2011 LA Marathon Guide and Start Time - planetc1.com

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2011 LA Marathon Guide and Start Time
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2011 LA Marathon Guide and Start Time
By Daria Belov

The 26th Los Angeles Marathon takes place Sunday, March 20, 2011. Like the marathons we've covered in the past, we researched what marathon runners and spectators most commonly seek, and have organized a guide to start times, maps & routes, and live TV coverage, along with other details related to the Los Angeles Marathon 2011 (LA Marathon XXVI).

For 2011, the Honda LA Marathon Expo, LA 5K and the Race Starting Line will all be at Dodger Stadium (1000 Elysian Park Ave,. Los Angeles, CA 90090-1112). Here is a Google Maps Link for the stadium and the LA Marathon site has detailed directions to get you to Dodger Stadium throughout marathon weekend.

Important -- There is no race day (Sunday) registration or packet pick up for the LA Marathon, and online registration ended on March 13, 2010 race was a sellout. My advice is to go on Saturday, visit the Expo, and familiarize yourself with the area. This way you are less likely to run into difficulties race day morning.

Los Angeles Weather -- Sunrise for Sunday is at 6:57am. LA Weather is expected to be in the low 60s and currently there is rain in the forecast. Be prepared for wet weather just in case, but there's no guarantee it will rain on race day. I would check online weather information for Los Angeles on Saturday night, just to be certain.

This year's race starts at Dodger Stadium and it can be quite chilly in the early morning hours. It is strongly advised that runners dress in multiple layers so they can be warm before the race. Since you want to get to the starting area early, expect lots of time standing around in early morning hours before the race begins. A common approach by many marathon runners is to bring along throwaway clothes (sweatpants, warm-ups, gloves and hats) that you can discard on the side of the road before the race starts. Race Day volunteers collect clothing and distribute usable items to the Salvation Army, so don't worry about leaving those items behind.

Los Angeles Marathon Start Time -- Wheelchair start time is 6:55am and Hand Cycle start time is 7:00am. Los Angeles Marathon start for other participants is at 7:24am. This year's start line begins at Dodger Stadium and heads out on Elysian Park Avenue.

Los Angeles Marathon Finish Line -- This year's race ends on Ocean Avenue and California Avenue in Santa Monica (it's a point to point race, unlike the 2009 Marathon). The official post race pickup zone (designated by the city of Santa Monica) will be at 1701 Ocean Ave,. Santa Monica, CA 90401 (right by the Hotel California and Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel). Here is a Google Maps Link for the pickup area.

Los Angeles Marathon Map -- Starting at Dodger Stadium, and ending in Santa Monica California, the 26.2 mile race will pass numerous Los Angeles landmarks. Among the list of landmarks are Olvera Street, Los Angeles City Hall, Dorothy Chandler Music Center, Pantages Theatre, Capitol Records Tower, The Troubadour, Rodeo Drive and the Santa Monica Pier. Watch this very cool 2011 animated course map for a start to finish view.

Los Angeles Marathon Live Coverage -- Local KTLA station Channel 5 in Los Angeles has 2011 LA Marathon Live televised coverage and you can follow their Twitter feed (KTLAMorningNews) for marathon related details. For radio listeners there will be a live Radio Broadcast provided by KLAC 570 am.

Los Angeles Marathon on Twitter -- Follow the LA Marathon (lamarathon) for Los Angeles Marathon News tweets. For those of you familiar with Twitter, use #lamarathon hashtags and search LA Marathon OR Los Angeles Marathon for continuous live online updates (and likely many user generated posted Los Angeles Marathon mobile device pics).

Other bits of information: MP3 players and iPods are allowed to be worn during the race (woohoo!). The LA Marathon course is a certified course by the USA Track & Field and is a Boston Marathon qualifier. Wesley Korir (Kenya) holds the men's LA course record (2:08:24) set during the 2009 race, and Tatiana Petrova (Latvia) holds the women's course record (2:25:59) also set in 2009.

Dr. Michael Dorausch, Los Angeles Chiropractor and founder of Planet Chiropractic, has quite a few clients and friends running in Sunday's race. He has worked with some of the worlds elite distance runners and himself runs the shoreline of Venice Beach regularly. He'll be cheering you on at the finish line.

Congratulations to all the runners that have been training for this year's race, your hard work and discipline is about to pay off, see you on Sunday! Have fun!

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