The 2024 edition of the Los Angeles Marathon took place on March 17th. I ended up stumbling upon this marathon completely by fluke when I was looking for marathons in California. I had to travel to California to work with a fitness photographer to get updated images and to see if I can use those photos to land some magazine features and collaborations.
As you may know, one of my life goals as a runner is to complete a marathon in every state. So far, I’ve completed the following: Boston Marathon (Massachusetts), New York Marathon (New York), and Chicago Marathon (Illinois). Therefore, prior to the Los Angeles Marathon, I haven’t done one in California yet.
I Googled “Marathons in Los Angeles” with the goal of doing a photoshoot and a marathon on the same weekend. That’s when I found the Los Angeles Marathon. As I read more about it, I saw that the Los Angeles Marathon is hosted by The McCourt Foundation and participation in the marathon supports their mission to cure neurological diseases and empower communities to build a healthier world. I loved the mission statement and was happy to support such a great cause (I’m all about running for a bigger purpose). I also saw that it’s a popular event and draws big crowds every year.
With less than two months until race day, I signed up for the Los Angeles Marathon. My goal was just to finish and meet some cool people there. I wanted to finish in around 4 hours and not push myself too hard because I was already registered to run the London Marathon (my 5th World Marathon Majors event) about a month later.
Picked up my bib at the Los Angeles Marathon Expo
When I arrived in Los Angeles, I had about 20 minutes at the expo and bib pick up. The expo was smaller compared to the World Marathon Majors events, and, when I got there, people were already packing up their booths. I barely made it in time before it closed for the day. I liked that I was able to quickly pick up my bib and then check out a few booths before the expo closed. Bib pick up was super efficient for me. I had to get my bib on Friday before the race because I wasn’t sure if I would have time on Saturday to pick it up.
Getting my hair and make-up done by Vincent Tran. He is great!!
I booked myself a room at the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles because it was in a good location and I know that Sheraton is next level when it comes to customer service and room quality. Not only that, but they also had shuttles from Downtown LA to take runners to the start line. I wasn’t the only runner that stayed at this fantastic downtown Los Angeles hotel. I definitely recommend staying there if you are doing the marathon.
My Saturday before the race was super busy. I did the shoot and the next thing I knew, it was time for me to have my pre-race meal. I ended up having my pre-race dinner at JOEY DTLA. I went with my usual: pasta. I also had a Bellini and a dessert. The service at the restaurant was next level. My server treated me like royalty especially after I told her that I was running the Los Angeles Marathon the next morning.
When I finished my pre-race dinner, I went back to my hotel room and I felt completely at ease. This was the least nervous I’ve ever felt before a marathon. I was there to have fun and soak in the LA vibes. I wasn’t there to set a personal best. I didn’t stress out about how fast I was going to run it.
On race morning, I woke up after a great sleep. My bed was super comfortable and there was nothing bothering me enough to keep me awake that night.
I walked over to where the shuttles were picking up all the runners and then we arrived at the start line. I talked to a few very cool people at the start line. There were a lot of runners in all the starting corrals. The weather was perfect too. It was a little bit on the cooler side at the start but I knew that it was going to warm up very quickly as the day went on.
The Race
Once the race started, I settled into a comfortable pace and felt great. With great ease, I completed the first 10k in 50:40. I thought I was going a little bit too fast considering that my goal was just to complete it under 4 hours.
I slowed down a little bit on the next 10k and completed 20k in 1:43:06. It was still feeling pretty easy. I was high-fiving the spectators along the way and really enjoying every moment of it.
I reached the 30km mark in 2:36:26. I was very surprised that I was still averaging under 6 minutes per km. Some of the female spectators said they loved my Dream Nation Apparel outfit. Others commented on the fact that after 30km, they were shocked to see I was still smiling and loving every minute of it. One gentleman said to me, “oh wow, still smiling this far into it!”
The comments from the spectators energized me.
My splits from the Los Angeles Marathon, you can see where I started to slow down a bit.
However, at 35km, I had to slow down a bit because it was starting to get warm. I took a brief walk break, then started jogging again and decided that I was going to do the last 4k fairly slow. I wanted to feel fresh at the finish line.
At the 40km mark, I had to take another walk break because I got a bit too warm. That’s when a couple of race volunteers (that’s who I assumed they were) on bikes passed me and said, “You don’t want to be walking this far into the race. This is where you should start picking up the pace so you can move up in rank.” Their comments inspired me and I started running again.
I ended up crossing the finish line in 3:46:33. It was my best time since getting sick in late 2022, thinking that I would never run again, let alone marathons.
Los Angeles Marathon 2024 finish line vibes.
There were some hills along the way but nothing compared to the big hills I ran up on Vancouver Island when I did the Wounded Warrior Run about two weeks before the Los Angeles Marathon. The hills were a lot easier than what other people initially lead me to believe. Therefore, don’t worry too much about the hills but pace yourself so you don’t burn out towards the end.
I couldn’t stick around much longer after the marathon because I had to be back in Canada as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Overall, it was a very short but fun trip where I got to meet some cool people.
If you’re a runner looking for a marathon in Los Angeles, I would definitely recommend this one. It was well-organized and the landmarks along the route are super awesome.
At last, I got to see the Hollywood sign in person.
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