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.

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!

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

Looking for a trail run that requires grit?…read more Well, the Xterra Trail Run Series will do exactly that, especially here at Black Mountain. Whether for beginners or advanced runners, Black Mountain's 5k and 15k runs offer fire road trails with plenty of maneuverability and leeway to single-laned sections coupled with twists, turns, and even a small creek crossing. And hills! My God, the last 3 miles were a challenge! Just when you think you've reached the mountaintop, just when you think you've pushed yourself to the limit and have begun to relax, it continues... Great shirts and finisher medals awarded at Xterra!

First time going to street fair. I was concerned about…read moreparking since many of reviews mentioned that finding parking is tough. Fortunately we were able to park immediately a couple minutes away from the fair. They had so many venders, we got raw cinnamon honey and hot sauces! Im so excited to try them out especially raw honey! Very family and dog friendly, we spent great time!!!

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.

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

I've been trying to improve my run time, endurance and stamina. The treadmill can definitely get…read moreold. I remembered running this track back when I was training for the half with my friend. The track was much newer and softer back then. But, I noticed they added a video screen. It was not crowded at all which I like. There were some kids in football practice for their pee-wee team in the middle of the field. No need to pay for parking during the weekends! Awesome. Put your headset on, blast your music and run around a few times while you feel the nice San Diego breeze since you're by the beach. As an alumna, I had to bump my review up to a 5 ;)

I've only ran on this track one time, but I did enjoy it a lot more than I was expecting. I will…read moredefinitely be back many more times this spring quarter before I graduate. When you're working out, being close to the ocean gives a helpful and nice breeze! However, you should probably check the track and field team's practice and meet schedules so you don't show up excited to work out/run, and realize that you can't because they're there! (That happened to me twice, whoops!)

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.

Dino Valley is awesome!! I went yesterday and had a blast! This is probably my favorite park of the…read moreentire park. Seeing all the lego dinosaurs was amazing...all the colors were so vibrant and there were lots of trees and plants in the area to make you feel like you were in the jungle. They also had dinosaur and bug/bird noises to add to it. I went on the Explorer River Quest here; great for all ages...especially little ones. There is a dino trail, also great for kids. There is a roller coaster thats better for older kids and adults, and then so many fun games for anyone to try and win prizes. I won 2 medium sized stuffed dinos!!! Such a blast!

Glad they revamped the land to reflect a new Dino valley. Finally went on the rides today and they…read morewere fun. Kids enjoyed the jeep ride and did it 3 times. Went on the boat ride twice too. Did the coastersaurus ride as well even though that's not new or refurbished.