amounts of alcohol. You will never be bored on this race. It’s technically a difficult course for the distance because SF is hilly, but you will barely notice the hills since you will be so entertained. It’s definitely a bucket list race and something every runner should experience.

This was my first 50 mile ultra and my second ultra marathon ever. As far as 50 mile ultras go, it is an easy course in that it is all fire road and (poorly) paved road and the elevation gain is *only* 6800. This is not an easy race, but it an easy race compared to other 50 milers, which feature technical terrain and often higher elevation gain. I would say that while it is an *easy* first 50 miler, it might not be for everyone if you prefer running on technical single track.

Despite living in Long Beach, this was my first time to Santa Catalina Island. Getting there was pretty easy. I took the Catalina Express out of Long Beach and got an AirBNB with some friends who were also running the race.

Check in was quick and straight forward. There was not a ton of pre-race communication, but it was fine. There was no sort of expo like what you may find at larger marathons, but I am starting to see this is the case for ultras in general.

The race organizers offered an option 1 hour early start for the 50 milers and also allowed the 50 km runners to start an hour early at the regular 50 miler start. The course began in the dark and was pretty well marked with glow sticks leading up a climb to Airport Road. This was the only part of the race that was kind of technical and more akin to double track trail.

Once the sun rose, the views were stunning. The entire island is beautiful and runners are treated to jaw dropping view after jaw dropping view. The island is also known for it’s herds of buffalo and other wildlife. I was unfortunate and didn’t see any, but many other runners did and I heard that sometimes the buffalo are even walking up or down the roads the runners are on. I did see some eagles and hawks, but that was about it in terms of wildlife. Either way, I give the scenery a perfect score. It is hard to beat.

The only real complaints I have revolve around course marking and aid stations. First off, I found course marking to be lacking. While the race course is pretty straight forward and the organizers made an effort to place arrows to point runners in the right direction, the signs right after the 50k/50mile split were placed somewhat ambiguously and I ended up running up to some random guy’s RV who had a giant wooden sign that said “Gear Drop.” I thought that was were our drop bags were, but apparently it was just some random camper. No idea why he had that sign. That just seems like an obvious place to mark “Wrong Way.”

Secondly, I want to say that I am super grateful and appreciative of the aid station volunteers. They rock. However, the aid stations seemed a little bit lacking to me. Perhaps I was just spoiled by the amazing aid stations at my first 50k which had tons of food options, but most of these aid stations only had potatoes, pretzels, fruit, and candy. They also had water and electrolyte mix. I guess my real complaint is because in the latter half, the last 3 aid stations were a bit lacking for me. One of them had a ton of meat options and liquor shots. I mainly try to eat vegan and would have loved some salted potatoes, but all they had that was veggie friendly was some cinnamon roll cake thing. I was just not feeling sweets by then. Then the last two aid stations seemed to only have oranges, bananas, and chocolate by the time I got there. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I am very grateful for what they did have and the volunteers. I just really wanted something with more carbs like potatoes or peanut butter sandwiches. In general I give the course support a 3/5. It wasn’t bad, but it was also not amazing. It was just fine.

The only actually negative experience I had had to do with the Catalina Island Company tour vehicles. I understand that that’s how they make a living, but between miles 35-45, the tour vehicles were just zooming past all the runners and blowing up clouds of dirt. I would understand if it was inevitable, but it wasn’t. Plenty of fire department, sheriff, and some personal vehicles passed us and none kicked up clouds of dirt. I think the RD should bring up this valid complaint to the tour company. Not cool. It sure does not make me want to go back on a family trip.

Lastly, the race swag was pretty great. The medals were wooden and pretty neat. I enjoyed the simple design. I also liked the race shirt they gave out. It was a technical long sleeve. A lot of race shirts I never end up using again, but this is a really good one.

In summary, this is a great first 50 miler. The scenery is beautiful throughout and the course is relatively easy, but this is still a tough race. The last 20 miles were tough for me and I felt like I got the full ultra experience. Descending into town and turning onto the finish line was a magical experience. I would recommend this course, the 50k or 50 miler to anyone for a first ultra.

This is my 2nd year running LAM. This is for the revised “Stadium to the Stars” course.

Production was again, top notch. I know some people were upset that the expo was moved from the convention center to Dodgers Stadium, but I thought it worked really well. It was cool to have all the Dodgers monuments around. I hope they keep this. The only lame part is that bag check could only be done at the expo instead of on race morning. Not sure why the change besides maybe saving money?

Parking on race morning was pretty easy and the shuttles mostly ran well. We unfortunately had the wimpiest shuttle driver ever, so despite leaving super early we barely arrived at the start line. Thankfully there were plenty of porta pottys and we did not have to wait long to use the restroom and rush over to the starting corrals. Race started on time.

There were a ton of water and fuel stations. In fact, there were maybe too many because I started skipping them after a while due to my bladder starting to get too full. I really can’t fault the production.

Crowd support was great throughout, but there was noticeably less people. There was also less than half the runners, so it makes sense. I’m not sure how much of this was due to the course change and how much due to all sorts of other factors… pandemic, a lot of fall marathons, etc.

As expected, the scenery suffered because instead of Santa Monica, you run back through what is essentially suburbs. I didn’t think it was horrible because it was nice being able to see friends and groups cheering twice along the course. However, it would definitely be better if they would go back to SM or if they just change the course so there’s no out and back portion at all.

I didn’t think there was a noticeable difference in course difficulty. The changes amount to 50 ft more in elevation gain. However, I ran this race at my long run pace and wasn’t trying to PR so I can see how the course changing from a straight descent into Santa Monica to rolling terrain and the finish being right up a hill would be demoralizing. Personally, I liked the hill ending.

The finish line had plenty of water and snacks. There were free massages at the end and the wait was not long at all. Entertainment was kind of “meh.” There was live music, but the crowd didn’t really seem into it. There was also a beer garden where they just stopped taking drink tickets and were giving everything out free so if you drink, that might be a plus for you.

Getting back to parking was a bit of a pain. There were no signs, none of the volunteers really knew how to get back there and the police made some questionable traffic decisions. I won’t get into it here, and it’s not really the race director’s fault.

In terms of swag, the shirts were fine, but kind of odd in construction. The medal was pretty good too, but a step down compared to last year. I really dislike that they removed the classic “The City of Los Angeles Marathon” on the back and replaced it with a McCourt Foundation logo.

TL;DR New course not as good, but nowhere near as terrible as people were making it out to be. Still a very well produced race. I recommend and will be back next year.

I love LBC. I live here and this is my local race. I made this my A race because it’s the hometown race and while I had a great time, I don’t think I’ll be returning.. at least not for the full.

Look, the scenery for the half is great. You run along the beach and by the Queen Mary, lighthouse, shoreline village, and then down Ocean Blvd. The scenery for the full is okay. It adds a detour inland mostly along golf courses, parks, residential neighborhoods and around CSULB. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t really stand out.

I was a little disappointed with the production. The race started late, which happens often enough that I can’t ding them too hard, but it was 17 minutes late. I had friends that had come out to cheer me on who thought they had missed me because of the delayed start.

The pacer around me was also a mess. The guy was supposed to pace 3:45 and he was running closer to ~3:35 pace. Luckily, I had a watch and my own plan to 3:36, but I could see people struggling to keep up. Some lady looked crush halfway through that she couldn’t hold pace. I mentioned to her that we were actually like 5 minutes ahead if she was following the 3:45 guy. I was on pace for 3:36 before I cracked and he was still right in front up until mile 20. I know they don’t get paid, but if you’re not going to pace your group right, maybe don’t take the free entry and potentially ruin other people’s race.

My other big complaint is that LB Police STOPPED THE RUNNERS at Pacific Coast Hwy to let cars pass. WTF! Isn’t a closed course the whole point of paying for a race? Look, I was already fading, but this happened at mile 22 and my legs were feeling incredibly tight. Stopping, as short as it was, really affected me. Not making excuses for not hitting my target. 3:36 was not going to happen.

As for swag.. I was not a fan of the medal compared to say, Surf City or OC. I guess that’s personal preference, but it just looks like clip art to me. I will still cherish it, as it represents a lot of miles and hours of training, but it’s not the best looking.

The main positive is that I love the city of Long Beach. This is where I live and where I run. It was great seeing all my friends that came out to support as well as the local run groups. I also did great. 3:41 is a huge PR for me.

I think in the future, I would do the half, but I was pretty underwhelmed with the full marathon course. I think definitely I will stick to LAM as my A race for that distance.

This was my 2nd time running this race.

The cons: The race expo seemed scaled down, probably because of covid. PCH can get boring after a while. It was a pretty hot day compared to usual (75F and sunny vs usually 55F and cloudy) and the half marathon started later than usual because of covid social distancing.

The pros: Plenty of water stops and gels available. Good amount of pace groups available. Course is nearly entirely flat and you can just go hard. The crowds were pretty good in spite of the pandemic. The medals are always awesome (wooden surfboard) and the I really liked the race finisher shirt. Also, if you don’t live near the beach, I am sure running along the beach and the wetlands scenery is interesting. I am just a bit bored of it because I run here ALL the time.

This is a great course to PR. For the 2nd year in a row, this is looking to be my best race. I am becoming a huge fan of Surf City and I will definitely be back next year.

This is a hometown race and was my first triathlon. It was better than I could have hoped for and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to try a triathlon for the first time.

The swim takes place at Alamitos Bay. Because of the breakwater surrounding Long Beach, the waves are small and nearly non-existent. As someone who was anxious about open water swimming, this was a big plus. The buoys were huge and easy to sight. I was 2nd to last in my age group, but this was the fastest I have ever swam. The 1 negative is that T1 is kind of far away compared to other triathlons (or so I’m told).

The bike course was 2 loops, mostly on Ocean Blvd through downtown LB. I was weary about doing loops, but the intensity was so high that I had a blast. I should probably mention that the swim start was delayed about 30 minutes because they were rearranging the bike course. It was worth it. As a local, I knew some of the lanes on the road were in bad condition, but the lanes that the course took place on were all good condition. I PR’d the 20k bike course.

Lastly, the run took place on the LB beach running path, which was open to the public. I thought this would be inconvenient, but it was no issue at all and the crowd was pretty great. There was plenty of water stops along the way that also offered gels. I PR’d my 5k.

I crossed the finish line and volunteers handed me a cold, wet towel, water, and lunch. The medal was pretty cool. It doubles as a bottle opener. Besides that, race swag included a USA triathlon bag packed with samples and goodies and a race shirt. Oh also, plenty of photographers all over the course. Race pictures were great, but I do wish there’d be more than just 1 photographer along the bike course.

This is honestly one of the best produced events I have attended. I immediately signed up for the following year. It also convinced me to sign up for further triathlons.

This race was such heart break for me.

The swag and expo were great. Love the race shirt, love the medal.

The course turned out to be the last year it’d be from Dodgers Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier. Support was amazing. Water, electrolyte, and gel stops were plenty. I don’t know that I have much to offer besides what others have said about the course, but let me tell you about my race…

I had a horrible race. I got really sick a week before. I thought I’d be fine the day of, but I wasn’t. Completely cracked halfway through and walked the last 10 miles or so. I was just kept walking and holding back tears because of how disappointed I was. Fortunately, the crowd was extremely encouraging and kept me going until the finish. I have a very vivid memory of being in crazy pain right before reaching the final stretch along Ocean in Santa Monica. Someone had erected a giant sign (size of a car) that said “You Don’t Know How Strong You Are.” I was ready to quit and then I saw that and it gave me the final push.

I am not done with this one. I need redemption.

This is my first time running the Pasadena Half as part of the Conqur LA challenge. Overall, I had a good time, but it was kind of a meh race.

There wasn’t a whole lot of swag in the race packet at all… just a coupon for Big 5. There was no expo. They had remote bib pick-up, but almost all the sites were on the West Side anyways… it’d be nice to have some options in the South Bay. The shirts they handed out on race days were a nice design, but just plain cotton. I would expect tech fiber from an event like this. Besides that, I got free socks from SRLA and that was about it. I give it 2/5 because the medal was absolutely gorgeous. **EDIT** Apparently we get free pictures. This is way better than any other kind of swag. I’d bump it up to 4/5.

The course was of moderate difficulty, mainly because of hills. I didn’t have too much trouble because I’ve been training for them, but I heard lots of talk about them post race. Overall about a 600 ft elevation gain.

The course scenery was.. okay. Pasadena is not a terribly exciting town, but running around the Rose Bowl was great and finishing on the 50 yard line in the stadium was a cool experience!! I know they also highlight suicide bridge, but I didn’t even realize I was running over it until we passed under it. Mountains in the background were also nice. However, I don’t think that makes up for the relatively monotonous course. The crowd support was also rather sparse, but I am appreciative of the people that came out. There was a few Elvis impersonators.

I will commend Conqur on the race production. Besides parking, which took about 25 minutes at 5:30 am, the event went smoothly (I can’t blame them for parking too much because the Rose Bowl is just notoriously terrible to park at). I was placed in corral 2, which was perfect for me. The race began on time, I didn’t feel crowded and there weren’t really any walkers. The water stops were plentiful and stocked with plenty of water and nuun as well as honey stinger gels at miles 4 and 7.

This was my first 10 mile race. Overall, the course was simple and I enjoyed running next to the pacers. I think the race would be better if it was a bit earlier in the day. The first half of the race was awesome, the sunset along PCH is a great view.

However, about halfway through, the sun had set and the course was pitch black. There was light up glow sticks throughout the course, so it was fine, but it really kills the scenery. As others have mentioned, there was some bonfire smoke, but that part didn’t bother me too much.

The race swag was decent. I enjoyed the glow in the dark shirt and the bottle opener surfboard medal. The race expo was also pretty okay. This is a good training ride for the LB marathon / half marathon and I will probably run it again next year.