Los Angeles 5k Run/Walk

Run Or Dye 5k Los Angeles @ Exposition Park/​Colosseum. I had a great time. Everybody was super friendly. It was all about having a good time and getting crazy. Everybody dressed in all white or crazy colorful. Some dressed in too-​toos, some in costumes, guys high socks and short-​shorts, so many clever run outfits. They played music, had stages, gave out free stuff. I would recommend to get there 1 hour and a half early before check-​in. If you live local I would highly suggest you get dropped off because traffic on the streets can take up your registering time and gets hectic as well as parking. There was more people than expected this year ³⁄₂₀₁₃ that they were not prepared or well organized for registering people. That was the only downfall. Overall I would definitely go again. I had a great first time experience.

I very much enjoyed participating in the Brain Tumor walk. Everything was organized nicely and I never felt over crowded by all the people. I enjoyed the speakers and all the vendors!

Another year, another 5K
and the finish line never looked so good. High hopes to out run 2012’s biggest SoCal winter storm was not to be, as drizzle turned to downpour at the starting line
. On the plus side, there’s nothing like a wet, pelting, icy headwind to get the lead out.
Stars: Rating Mother Nature is like rating God, not going there.
Hooked up with a different online registration/​donation provider for this fundraiser. It proved problematic for me from the get go. My concerns have been conveyed directly to this company thus will not be aired here. In spite of a rocky start, my charity increased donations 50% over last year!
Stars: 2.75
Light turn out made entering and parking a snap. Traffic direction was top notch. Exiting, not so much, due to reduced staff and lack of clear directional signage.
Stars: 2.75
Plenty of porta-​potties with «full» hand sanitizer dispensers!
Stars: 4.5
Mile markers, yes
!
Stars: 4.5
More drinking water available
!
Stars: 4.5
Kicking myself for not catching her name but the chick who sang The National Anthem knocked my Nikes® off! What a set of pipes!
Stars: 5
Bottom line: A solid 4 stars!

I am writing this review as a newbie to the entire world of organized running events, I have been running for awhile now, self training, and such…
My lil sis has been training in a group for awhile and ran the fULL Marathon, so I said hey, lets dip into to the kiddie pool and see how we like the crowds of an organized run…
The 5k began about 8 – 10 blocks away from where the actual marathon began, but it was just as fun, there were soooooo many people, the directions to the start line were very clear, and the volunteers were all nice and helpful!
They (they being the LA MARATHON as a whole) have these new amazing things that you strap around your shoe lace, there is like a chip in it or something and when you run over the start line it starts timing you, and stops when you cross the finish line, its amazing, and your family members can track you (for free) by filling out a form online, and they text you 10 times where the runner is located and the estimated finish time. I ran the 5k just yesterday and the results where already posted online woohoo!
The health expo they held at the convention center was «alright» it was my first, although I was not to impressed… I overheard numerous LA marathon regulars that they were quit disappointed with this one… One thing I did appreciate was the efforts of going green, they sent emails with coupons to all runners, instead of putting them in bags and passing them out at the expo, and those running bands that were on the shoes were recyclable too!
All in all, I totally recommend this run, next year I shall return, but I will be running muuuuuuch further :)

Five Stars for Fun. And Charities. And Sunshine and Me. 0 Stars for Organizers and Lack of Sponsorship.
The day started off off with a dream. A dream before waking. To help rationalize not getting out of my cozy bed, my subconscious decided to play games and tricks on me. Fooling me into hitting the sleep button a few too many times, until Sunshine and I only had minutes, no moments, to get into the car. And we took more moments than we had. And we were… late. I know. It’s shocking. Shocking! So we didn’t get our numbers. Again. So what. We got our medals and thats all that REALLY matters. The walk and talk was great. I can’t say the same for the organization of the 5k this year. They put us on the actual marathon course… and then told us that we had to move to the sidewalk because the «elite» racers were coming. «Elite» racers? What the hell are we supposed to be? Oh, maybe we’re not doing this for the $ 10,000 first prize purse. We’re just doing it to raise money for charity. Ho-​Hum. LAME. I was pissed and started talking back to cops. Never a good idea. So we let it go and made it to the finish line. We were anointed with red, white & blue ribbons and the oh-​so coveted medals, refreshed with a bananas and oranges and started the trek across the south Los Angeles streets toward the oasis of Angels, Child SHARE and In-​N-​Out Burgers. And we made it. And they made me a grilled cheese. And I was happy. And then I was tired. And it was hot. And we still had to walk back to the car. And we thought we lost it. And then we found it. And… The End.
Thanks for all the support! Until next year…

5 stars for participants, NO STARS for organizers.
My best friend Jennifer R. and I have walked for Charity in the Los Angeles 5K for the past three years. Every year I am amazed at how awesome all the people and groups that participate are. There is this one non-​profit, called Ability First, that cheers for each other with such spirit that you can’t help but smile. It is a mixture of running and walking, so most of us are laughing and talking the whole time. There was a group walking this year to raise money for the victims of violent crimes in Los Angeles. They chanted «love» and «peace» throughout the course. It was very touching.
I love the 5K. I love raising money for my charity and I love seeing all the other people out there trying to make a difference and do some good in the world. There aren’t enough stars among all us Unilocalers combined to give them the praise they deserve.
So, you can imagine HOW ANGRY I was this year by how we were treated by the Marathon organizers. There was no corporate sponsor for the 2008 5K and we were truly treated like a hated stepchild. Our race course was part of the marathon route, and we were constantly being told we had to «step off the track for the elite runners», who, by the way, were MILES away from where we were. At one point, we were asked to leave the course and walk for a distance on the sidewalk with the spectators. I’m not talking about 25 people being asked to move off the street (THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BLOCKED OFF FOR US), I’m talking about HUNDREDS of people, many of them in wheelchairs or with strollers, being asked to step off the track. It was APPALLING totally disrespectuffly to the participants, who raised money and PAID the LA Marathon to register and be there.
SHAME ON YOU LA MARATHON! SHAME.