Race Recap & Review: Los Angeles Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon (2013)

#15 / 13 of the 2013 Half Marathons

If you told me that I would be registered to run four half marathons in four consecutive weekends, I would’ve told you that I would be insane.

And I did just that. Not only that, with two of them being PR times.

The LA Rock n’ Roll race is the first exact race this year I’ve repeated and have ran before. Last year, I ran this race to help Erica finish her first half marathon. This year, I fully intended on attempting to PR.

Race Weekend and Expo
I arrived in LA Thursday night and did my last run on Friday morning to relax. On Saturday, Erica and I took the LA Metro from Pasadena all the way to the Convention Center.

Trojan fans. Trojan fans everywhere.

The Convention Center was holding the Diva Convention, same as last year, and was held in the same halls.

As this was a Halloween race, there were lots of pumpkins, ghosts, goblins, and other cool Halloween themed costumes everywhere.

After visiting the Expo, Erica and I ventured over to Chinatown to experience Philippe, seen in Man vs. Food (start at 1:58).

It was fun playing tourist in our hometown city! 🙂

For dinner, my brother and I headed to Arcadia Garden Café for my carb up. Boba and rice was the way to go!

Race Day
I really didn’t want to relive the traffic issue I had last year, so to ensure that I got there in time, I left at 5:30am and headed Downtown. We paid for parking in advance and parked about two blocks from the start line at 6am.

It was an incredibly foggy day in LA too. Kinda misty, cool, and perhaps…a perfect setting for a Halloween race?

I hopped into Corral 3 and was off shortly after 7:30am! It was perfect running weather, and everyone was in costume for this Halloween race.

The Course

Mile 1: 7:33
Mile 2: 7:19
Mile 3: 7:48
5K: 23:30
Mile 4: 7:42
Mile 5: 7:40
The first six miles were an out-and-back to USC and around the LA Coliseum, near Exposition Park. With a USC game there yesterday, there was a lot of Trojan signs leftover.

The fog was really heavy here, and I was essentially drenched by the 5K mark.

I passed by Dr. Dribble, a guy in a squirrel suit, and lots of Batman / Superman costumes. It was really cool seeing everyone all dressed up!

The course then veers back towards the Staples Center. At the six mile mark, I saw Erica again cheering me on, and I yelled to her to check out my time on the Rock n’ Roll website so she knew when I finished. Another spectator next to her then said “Ugh the time. That’s all they care about!”

Mile 6: 8:25
10K: 47:45 (10K Record!)
Mile 7: 8:29
This was a gentle uphill slope on Flower St., past many hotels and department stores. The New Year’s Race I believe starts somewhere around here too.

Midway through mile 7 the course goes through a tunnel on 3rd Street, and it was really cool hearing all the echoes and seeing all those strobe lights!

Mile 8: 8:28
Mile 8 takes you near Skid Row, and luckily it was pretty clean and organized for the race.

Mile 9: 8:26
Mile 10: 8:34 (1:15:03)
Mile 11: 8:44
This part of the course was an uphill bridge towards the 5 freeway, across the LA River. Last year, I was able to take a picture of the Downtown LA skyline, but this year it was all fog. Couldn’t see a thing!

Mile 12: 8:17
Mile 13: 8:00
I didn’t notice that I slowed down, but the clock times posted at the mile markers indicated that I would PR this race, so I tried to push towards the finish!

The course essentially reverses itself back towards Skid Row and the tunnel (which was now stuffy and warm), before going on a downhill slope on Flower to the finish line.

I finished at 01:41:47, or 7:46 / mile. Another PR! I didn’t think that it would take me only three weeks to beat what was already an amazing time. But here it is, and I am only about 100 seconds away from breaking the 1:40 mark.

With that, I am at Rock n’ Roll #9. One more to get the Rock Idol medal!

Later, I joined with Erica, Joy, and Kellie who had finished the mini-marathon (3.5 miles).

Like I stated last year, this race is great for beginners and those who want to PR. However, the weather appears to be sporadic in LA for late October. Last year, it was sunny and hot, while this year it was foggy and cold. The flatness and overall downhill slope of the course does make up for it though.

Overall, a great course, and I hope to break 1:40 before the end of the year. Thank you to Erica, Competitor Group, and all the course volunteers! It was an awesome Halloween race!