I’ve been doing this race since it began in 2009. It was also my very first half marathon race as well. It will be the one race I will continue to do should I ever to decide to scale back on doing half marathon. Plus, I’m part of their legacy program, since I’ve done their race more than 3 years now. Will be doing my 5th race this December
What I like about this race is that it is local for me, just about a 15-20 minute drive on race day. I love that we can pick up our bibs on race morning. You don’t have to make an extra trip out there just to pick up your bib. Their expo is fairly small, which is fine to me. You don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there, since it usually starts around 7:30AM. Yes, you do have to pay for parking, but it’s easy to find parking and not to far to walk to the start line. Also, should you decide to do the 5K and half marathon on the back to back days, you only have to pay for parking once. You just need to save your receipt for the next day.
The course has always been beautiful and is somewhat hilly. Although, it has changed a little bit at the beginning and end of the race each year, the main part of the course has remained the same. The have sufficient water stops and do provide energy gel at least once throughout the course. Plenty of volunteers to pass out the water and cheer you on as well.
The race has grown in size over the years, but it’s still relatively a smaller race venue than most big races, such as Surf City or Rock’n’Roll races. A lot of the runners are part of the SRLA (Students Run LA) program, which is also cool, since a lot of them are running their first half marathon. They do have the students start a little later than the regular runners/walkers.