The inaugural Encinitas Half Marathon was held March 26, 2017 in the lovely seaside city of…read moreEncinitas, CA in northern San Diego County. The Start/Finish line was at Moonlight Beach, with the majority of the course heading being on The 101, complete with 7 miles of oceanside running. This was my first time running a course of this design where you head out one way, then backtrack and come back to the start line area before heading out the opposite direction only to return again to the finish line. There are several steep downhills, which then become steep uphills on your way back. Oh, and the starting line is on a hill going up, so you'll start the race going up a hill. Once turning left after crossing the starting line, you will immediately encounter a very steep downhill only to enjoy a longer but not as steep uphill climb just around the next corner. I personally found this race to be a little boring, but the citizens of Encinitas sprinkled throughout the course were fantastic. I'm sure the excitement will only increase as the race continues and crowd support grows. The finish line festival was great and offered many vendor booths. The only critiques that I would offer is to provide aid station locations for water, electrolytes,and gels on the course map to allow for runner planning, and a more accurate elevation chart. Also, final instructions and bib number information could be emailed to the runners. Perhaps they did send, but I received no correspondence other than my registration confirmation. Nor,did I receive the tech shirt when I picked up my bib on race day morning. All in all, it was a very nice race with plenty of aid stations, port-a-johns, and a large and colorful finishers medal at the end. Shout out to the organizers and volunteers on doing a great job. I totally recommend.

The posted pictures of runners coursing along the shoreline are NOT part of the Encinitas Half…read more I'm, uh, not sure as to why the promoter placed them here, unless it was simply a mistake. Because those pictures are actually from the Surfing Madonna Beach Run, which is run entirely on the sand. (Both races, same promoter.) However, what is surely important to note is that if you run both the Surfing Madonna 15k (now, a 12k) and Encinitas' Half, consecutively and in that order, you'll snag not only two awesome-looking medals from the runs themselves, but also the badass combo medal for completing the Challenger Series. And it'll be worth it. Now, to the Encinitas Half... When I ran it this year, like it continues to, the out-and-back course simply follows for the most part the PCH as it runs alongside the beach. There's about a 560 ft. elevation gain, a hill, one tough to tackle, that's at the end, but 2019's course changes that: no more monster hill! That'll make things a bit easier. The course begins and ends at Moonlight Beach's parking lot, so if you get there early enough, parking will also be a bit easier. The run is ok, and I'd run it again, but it's not one of my favorites. The medals, though, from running both included in the Challenger Series, they make up for it. They definitely have eye-catching appeal!

The San Diego Half Marathon is an annual event held in Downtown San Diego that has a starting point…read moreon Harbor Drive and ending the In the historic Gaslamp quarter. I signed up for the race online, which was fairly easy to complete, and they had an expo at the Hilton hotel 2 days before the race to pick up your BIB. At the expo, they had many vendors selling items as well as free energy drinks. They also handed out the free shirt you got for entering the race, which was really nice, and the quality was great! On race day, which was on a Sunday, the run for the Half Marathon started at 650 am. From all the emails I was receiving, we were told to show up at least 40 minutes or even 1 hour prior to the race due to all the runners being in the location, giving you enough time to find the wave your in. The Half Marathon or 13.1 miles course had a beautiful layout that started by the convention center, bringing you up through the Embarcadero to Harbor Island and through Point Loma. The course was a nice flat course until mile 9, where you are running up Washington Hill, gaining elevation into Hillcrest and throughout Balboa Park finishing in the Gaslamp. When we finished the race, we were giving our medals or bling and were handed a goodie bag with a Monster, crackers, and a protein bar. They were even handing out chocolate milk, water, and bananas. They had photographers on-site taking pictures and a small after party in the park aside from the finish line. This was absolutely my favorite race I have run, and I had a blast doing it. The course was perfect and well organized. They had volunteers handing out water and Gatorade approximately every 2 miles. They had porter pottys all throughout the course, and the crowd was very motivating. I'm looking forward to come-back and doing the exact race next year as well since I had an amazing experience. Thank you to all the volunteers and the organizers who made this race possible.

Sadly, along with other events of this magnitude, this event was canceled and made into a virtual…read morerace (to be ran on your own). I was really looking forward to running this particular half marathon for the first time. There was no expo with vendors, just a pickup at the Gaslamp Hilton. What was really special is the volunteers/organizers did a cheer as we were handed our medal so a big thank you to them! Besides the medal, what was picked up was the bib, shirt, and tote bag which included the Friar hat, snacks, and chocolate milk. The tech shirt was pretty unique. In my collection, it's the first to be patterned in camo style. I'm signed up for the challenge which consists of completing the Mammoth Half Marathon in June, thus receiving an extra medal. Crossing my fingers that event is allowed to take place. I crave the crisp mountain fresh air.

My family, friends and I love this race. We've had such a great time over the years and will miss…read morethis race dearly. Too bad our crooked Mayor, Catherine Blakespear shut it down, simply because the City of Encinitas wanted to start its own race. In 2017 the Surfing Madonna Beach Run set the Guinness Book of World Records for the "Largest Beach Run in the World", this was an iconic event and local favorite of ours. Unfortunately the City of Encinitas wants to try and put their own beach run together. The City of Encinitas Parks and Recs Department has a terrible reputation for pulling these sorts of shenanigans. Goodbye Surfing Madonna Beach Run, we'll miss you!

I'm always looking for a new race, something a bit different, something creative and unique. A…read moremore challenging course or a refreshing change of scenery, an intriguing series or an awesomely vibrant medal: if the run has energy and excitement, maybe a bit of spectacle​, I'm in. Upon stumbling across the Surfing Madonna Run, I knew then that this race would be what I'd hoped for. Not only did it award super cool, tubular wave medals, and not only was it to be run directly upon the sands of Moonlight Beach, but this race was also heading full-steam toward the Guinness​ Book of World Records. The attempt: the Largest Beach Run on record. Well, I certainly had to be a part of that. There was no question. Plus, in running Surfing Madonna's 15K, along with completing the Encinitas Half, a sweet challenger medal beckoned. The only drawback I'd found, however, and one which wouldn't affect my rating anyway, was the VIP upgrade. This was Surfing Madonna's first go at including one, so I don't want to be too critical, but​ I'd paid extra for VIP upgrades at other races before, and this one was not well thought-out​. Yes, there is VIP parking, but it's further away from the free parking lot immediately​ next to the race. (If you arrive early like we had, closer parking was abundant. Arriving later, though, must have been a blessing for VIP's, as finding street parking quickly became tricky.) And although there were a few tasty refreshments for the VIP crowd, there was no seating, no lounge, no chairs set up to make anyone feel comfortable. And, something that would have been even better but was not made available, there were no private VIP restrooms. Because of which, we spent hardly any time​ at all in our special section. I'm sure that in the future we'll see changes, but this year's VIP upgrade deserves no applause. Here's an article about making it into the Guinness​ Book: http://www.delmartimes.net/encinitas-advocate/news/sd-cm-enc-1110-beach-run-20171108-story.html

A typical California farmers market with 60% fresh grown and local food, 30% arts & crafts and 10%…read morefood booth/trucks. This dynamic is welcomed to most people because they get to socialize and buy more then just fresh fruits and veggies. The only thing I am critical about is the organization of the booth space that allows the flow of people in better safety and comfort. I assume there was some store front push back that wanted 100% of there sidewalk available and clear surfing the market but what that has done has jammed too many people in what is obviously a "narrow space" to walk. It would be a fair and SAFE compromise to use 50% of the sidewalks on each side and adjust back the venders booths giving people 5 feet more in the middle to walk around. It would be easier to do this rather then assume or ask people to not stand around creating bottlenecks or be considerate of others and move like a car on a road. Expect to drive around for parking if you are not local enough to walk to the event and crowding due to the popular area it is in, live music, fresh foods and drinks as well as plenty of unique crafts and clothing.

I was super excited to come here to check out the street fair! But it wasnt quite what i was…read moreexpecting. I feel like a lot of booths were from palm desert, so not necessarily local businesses from encinitas, and i felt like there were not a lot of arts n crafts n stuff like i was expecting. There werent a lot of food options, but luckily the food we had was great! I have to drive like 1.5-2 hours to get here so I probably wouldnt come again. It was a gorgeous day and fun to do once.

Decided to sign up for this race vs. the SGK Race for the Cure for 2011. I had done the SGK for…read moreseveral years and needed a change. I have heard of the IG from several friends so wanted to check out the girl power. Traffic was crazy exiting off the 5 freeway and Via de la Valle to get to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. However, parking was a breeze. Parking was free and tons of spaces. There was a 5k and 10k, and this time I opted for a 5k since I had just done the LA RnR Half a week prior and I was going to run the Silver Strand Half the following weekend. The 10k started about 15 mins before the 5k. If you're wanting a PR, you're in the wrong race. There are no corrals, and everyone starts at the same time. Also consider there are a lot of mother/daughter teams and lots of kids and strollers. Perhaps I should have started right at the front since we were in the middle of the pack and got stuck behind some walkers and some pretty slow pacers. I didn't care so much for the route. The first mile was just too crowded and there were too many people you were running into. It wasn't until mile 2 was when you're on the open road and you were able to spread out. Mile 2 was uphill, which sucked. Mile 3 was downhill and you finish back at the fairgrounds track. The race was an experience. It's a good way to run/walk with your mom/daughter or to empower your girl spirit. I considered this my combo recovery run post-half and training run for the upcoming half... ================================================ Stats: Overall 88/944 Division 11/156 Gun 29:34 Chip 28:51 Pace 9:19

Hey ! Hey ! Hey ! It's another one !…read more The fifth annual 'Athleta Iron Girl' was at the Del Mar Fairgrounds this year ! The course started and finished on the fairgrounds. It was one of the easier runs for me since it was mostly a flat course with a slight incline towards the end. Great for newbies and experienced runners. I only participated in the 5K since I'm slowly incorporating short runs in between my training for my next BIG race in January: Disney's Tinkerbell WOOOT !!! I enjoyed seeing the mother/daughter teams and even little girls running while they held hands with their mamas. Uber cute ! Although, I think they should have had a separate wave for the young daughters and mama teams just to avoid any mishaps or collisions. Perks: post-race breakfast goodie bag, giveaways, performance tech t-shirts (so femme), professional timing, personalized race bibs, and love the custom finisher medal ! Proceeds go towards the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to help find a cure for all children with cancer. WIN ! Not so perky: When a little girl can run just as fast as me towards the finish line. Yup yup. Little rugrat was as tall as my knee. haha. She almost bruised my ego by nearly beating me. ooh wee it was close ! (note: still recovering from a knee injury)...not that I'm making excuses or anything. Overall, it was a fairly organized event and their website has more than enough information for participants. Great job Iron Girl ! I would LOVE to make this an annual run and hopefully get my mom involved. We both can go all out with matchy-matchy pink outfits to support breast cancer awareness and hold hands while we sing along and run ! OH JOY !

Who would have known that this one of America's oldest half marathon? I sure did not…read more This race starts and ends at San Dieguito County Park.This is one of Kathy Loper's event so expect the price to be very reasonable if you register early. You run your race and you eat tons of chili. I am not a beer drinker but from what I was told, you can drink all the beer you want. What a way to build an appetite running through rolling hills. To avoid potential traffic problems we were asked to park at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and we were shuttle to the start of the race and you get shuttled back. This worked out well, if you are early enough you can actually drive yourself to San Dieguito and park by the streets. It is highly discouraged due to the limited parking. What can I say, it was a great experience and I am looking forward next year's run.

I am a supportive active friend. A good friend of mine who happens to be a stay at home mom wanted…read moreto do this race. We had quasi trained for and ran the Carlsbad Half marathon three weeks earlier and she had decided that the weather was good enough to try this race. There were signups at Roadrunner the day before the race. The sign-ups were from 1-4 and I show up around 3:00 and my friend calls and tells me to run in because there were only 5 spots left. Of course this increases my sense of urgency and I dont even have time to try and talk myself out of it! oh CRAP! no preparation and a birthday party the night before. Some how I made it without dying. Unfortunately, I will continue to push the envelope to see what I can get away with! This race is actually not a bad race but there are several areas for improvement. Lets start off with the good. It is sponsored by the Hash House Harriers! they describe themselves as 'alcoholics with a running problem'. There is beer on the course, at mile one which is too early, but I had some at mile 12 just because I could. The scenery is nice, it did not feel like I was in San Diego rather in the country. And it is hilly but I like the rolling hills. Beer garden at the end!!! I had Stone IPA, but I saw Ballast point and Green flash. Most people in this race were runners and were friendly to talk to. Negatives: Parking. stinks. No. Chip. timing. Walking UPHILL after the race to the beer garden. the 1.5 mile walk back to my car. Starting the race 5 minutes after everyone else. no mile markers at every mile. Waiting on the freeway exit for 30 minutes trying to get off on Loma Santa Fe. They gave out the same medal from 2 previous years.

This was a really unique 10K race, as it was entirely on packed sand during low tide. It was an…read moreevent for pretty much everyone, with a wide range of age groups participating as well as quite a few people in costumes. I knew I had to pick up my pace when a runner dressed in a King Tut costume (including gold makeup!) breezed by me. :) While it was fun, and I will most likely do it again, there are a couple of things that could be made better: - Stagger the starts, or at least have walkers start toward the rear of the crowd. Runners were bunched in with walkers, people texting, people pushing jogging strollers, people strolling along holding hands... the first half mile was just an exercise in getting through the traffic jam. - More mile marker signage. The only markers were for 1 mile and at the turn around point for the 5K participants. Are we there yet? If you are looking for something different than the usual run on concrete (and want a cool medal for finishing), definitely give this a try!

2nd Annual Surfing Madonna Save The Ocean 5K/10K Run/Walk is coming up on October 25, 2014. I did…read morethe inaugural race with my wife and kids last year and it was a blast! (And for a good cause...) Definitely doing it again this year! Very unique in that the whole course is in the moist packed sand along the beach. They hold it at low tide so there's plenty of room for everyone to go at their own pace.

Super organized race.Thanks to all those volunteers. The course was well-engineered and wasn't…read morechallenged to follow from the start to the end even if you are isolated.

Good course for beginners. The course is super mellow, as in there aren't quite big hills, just…read moresmall ones here and there. This is my 2nd half marathon, but my first time aiming for the Triple Crown. Carlsbad half is doable without training, or minor training because more than half of the time you'll be running on straight flat nice roads. It's a very beautiful run by the picturesque ocean. You run through their downtown, beautiful big beach houses, and the ocean. It started our very cold by the coast, but we got a little sunlight and a nice breeze. Be sure to put on sunblock even if there is no sun! I got a tan and finished by 10:30 am. The race starts and end in the mall. Plenty of parking and I felt it was better organized than like the Rock N Roll (last year 2016). A lot of portable bathrooms as well, and it wasn't crazy long lines like the RNR. The 2017 swag came with a jacket and a long sleeve shirt. The medal was pretty cool, although the cursive writing looks a little weird. I didn't see a beer garden, but they advertise that it was there... but my BF said you don't get a free beer with this race (he ran it 2x). I'll have to sign up for this race again next year since I just found out that I won't make it for the America's finest to make the triple crown due to a wedding =(. [If you're looking to run the American's Finest City half, let me know! I have a bib!] I had a good race, I didn't faint, die, or get jello legs!

I love Encinitas 101!…read more There are so many great new places popping up and some amazing staples that have stayed here making the 101 their home. A couple of my favorite places to visit on in the downtown area is URBN, Shelter, D Street Bar & Grill, Union, Philz Coffee, and Bier Garden. I can't wait to see what some of the new things come into town!

We visited the Taste of Main Street Encinitas for the first time. I won tickets at a Yelp Elite…read moreevent in Temecula and I'm so glad I did! What a great event. So much food and drink. It was really special.