Inaugural City of Angels Half Marathon Race Report

Time: 1:45:46 ***PERSONAL BEST***
Pace: 8:05/mile
Overall: 474 out of 3,648
Gender: 399 out of 1,839
Division: 73 out of 293



For its first race, I would say the organizers of the City of Angels Half Marathon did a spectacular job. Parking was easy, not a traffic jam in sight. The shuttles were quick and efficient, and everything ran very smoothly. The only glaring problem I could see was the lack of mile markers. Not every mile was identified, and even those that were, the signs were not readily visible. This was an issue for me since I was going to use the mile markers to determine when to take a walk break. It also made it difficult to pace myself. Since I wasn't sure where the miles were, I couldn't quite gauge what my pace was. Fortunately it all worked out for the best for me, but I hope they addres the issue next year. Other than that, the race was terrific and I look forward to doing it again.

In terms of a race report, this was my best experience running a half marathon thus far. I didn't run out of gas and managed to run a negative split for the first time. In fact, my pace was faster than my personal best in the 10K, meaning that now my best 10K time is the second half of the half marathon. Certainly the mostly downhill course helped, but there were a couple of tough hills thrown in, too. I also didn't get as much rest the days leading up to the race as I would have liked. Still, by the time I reached Silver Lake at around mile 7-8, I knew I was in for a good race. Being able to speed up in the final 5K made me feel even better. Considering I was only able to run up to 10 miles in training and have yet to train consistently, the results were welcome news.

The course was pretty well-designed, and it had the added virtue of cutting a path--through Griffith Park, Silver Lake, Echo Park, and downtown--that reflected the city's diverse personality. To run down the middle of Silver Lake Boulevard like I owned it was a treat only eclipsed later on when I ran through the 2nd Street tunnel.

I don't think I'll be running the 10K in Irvine later this month, but I will be running the Pacific Shoreline Half in February, so hopefully I can PR there. The goal will be closer to 1:40. For now, though, I'll relish the good run I had and the fun experience of running through my favorite LA neighborhoods.