LA Marathon 2012: Los Angeles Race Should Be on Every Marathoner's Wish List

There are some marathons that every serious marathoner should run at least once.

At the top of the list are prestigious American marathons like the Boston Marathon, the New York City Marathon, and the Chicago Marathon. Anyone looking to run all five World Marathon Majors must also give the London and Berlin Marathons a shot.

And of course, those looking to combine a marathon with a vacation should set their sights on the Honolulu Marathon.

Against the aforementioned races, the Los Angeles Marathon doesn't quite stack up. It's a relatively young marathon, as this weekend's race is just the 27th in the race's history. It's also a race only for those into the LA Scene, and it is the race to avoid if you would rather not trouble yourself with a crowd of roughly 25,000 runners.

But the LA Marathon is not without its merits, and the merits it does have make it a marathon well worth running.

The course is pretty awesome, as it takes runners on a tour through the better parts of Los Angeles (as opposed to the bad parts, which are really bad). Along the way, Marathoners will run past Dodger Stadium, along Sunset Boulevard, and past some famous Hollywood landmarks, most notably the Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. 

In the end, the race wraps up in Santa Monica. The last couple miles are run along the edge of the Pacific Ocean, giving runners a scenic view fit for a postcard.

As you might expect from a race through Los Angeles, there's also a good chance you'll end up bumping elbows with celebrities. HollywoodReporter.com has a rundown on the celebrities who will be participating in this year's race, a list that includes TV chef Gordon Ramsey and actor Sean Astin.

Beyond the course and the potential celebrity company, there's the weather. The early start time spares runners from having to experience the warmer temperatures LA is known for, but more often than not participants are not going to have to worry about rain or cold weather. Indeed, Southern California is not known for such things.

So it may not be a time-honored race that offers a surreal experience like the marathons of Boston, New York and Chicago. However, the Los Angeles Marathon has more than enough to offer to make it a truly original experience.

Every marathon strives to provide that kind of experience. Not all of them succeed.