L.A. Marathon changing race date to Memorial Day

The new operators of the Los Angeles Marathon are moving the annual race to Memorial Day, marking the second calendar change since September for the race that, for 23 years, had been run on a Sunday in early March.

LA Marathon LLC, the new race operations company funded by Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, in September agreed with a city request to move the race to the President’s Day holiday starting next year. But the Feb. 16 date caused concern on several fronts, according to race operating company President Russ Pillar, largely because many Southern Californians work on the Monday holiday.

"We think the Memorial Day date does two things," Pillar said during a phone interview with The Times. "It lets us honor the city’s wishes that we have the race on a holiday Monday, and it lets us create a better runner’s experience than we could have on President’s Day. We've spent a lot of time talking to all of our constituencies -– runners, charities, volunteers –- and while there's never a good time to be changing race dates, the fact is that this will give us enough time to put on a great event."

We'll have more details soon on latimes.com.

Editor's note: Going The Distance, the new marathon operating company, recently changed its name to LA Marathon LLC.

-- Greg Johnson

Comments

[July Trader]

This is an insane idea. Weather can be waay too hot. Where do these morons live? Certainly not in SoCA.

[MAE]

Frank McCourt and whoever else decided on this SECOND date change is an IDIOT. To change the date so late in the game is an inconsiderate and asinine decision. Many people have switched their schedules around AFTER the first date change and asking them to do so again is beyond rude. People don't have alot of money to spend and changing plane tickets costs the consumer money. And in this economy where every penny counts, these mercurial decisions are not smart or fair and it makes me want to drop out of the Marathon completely.

[Sam]

This is absolutely ridiculous- the President's Day move was OK, now to late May? How the hell are people supposed to plan training with all these moves? They should have just kept the same March date and moved it next year. Late May is too hot; no one will run this.

[Erin Thomsa]

I just posted a comment and then sat here and tried to calm down. THIS IS SO AWFUL WE MUST TOGETHER GET THEM TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS!!! EVERYONE WILL JUST GO TO SAN DIEGO INSTEAD which is terrible because the marathon is a wonderful wonderful uniting spirited event for L.A I have beeen waiting to run it again for the second i finished it last year. And do you know that despite already being registered and paid to run in 2009 the L.A marathon did not even notify me of a date change. FIRE THESE DECISION MAKERS BECAUSE THEY CLEARLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE DOING. HIRE ME!!! i WILL SET THEM STRAIGHT!!

[Yoshiyahu]

It s hard to overstate the difference in preparation for a Feb marathon vs a late May marathon in LA! I have been training with a goal of a personal best with the Feb start. But attempting a personal best in late May would be dangerous. I have only done LA and LB marathons before, partly because of the conditions -- I will do LA, and I'll do ok, but having to change gears like this is irritating. And knowing me, I'll have to find another marathon to do, because waiting till late May is WAY too long. Honestly, if I have the experience I am afraid I'll have, I may decide to skip LA in the future.

[Dennis Jackson]

Mr Man, you have got to be kidding. This is Los Angeles, not Boston where you came from. It's hot enough to fry an egg on the concrete on Memorial Day. I can't belive that yourare going to make that move. I will personally hold you responsible and your event personal for the unforgiven mistake. Stick with the Manny signing and leave the race where it is. Thank

[Calvin W]

Okay who ever the brain trust was that made the move never ran the race themselves. In May, memorial weekend, that's great, bring on the blisters......

[JEREMY PERKINS]

Bad, bad idea,we runners are creatures of habit,we plan our vacations a year
ahead of time,based on events like the L.A. marathon,why change it ? I have
finished LA 19 times, I have another event on Memorial day,I am sure many
others also have the same problem.

[Chris]

Uh... Why didn't they consult the actual runners of the marathon?? They only way they'll realize their mistake is if there is a very poor turn-out. The Fresno Marathon in November was great, cool temps and the crisp air. Who wants to run in the May heat in LA?? LAME.

[Mary Gonzale]

I must agree with everyone here. I LOVE running LA but promptly asked for a refund when I found out about the date change. May is much too late and way too hot to run a marathon. Traffic and logistics will be mayhem as the rest of the world begins their summer vacations. This date change has totally put my training plans into chaos. So, the answer is- on May 31st - San Diego here I come.

[Will Campbell]

I've been a part of every marathon since 1994, either as a jogger/walker, a cyclist in the bike tour, or on three really crazy occasions: both events.

I was bent by the initial move to February, but now that McCourt's jackass company is playing "pin the tail on the calendar," and stuck the 2009 event on Memorial Day, it looks like my personal annual tradition will be in jeopardy of ending, stopped after 15 consecutive years of participation because of some infuriatingly bush league decision making.

[John]

This stupid. Another date change! And one that will mean an even hotter race than we normally have in March. Are any of these decision makers runners or are they just counting their cash?
I've run this race for 15 years. Looks like I'm finished the LA Marathon.
THEY DON'T GET IT! IT WILL BE TOO HOT!

[Mark Thomas]

Hot and miserable and apparently no one looked to see that the San Diego Marathon is just 6 days later. Given a choice between the two? I'm asking for my LA money back.

[Ryan Cummings]

This is ridiculous. This is the first marathon that I have ever trained for, and now I and hundreds of people like me are already into our training schedules which are set to get us ready precisely for the marathon date. And now we could be running in blazing hot conditions. Moving it to a holiday weekend is a bad move anyway, as many runners, friends and family would have to cancel vacation plans or skip work to attend the race. This is really stupid.

[sean spishak]

Absolutely ignorant. This move doesnt even take the runners into consideration. Gee, what is this event for? Absolutely unintelligent. No wonder the Dodgers cant win, this is the same man that is running that club. Bad choice, I hope the marathon has its lowest turn out ever. Too hot, too many date changes, too close to the Diego marathon. Foolish. I guess common sense isnt that common

[jad]

Haven't run it in a dozen years or so. But, given that california doesn't have an assisted suicide law, moving it to late May might be the next best thing.

[Super Runner]

What? Is everyone giving up on the Marathon already? I mean buck up and run LA! Oh it's too hot in May I can't run. A marathon is a test of Endurance, Strength and Mental Will. Legend says that Pheidippides died on the spot after having run from Marathon to Athens. With that I spirit I challenge everyone to run their hearts out in May, think of the bragging rights. "I ran the marathon in May in weather that would make a Marine puke and finished."

Get out there and RUN!

[genxgoldengirl]

Clearly the people who changed the date of the marathon have never run a marathon before. It's often hot on the day of the marathon when it's in MARCH, let alone at the end of May. Not only that - and this may come as a surprise to the race organizers - marathoners have lives, too! We, too, like to enjoy our three-day weekends, precious few of them that there are in the work year. And so the fight against idiocy rages on...

[ja212]

uh, why don't they just leave the Marathon in March on a Sunday for 2009 and then screw up 2010 instead. All these last minute changes isn't fair to the runners!

[James]

I know enough about local business and politics to know that this has got to have something to do with MONEY.

Does anybody know the REAL deal behind this? And why is it now on a Monday instead of Sunday? I heard on the radio that there were numerous requests for a day change, but I only remember certain pastors complaining years ago before it was a point-to-point course. I thought the new route addressed their issues.

I'll be honest. Something STINKS here.

[Venice Runner]

After running the last three LA Marathons, I will not be running it this year (or any year going forward) if it is held in late May due to the heat.

[Darren]

James is right. The original date change was proposed by Council Member (and ex-Police Chief) Bernie Parks as a political move to placate members of the faith-based community in his bid to win the race for the seat of the 2nd district for the board of County Supervisors. (Didn't work.) Unfortunately, the day change to a Monday was written into the contract during the sale and we have Parks to thank for that. No wonder his own cops didn't like him.

As to why McCort changed the date...again...that's a deeper mystery. But I think the above posters are right. If this is any indication of the decision-making process in the Dodger organization, no wonder they suck.

[Carsten Dietz]

Did actually anybody talk to the athletes whatsoever?!? This changes everything by pushing the race back 2 months. How can they seriously consider this and hope that everyone just follows? Is this race for the city or for the people who are actually running?!? I will ask for my money back. This is ridiculous!!!

[LA Roadrunner]

Very unfortunate. Time to look for new races. San Diego, here I come....

[QuangOC]

Run the OC Marathon, http://www.ocmarathon.com/, on May 3. There will be a new course.