Stina Ross's Staging Area

Does the idea of running across the US/Mexico border sound amazing to you? That’s the selling point of this race. Honestly, it is so cool to run past the border control agents and really see the wall up close. There is a MASSIVE hill that seems to go on and on, but there’s awards specific to going quickly up that hill, so there’s that. The smell at points is extremely unpleasant, but that’s the nature of the area. Just breathe through your mouth for that part. While the food at the end is a free soda, there was a whole village of vendors at the end for very, very cheap. I got a michelada bigger than my head for $7 USD. Uber back to my hotel was super cheap too, or there’s a free shuttle to the start. Don’t overthink the transportation- it wasn’t that hard. I spent the weekend in TJ, crossed the border to the start at 5 AM, and made it with plenty of time. Definitely worth it!

I’m from out of state, and flew in for this race.

It was super cold, and very hilly- also, three out and backs. If you come in mentally prepared for that, you’ll be good. I met many first timers at the back of the pack that were discouraged by how hard that was and how long it took. I kept trying to tell them that this was one of the hilliest races I’ve ever done. It also didn’t help that there were almost no spectators, so it was definitely more “gorgeous reflective nature run” vibes than “big final race” vibes. I picked my bib up morning of. Not a problem. Don’t even show up ten minutes early for that.

Let’s start with the fact that Revel puts on the best races ever. Really runner-centric. Comfy buses to the start, downhill run, lots of aid stations, the best app ever- I could go on and on. After doing Revel races, all others are spoiled for me. But Wasatch was just not a good course. We spent a lot of time in the rocky uneven side of the highway with trucks whizzing by us. Then, we were on a boring flat for a long time. I don’t blame Revel- this was high pandemic times, but the course was honestly meh.

The marathon itself was everything I wanted it to be. Amazing scenery, supportive crowd, gigantic medal. I came prepared for hills, and didn’t find them that challenging at all. Great swag by all the sponsors, and the course was very carefully picked to be super representative of LA. Loved that. I wish the beer was local, though.

Getting to the marathon, on the other hand, was horrible. We planned to Metro to Union Station, and booked the 6 AM shuttle. We got to the Highland station at 5:00 AM, only to find that they don’t allow parking before 7 AM. So, we panicked and decided to drive direct to Dodger Stadium because we live ten minutes from it. Huge mistake. We sat in traffic for an hour and thirty minutes. We ended up sprinting to the gear drop, and missed our corral closing.

Then, after crossing the finish line, there were no restrooms in the finish festival. None of the restaurants would let me use the bathroom, and I ended up bleeding through my pants (time of the month). We skipped the finish festival as a result, and go on the Metro to go back to Union Station with the plan to Uber back to the stadium. No Uber would pick us up from the station. While it was awesome to have Arrowhead handing out full cases of water as swag, carrying them this whole distance was proving to be a pain. We finally got an Uber, but roads were still closed around the stadium (ten hours later) and it took a while to get in.

The marathon itself was amazing, and I’ve already signed up for next year. But the transportation issues were ridiculous. I’m debating which sounds less hellish- driving to Santa Monica and paying $25 for parking, and shuttling to the start line at 4 in the morning, or driving to Union Station and parking there and dealing with our horrible Metro system again.

As a Pasadena native, I was proud of this one. Between the Rose Bowl, the arroyo trail, the homes, the bridge, and Old Town, an out-of-towner could run this race and really get a feel for Pasadena. Packet pickup was at a variety of spot around LA. I got mine at the Rose Bowl on Friday, and it was a breeze. We parked at a friend’s house 1.5 miles away and walked in, arriving at about 6:30. It was a relaxing start to the whole thing, unlike the stopped dead traffic on Linda Vista. That looked like it sucked. Breezed through shirts, gear check, and the potty, and in the corral at 6:50. Race started pretty much on time, and we got running quickly. While the route featured some hills, interestingly enough none of them got me until the side of the Rose Bowl Loop. I feel like I left a chunk of my soul there. Cool finish onto the field of the Rose Bowl! Huge, heavy, detailed medal. I was disappointed with a mass marker brewer as the beer sponsor. This felt like such a nod to Pasadena that this seemed like an oversight. I wonder if they scrambled to find one, though- they announced them super late in the game. I PRed amazingly, which helped my mood. Definitely running this one next year!

As a CLU alum and current Masters student, I was excited to find that they had a 5k. For current students, it was super cheap- $10! A nice, simple course- no medals, but nice shirts. However, my Strava pegged the course at 3.02 mi, which was aggravating. Definitely returning next year, though! (Any chance of medals?)