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LA Marathon 2004 Photos - My brother and I were able to photograph runners in the 2004 Los Angeles Marathon as they ran past Figueroa and Olympic. My brother ran in the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, March 2nd 2003. He ended up with a nice time under 5 hours. The time was especially impressive given one of the setbacks he suffered in training. He hurt his foot in an area near the arch when there was less than a month remaining before the marathon. As a result of the injury, he was unable to train as hard as he wanted to leading up to the event. My brother mentioned that he saw some of his friends in the crowd. His friends were just watching the event but they ran with him for about a block because they knew it would be costly for him to stop and talk. Since they wanted to chat they were willing to jog a little while to socialize. The race started near Figueroa and Fifth. The runners went past the Staples Center on Fig down to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. They then went west and went around the Col Going North on Crenshaw, they went past the Santa Monica Freeway(10) and headed West until reaching Robertson. They made it all the way up to 3rd street and then down to Olympic. Finally they made it up Flower to the finish line. There were lots of photographs taken on the day of the marathon and I hope to post some photos onto this site soon. It was a nice day for running in Southern California and it was also a good time of year because it does not get too hot in early March. Not everyone in Los Angeles was happy with the Marathon. I was listening to KROQ on Monday morning and Ralph Garman, one of the morning DJs had a few things to say about the event. Apparently he lives in Hollywood in a location that was surrounded by the 26.2 mile course. He felt trapped since he was unable to cross the path of the marathon all day. Ralph pointed out that he was not only waiting for the fast times like the winner from Kenya with a time around 2 hours and 9 minutes, he was also waiting for the slower times like 9 or 10 hours. Apparently the course cannot be crossed by cars all day. Some of the photographs on our site show areas on or near the marathon route. For example, out Downtown section has numerous photos from Figueroa where the runners started out near the Staples Center. We also have photos from the Farmer's Market and the La Brea Tarpits which are about 2/3s of the way through the marathon route.

One book that has information on the necessary training in marathon preparation is Hal Higdon's Smart Running: Expert Advice on Training, Motivation, Injury Prevention, Nutrition, and Good Health for Runners of Any Age and Ability by Hal Higdon (ISBN: 0875965350) Book review by Amazon.com reprinted with permission Hal Higdon, author of more than 30 books on running and senior writer for Runner's World magazine, is adept at answering running-related questions; he also pens the magazine's on-line "Ask the Expert" column. Therefore, it's only natural that Smart Running is assembled in a Q & A format. Chapters, ranging from "Technique" to "Marathon Training" to "Motivation," are followed by a series of relevant questions and answers. For instance, in the "Racing" chapter, topics include "Race Taper," "Starting-Line Jitters," "Drinking Technique," and "Downtime After a Race." Under "Last Meals," a reader queries: "What is a good choice of food the night before a race and right before the race?" Higdon's reply is thorough, based on race distance, time of race, and experience. He also suggests the use of nutritional alternatives, such as sports drinks and energy bars, and throws in this long-standing runner's joke: "Your prerace meal should taste good going down, taste good coming up, and look good on the sidewalk." Comprehensive and light-hearted, Higdon knows running. --Rob McDonald

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