RaceGrader - Authentic Race Reviews - Swim, Bike, Run

Review of Surf City Marathon & Half Marathon by Gatorsgochomp

Posted by: on February, 4 2013

I have to say, I got injured during this one, so I might be a little bit spiteful, however compared with previous years that I have run this one, I thought this year could have been better.
The good: packet pick up was easy and the expo for this race is always great. Volunteers for this one are amazing. Cliff block shots at mile 11 were a nice treat! Perfect amount of hydration stations; volunteers even had M&Ms at mile 4!!

The bad: Late late start, but I expect this. What I did not like was that even though I started in the 13000-13999 group, I had to run zig zags to dodge all of the WALKERS in front of me as I ran miles 1-4. It was infuriating to run into people that were clearly not running at all in the early miles. This race needs to do a better job to get these people in the back and keep people in the appropriate carrels.
Would be nice if they changed the course a little bit. Miles 1-3 and 11-13 are great; the rest is pretty boring and lonely.
This will be my last year for this event.