Courtesy: Running USA

The City of Los Angeles Marathon presented by Honda will undergo a significant course change for the 17th running of the race to be held on March 3, 2002. After a year of developing three alternate courses and a poll of 30,000 past participants, the overwhelming majority supported a course change that would eliminate many of the hills that make the current L.A Marathon course one of the world's most difficult major city marathons.

In speaking to the difficulty of the current course, Basil Honikman, Chairman of the Records Committee of USA Track & Field, said Simon Bor's record L.A. Marathon finish of 2:09:25 in 1999 was "comparable to a 2:07:30 effort." In an attempt to produce faster times for both the elite runners and the expected field of 23,000 + participants, the new City of Los Angeles Marathon course will be significantly flatter. According to L.A. Marathon President Dr. William A. Burke, "In polling people who have run this race, we learned that upwards of 80% of them wanted a course change. This new course will help many runners reach their personal bests, while preserving the multi-cultural heritage that has been the hallmark of this race." Honikman adds, "This new course would be in line with other major marathon courses and would serve as a fair test of the athletic capabilities of all participants."

When compared with last year's race, the new course eliminates the most challenging climb from miles 7 to 21, where elevation rose from 111 to 418 feet. In fact, the new course will proceed downhill from its highest point at 405 feet at the start line to 112 feet just past mile 9. The most significant hill will be a gradual climb from 115 to 210 feet between miles 17 and 20.

"By compressing the climb of only 100 feet over a 3 mile stretch compared with a more than 300 foot climb over 14 miles, it only makes sense that participants will have fresher legs on this new course, " said Coach Pat Connelly, who is currently training a record 1900 L.A. Roadrunners for the 2002 race.

The new 26.2 mile course has been dubbed "the heart of the city". The new start line is located on Grand Avenue on top of Bunker Hill. With the soon-to be completed architectural landmark Disney Hall on the left and the Museum of Contemporary Art on the right, the race will offer a dramatic start as it heads north on Grand Avenue. Within the first mile, participants will run past the Music Center, the Los Angeles County Courthouse, the new Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral and the recently reopened City Hall before heading through the 2nd Street tunnel. From there, the race will wind its way through the neighborhoods of Crenshaw, the Miracle Mile, Hancock Park and Koreatown and past such landmarks as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Museum Row. The new course will take the race to its furthest point west in its seventeen-year history before heading back to the finish line in downtown Los Angeles.

Legendary marathoner Rod Dixon, the New Zealander, who won the New York City Marathon in 1983 and ran L.A. twice, toured the new course and said, "Elite athletes and everyday runners will like this new course since it passes so many landmarks. The fact that it is significantly flatter is a bonus that makes this new course a real winner."

The new course was enthusiastically received at a recent L.A. Marathon sponsors meeting attended by representatives of Honda, Acura, American Airlines, City of Angels Medical Center, The Gas Company, the Los Angeles Times, Saucony and Sparkletts. Eric Conn, Senior Manager of National Automobile Advertising for Honda, said "this course is ideal since it continues to support the downtown business community and the running community as well."

Public support for the new course is also evident by the record number of people training with L.A. Roadrunners, Official Training Program for the City of Los Angeles Marathon, as well as other training groups in the area.

"With this new course, we are writing a new chapter in the race's history and will hopefully rewrite the record books," concluded Dr. Burke.

The City of Los Angeles Marathon presented by Honda will take place on March 3, 2002. For information, call (310) 444-5544 or log on to www.lamarathon.com to view a map of the new course.