This is also my 10th consecutive L.A. Marathon, after my very first marathon back in 2001 with no training and didnt know I was getting myself into, I found myself walking the entire marathon and finished in 7:39, but after that one I was hooked and I have decided to run the L.A. Marathon every year, below are my results from the past 9 years that I ran the L.A. Marathon.
- 2001 - 7:39 (My very first marathon ever!!)
- 2002 - 6:58.55
- 2003 - 5:18.43
- 2004 - 5:25.34
- 2005 - 5:05.08
- 2006 - 4:16.40
- 2007 - 5:08.42 (a new point to point course for 2 years)
- 2008 - 4:28.45
- 2009 - 4:19.35 (back to out and back course in downtown LA)
The Expo
I went to the expo at the Dodger Stadium on Friday cuz I know it's gonna be a crowded on Sat. The expo was REALLY small compare to the usual LA Marathon expo, I was done in half an hour, but I went back a few time just to kill some time. I bumped into my Maniac friend Emil, we seem to bump into each other every race. Here are the things I did at the expo
- tested ride the EliptiGo bike, it was really a fun bike to take it to the beach
- met Bart Yasso and have him signed my bib
- met Sarah Reinertsen and have her signed my bib
- threw some baseball and tried to hit the target, but missed.
Bart Yasso and me
Sarah Reinertsen and me
Race Day
2am - left my parent's house and drove to Santa Monica to park my truck
2:45am - arrived in Santa Monica's parking Lot Zone C where I have purchased my parking pass
4am - took the shuttle and headed to Dodger Stadium
4:40am - 7am - hanging out on the Dodger field for the first time, something I will always look forward to, what a cool experience!! didnt know there were over thousands kids of Student Run LA running the race.
7:45am - race started, after a few mins, I was able to catch up with Dean Karnazes and ran with him until Mile 1!!! He was just finished biking from San Fransico to LA on th ElipitiGo bike so he was just taking it slow early on.
got to ran with Dean was a thrill
After the Mile 1, we exited Dodger Stadium and make our way down to Sunset blvd, it's nice to have a downhill early during the race, but it's kinda suck to have a big hill coming up on Mile 3, but thanks for those volunteer who were on the Taiko drums on the sidewalk to keep us moving.
At Mile 6, I passed by the Burrito King, the place where Jimmy Dean Freeman stopped by while he was test running the course and ordered himself some tacos, too bad it was closed or I would have ordered myself a few.
At Mile 13, I passed by another famous fast food joint on Sunset blvd, The Carney Express, again that place was closed, or else I would have ordered myself a hot dog.
At Mile 16 just before the mile marker, I saw the Don Franscisco table on the right, so I ran over there and check out what they had, I didnt want a coffee but I did grab one of their tote bag, I ran with that bag for the entire race with all my goodies in it. Then we made our way down to Rodeo Dr.
Just right when I made a right turn on Wilshire Blvd at the end of Rodeo Dr, I noticed some people were dressed in green infront of the NikeTown passing out JellyRanchers, so I ran over there and grab some, and they also gave me a wristband. =-)
Then around Mile 19 when I ran in the Westwood area, I noticed some male strippers were dancing on the table, all they were wearing was their boxer briefs, I guess thats the way to attract more female runners to run this race every year.
From Mile 21 to Mile 25 I was carrying my bag while I was running and just trying to enjoy as much as I could, although I was really struggling with the humid weather, I drank a lot of water, and at one point, the volunteers were handing out bottles of Sunny D, so I grabbed one and took my time and finish it before I started to run again.
After I passed Mile 26, I pushed myself to run the last .2 mile without stopping, and just before I crossed the finish line, I noticed Bary Yasso was standing on the right side greeting the runners, we exchanged high five and I crossed the finish line at 4:44.54
The good things that I grab a free bag at Mile 16 was that I could put all the food at the finish line inside my bag, although all they had was bagels, fruit cups, some crackers, and powerade, but that's better than nothing.
After I met up with some Maniacs and have some group pics, I headed down to the pier to get my checked bag, it was a long walk, I wish they could have moved the trucks closer. But I saw there were a lot of food vendors there, like Rubios, California Kitchen Pizza, Don Francisco's coffee, etc, I was glad that I had $20 with me so I was able to buy a hot dog and a slice of pizza. After hanginout for an hour or so, I walked to the Hot Dog on a Stick vendor and I got a Hot Dog, it was VERY good, then after awhile I walked back up to the finish line and stopped by McDonald's and bought another burger before I headed to my truck and drove home.
Overall I really enjoyed the new course, although it was a bit challenging, but I love to see all the landmarks of LA that I never seen before, I am very looking forward to run this race again next year for my 11th straight year.
Next Race............................The Great Race of Aguroa Hill,(Chesebro Half Marathon), 3-27-2010
Just right when I made a right turn on Wilshire Blvd at the end of Rodeo Dr, I noticed some people were dressed in green infront of the NikeTown passing out JellyRanchers, so I ran over there and grab some, and they also gave me a wristband. =-)
Then around Mile 19 when I ran in the Westwood area, I noticed some male strippers were dancing on the table, all they were wearing was their boxer briefs, I guess thats the way to attract more female runners to run this race every year.From Mile 21 to Mile 25 I was carrying my bag while I was running and just trying to enjoy as much as I could, although I was really struggling with the humid weather, I drank a lot of water, and at one point, the volunteers were handing out bottles of Sunny D, so I grabbed one and took my time and finish it before I started to run again.
After I passed Mile 26, I pushed myself to run the last .2 mile without stopping, and just before I crossed the finish line, I noticed Bary Yasso was standing on the right side greeting the runners, we exchanged high five and I crossed the finish line at 4:44.54
The good things that I grab a free bag at Mile 16 was that I could put all the food at the finish line inside my bag, although all they had was bagels, fruit cups, some crackers, and powerade, but that's better than nothing.
After I met up with some Maniacs and have some group pics, I headed down to the pier to get my checked bag, it was a long walk, I wish they could have moved the trucks closer. But I saw there were a lot of food vendors there, like Rubios, California Kitchen Pizza, Don Francisco's coffee, etc, I was glad that I had $20 with me so I was able to buy a hot dog and a slice of pizza. After hanginout for an hour or so, I walked to the Hot Dog on a Stick vendor and I got a Hot Dog, it was VERY good, then after awhile I walked back up to the finish line and stopped by McDonald's and bought another burger before I headed to my truck and drove home.
Overall I really enjoyed the new course, although it was a bit challenging, but I love to see all the landmarks of LA that I never seen before, I am very looking forward to run this race again next year for my 11th straight year.
Next Race............................The Great Race of Aguroa Hill,(Chesebro Half Marathon), 3-27-2010
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