Per the usual with this race, I parked my car at the City Place Lot C on E 3rd St between Pine Ave and Long Beach Blvd. The first 2 hours of parking was free. When I approached the Long Beach Convention Center, the first thing that I saw was a very long line. I had to ask a few people to determine where the line ended. While it was a very long line that wrapped into the parking lot, it did move fairly quickly. The line was for bags to be checked and everyone to be screened by the metal detectors.
With the usual race packet pick-up process, I got my race bib, race shirt, and a sturdy tote bag. I then checked out the different vendor booths to pick up a few samples. I stopped by the Beach Bum booth where I received a long sleeve shirt, a magnet, and a 11th year pin. That's not accurate as I deferred my entry in 2020 and did not run the race virtually. This year would be my 10th year. Thanks COVID. I then checked out the registration tables for next year's race as well for the OC Marathon. I decided to put things off for both races as there wasn't a special deal for registering at the expo. I could get the same deal registering at home after the race.
Race shirt
Expo goodies
Beach Bum long sleeve shirt
Magnet and pin
10+ years of loyalty
Register for 2023
OC Marathon registration
I then found my name on the participants name wall before I started heading out. Before leaving, I stopped by the Waste Management booth to donate a couple pair of shoes for their shoe donation event. I brought with me a couple pair of my shoes that I needed to retire or give away. One pair, I definitely needed to donate as I haven't worn it in years and it was just taking up space. The guy at the booth noticed my Tottenham hat. Unfortunately, he was an Arsenal fan. Even so, it was good to see more people into football in the States.
Participants name wall
Found my name
Saturday expo parking
Sunday 10/9
I arrived at the same City Place Lot C parking structure just shortly after 4 am. I waited in my car until my friend arrived. The homeless problem in the downtown Long Beach had become worse and worse each year, so I wanted to make sure that we both got to the start without any incident. In the news, residents and businesses in the area are upset that homeless people are being dumped from the Metro line once the line shuts down. They really need to find another way to handle this situation. We walked over to the Hyatt Recency at the corner of Pine Ave and Shoreline Dr to hang out before the start of the race.
Starting corral
From Stacy at the start
From Robert, Marathon Maniacs in the starting corral
The marathon was scheduled to start at 6 am. There ended up being about a slight 5 minute delay before the start of the race. Since I was coming off of the London Marathon last weekend, I made sure to start this race off slow. The weather was on the humid side, but thank goodness there was a cloud cover for the majority of the race.
View of the Queen Mary just after mile 5
Near mile 6
Near 10k
Latino Heat
Near mile 12
Pacer Andrew
From Luis near mile 14
Per the usual, I started having trouble once I reached Cal State Long Beach. The climb up to mile 18 always wear me out! I stopped at the aid station to use one of the portapotties. When I came out, I saw that my friend, Carlos, was one of the aid station volunteers. It's always good to see a friendly familiar face during a tough part of the race.
Marathon Maniacs near mile 22
Near mile 23
Unicorn just after mile 24
Near the finish line
Finish: 5:26:16
Click here for my Garmin data.
I felt much better running today's marathon versus last weekend in London. I also managed to finish over a minute faster. I think it had to do with me not running out too fast in the early miles. I had the usual fade in the second half of the race, but I didn't have the debilitating leg cramps that I had last weekend.
Finish line
After collecting my finisher medal and some post race goodies, I started heading back to the Hyatt Regency. I made the stop here to drink my chocolate milk and to recover a bit before the drive home. I used the restroom before heading back to my car. I paid $12 at one of the parking kiosks on the way out. Another marathon finished. Now, do I want to do this again next year?
Finisher medal
Happy to be done!
Post race goodies
Race day parking for $12
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