This was my first SoCal half marathon.
And by the far the largest.
Pre race: I went right when bib pickup opened 3:00. I had free parking and no trouble getting my prerace packet. I like that the shirts were long sleeve an had a women’s fit with a v neck option. This is my first race that had that option. The theme is all surf and is cute and I ended up taking lots of pictures. The vendors there were nice and helpful….and they had just about every energy bar user the sun for you to try. Overall: quick easy and cute
Race day: I arrived at 6:30 and went straight to overflow parking at the high school. I easily found a spot and was on the shuttle bus (which was quick and I did not have to wait). I arrived at the race with plenty of time to enjoy and mentally prepare. Yes it was chilly…which is good to my point of view! The race itself was pretty standard. But here’s the thing: it has a TON of runners. I think they did a great job starting in multiple waves. On top of that, the road is so wide that I never felt to cramped in running. They had plenty of water stations/energy stops. By the time I wanted to quit at mile 12, there was a large enough crowd to keep me going. Honestly, this race was a lot easier to navigate and get in and out of than any of the others I’ve ran in NorCal. My chip didn’t catch on the start but did on the finish ad because I timed myself, I was able to go to the solutions booth and easily fix it. Oh! And the fact that you can check your time immediately after the race was awesome. The beer garden had a huge line, I skipped it. Plus it’s Super Bowl Sunday…I had other things to get to. I wish they had water right after the finish line…it’s about four groups of volunteers back and it is so crowded that I felt like they should have had it right after the finish.
Overall, it’s a good race that I feel like is worth doing. Get there early, use overflow parking, and dot stress about anything else. Enjoy the beach air while you’re running