It was a beautiful course. Parking was a little confusing at first because they listed a few options for parking but really, the lot closest was plenty big enough for everyone. I went to another one of the lots on their list and it was deserted. So I tried a different lot and found where everyone was. Parking was free and not too far from bib pick-up (if you weren’t able to get your bib prior to the race).
The course was a combination of dirt and paved paths through the beautiful orange groves. Plenty of water stations and a gel boost on the second half of the race. You could smell the oranges! I wish I had known there were going to be some hills. The website is a little hard to navigate. I wasn’t prepared for a hilly course.
There weren’t many people cheering during the race which was fine because I just enjoyed admiring the orange groves. But they did have a decent turnout at the finish line to give us that last push. The tough part was that last push was at a slight incline. I felt like there could have been more of a crowd at the end though.
I didn’t finish that late and half the vendors were already gone so post-race was a little disappointing. But I DID enjoy getting to eat all the oranges. They had a plentiful amount so there was no shame in standing there for 10 minutes eating my face away. The medal was big and sparkly. Definitely a good addition to my bling collection. They didn’t skimp on size. It’s a good 3 inches.
I’ll be running again for sure!