This was my second half marathon and I truly loved it!…read more The parking was the easiest I've ever had at a race. Everything was very clearly marked and well organized. You had to pick up your packet at the expo the day before, which was mildly confusing and not as perfectly streamlined, but still good. I liked the feeling at the starting line. People were friendly yet cometitive. Everyone's heads were in the game but not so much so that they couldn't say hello to someone new. The National Anthem ceremony was a great patriotic moment, as a fire ladder raised a giant American flag. I wouldn't say the course was flat as flat could be. The Ventura half I did for my first 13.1 - THAT was flat! There were ups and downs that a high desert dweller like me isn't used to. Thankfully I'd been training on my dreadmill with an incline. Heck, the first mile of the race is damn near completely uphill. The grades aren't tretcherous, and the downhill parts suck more than the uphill...especially the final downhill right at the 13 mile mark. That was no fun. Finish line = really nice. A fun straightaway that when you're sprinting in attempt to shave a second or two off of your time feels like a racecar driving game. Good heavy medal. Good post-race snacks. The post-race escape was also quick and easy with no fees to pay and no traffic jams. The photos took about a week to upload and while I was impatient, they turned out to be worth the wait. Pricey, but good action shots. Will I run this one again? For sure.

The Santa Clarita Half Marathon is my favorite half marathon…read more Maybe these aren't the usual reasons someone would designate a race their favorite, but they are mine. One, easy access and parking. The race site and parking area are not too far from the 5 Freeway, and there is plenty of mall parking which is short walking distance to the expo and start line. If you've ever had to deal with confusing parking and taking a shuttle before or after a race, this is a real benefit. The expo is held at the Hyatt, which is also near the start. It's a manageable size, and the expo volunteers are very accommodating. I had to change my registration last minute from a full to a half marathon, and it was no hassle, no problem. The other great thing about the Hyatt being so close to the start is that there are clean - nay, luxurious - bathrooms to use before a race! This NEVER happens. The Hyatt is really generous, and you can just hang out there and sprawl out in the hallway. (One year it was pouring, so this added bonus was a lifesaver.) As for the race itself, it's the right size for me. I've been to super crowded races (hello, LA Marathon) to races where I was the only person on the road for a stretch (the inaugural year of the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon). This race is a nice size: plenty of people so you get that exciting race-energy, but you never feel bunched in or like you're going to trip over someone. The aid stations are good, and the people are friendly. Not much in the way of crowd support that I remember as the course didn't seem to go on too many main streets. This may be a drawback for some people, but while crowd support is nice, it's not a main criteria for me. Unless I'm just kicking it and doing the race for fun, I'm pretty focused while I'm running and tend not to notice a lot of extra stuff like that. The Santa Clarita half is a better-than-average course. Every course has non-scenic parts, so I guess it'd be the office park and freeway overpass in this case, but those were not unpleasant. Although not particularly known as a scenic course except for the paseos, I found it to be like a pretty neighborhood Sunday run. There is also a real sweet downhill from like the 8.5 mile point to the 12 mile mark (but an ugly uphill just when you think you're done!). The course is not hilly in general, so it's a good PR course. Other pluses are that it's held in November, which is generally good weather in Southern California, and great food giveaways at the finish. Good amount of photos available too. I've done this half three times, and I will do this race every year if I'm healthy!

For the kind of small, full of heart, fundraising 5K that this is, it gets 5 stars!…read more I have participated in SOAR's (Students Off And Running) MGM5K for the last two years and this is a very fun little race. It is a fundraiser for the aforementioned running club, which trains students on distance running and culminates with participating in the Los Angeles Marathon. This event has the easiest and most efficient parking and packet pick-up system ever. Parking is plentiful at the Bridgeport Maketplace (where the starting line/packet pickup/warm-up/expo is) and your car is literally a few hundred feet from the action. The packet pickup volunteers know what they are doing and before you know it you've got your shirt, bib, and swag bag. The warm-up is always enjoyable and I take away a new move each year. This last year they added a silent auction - great idea! Still bummed I didn't win that Disney movie basket. The course is a down-and-back route and is pleasant. There are lots of enthusiastic volunteers along the route, ready to "bead" you with the traditional mardi gras accessory. This race has a timed/competitive 5K, a fun run/non-competitive 5K, and a kid's Mini Madness 1K. You can also get your pooch involved as a 5K-9! If you do both the timed 5K and the fun 5K, you are awarded a Mega Madness goodie. Another improvement with the 2014 race was the finisher's medal. Thanks for the bling, guys! Chris Schauble from KTLA is very involved with SOAR, so you can expect him to be there and emcee the race. I look forward to participating in the 2015 MGM5K! :)

They have moved the start/finish a few miles south to the mall, and it's actually a 5k, 10k and…read morekiddie 1k but still with lots of reasons to join this event. For those in the running community, SOAR (Student's Off And Running) is Students Run LA's well-behaved cousin. This is SOAR's biggest fundraiser with their athletes not walking 5 across or cutting you off during the race, but instead providing race support. Water tables, bead throwers and just general cheering comes from their members. The course is 99% on the Santa Clarita trail system with a mix of asphalt, concrete and gravel. Cheering support is minimal (its a 5k & 10K so no biggie) but easy parking, painless packet pickup and the Red Bull girls handing out samples made me one happy runner! You can find lots of discount codes which will bring this race under the $30 level, a rarity with today's race fees. That will get you a decent goodie bag ,tech shirt, medal and knowing you're supporting a great charitable group. See you at the start next year!

as a racing fan, I'm kind of bummed that they've moved away from the racing focus however, it's…read morestill good family, friendly, and fun. They do different kinds of events. They also introduced ax throwing. They seem to have a pretty good eatery section now that you can hang out at while letting your kids have a ton of fun in the gaming areas in between races. The electric platform they use is wearing down and they just don't feel mechanically good anymore. I hope they update these things or at least do more maintenance eventually. The staff is always really good though so they seem to get that 100% right.

Super expensive i paid $93.96 for exactly 20 minutes ride each ride was 10 minutes…read more And $39.99 was weekday special regular price is $49.99 People of SYLMAR avoid this place!

In 2015, & 2016 the Los Angeles spartan sprint has been the last west coast spartan race for the…read morecalendar year. The hilly mountains in Castic Lake just 10 minutes north of Magic Mountain offers a nice challenge for first time & veteran Spartans. A plus for this particular Spartan race is it's at a park so there are areas with real restrooms not that far from the race entrance for anyone that doesn't want to use a porta potty. Tips for the race, wear tech type/under armor type clothes, the dirty/mud & water pretty much wicks off the material, thicker material like cotton or basketball shorts absorbs water & mud & will weigh you down. Bring towels, plastic bags, flip flops, & a change of clothes for after the race to change & store your dirty race gear. Leading up to the race weekend make sure to check your email for final race instructions from Spartan. Since this time of year the sun sets early they required all races that started after 12pm to have head lamps, a lot of people had to buy head lamps from the merch stand that ranged from $15-$45. By Saturday all the $15 were sold out so a lot of people on Sunday were stuck paying $45.

FML. Hills for days…read more My buddies and I had been preparing since we registered back in March of 2016 for our race on December 10, 2016. Wait did I say preparing?? Not really. :( We were all a little hyped up as we got to the lake. First off, $10 per car. I gotta say management did well in the ease of the ins and outs of the vehicles. We were able to find parking (it was like a mile walk to the Spartan camp) with ease. We were also able to get out of the parking lot with ease as well and right to the 5 freeway from Castaic Lake. Since other runners had different times, there wasn't a cluster of people at one time. Porto-Potties and park restrooms throughout the area. Our race yesterday was 4.9 miles. Easy right? Wrong. For the first timers like us, it was crappy lol. We paid $ for this, got a nice heavy red Sprint medal, a free Bud Light, finisher shirt and some other freebies. I also took home a headache, sore legs, arms and body, and mud in every part of my body after the muddy water dunk! It took 4-5 q-tips after a full hot shower to clear all the brown mud from each of my ear holes!!! Yeah the course was 4.9 miles, the obstacles were challenging (I won't tell anyone about the 20+ obstacles to ruin the surprises), but all I can say is watch out for them damn hills!!! Everywhere I looked it seemed like we kept going up and up (elevation change was about 1K feet). There were numerous times when I looked at my buddies and shook my head with bitterness! Overall, after the fact, it felt good to finish the Spartan Sprint Castaic Lake without dying. Will I go for the trifecta? Probably hell no, but it was a good experience to run it. The others running with us, along side us, before and after us were ALL supportive of each other. We didn't see or hear anyone being a$$holes, showing off or putting anyone down at the race. That was super cool! Btw..make sure you bring a change of clothes and another pair of shoes/slippers for after the run. We all pretty much threw away our shoes that we used to run, climb, walk the course! Hydrate tons before the race, wear sun block and wear comfy clothes. Good luck first timers!! I popped my Spartan cherry on 12/10/2016!! :)

Dangerous race course in the rain, need to warn runners in advance, esp those who are unfamiliar…read morewith course. If you get hurt in between aid stations you are on your own unless fellow runners help you out. Event should have been organized in way to prioritize runner safety.

I'll be honest I wasn't the biggest fan of extreme speed when I first got into racing, but with the…read morenew management it has been much better. Run groups have been good with little issue. They are now my preferred run group for cheap test and tune days

I did an event with this organization at the end of June. It was my first track day in about 12…read moreyears. I had read the reviews that this group was "unorganized" and "unprofessional" but my experience was the complete opposite. The event was very well organized and professionally ran. The day stayed on schedule for the most part with only other drivers causing delays to the day (tighten you lug nuts folks!!) There were complaints about too many cars in some of the run groups but I found the amount of drivers in track at any given time to be acceptable. As the day wore on people began to leave, after all it was hot and the turbo cars were getting fussy. This left ample time at the end to get more laps in, which I did. Overall, Extreme Speed put on a safe, well-organized event where I got to put nearly 100-track miles on my car. I can't wait for my next event with them!

Postponed Aug. 18, 2019 Sprint Triathlons without any clear explanations…read more Be careful! Your payments are non-refundable even when they cancel the event because there's not enough participants! Read their cancellation policy very well! They can take your money and say there's not enough participants and you won't get a refund! They can move you into next year's event but you have to ask them! If you can't do next year, say goodbye to your money! Good luck if you get any email responses! Don't expect any responses if you write them an email through the website!

Did this race on Sunday August 17th. It was my first triathlon - sprint distance. I will do this…read morerace again, no question. Other reviewers are pretty spot on. I would add that the lake you swim in is actually very clean and filtered. Temp was 77 degrees. The run is tough though, and more than makes up for the shorter bike. I ran my worst 5k in months! :) I welcome the challenge. My only caveats with this race is that (1) the volunteers that were working the transition area at 5:15am were cluelessly sending people to the wrong transition spots, (2) the race started 20 minutes late, which meant it was that much hotter when we finished, (3) they had no volunteers on the bike course, and most specifically at the merging area coming out of transition. They also talked a lot about safety on the bike course, and some "trouble spots", but nobody on the course giving us a heads up......I chalked this up to lack of volunteers, but then when I came in to transition I saw a huge grip of them warning me about the dismount line. Well, ok ok riding in to transition can be dangerous.....but we don't need 10 dudes patrolling the dismount line ;) On that note, there were lots of police helping with traffic management. That was awesome.....and impressive. I felt super safe and had a blast running red lights ;)

What's up Flavor Budz!!…read more So, it's been a minute since I've been to Six Flags. I was feeling the burn, seriously, walked for hours! But anything for my niece, she wanted to be there for her birthday, so there we were. The family showed up and showed out for my baby girl. She and her closest girlfriends had a blast. The park wasn't crowded, so they got through lines pretty quick. The park is still in good shape, most rides are running, I just didn't realize how hilly it was! Eh! Good thing I had my cute walking shoes on, auntie was cute! Ok! My hubby upgraded our day pass, so Six Flags, I'll be back! P.S. If you're interested, upgrade your day pass inside the park for $50 a ticket. You get access to all four parks: Knott's Soak City, Six Flags, and Hurricane Harbor! - You're welcome

For context, this is for my experience back in January 2024, my second or third visit to the park…read more For someone who loved thrill rides, it is indeed a coaster paradise (loved Tatsu, Full Throttle, X2 in particular). Couldn't get on Twisted Colossus due to size, barely got on Batman. But that isn't why I'm rating this low. No, I'm rating this low because of how the park responded to lost/found items. Fast forward to 2025 briefly; got a Disney pass, lost some Sunglasses on Splash mountain ride, got them back within the week, despite being lost on an obscure part of the ride. So what happened in January then? I was riding the dueling coasters based on cars. A fun concept, truly. Was really enjoying myself... until we stopped back into the station. I do blame myself for losing my phone after stupidly placing it in my back pocket of my pants; the phone slipped out during one of the loops in the second half of the ride, landing in an obscure part of the park below the tracks. However, I certainly do not blame myself for what happened after, but on the park: Once I got home 60 miles later, I uploaded the phone's location via Find My to the park's lost and found website, along with a link to a POV video where the loss approximately took place. A report was made shortly after. Fast forward to July of that year: I'm at my work's conference, and get a random text... from China. Evidently my phone was actually found at Six Flags, but was sold on some black market to be taken into China. Keep in mind: despite a report being made, no official response was made from Six Flags about the phone's fate. It's partially why I stopped visiting Six Flags altogether after my birthday in June... the Magic and thrill of visiting that Mountain died out, all because one bad customer service experience, and lack of due diligence. I certainly hope the lost/found experience had gotten better since the merger, but in case it hadn't? Let this be a warning, and god help you.

Went on Saturday..... big mistake.... tooooo crowded. Book store closed at 2:00 . we always…read moretake our kids there . They love books. Looked but could not find any food truck selling hot dogs . Kids don't uusually like the spiic/adult foods. finally ordered a Taco Cone and found out it was 12 dollars for what was the size of one slice of a pizza AND they charged us $5.00 for a bottle of water that I can buy a full case of 24 bottles for $5.00. This seems like gourging. Most of the food places did NOT have prices posted at all. We have always gone to this event but will think about NOT going ....next year.....

AN ABSOLUTELY MUST DO! One of the Best All Free Annual Events in SOCAL. Take me Home Country…read moreRoads. The Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival happens once a year in the City of Santa Clarita not far from 6 Flags Magic Mountain. This is Annual Free Festival, Free Parking & Free Rides for the Kids. SAY WHAAAAAT! ALL FREE! YUP! People are always saying they'd love to do more things but it's just too expensive especially with a family. Well not here. This is a 2 Day Annual Event. It was a packed House On Sunday with lots of people getting dressed up & wearing western attire & Cowboy Hats & Boots. There are Lots of interesting Fun things to do here. We were lucky & scored a Free Parking space on the street a few blocks away. They have a Parking Lot & Free Shuttle Busses. It's hard to believe this place is less than an hour away from LA & you really do feel like you may have stumbled into Blake Shelton's Home Town. LOL! They had numerous bands in many different locations playing Live Country Music. There were covered wagons which were converted to Make shift Merchandise Booths where people could shop for some unusual items. They had 3 Teepees set up & you could go inside & look around. They had campfires, Old Western Settings & even some Panning for Gold & Lasso Masters doing Rope Tricks. There was Axe throwing, a Bounce House, Driving Automobiles for Kids & the ever popular Riding the Bull. You could also see the Free Museum & head on back & step inside a real locomotive & ring the bell. The Chili was in a Small Tent but was a Big Hit. 5 Small Samples for $10 with some really Great Chili & you got to vote for your favorite. There was a lot of Food Choices here. The Rotary Club provided a Great Deal on some Food Items. The Pulled Pork Sandwich & side of Cole Slaw was only $7. The Peach Cobbler with Ice Cream was also a Big Hit. Water was only a $1 a bottle. They were also selling Cannoli & Italian Ice & Sorbetti a Fruit Swirled Italian Ice Sorbet in its original Fruit Skin. Some of the original 1900s homes were open to see how people lived back in the day. There was even a tiny Church & a 1890s School House. They were selling T Shirts & Baseball Caps of The Cowboy Festival for $18. They had a Bargain Table with past years merchandise for only $3. There were umbrellas & tables & chairs you could sit down & eat. Some people selected to get close to Nature & sit on the grass, a log or on a haystack. This was So Much Fun! If you missed it mark it on your calendar for next year. There are busses to take you back to the parking lot. I recommend skipping the bus & waiting in the long lines & walk back on Main Street & see the town. You will see a cool little village that combines old fashioned Mayberry with today's contemporary cafes, eateries & shopping. Very cool what they have done here Small Old Town Feel with today's modern independent stores. You've heard of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They have a Western Walk of Fame with old cowboys & western Stars with their names on the sidewalks. A FUN DAY & SO EASY ON THE POCKETBOOK! It used to be, you had to have mega bucks & be really rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget!