I'm an avid runner who loves big races because I enjoy leaving people in my dust! Yah I get passed…read moreup sometimes, but they don't count because they have better genes than me, or their shoes are lighter, or my dog ate my homework, or whatever excuse I have that day. Anyways, road races are my niche but something about trail running had me curious so I signed up for the Stonewall Peak Half Marathon for only $45 (hooyah military discount). After taking a glance at the course map I noticed that it only had one aid station around mile 6 and that we'd be climbing two peaks during the half. The race director went further to ensure everyone brought at least 50 oz of water with us because of the heat that Cuyumaca had been experiencing. All that info was great but I was pretty naive on trail running and I rarely trained in dirt thinking that I'd finish in a time close to my normal road runs. Boy was that dumb and I paid for it dearly. I drove to the race with blind confidence thinking I was going to smash this thang! NOPE, this thing kicked my ass! I was immediately humbled when I started my ascent up Stonewall Peak trying to maintain my pace and keep up with a few ultra runners. After ten minutes or so I saw some of them walking and that's when I knew that this race would take a lot longer than I expected and that I had better watch my water and electrolyte intake. Going up the first peak at a jog for a minute and walk for two worked out well but for Middle peak that didn't last. At that time of the day I had already taken my sweat soaked hat and the sun was puffing out it's chest with all it's might. My quads were gone and it actually took effort and mind control to keep crawling up the mountain but when I hit the fire road and saw that it was the start of the descent, that's when I pushed through the wall and found that little bit of reserved strength to finish the race strong. After wards, I downed two cokes and damn near passed out and vomited. I barely had the awareness to drive the hour long ride home but after I took my ten hour nap I knew that I had left everything in Cuyumaca and I had found my new beast to tame. This run was nothing like I've ever experienced before and with only 80 people running 13 plus miles I only saw a handful of runners, so this race was truly mind vs body. The sights were awe inspiring and the pictures are memorable but my favorite souvenir from the race was my sore and exhausted body.

Was really surprised to see such a low rating for this race, but then looked at the reviews and…read morerealized no one has written one for the last five years! They've definitely become a more polished race over time. I've run this at least five times, but not in consecutive years. Recently though it's become a staple race for me, in large part just due to timing: it's nice to have an end of year event to work towards before descending into holiday sloth and gluttony. This course is advertised as a big net downhill with PR potential. While I will say a PR is possible, it's not as much of a given as you might think. There's an awful lot of uphill mixed in there on the course. You definitely need to train on rolling hills, and it's impossible to set a steady pace with such wildly varying inclines. There's also a real bottleneck when you move from the road to the bike path in the early part of the race that can slow you down. Plus it's difficult to pass because the path is narrow. And the paving is uneven: one year that combo led me to a pretty dramatic fall. My biggest complaint is that the mile markers are way off with the early ones being placed shorter than their started distances and the later ones with more than a mile between them. Since this is true every single year, I think they've just designated places incorrectly and keep using the same locations. This is starting to sound like a negative review rather than a positive one, so let me list some pros: Good weather for running, ranging from quite cold to temperate. Long sleeve hoodie for the race shirt (although I wish the designs weren't so garish). Tossed off clothes in the early miles get donated. Most of the race is surprisingly scenic! The downhill really does help if you've trained for it. I usually park in the residential area near the start and have never had any issues. Very festive atmosphere! Shuttle buses back to the start are plentiful and I've never had to wait for one. Definitely a nice race to round out the year.

Fantastic down-hill & scenic course which you are guaranteed to PR on! The perfect race for…read morefirst-timers! Just note--my Garmin clocked this at 12.95mi and the mile markers were a little off at times. Would have been 5-stars, but more on that soon. Other than that, a ton of PROS to this event: -Swag bag: knapsack & long sleeve, hooded technical hoodie (funky design though) -REGAL looking medal for the 5th annual race -Possibility of snagging exacta medals (paired with Turkey Trot 15K and/ or Craft Classic Half) -Free bag check at the start (UHAULs bring them to the finish) -Free parking at the start and finish (more on this soon*) -pre-race pow wow INSIDE the DoubleTree KARLAN replete with complimentary coffee, orange juice, fruit, and pastries (while supplies last, get there early!) -Salvation Army donation bins along the first few miles of the course. Donate that extra sweater or gloves that you no longer need! -Plenty of Nuun and water stations along the course. *Parking tips: Make sure to follow their directions and arrive to the parking lot at the finish BEFORE 5:30AM. You're going to want to park at the finish because the lines for the shuttle to get back to start post-race looked long and tiresome! Some MAJOR CONS: -Bathroom lines! Lines for bathrooms at Mile 6-8 were abysmal. Only two port-a-potties and some areas even looked like they could've had more! I spent more than 10 minutes just to use the bathroom at Mile 6. NOT happy about that. -Bottle neck in the bike path at the very beginning at ~Mile 3-4. -Bikers still using the bike path and getting in the way. Rawr. The pro's certainly outweigh the cons though, and luckily I still PR'ed. I'm not using the time to qualify for anything; it's more a personal goal, so I'm not SO irked about possible setbacks to my finish time. I'm also VERY pleased with the finishers medal! Super lucky that they went all out this year!

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.

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.

Disappointing race. I have no idea why this was called the avocado half marathon. I was expecting…read moremany booths with avocado post race stuff but no :( There were no avocados at the end. I did see some people with one avocado but they were all gone by the time half marathoners arrived. I think they should have passed them out with the medal. The course was all right. I didn't like that some parts of of the road were slanted, which affect the knees. The end of the race was too abrupt as it was preceded with a sharp turn. Won't do it again.

Fallbrook's "First Annual" fell a bit short…read more.. I realize this was the first Half Marathon and 5K for Fallbrook's Avocado Festival; and, as such, inaugural events are usually then prone to glitches, misfirings, snags, and snafu's. I get that. I do. Neverthesless, out of all the runs I've registered for over the past three months, I was most looking forward to Fallbrook's. I mean, c'mon, avocados will make everything better, won't they? After all, Fallbrook is the unofficial "Avocado Capital of the World!" So running amidst groves upon groves of avocado trees; being included in their Annual Avocado Festival; and, upon finishing, expecting a blissfully fruitful avocado saturation (the run promoted "plenty" of avocados for everyone) was what I had in mind. However, we didn't run among farms of avocado trees (we 5Kers ran down one road and back up again,) we didn't arrive during the famed festival (it was the following day,) and there weren't "plenty" of avocados awaiting us (there were about four, small buckets full.) I noted, in fact, that the Half Marathoners didn't even receive avocados. I do feel bad, but there didn't seem to me to be any 5K runners with armfuls of them. We just picked up one or two. No one policed those efforts, and I'm sure that no one understood that so few avocados were being made available. The word "plenty," it's relative, I guess. I mean, there could just as easily have been four buckets of bananas, and we could have run the "Banana Half Marathon & 5K" instead, right? The "Avocado Capital" ran out, did they? Uh-huh. Having run the 5K, and because we were redirected to park at a church three miles away from the event--then to be shuttled in--I wish I had opted to purchase a parking pass for the Live Oak Park lot nestled directly next to packet pick-up and registration. I assume there was an email inviting runners to do just that, but I parked at the church anyway. The problem was that after running the 5K, we weren't shuttled back to our cars until over two hours later! No one--not any of the volunteers--seemed to have answers to this. But we--with many frustrated others--waited...and waited...and waited... (By the way, our bus--when it finally did arrive--broke down en route to the 5K church parking. Add another 20 minutes.) And the medals... Wrong date, on those that had a date; others were dateless. And the ribbons: some were simply green (like mine) and some were more colorful, promoting the race itself. I don't know... This run, it just didn't live up to what I was hoping for. So Fallbrook, I'm sorry for the 2-stars. But that's what updates are for. And if you didn't receive criticism such as these, you wouldn't have the need to improve. And improving is what I expect will be on the table for next year. I congratulate your hosting this what-could-have-been-so-much-better run. This is constructive, by the way. Mistakes allow for growth. So...keep growing. Having an uphill run, 30:36:3. (Seems wrong though. Maybe it was gun time.) O.o

Fun run before Thanksgiving! It was our first time doing the Oceanside Turkey Trot, and the first…read moreafter Covid. It was still packed and lively. We did the 5K just to get some calories burned for our thanksgiving feast. It was nice, flat and you run thru PCH then the beach. The run was fun and close to home and easy to park and get to. There's a finishers medal for the 5K (score!) and at the end there's some apples, bananas and canned fruit. Not to bad! Fun family and friends event.

The O'side Turkey Trot is truly the best 5k! I've been doing it for 8 years ( with the exception of…read morethe year it was cancelled due to Covid) and I'll keep on doing it as long as I can! The sign up is easy and I love that $5 of each sign up fee is donated to the charity of your choice (from their list- which always includes local schools who really benefit)! The process for picking up race day materials is very efficient! Every year they have a new cool shirt and medal design. That's always awesome! The course is easy and amazing! Right on the coast and finishing on the strand. What could be better than running right next to the beautiful ocean! The crowd is always fun and energetic! This is a great way to "Move your feet before you eat" on Thanksgiving!

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.

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!