A well organized race on a pretty nice course. The volunteers are numerous and enthusiastic. You can get a pre-race pancake breakfast and there start is well organized into waves based on finishing times. This of course means that it can take nearly half an hour before you get up to the start line, but once through the gates, it’s smooth sailing!
The course itself has a killer hill right at the beginning, but once you make the turn you get a nice view and since it’s at the beginning, you’ve got the whole race ahead of you. The only problem is that PCH around Bolsa Chica isn’t that scenic. You spend a great deal of time staring at the State Beach parking lot. The view comes back with about 2 miles to go and it’s spectacular. Also since the race runs along the highway, you don’t get a huge number of spectators until the very end of the race.
Post race was well organized if a little crowded. There were plenty of goodie bags and water. Biggest post race complaint? The line to the beer tent was way too long. No big deal really.