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Submitted by Scott Devine
July 14, 2014
Review
As most distance runners know, July is not the prime month for races. Summer vacations and summer heat limit the number of races available around the country. And since the San Francisco Marathon conflicts with ComicCon this year (yup, the geek side of me wins out there) I was desperately looking for a local SoCal race. And with that I chose the Shoreline Half Marathon/10K/5K, a 2nd year race located in Ventura. Definitely a race on the small side (big contrast to the Peachtree Road Race I ran last week with 60,000 runners) all three races combined feature less than 1,000 runners. This year’s installment had about 570 people running the half marathon distance and I decided to give it a look see.
REGISTRATION/PACKET PICK-UP
Registration for the Shoreline Half Marathon was definitely on the inexpensive side with rates only getting to $75 right before the start of the race (no race day registration). What really made the cost reasonable was a 30% discount courtesy of raceshed.com (check ’em out) for a limited number of early registrants. In the end, the race only cost me in the neighborhood of $45 a real bargain in these days of ever-increasing registration costs. In regards to packet pick-up, participants could grab their bibs and shirts the day before the race at the Sport Authority store in Ventura.
But like many participants, I opted to save the drive and pick-up my packet on race day (no additional cost). And since I arrived early on race day, I only waited about 5 minutes in order to get my stuff. The lines got longer as the start time approached, but they moved quickly.
TRANSPORTATION/PARKING
It was about an hour drive from the valley along the 101 to get to Ventura and the start location. As for parking, you did have several options. You can either park at the Crown Plaza parking structure for $8 (some businesses do validate). I also heard you could park at the nearby fairgrounds for $5. I did arrive early on race day and was able to snag one of the cool beachside parking spots (along with the surfers) for a minuscule $2.
T-SHIRT/MEDALS
The Shoreline Half Marathon provided its participants with a tech running shirt (manufactured by A4) dark blue in color, featuring the Shoreline logo on the front and race sponsors on the back. The shirt was the same for runners of the half marathon, 10K and 5K and is a decent if unremarkable looking shirt. It should be noted that the race also gave all of the race participants a water bottle sporting the race logo, a nice gesutre.
The finisher’s medal for the race was on the small side (guess we’re getting spoiled with our bling) featuring the race’s logo and connected by a plain yellow ribbon. One disappointing fact is that finishers received the exact same medal regardless of whether they ran the 5K, 10K or half marathon. I understand it’s a cost-saving measure, but it’d be nice in the future to see them differentiate between the races, even if it just means different ribbon designs or different colors on the medal. One additional nice touch from the race is the inclusion of free digital race photos (taken by Santa Barbara Pix). While there were only a few photographers on the course, I did manage to find a start and finish picture along with one more of myself on the course.
COURSE
The Shoreline Half Marathon features a rather circuitous course (especially for the half marathon runners) that travels along the beach and up through a nearby neighborhood. The course itself is only about 6 miles long, meaning the half marathon runners needed to complete two loops (with an additional spoke added on the first lap). A huge map near the start line displayed the course layout and the race officials explained each race distance route in detail. Given the windy course, I was a little nervous that we might make a wrong turn, but volunteers were situated to make sure we didn’t go awry.
The course did cut across a few streets with traffic, but police were stationed at each intersection and the runners always had the right of way. One bit of a headache was the beach portion of the race had us running along on the bike path, which wasn’t closed to the public. While most people steered clear of the path that day, you did have to meander through some non-participants, especially near the start and finish line. The course itself was basically flat with the exception of two hills leading near the 101 freeway.
The course was most enjoyable as we ran along the beach (dodging people notwithstanding) and fairly scenic around mile 6 as you ran fairly near the water and could see the surfers en masse trying to catch waves. The section of the race through the nearby neighborhood (and featuring one turnaround) was rather unremarkable.
A note about weather conditions, as the July sun was rather brutal at times and the course afforded little shade… be prepared to cook out there.
COURSE SERVICES
Course services for the race were in keeping with its size. Water and Gatorade tables were present about every 1.5 miles and Gu’s were available at two of the stops. While there were only a limited number of volunteers on the course, they were working hard and seemed to be able manage things fairly well. Basic mile markers were visible on the course, but the only digital clock was at the start/finish, so be sure to bring a GPS. One thing worth noting is the race was timed, although there were only sensors at the start/finish so runners were on their honor not to cut things short. EMTs were located at various points on the course and I did notice a few support people riding around on bicycles making sure runners were okay.
Fan support for the race was minimal save for a group of people cheering at the start/finish line, although I did see this one lone spectator at various points during the race (he was traveling to different places on a bike) and I applaud his enthusiasm and support.
FINISH LINE SERVICES/POST PARTY
Pretty basic at the end, as you were handed your medal once you crossed the finish line and were directed into the gathering area. The race booth featured some water cups and orange slices, but not much else. A few goodbyes to fellow racers and then I made my way back to my car.
RECOMMENDATION
It’s a little hard to compare this race to other races, given that it was by far the “smallest” race I’ve completed in 2014 and felt like a Mom & Pop store trying to compete against Target for your business. Given the big production connected to other races (expo trips, parking headaches, huge throngs of people) I did appreciate the easy access and intimate feel. And while it was far less polished than other races, the people involved with the race definitely gave it their all. Given that I only paid $45 for the half marathon, it felt like my money was fairly well spent, especially if I consider it more as an organized and glorified training run than a full-fledged race.
One detriment to the race is it’s located in Ventura, the same area as the Ventura Marathon (which runs on September 7th). Running two races so close geographically in less than two months might be overkill and I think people will lean more toward the larger race if they need to choose between the two.
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Submitted by Abigail Michelle B
August 26, 2013
Review
I loved this race! Beautiful scenery and not too crowded. Free parking and race-day packet pick-up. I did the half marathon and was a little disappointed that I got the same boring medal as the 5k, but no big deal. The tech t-shirt is great, and I also won an embroidered duffle bag (they gave away lots of prizes to random runners after the race).
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Submitted by ariesnica
August 22, 2013
Review
It was a small race with great scenery and the weather was spectacular. I didn’t enjoy the 2 loops but the weather made it bearable. The medal was not fancy but all the volunteers were friendly and helpful. Loved the tech-shirt and the start line was easy & fast. The parking was free since I got there early.
I will be back again. It was worth the price.
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Submitted by The Bear
July 30, 2013
Review
If you like small races and beautiful scenery, then this is the race for you. This is not a big flashy race and the cost is reflective of the size of the race. I have done a couple of the races Bill puts on. I liked both of them. Yeah, there are not a ton of vendors and the metals are not extravagant. However, there are no huge crowds, the water station are still manned, you get a nice tech shirt, and the people seem a little more friendly. I personally liked the small race. I will be back. Good job Bill, again.
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Submitted by Gregg Condon
July 15, 2013
Review
A fun local race.
Pre Race: Packet Pick-Up the day before was easy and quick. Race Day pick-up seemed to be smooth for the non-locals. Some music playing, the RD spent some time explaining the course as he does at all of his races.
Course: The course was fine, one time. The hills were a nice challenge, running along the Promenade is always fun. I do think they could have used the trail heading to the Rincon vs. doing the second loop for the Half. I think it would have helped traffic in the area as well. The 8am Start Time was a little late for my liking but just before the race started the fog rolled in which made for a nice cool race.
Post Race: Same place as the start, some music playing. The finish area was very cramped and it took me a few minutes to find the water upon finishing. Other than that it was fine.
This race is good for what it is. A small local race. I’m sure I’ll run it again next year.
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Submitted by SLOGGER
July 14, 2013
Review
The packet pickup was ok. But when we asked for more info on the map the people had a hard time answering the questions.
The race start was at the wrong park. We would have gotten lost, but we followed other runners.
The race course was nice and the course staff was friendly and helpful.
Post race, there was no food except a few slices of orange. I was slower than normal, but I thought I would at least get a water, but there wasn’t any.
Definitely on my list of non-repeat races.
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Submitted by happyrunner
July 14, 2013
Review
This is a race that will not be repeated by me. But first, let me point out the positives:
Decent course along the waterfront for most of the half marathon. A few hills that added interest. GREAT volunteers along the course! Plenty of water and people directing runners. The race shirt is a tech shirt, which is nice for a small race. And the weather cooperated, which is out of anyone’s control, but always a plus!
Here’s why I will never do this race again. Even if it was free (ok, well, maybe if it’s free!!):
Packet pickup was literally just that. A table inside the local Sports Authority. No expo. Minimal swag. And the folks there seemed quite overwhelmed with the process. The race map provided was worthless! Few streets were marked with their name, no obvious start/finish line and confusing directions unless you are a local, which I am not. The race started at a different park than was noted on the map, but we saw a lot of runners so we found it with no problem.
I finished the half marathon at 2:30. I had to ask one of the gals with the medals if I could please have one. They weren’t really interested in handing them out. I found some food that was past the massage tables, but by then, the only food that was left was a few orange slices and a few cups of water. I could see there was chocolate milk and FRS at some point. Bananas too. But not for runners that took 2:30 to run a course that was open for 4 hours. My friend finished at 2:55 and got zilch! No water, no oranges, no nothing!!
By 3 hours, they were taking down the signs, FRS was packed up, the party was over. Again, the course was open for 4 hours, so this seems rather disrespectful to folks that paid their entry and just take longer to run 13.1 miles.
I am now home and looking for my results. No link, no info, no results. I guess I’ll just go by my Garmin time since that’s all I have.
The RD needs to step it up if this race is going to survive!!
