OMG, the Carlsbad 5000 is an AMAZING race! I wish I knew about it when I was an active runner. It…read morewas in my backyard too (Smh). Anyway, I came out today to support the participants...rooting them on. It was greaaat to see others doing the same. Congrats runners!! I was on the scene for the People's Race and heard from one of the volunteers that the schedule was packed with other races - an all-day affair. That's totally COOL! I saw the rain out in the ocean coming our way which I knew was going to kick it up a notch for the runners on this oceanfront course. The live band added a perrrfect touch. They performed my favorite songs. I enjoyed it a lot :-) So definitely check out the World's Fastest 5K Yelp Community!!!

This is the best 5K in the area. It is a beautiful course along the ocean. The route is flat and…read moreeasy to run, walk, or push a stroller. It is perfect for individuals or families. Afterwards they have a live band playing while you're able to enjoy a couple of free drinks in the beer garden. I already signed up for next year!

I am a big huge fan of this race! The expo was kind of BLAH but the race itself was perfect!…read more Small-ish race with only about 2000 people running the Half, mostly women. The course and course support along with the motivational signs were great. My favorite sign? WTF? Where's the Finish? The course itself is beautiful and FLAT! With the exception of a couple of bridges, this one was awesomely flat and fast. I shaved 7 minutes of my time from Carlsbad just a month before. PR baby! I recommend it as a fast race to enjoy with 1800 other women runners. And the shirts this year were super cute and the medal? BLING!!!!

I love this race! This is my first time doing the Competitor's Women's Half Marathon. The event is…read morefairly small, so it wasn't overwhelming. The course was relatively flat, with the exception of running up and over a bridge a few times. The starting point for the 2014 race was at Liberty Station. It takes you out and around Harbor Island. Then, you swing back and run around Shelter Island, before heading back to Liberty Station. I was so amazed by the energy and support from the other women. And from the folks watching the event? AWESOME! Great support from organizations, schools and spectators all around. Let's not forget about the medal and the glass of champagne waiting for you at the finish. Way cool! There were plenty of parking spots available for the race day event. Also, after the run, there are a number of restaurants you and your friends and family can dine at, so you can recoup the 1000+ calories you burnt off running. Two words: Coldstone Milkshake. Just sayin'. The only negative in my eyes was the expo. It wasn't anything to be impressed over. This was surprising since Competitor is the same group that does the Rock 'n Roll series, which is huge. Huge! This expo? Not so huge. Finding parking for the expo was a pain in the rear, with all the construction going on along Harbor Drive. Also, you would have had to pay for parking because the expo was located right on the Broadway Pier, west of downtown. Hopefully, next year, they'll pick a better and more accessible spot for the expo. The running shirt and the reusable bag were excellent quality, at least. Overall, this is a great race for any woman who wants to do their first half marathon in San Diego. I plan on doing this again next year. Definitely a 4 1/2 star event.

OORAH!!! .... Leave No Man Behind!…read more MARINE CORPS 25th Anniversary, WORLD FAMOUS 2018 MUD RUN, Camp Pendleton, CA! I did not participate this year, but totally feel the Competitors, Excitement, and Pain of "Why am I putting myself through this?" If you have ever done a MUD RUN, I think we can all agree, as soon as you cross that FINISH LINE, it's an indescribable HIGH & a Sense of Accomplishment, and is the reason why we do it again & again! I Absolutely love the ENERGY at the Camp Pendleton MUD RUN, it's always an Awesome time, whether you are a participant, or just there to Support a Friend! It's a 10K Challenge, with 24 Grueling Obstacles along the Course! I love how there are so many MARINES, Motivating you, along the way! At the End of the MUD RUN Race, you can RELAX, Get Some Good Eats at a Food Truck, Check out the Vendors, or Stop by the BEER GARDEN, and just ENJOY the Day!

This is a well organized event! Several mud obstacles, Tons of food/Merchandise vendors, freebies…read moregiven out, great DJ, Dr. Brommers soap shower, changing stations. They thought of everything! There was even a lot to do before the event. Lots of games! We had zero issues from checking in, all the way to leaving. The check in process was in alphabetical order and was just easy. We did general parking and had to take the bus. It was fine! Extra steps and free. I noticed most vendors took cards. We brought cash due to the email received suggesting us to. Here's a funny. When I got there, I tried to find it on Yelp to check in. I didn't see it. During the race a Marine yelled out "5 stars on yelp" and I asked him what the event is under cause i couldn't find it. And none of them knew. Haha

For $20, this race was pretty fun and interesting. My first 5k, only it's not really a 5k. From…read morewhat I heard, it's actually closer to 2.7 miles, which was a little saddening. With the entry fee, I got a free boxing class, a day pass to a rockclimbing gym, and a free t-shirt. They also provided bananas, mandarin oranges, bagels, water, and coffee prior to the race. As a UCSD student, I thought it'd be a nice idea to actually run at least one of the races the school actually offers. The race goes through the Eucalyptus grove and so the terrain is a bit different from what I'm used to. It felt more like trail running. It was a small race, but I'm fine with that. The atmosphere is still pretty fun and it's a race that's suitable for families. Consider this a fun run and not really a race meant for timing. There is a gun time though.

This run/ walk race was so much fun AND it's for a great cause! The race is only $20 for staff,…read morefaculty or friends and $10 for students. All proceeds go to scholarships for future UCSD students. The race is extremely organized, you get a free Tshirt, and sandwiches and fruit await you at the finish line. I'm glad to see UCSD being proactive to meet the needs of our students AND promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. I'm not a natural born runner so I'm proud of my 10 minute miles!

Best race ever.. for $10!!! (for any students) They even have an amazing expo after the race with a…read moreton of free stuff. Including face painting! I was too excited about this as a grown adult. Packet pick up was on campus the day before, not crowded at all. You get a free UCSD drawstring back pack with a nice tech t-shirt. But at the end of the race you get another t-shirt! I'm not going to say no to free, but I honestly have too many t-shirts. I wish they had medals instead.. they could make amazing designs with their mascot & I'm a medal hoarder. Yeah UC pride (even though I graduated from UCI zot zot). Everything was very well organized, even parking! I like the later start time of 9am as well. The race itself is through campus which is cool. The hills not so cool though.. my worst 5k time to date. But I had fun. Definitely doing this next year.

This wasn't a planned race. It just so happened that a Groupon came up for this race, and I opted…read moreto take advantage of a local race. It was my 3rd race in 3 weeks, and it was a great way to continue my training leading up to Rock N Roll. This was a very well organized and put together event. 5 stars for a really great experience! -850 +/- participants -No traffic -Parking was ample and easy (if you get there an hour early). The lot gets filled by 715a -You have to walk about a half mile from the parking lot to the race start/finish, which is your warm up for the race -Race packet pick up available the morning of (or day before) -Awesome volunteers who greeted walkers along the way to the start/finish -No bottlenecks (unless you get stuck in the back!) -Nice, flat and scenic course -No corrals but wasn't an issue since there were only 850 or so participants -T-shirt, goodie bag and medal -There were plenty of port-o-potties and public restrooms so the wait was about 5-10mins -Lots of booths at the expo for freebies -Post race snacks providing fresh fruit, Gatorade, water, and treats I would definitely do this race again!!! =========================================================== STATS: Chip: 25:34 Pace: 8:14 Gender Place: 76/517 Category F 35-39: 11/75

It was an inaugural race geared towards runners that love a good craft beer. The race was heavily…read moreadvertised with the finish line being right at the Green Flash Brewery on Mira Mesa. Expo: It was located at the Road Runner Sports in San Diego on Copley Dr. Parking was a bit hairy with people coming and going, but there was ample parking spaces. I'm not sure if it was wise to take up part of the parking lot for the bib pickup. It was just an awkward venue for an expo. After picking up the bib and race shirt, we were given a pint glass and a pair of sunglasses. It was nice to actually get some decent swag at a race. We were also given a discount coupon for merchandise inside the store. The store was busy, so they definitely got some boosted traffic and sales. Pre race: Parking was at Green Flash Brewery. There was a huge parking lot just north of Green Flash and it was really convenient. From there, we headed east on Top Gun St to catch one of the nice luxury shuttles to the start line. It's always nice to ride in those instead of the school buses designed for elementary school kids. The shuttle dropped us off at Camino del Sur, just south of the 56 freeway. Just around the corner and up the Torrey Santa Fe Rd was a small table for gear check, more tables for water, and a bunch of portapotties. As to be expected for an inaugural race, there was almost a 10 minute delay before the start of the race. It was pretty much a no frills start. There was no singing of the national anthem. There wasn't even a starting gun, horn, or anything. Course: It was a decent and challenging course. The first half of the course was pretty nice and easy, just running on the 56 bike trail until we reached the 5 freeway. We then head down El Camino Real and Vista Sorrento Parkway before turning east on Sorrento Valley Blvd which would soon end up being about a one mile steady uphill climb. We finally got a longer stretch of downhill as we turned onto Camino Santa Fe. However there was another half mile or so climb up to Top Gun St for the final stretch to the finish line. Make sure you do your hill training to be ready for this course! Post race: They had small cups out for water and Nuun water. They also had Larabars, bananas, and other snacks. The finishing chute was a bit chaotic. The volunteers were having a hard time keeping up with the distribution of the finisher medals. The medals were individually bagged and they were spending a lot of time getting them out. There was so much traffic as people were all getting in line to trade in their drink vouchers for tickets. That really made no sense to me, as they weren't using that process to control the flow of people. There were 4 tents dispensing beers among other vendor booths, but the lines were all very long. Overall, it was a pretty well organized race for its first year with a few minor hiccups here and there. I'm pretty certain that they will improve the race if they continue to hold the event every year.

With this run, I'm conflicted…read more It's not that I won't run it again. I probably will...although somewhat begrudgingly, I'm sure. Simply put, there's an aspect of this event that aggravates me. No, it's not the course, although I could have done without the mile 11-13 beat down (almost entirely uphill.) That's just San Diego for you: continuously rolling hills. Also, no, it's not the race's theme. "Going on a Beer Run" shirts; beer keg signposts (very clever, by the way) propped up throughout the course, pushing everyone to do their best; and the beer gardens finish line itself: all made for a fun and entertaining run. I loved it! And certainly, no, it wasn't that I didn't like the beer tap medals. They are awesome, and I mean that! And after running the San Diego Holiday Half, I am really looking forward to snagging my Route 56 challenge medal. But... A mandatory Expo for bib pickups, especially for out-of-towners? C'mon, Road Runner Sports, that is a huge hassle. (Anyone who's had to drive down to San Diego from Orange County knows that a stop-and-go, there-and-back, 4-hour chunk of your day is going to be lost.) Extra fees for mailing bibs are fine, I guess, but why not just allow participants to collect bibs on race morning? Everyone gets that you want to draw runners into your SD location and push sales, but it's so inconvenient. Since I know I'm doing a turn-around the next morning, by the time I finally get to the Expo, all I want to do is go home. The booth that was set up for bib pickup could have just as easily been set up on race morning. If only I could visit one of two Road Runner Sports closer to me--Laguna Hills and Costa Mesa--and by way of some brilliant breakthroughs in technology, I could have picked my bib up there (and maybe even spent some money)... Wishful thinking, I guess.

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