I was shocked at how challenging the LA Big 5K course is. If you are looking for a flat, fast 5K course, this isn’t it. If you are looking for a challenging 5K with 8,000 people, it’s an awesome option. I opted to run the LA Big 5K as an easy shakeout run before the Los Angeles Marathon the next day. I did not race it.
I thought, maybe I’ll race the LA Big 5K in a year when I don’t race the Los Angeles Marathon, but the course is challenging, so I do wonder how you’ll run compared to a flat and fast 5K.
Before the LA Big 5K:
I stayed the night in Glendale and got to the LA Big 5K around 6:30 AM. Even for the 8 AM start, there was a lot of traffic, so I recommend getting there earlier. Plus, between the traffic and picking up your bib, it can take some time. So, whatever time you think you need to get to the LA Big 5K, get there earlier. I walked around but didn’t do any warm-up because really I just wanted to run the 3.1 miles for the day.
LA Big 5K Race:
The LA Big 5K started at 8, and off we went. I started around the 8-minute pace, and I quickly realized there were a lot of people that started way too far up. So next time, I’ll start much further up. As we left the stadium, I thought, wow, this is hilly. It hadn’t really occurred to me how hilly Dodger Stadium is. About half a mile into the LA Big 5K, you go down a steep downhill. All I could think was, wow, this is fast, but we will have to come back up. And we do, almost straight away. I hit the first mile in 8:15. I wasn’t too worried about pace.
Mile 2 of the LA Big 5K has both climbing and downhill. As we headed up the next hill, we leveled out for a second, but the pavement felt uneven and hard. Truthfully, running in general felt hard. I was worried about the marathon the next day, but I tried not to worry. I hit the second mile in 7:49.
During the third mile, I thought we would finally just head back into the stadium, but we went back up the way we came, and the last hill felt hard. We turned and were parallel to the stadium before heading back to the finish line. You think, “this is the end of the hills,” but it’s not, and you have one more big hill. I ran a 7:44 third mile. The last .1, I decided to sprint and open up my gait. I finished in 5:44 and finished the LA Big 5K in 24:37.
LA Big 5K Thoughts:
I really enjoyed the LA Big 5K, and I want to do it again, but boy, is it a hard race. With 260 feet of elevation gain, it’s definitely one of the hardest 5Ks I’ve ever run. I can’t really remember another road 5K with that much gain. I definitely ran faster than I would have on a regular shakeout run, but it was a lot of fun.
But it’s a lot of fun as a shakeout for Los Angeles and a good vibe 5K. I’ll likely do it every year that my schedule allows it.
You can see Strava here and all race recaps here.
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Questions for you:
Have you run the LA Big 5k?
What is your favorite 5k?
I really needed to read this today….struggling with what I want to do this year…I work a lot of events, and well, sometimes I can set up, run and help with the tear down…and my training has been a struggle….but, well, reading something positive certainly helps…I like 5Ks ….there’s an 8K in Vancouver that’s perfect…not completely flat (the finish is uphill)…but through a park along the waterfront…so yeah that would be a fave….I always do our Run for Cure 5K….the run’s fun, lots of kids, and for a great cause…