This past weekend, my brother and I headed out to Los Angeles to run the iconic LA Marathon for our second year in a row! Like whaaaat?! We got on the road early Saturday morning and made our way to the iconic Dodgers stadium for Expo and bib pick-up day. This was the start of our race day weekend.
Expo Day
This year, we did Expo day a little differently. It was a HOT day in Los Angeles, and we were hungry and tired, so we didn’t do a full walk through like last year. We checked in and grabbed our bib, our LA Loyal Pin ( we start earning seniority status at the second year), got our finisher shirt, and made our way through to the exit side. Expo day is known for having lots of fun booths with different freebies and chances to purchase different running gear and accessories from different brands, official LA Marathon merch, and lots of fun activities to join in on. Our drive to LA was long, so we opted to only visit the gel booth. We purchased a couple of our favorite ones before heading for some yummy lunch.
Lunch
We had lunch right outside the stadium at a taco place called Guisados, which had 4 stars on Yelp, so we were excited to try. I had 2 fish tacos and an agua de horchata. My brother and his girlfriend tried a wider variety than I did, and they enjoyed their tacos as well! All the tacos were made with handmade tortillas and had unique choices like mole tacos, tacos de tinga de pollo, tacos De frijoles, tacos de bistec en Chile rojo y de chicharron.
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Where we stayed
We stayed at the Best Western Royal Suites only a few minutes away from the shuttle pick-up location. We stayed here last year and found the location perfect for being close by to a good dinner spot and with big clean Suites. The manager Fred is very kind and he recognized me from our stay last year when I booked on the phone with him. Last year, they were hosting families and firemen from the Palisades fires. While we couldn’t enjoy their breakfast, they did have fresh brewed coffee when we left the hotel on race day!
Pre-Race dinner
For our much anticipated “carb loading” night, we visited Maria’s Italian Restaurant within walking distance from our hotel. We got to enjoy a nice pre race walk to dinner there and back.. We were also here last year, and the food was just as yummy at that time. I got chicken Alfredo, and our server suggested I try fried chicken instead of grilled, and it was a game changer. 10 out of 10. They have yummy bread, which they bring out to the table fresh out of the oven.
Marathon outfit
This year, I really wanted to wear something that I would be comfortable with the least amount of layers. With the heat advisory already going into place a week before, I knew it had to be something that I would be able to breathe in and not get too hot in for those 26.2 miles. I also wanted to feel cute on race day!
As I’ve said before, Lululemon is my choice for running shorts and sports bras. I ordered my sports bra and didn’t even try it on until the night before, and it fit like a glove. My shoes were Asics, and while I went back and forth on getting a new pair or not, I decided a marathon called for a new pair.
For shoes, I went with the NOVABLAST- I am obsessed with them.
Link:
https://www.asics.com/us/en-us/novablast–5/p/ANA_1012B765-403.html
Link:
Hihttps://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Shake-It-Out-High-Rise-Running-Short-25/_/prod11860112
Link:
Link:
https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-socks/Power-Stride-Tab-Sock-3-Pack-W-MD/_/prod11770894
Race morning
Race morning is always so EPIC! The thrill, adrenaline, and excitement of the race make it one of the most memorable parts of the day. We lost an hour of our morning due to the time change, but that didn’t change our plans too much. I think in total, I slept 3 hours from being so nervous,excited, and scared that I wouldn’t hear my alarm go off.
We checked out of our hotel at 3:30 am, and drove over to the participant parking that was about 7 minutes away. We walked about 5 minutes to the shuttle buses, which was so convenient and easy for us runners to get to our starting point. We had a smoother pick up compared to last year’s. This year, when we arrived there were no lines, so we literally hopped on the bus right away vs. last year when we were waiting in a very long line for a bus. Within 15 minutes, we had made our arrival at Dodgers Stadium. We had time to use the restrooms without a long line, grab snacks, water, and electrolytes from the snack table. We got there so early that we had a couple of hours to hang out before the start time. I met up with my running bestie Marissa, got to chat with her, stretch, and we actually ran the first miles together, which made me so happy!
The race
There is nothing like a marathon. The views, the spectators, the will in your body to continue running, even when it feels like you’ve given it all, are epic. It is all you. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. Every mile ran reminded me of how far I have come. Every mile was a big party showcasing a different part of LA. To be honest. I didn’t listen to music at all because the cheering was better than what I could have listened to. I was thankful to the people handing out snacks, random drinks, massaging our legs, and the volunteers handing out waters and electrolytes. The temperature got up to 85 degrees that day, but we all fought through the heat and pushed each other to keep going and finish. There is NOTHING like the running community in a marathon. Othe fellow runners and spectators carried me through those last miles. LA does a wonderful job at putting on one of the biggest marathons in the world, and that is why we keep returning. If you ever have the chance to run LA, do it in a heartbeat. You won’t regret it. We drove home that day after our run and enjoyed some delicious IN-N-OUT as our celebratory meal while we recapped the full marathon on the way. My brother talked about it being his last year running, but I know I have 365 days to convince him otherwise.
Let me know in the comments if you have any marathon questions. I would love to hear them!
- Our 2026 LA Marathon weekend recap
- 5 Non-Negotiables for me as a running mom
- Vision boards and Los Reyes Magos
- From Pond to Table: Day spent fishing with the family
- 2026 Reset Guide
- Our 9 hour trip to Tijuana to try the place where the Caesar salad was invented!
- How I got my husband from being a couch potato to running his first half marathon!
- What’s it’s really like growing up in a large Mexican family
Csy-Lux 
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