My first (and possibly my last) OC Half.
EXPO: Getting my packet on Friday was fine but the space between the venders was too close together and it got quite tight in some spots.
Getting to the Race:
I was lucky to stay at a family members home the night before. I drove first to the fairgrounds and then to the house so I could have a feel for the route. Little did I know that the next morning my only one exit trip on the 55 would be horrid. I should have left half hour early to avoid the stress I was dealing with. My mistake not the race folks. I was stopped for almost 20 minutes and just made it to my bus on time! Bus trip was great and I feel lucky that the race started on time.That was well organized and I rate it an A. I understand the full started 15 minutes late.
Race & Course:
Corrals were odd, no rope to separate them. As I was walking up in mine (Corral C) I suddenly found myself in B and was off and running. Since I sell Real Estate I enjoy the neighborhood views however I do agree that some music along the way would have been nice. Not many cheering us on. Love the ocean and back bay views along the way. I had some recent issues in a race back in February so I was nervous about running again since it was my first race since then. However when I got hurt in February there was medical personnel nearby. I don’t recall seeing maybe only one tent? Glad I didn’t need them. No Cliff anything for me. Guess I am way to slow. But an orange would have been nice. They knew how many runners they could have planned better.
Finish Line: Since I am not a faster runner there was not a big crush when I got to the finish. A sweet little boy gave me my medal and I leaned over so he could hang it on my neck. I agree with everyone that the goodie bags stunk. I feel lucky that my banana wasn’t crushed since so many folks were. Sad there was no bagel.
Post Race: I had brought money so I could have got some socks at the finish (it was too crazy to purchase them on Friday at the expo) Did purchase a soft pretzel which made my day! Getting out was another nightmare there should have been police instead of counting on the stop lights.
Would I do this race again?
UNSURE. I did it because I want the surfboard medal. I have done the Surf City twice and even though your bored in one area of that course I love running along the ocean. My last leg for the Surfboard medal is Long Beach and after reading what some other reviewers have said I look forward to that race in September.
