The Surf City Half Marathon was my second half marathon and I enjoyed the run very much. My complaints are really minor.
Pre-Race: Bib pick up was fairly easy. T-shirts for women ran SMALL. Good thing I ordered an XL, although people who were complaining about size were permitted to switch. The expo was very fun. We got there early and as we exited, there was a very long line of people waiting to pick up their bibs. On race day, the shuttles were very slow. We arrived early and parked at the Newton Center. The line for people waiting to board was easily 300 people. People gave up and began to walk. There were no porto-potties or bathrooms at the parking site which many were also grumbling about, too. I finally boarded a bus at about 7:30 for my race, but many were left behind. I hope next year race organizers have more shuttle buses to accommodate the number of runners parking at these sites. Once I arrived at the race site, I had to run and find a bathroom, wait in line to use it, and run to find my wave.It all worked out but I was anxious about it pre-start.
Course: The course was beautiful. It was HOT! Lots of water, which was great. I didn’t see any entertainment, as promised by the organizers. Nor did I ever see the Cliff Blocks that we were told would be distributed. The volunteers were super and very nice and water was plentiful, which is really all that matters. Oh, there were hills. I don’t know why I was surprised by the hills!
Post-race: I only received one bottle of water, as I exited. It was hot so I guzzled that one down pretty quickly and then couldn’t find any more. My husband actually ran to one of the running group support tents to find me water. (One was very gracious and provided me with a bottle and offered up snacks, as well! Thank you, Running Group!) We didn’t go to the beer tent or anything because we were worried that it would take a long time to get back to parking based on our experience of waiting in the morning. (It took about 45 minutes.)
Overall: I liked this race. It kicked my butt, but I still enjoyed running it. Beautiful coastal scenery and very well organized, other than the parking/shuttle/bathroom stuff. I would run it again for sure.