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.

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.

Our running group was sponsored to participate in this run to support Children's Hospital. 5 stars…read morefor the kids!!! Race packet pickup was slow. I'm thankful for the volunteers, but move it along people! There was so much bottleneck that it just created havoc. Race morning, it rained. I was unsure if I wanted to run a 10k in the rain, but did it anyways. Parking was a little crazy, but plentiful if you don't mind the walk. There were no corrals, so basically you line up according to what you think your pace is. Luckily, I was near the front, but still got stuck behind some walkers and slower runners. After a couple of miles, it was wide open. The route included Fiesta Island, and because it was raining, wasn't very pretty. There was a slight incline and when you run around the bend, you get the rain and wind against you. Definitely reflected in your time. The poor volunteers were out at the mile markers calling out times. There were a couple of water stations, which I bypassed. What bothered me a bit was the fact that some onlookers/patrons were a little miffed that the racers were on the sidewalk heading back to the finish. Whatever... At the finish, there were booths for pizza, drinks, samples, etc... Beer garden was packed, but popular. The booths were too claustrophobic. All the lines were running into one another. You receive a tiny medal. A surprise to me since it wasn't advertised. It was my first 10K and I did it for the kids. YAY! ======================================================== STATS: Gun: 55:30 Chip: 55:03 Division: 51/221

Flat course, fantastic weather, family friendly, fun and festive!…read more The tech shirt is something I still use every week while running. The only downside is finding time on a Friday to drive out to the Expo to pick up your bib. Luckily, one of our friends nearby were able to pick it up. If you aren't able to make the trek, I would suggest getting your bib mailed to you instead of having to wake up at an ungodly hour to get your bib on race day.

2 of 12 in 2016 - DONE!!!…read more Who runs 2 1/2 marathons in 6 days... I DO!!! I earned my "Concrete" Mermaid Athlete status. My friends always call me a mermaid because I love the waters. I thought the Mermaid Series 1/2 Marathon and the pink mermaid medal was fitting for my wall of medals. I had originally signed up for the 10k 6 miles because 6 days prior to this race I just ran the Run Surf City 1/2 Marathon and in 3 weeks will be running the San Diego 1/2 Marathon. Never ran a race back to back but said there's a first for everything so less than 12hrs before start I had asked to switch to a 1/2 marathon (since my body fully recovered quickly) - why not!!! THE EXPO. There really wasn't one. Just a bib pick up at Sports Authority. THE COURSE. The race is on a Saturday morning. After a long week and having to wake up early in the M was a brutal awakening. No PRs just #sexypace. Started out cold and foggy. But appreciate the cold because by mile 5 the sun will be beaming. It was around mission beach park. Parking was hideous. Think about it, the start line and finish line are a mile away from each other and you can either park at the finish line and walk an extra mile back to your car OR you can park near the finish line and walk a mile before running 13.1 miles. There's no shuttle service!!! Choose wisely. The path ways were basically the park paths and side walks. Expect some crowding, especially when you catch up to pacer groups and they block the pathway and you can't get around them. The course is relatively flat with itty bitty unnoticeable inclines around mile 2-4. Mile 5-7 goes by quickly. Mile 8 was a clustered path and you are using mile 10s water station as mile 8s water station - not a good idea because you have to cross the course and get into the ways of mile 10 runners to get a cup of water. Mile 8-9 probably the hardest miles of this course. And the worst part, the hammer head gel espresso flavor on the tables were the nastiest gels I ever had. I had the squirts the rest of the day.... terrible!!! The rest of the way to the finish line you are running on a side walk and by then many locals are entering the park so your sharing a side walk with a lot of others runners and park visitors. And at the end they are having the kid dash on the same path as the finish so as you are running the last 100 yards there's kids and people dashing towards you (that was kind of weird and very disorganized). But overall I'm happy I ran the 1/2. San Diego people are so friendly... A lot of people smiled at me on the course, had conversation with me, etc. cracking up when homegirl and I ran past a volunteer that looked grumpy and didn't want to be there and she said "smile girl" and the volunteer still just stared at us. Hilarious! Anyhow this was a fun run with great people. THE AFTERMATH. Several tents set up for small snacks and drinks and a lot of merchandise on sale. They were serving green bananas. You know how important potassium is after running 13.1 miles and they serve GREEN BANANAS, yuck. But I received my medal and my mermaid necklace... I finished my 1/2 marathon and beat my time from 6 days ago by 5 minutes with no injury. Next race in 3 weeks :)

Really a fun theme and event. Great vendors but could have more! Very well organized from…read moreregistration to the finish line! Going to participate in another mermaid run soon!

Overall fun race experience & I would like to run it again…read more. It's along the embarcadero/Seaport Village.. So I personally like the view. But I also used to run here on the reg when I lived close by. It just makes it hard to find parking since it's limited in the area. Loved the vibes before & after the race. They had a fun DJ/MC with dance offs & warm ups. Everyone was dressed up too! And a lot of booths giving away free things like hats you can bling out, water bottles, sunglasses. Coolest medal ever! The guy dances! Not a fan of their white t-shirt though. They had nice gold winners medals! I unfortunately didn't know they gave it to top 3 in age categories so didn't even check the booth to collect mine or wait for the awards ceremony. I've never been able to receive a winners medal so I was so sad when I found out I could've gotten one but missed the opportunity. So I tried to contact the event coordinators via e-mail & facebook to see if I could pick it up at their Long Beach race, but no answer! I'm obviously still bitter about this. Otherwise would've been 5 stars and I would've done their LB race..

This was the first year for the Disco Fever 5K to be run in San Diego. I've never run a race in SD…read moreso I'm can't speak to how it compares to other races in the area. But compared to other races I've run myself, this was on the small side. Packet pick up at Road Runner's Sports was easy; the process took me less than 10 minutes. The t-shirt is nice and there were some nice snacks and goodies in our race pack. The race is set at the Embracadero and run along the running path along the harbor. Despite it starting at 730am (first wave) there are still tourists taking a stroll and other non-race runners out so you gotta watch out for them too. I loved the warm up--even if you weren't participating, it was nice to have the music playing and the emcee keeping things fun and light. There was some runner support with volunteers cheering on the racers at a few different points and the water station half way through. I didn't dress for the theme (sorry!) but I did appreciate the different disco costumes I saw. Kudos to the guy who ran in full disco Elvis attire, including wig! And the sparkly disco dresses were fun and flirty. Every finisher got a medal--yeah! and of course special medals to the top finishers. There were bananas, water, gatorade and other snacks afterward--a lot more than what I've seen at other races. Everyone working the race were friendly and supportive. A really fun atmosphere. Glad I was in town to run the race!

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!

My friend and I had a blast here, so much, that we were seriously considering running through it…read moreagain that same night. As previous reviews have mentioned, this isn't really a "race", but more like running through a theme park in the sense that 1) there are different courselands/worlds 2) it's magical 3) it's crowded 4) they have funnel cake. My favorite worlds were the Electro Rainforest (You can stand under my um-brella-ella-ella) and Under the Sea (Life is the bubbles!). What was nice was that the price we paid ($50 with Groupon and Groupon discount code; no, that wasn't the nice part) came with a VIP glow pack that included a T-shirt, LED sunglasses, an LED wristband, jelly rings, and foam batons, so we were all glowed up and ready to go then and there. Of course, you can always purchase more glow stuff ahead of time and go even more crazy with it. There was also a DJ at the start line hyping us up for the run, EDM music playing throughout the run, and an after-party! I was glad there were food vendors and drinks afterwards in case we needed some sustenance. I would totally be down for doing this again, but ideally at a more affordable price.

The Electric Run is fun. They put some effort into the lighting and music. Overall though, is it…read moreworth it for its price? Not really. First of all, it's not an actual race. I'm sure there was a disclaimer about this but no one will care how fast or how slow your 5k time is. Parking is bad but not horrible (just takes forever getting into the lot but finding a spot shouldn't be too bad). Overall, it's a really fun social event to come with friends, but if you're interested in racing and improving your 5k time, or even practicing for a marathon, this is not the run.

Completed my very FIRST trail run hosted by Dirt Devil Racing !!!…read more ***NOTE: Out and back course - Distance is 13.3 kick butt miles! What to watch out for: 1. ROCKS !!! Almost twisted my ankle ! No bueno. 2. Narrow trails. I'm accident prone so one small mistake and you just might fall into the lake. Yup..I've had a few close calls 3. Very hilly. One brutal, STEEP hill at the very end of the course ! I admit to having walked this part of the course. My body was ready to give at this point. 4. Again..those DAMN rocks I tell ya ! Definitely hard to avoid those suckers. A huge challenge for a novice trail runner. Definitely a setback. 5. Be careful and cautious. Parts of the course you'll get overtaken from behind on the one path trail and runners heading back are racing towards you so try to dodge them as best you can. Love: 1. Sweet looking medal ! 2. I actually prefer a smaller event such as this (i.e. 250 participants). 3. Aid stations, energy drinks/gels, and water stations were well-maintained and gave me enough replenishment throughout the course. 4. Very organized for an inaugural event. No chaos/mishaps to report. 5. Beautiful location - overlooks Lake Hodges Hate: 1. Prefer race tech t-shirts over the race cap. 2. No timing tag so I wasn't really sure what my official start/finish time was. Overall, I was pleased with the whole event ! I didn't realize how difficult trail running was until now. Nothing like road running ! Seemed like an obstacle course with you against nature and other racers. Quite thee challenge ! The scenery did make up for the difficut portions of the course and IMO made the race seem much shorter. Would I attempt trail running again ? With proper training, YES ! I'll have to invest in a good pair of trail shoes too if that's the case ! My body endured a different kind of beating. Thanks to the participating sponsors: San Diego Running Institute and Amateur Endurance for a great event ! Trail running is officially scratched off my bucket list !

This was my first trail half marathon and I hated it .. but loved it! I think the description of…read morethe course being "mostly flat with rolling hills" was a huge lie and should have carried the disclaimer of "compared to most trail races". Luckily I train on hilly trails and was prepared for this race, but this race is not well suited for the trail runner novice. Pros: Beautiful course Well organized Affordable race entry price Nice medal Race hat vs shirt Good parking Cons: Misleading course difficulty description Out and back on a single file trail is dicy in parts Course is longer than 13.1 miles (but they tell you this up front) This race was a lot of fun and I'd do it again .... and now I'm curious to try some of Dirt Devil's other races!