LET'S BEGIN: REVIEWS MIXED ON STARTING POINT, TIME.

Byline: BILLY WITZ

Staff Writer

The decision to have the LosAngeles Marathon start and finish in different places for the first time in the race's 22-year history drew mixed reviews from the masses.

Some runners said they liked the convenience of being able to park close to the start near Universal Studios or spend the night at a downtown hotel near the finish.

And many appreciated being able to get back and forth on the Red Line.

"I'm very happy," said Lee Gluckman of Redondo Beach, who was able to follow his wife during the race by hoping on and off the subway, which followed the course for much of the way. "There's no way I'd be able to do this driving."

Others, though, were not so thrilled.

Several runners said they didn't know the race started in the Valley until they arrived downtown Sunday morning, adding that if such a notice was in the runner's packets it wasn't noticeable enough.

"I'll never do L.A. again," said Cory Coder of Hermosa Beach, who was running in his third Los Angeles race and 20th marathon. "There should be a shuttle. To have to get here two hours before the race is ridiculous."

Many complained about the heat and said the starting time should be moved from about 8:30 to at least 7:30, though the presence along the course of many fire trucks, whose firefighters used their hoses to cool off runners, drew praise.

Another welcome sight were the people cheering the runners on, though there were few people lining the streets at the start or in East L.A., two of the new wrinkles to the route.

"Koreatown was great," said Tina Sarafa of Manhattan Beach. "Some kids gave me high fives and that was worth its weight in gold."

Others enjoyed the view.

"I liked all the landmarks -- the Hollywood Bowl, the Coliseum and coming over the bridge on Sixth Street, you really got a nice view of the skyline," said Steve Olear of Lakewood after his 12th L.A. race was delayed when he helped a couple of friends get aid from the heat.

"This was more interesting than previous courses."

It was an interesting day, too, for Will Campbell of Silver Lake. And a long one.

He rode in the bike race at 6a.m. and then walked the marathon, but was disappointed that the shuttle bus that in year's past had taken riders from the finish of the bike race in Exposition Park to the start of the marathon had been scrapped.

He had to scramble to change, ran to the Red Line and got to the start about 20 minutes late.

"It was like a marathon within a marathon," he said.

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Photo:

Runners make their way under the Interstate 10 freeway during Sunday's marathon, which began near Universal City.

Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News