My personal tips & recommendations Coming from San Diego, one of the biggest challenges has to be -- How are you going to get to the starting line? 1. Since you have invested a lot of time and energy to be there, make it a celebratory weekend. Sign up for the LA Big 5K and use that as your shake out run (I left San Diego at 5am and had no issues getting there and finding parking). Since it starts and ends at Dodger Stadium, you'll already be there at the Expo too (held in the same location) and will be able to then pick up your marathon bib and have fun exploring the venue / vendors. Take photos and revel in the moment. Also, don't be stressed if you didn't pick up any gear. You can always order LA Marathon gear online. 2. Stay in a hotel near the finish line to utilize the shuttle system in the morning. This year, I opted to stay at Fairmont Century Plaza. I booked through the McCourt Foundation website and rates were discounted $375 a night. If you share this with a fellow runner, it's worth it! Or treat yourself. They have excellent room service, friendly staff and the shuttle is a 5 minute walk up the street. It's super easy and safe for a solo runner. We opted to book for both Saturday and Sunday night, though we ended up leaving late Sunday in an effort to avoid Monday morning traffic. What's great about booking Sunday night is that you can head back to your hotel, shower, take a nap, order room service and chill. Traffic is pretty bad after the marathon and trying to get out of a parking garage at this time might take hours so it's perfect to have a landing place to unwind (especially if you are a slower paced run that has been on your feet for 5-6 hours). I would also recommend taking that Monday off as well to let your body continue to relax and recover. You just ran a marathon, so there is no need to return to adult life!
Next up, are products that I want to highlight that work(ed) for me. Again, I'm a party pacer and run a very slow marathon. I'm on my feet close to 6 hours so what I use matters to me. 1. Chaffing - To avoid chaffing around my sports bra area, I use Kt tape and place it completely around my body near the bottom of the bra. This has been a game changer and I've had no issues at all with chaffing (whereas in previous marathons, this has not been the case). I'm also very impressed with the seamless running bra I ordered from Zensah. I'm linking it here: https://www.zensah.com/collections/sports-bras-tops/products/seamless-sports-bra
2. HydraPatch - This is the second time I've used the hydrapatch (previously on a 6 mile run) and had no issues with the patch, the skin area around it and surprisingly, hydration issues. Which is the whole point of the patch. Hard to confirm that this helped, but I'm linking it here in case you want to check it out: https://hydra-patch.com/ Also, I can't stress enough -- stop at the aid stations in the beginning and hydrate. Drink the electrolytes and make sure to take gels as often as you can (I take them every hour). This will also help you avoid hitting a wall at mile 20. The key is not to try and "make up" for it when you're already dehydrated because it's too late.
3. Cheap compression / running shorts on Amazon - Yup, you guessed it. I opted to wear a cheap pair of compression shorts that I bought on Amazon because they fit comfortably (not tight on your stomach) and have side pockets. I'll update this post if I can find the shorts that I ordered but if you just search it on amazon, you'll find some options. I have found that the most important thing for me in a running short is to have a side pocket for me to carry my phone and to be loose enough that it's not pressing on my stomach all day (don't want to feel like I have to go to the bathroom). Also, I prefer shorts that are long enough to combat any potential thigh chaffing. 4. Since the race is presented by Asics, I chose to run in the Asics Novablast 4. They were pretty comfortable during training and gave me no issues during the race. I'm happy to add them to my shoe rotation and generally speaking, totally recommend this model. https://www.asics.com/us/en-us/novablast-4/p/ANA_1012B510-250.html 5. Last, but not least - Check out my glasses. I'm a SunGod Ambassador and these glasses were awesome (Ultras in white). They're light weight and perfect for racing. They've got a lot of different styles: https://www.sungod.co/en-us/road-running-sunglasses
