Los Angeles Marathon Recap 3:26.36

I love the Los Angeles Marathon. You can’t beat the crowds and the cheers. But it’s not an easy marathon. With 900+ feet of elevation gain, plus the potential to be hot and sunny, it doesn’t make for “fast” times. Can you run fast at the Los Angeles Marathon? Of course, you can run fast anywhere.

My story with the Los Angeles Marathon starts back in October. I injured my hip and had to pull out of my “fast” marathon, the California International Marathon. It took me a long time to recover, and I barely ran races until January. I was training, just not running races. It took me a long time to recover from that injury, even though I didn’t really spend a ton of time actually injured. After that, I spent January racing, had one of the best 20-milers of my life and still kind of regret not finishing Surf City, then promptly got COVID. Getting COVID a month out really messed with my nasal cavities, and even during the Los Angeles Marathon, I felt like breathing got harder than it should at some points during the race. I qualified for the Los Angeles Marathon elite age group corral. That meant I got to start right behind the professional women and be on TV. But it also meant I was running the Los Angeles Marathon pretty much alone. In the sea of 26,000 runners, I was not tagged as running with a single person at the marathon. HA.

Anyway, I was a bit nervous because when you are all alone, your race is on full display. So I hoped for a good race.

Before the Los Angeles Marathon:

I ran the LA Big 5K the day before at a 7:50 pace. Slightly faster than I would have run alone. I also had a ton of events that entire week and the day before. The day before, I ended up logging over 21,000 steps, which is obviously not ideal for racing a marathon. So, I didn’t really have high hopes. I also had a weird hamstring scare, which wasn’t just “taper crazies,” but it was actually a very tight hamstring. Luckily, work by Rich and Ray at VFE cleared it up, and I started and finished healthy. It was a genuine concern the week prior if I would be able to.

The Los Angeles Marathon elite women’s age group started at 6:43 before the marathon. As I stood at the start line, I felt in complete mode. But how often do you get to run in Los Angeles alone?

Los Angeles Marathon Race:

Once the Los Angeles Marathon elite age group gun went off, I found myself in last place. I assumed I would be, but it was still somewhat embarrassing to just be in last. .1 into the race, I was running alone, and I thought: well, at least I usually run alone, so what’s another 26.1 alone.

The first 3 miles, I was literally alone. It was good because I ran my pace and not got caught up in trying to keep up with the other women. I just ran it how I would run a long run. The first 4 miles of the Los Angeles Marathon actually go downhill. There are some rolling hills, but it’s net downhill. I ran a 7:58, 7:39, 7:40, and 7:52. Around mile 4 of the Los Angeles Marathon, I caught up to another woman who had just run Moab the weekend before. It was nice to run with someone for a little bit.

Mile 5 of the Los Angeles Marathon brings one of the first bigger uphills. It feels like it’s never ending. I took my first UCAN Gel around mile 5.32. Instead of slurping and going, I’ve been taking them slowly over the course of a mile. I’ve felt a lot better doing that.

Somewhere on that hill, the lead men passed me. I thought it wasn’t supposed to be until mile 8ish, but actually, they started a little closer to the age group and professional women. It was super cool to be that close: I thought, do I take a photo? Is that weird? I did because when else would I have that experience.

That gave me some motivation, and I plodded along. I grabbed water at every stop and put it over my head. I grabbed electrolit sometimes, and I was running with UCAN in my own bottle. I ran miles 6 and 7 of the Los Angeles Marathon in 7:46 and 7:40. Mile 8 had some downhill and more crowds. On more than one occasion, someone told me I looked like the “elite runner having the most fun,” and honestly, I probably was. I high-fived people. I waved. I cheered when people cheered. I actually was having the most fun.

Around mile 8 of the Los Angeles Marathon is where more men started passing me. It was nice to have more people on the course. There was a nice downhill, and I cruised at a 7:35 pace.

Miles 10, 11, and 12 went by without much note. I was focusing on mile 13 where I knew I would see VFE. I ran between 7:37-7:40 for each and took another gel. Before I knew it, I was halfway and feeling good. I saw VFE, high-fived them, and continued on.

That really brought motivation and carried me past the halfway mark. At halfway in the Los Angeles Marathon, I was feeling good. My legs didn’t feel terrible, and my strategy of taking water and dumping it on my head every mile was keeping me cool. It was only around 8:00, so the sun wasn’t fully up yet.

Mile 15 of the Los Angeles Marathon has the steepest drop (183 feet). People were cruising down. I was honestly nervous because we still had 11 miles to go, and I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to pick it up. I ran a 7:43.

It was around mile 16 of the Los Angeles Marathon that I started to feel tired and like, “OMG, how am I going to do this for another 10 miles?” I knew the last 8-9 miles were some of the hardest, and I just wasn’t sure how I was going to complete them. I also needed to use the bathroom. I finally went just after mile 18, and that was my slowest mile with the break (8:20). I’ve had to stop and pee in almost all of my marathons, although it’s usually much earlier.

After that, I did feel slightly better, and we headed into the out-and-back section. A lot of people hate that the Los Angeles Marathon doesn’t end in Santa Monica, but unfortunately, it got way too expensive to close down Santa Monica roads, and the Los Angeles Marathon goes to charity.

Mile 19 began feeling grueling. It goes uphill, there is no shade, and it was hot. I kept telling myself, “Get to the next mile, then the next.” I knew the turnaround was around mile 22. I walked through a water stop around mile 23 to grab even more water and ended up grabbing 5 cups. I had started getting cramps (likely from not enough hydration), so I wanted to make sure I was getting enough water so I could take my gels.

I actually started to feel a lot better around mile 21. When we hit the turnaround just after mile 22, I decided to just go. Whatever “go” meant at the time. Because it was so hot, there was already carnage. I began passing people that had passed me long ago. Mile 24 and 25 of the Los Angeles Marathon are actually downhill.

But that doesn’t make up for the mile 25 hill, and then the finish is up a 40-foot hill. I kept waiting for the finish to come, but it didn’t feel like it was getting any closer. I did PR the final hill and actually felt stronger than last year.

I finished the Los Angeles Marathon in 3:26:36.

Los Angeles Marathon Thoughts:

3:26:36 is not what I trained for. I had hoped to be faster than last year, but a few things played into that. I was on my feet a lot the day before (over 20k of steps), the weather was hot, running the race alone, and of course, getting COVID less than a month prior. So after all of that, I am pleased with the time. Would I run the Los Angeles Marathon in the elite age group corral alone again? I think so. It was really cool to run by yourself. Although running in the mass corral could yield a faster time, depending. So I don’t know.

I said I wouldn’t run the Los Angeles Marathon again, but it’s such a fun course filled with big crowds that it’s hard not to. Plus, for such a big race, it does have a hometown feel that you aren’t spending thousands at a hotel the night before. And next year is 40 years for the Los Angeles Marathon. It’s definitely one of the underrated races in the US.

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Questions for you:

Have you run the Los Angeles Marathon?

What is your favorite marathon?