This was my first time doing a half marathon and was so happy that Camarillo Marathon/Half marathon is the first. I got to the event very early, 5:30 having to make time in case of traffic, etc. Although packet pick up stated 5:45, they didn’t start checking in people until 6 am. No problem. Regardless, the lines to check in were next to nothing. I only had one person in front of me. It gave me enough time to relax, use the rest room and properly warm up. I switched from the full to the half that day and there were no hassle at all! This is a much smaller, more intimate running event. There weren’t tens of thousands of people so getting into the corral was fast as I just needed to jump in from the side after coming from the restroom with only 90 seconds to spare! The course scene was awesome farm land in every direction, mountains not far off in the distance, and I saw a bunch of animals! The course can be fast as it is flat. The only challenging aspect of the race itself was the headwinds which felt like it came in from every direction. I was expecting a small ‘coastal breeze’ from the side, but majority of the course felt like I had to ‘dig deeper’. I checked and winds 28 mph with gusts to 35 mph! There were plenty of water / Gatorade stations with volunteers at each one handing out to runners. Porto-Potties could be found throughout the course and there were sheriffs at each crossroad controlling traffic to give right away to runners. Post race was great, lots of bananas, oranges, water, cans of coconut water, and muscle milk. Overall, it was an amazing experience and I had great first time running a half marathon. Volunteers, sheriffs and coordination of the event did a superb job! What a great way to start out the year! I can’t wait to register for this event again. I will certainly be coming back!
