Andrew Amante's Staging Area

This is my second year running this marathon. The weather was a lot better than last year’s race. I’m still recovering from an IT band injury since February so time wasn’t an issue for me. I was focused on finishing and making sure I didn’t push too hard and re-injure myself. With that, I got to enjoy the scenic ocean view and CSULB campus rather than focusing on my legs. Overall, the race was the same as last year. The only problem I had this year was the design and make of the shirt. Seems like they put little effort in it this year.

This was 4th marathon and my fastest! I made a new pr because it was a very flat course. Majority of the run is on PCH and no turns or hills. If you can get pass the boring course, this race isn’t too bad to make a PR. I was very pleased with my performance, but my nipples chafed on my shirt so they were bleeding -___-

The race shirt and medal are a big bonus (for anyone that runs for gears)!

Perfect date to do this 18 miler for anyone training for the LA marathon. Scenery and course wasn’t too exciting or difficult, but it was nice to at least run a distance this far before the marathon. I wished they started off in waves because there were so many people, we were shoulder to shoulder for the first 3 miles. Overall, great race for training.

Very hilly half marathon. I didn’t get under the 1:45 mark, but still did my second best PR even when my calf cramped at mile 12.95…haha

For first time participants, sign up for both the 5k and half marathon. You get three awesome medals!

I did the Double Header Challenge (both 5k and 10k). If you know the streets of Los Angeles, they are very hilly and they implemented the course to be that way. A lot of runners complain about the distance, but I don’t think people realize the tall buildings and tunnel were blocking the GPS signal…so we may never know if this was a true 10k/5k distance.

Overall, great event before munching on turkey. The news cast always come so if you’re lucky, you can be on the morning news. The give away this year was boxers, which I liked, but a lot of people wanted shirts.

Last year they had a problem with bathrooms. They fixed it this year, but the problem this year was the line to pick up bibs. They should extend the gathering area for all runners. It gets way too crowded.

Cool event. Course was fairly flat, probably one or two hills. Started and ended back at the Hard Rock Cafe. Awesome medal that was voted by all runners a couple months before the event. My first PR for a 10k, but still faster runners than me haha

5k = 1 loop around the rose bowl; 10k = 2 loops around.
Fairly easy course. Great event for dog lovers as your companion can join with you on the run and get an award if you are top 3. Event is more focused on the pets so the run isn’t the main focus, but to help raise funds for this cause. Great event and great pets!

Apparently, Silverado Days is a Buena Park cowboy-themed festival that has been going on for 38 years. They just added the 5k this year and if I didn’t sprain my ankle running the Long Beach Marathon on October 11, I would’ve tried to win first place, at least in my division (division best 22:49). So I coasted and ran with my coworker to try to improve her PR, which she did! The fastest time was 20:19 so anyone looking to win something and break a record, sign up next year! (I know I will, my average is 20:34!).

Since this is a local event, the organization wasn’t that great, but it wasn’t too bad. The course ran through the nearby neighborhood so it was a fairly flat course. The only problems were the paths were very narrow as they left a lot of room for the pavement for cars to drive and do their weekend business, security wasn’t ready in the beginning, and the opening ceremony wasn’t very uplifting. But…on the positive side, they had Chick-fil-A as a sponsor, you received a shirt and medal, lots of volunteers cheering you on, and weather was perfect.

Overall, a great event for anyone wanting to try out a 5k, anyone training in general, or anyone that needs the push to get off the bed and do a morning run. It wasn’t too expensive either! $18 when Renegade emailed out a discount code ($30 without).

Participated for my second time on this run and actually did better than expected. Fairly flat and easy course as it goes through neighborhood streets. I recommend this to anyone starting out or wants to PR and win a prize. It’s a pumpkin theme too so dress in orange.