Parking is always a hassle so if you can take other means of transportation is definitely…read morerecommended. My friend paid an extra $35 on top of the $25 regular parking fee to get upfront VIP parking. You can get the best bang for your bucks on Wednesdays and Thursdays with their Unlimited ride wristbands for $55 between the hours of 11:00 and 8:00 p.m. Downfall with the rides is that there are super long wait lines. From the time we arrived at 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., we were able to ride five rides. Easy to find bathrooms all throughout the fairgrounds. However, every single one I went to always had a really long line out the door. Bathrooms were fairly clean for the amount of people there. Fair food is definitely expected to be expensive but for some reason I felt like they were a lot higher this year but the quality was not there. My son went to go get a drink and was charge $18 for a large soda. My daughter got a bacon cheesy mountain of fries for $20 and a Double Patty Smashburger for $22 from the Juicy booth. Smashburger was perfectly cooked with the patties being medium rare however the fries were well done and super crunchy. Definitely recommend wearing shoes. I made the mistake of wearing sandals and had to take them off on some of the rides and walk barefoot.

I love the Del Mar Fair . I go every year. It's always been amazing to go with family and enjoy the…read moregames and food and entertainment. You have to go .

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!

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!

Decided to sign up for this race vs. the SGK Race for the Cure for 2011. I had done the SGK for…read moreseveral years and needed a change. I have heard of the IG from several friends so wanted to check out the girl power. Traffic was crazy exiting off the 5 freeway and Via de la Valle to get to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. However, parking was a breeze. Parking was free and tons of spaces. There was a 5k and 10k, and this time I opted for a 5k since I had just done the LA RnR Half a week prior and I was going to run the Silver Strand Half the following weekend. The 10k started about 15 mins before the 5k. If you're wanting a PR, you're in the wrong race. There are no corrals, and everyone starts at the same time. Also consider there are a lot of mother/daughter teams and lots of kids and strollers. Perhaps I should have started right at the front since we were in the middle of the pack and got stuck behind some walkers and some pretty slow pacers. I didn't care so much for the route. The first mile was just too crowded and there were too many people you were running into. It wasn't until mile 2 was when you're on the open road and you were able to spread out. Mile 2 was uphill, which sucked. Mile 3 was downhill and you finish back at the fairgrounds track. The race was an experience. It's a good way to run/walk with your mom/daughter or to empower your girl spirit. I considered this my combo recovery run post-half and training run for the upcoming half... ================================================ Stats: Overall 88/944 Division 11/156 Gun 29:34 Chip 28:51 Pace 9:19

Hey ! Hey ! Hey ! It's another one !…read more The fifth annual 'Athleta Iron Girl' was at the Del Mar Fairgrounds this year ! The course started and finished on the fairgrounds. It was one of the easier runs for me since it was mostly a flat course with a slight incline towards the end. Great for newbies and experienced runners. I only participated in the 5K since I'm slowly incorporating short runs in between my training for my next BIG race in January: Disney's Tinkerbell WOOOT !!! I enjoyed seeing the mother/daughter teams and even little girls running while they held hands with their mamas. Uber cute ! Although, I think they should have had a separate wave for the young daughters and mama teams just to avoid any mishaps or collisions. Perks: post-race breakfast goodie bag, giveaways, performance tech t-shirts (so femme), professional timing, personalized race bibs, and love the custom finisher medal ! Proceeds go towards the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to help find a cure for all children with cancer. WIN ! Not so perky: When a little girl can run just as fast as me towards the finish line. Yup yup. Little rugrat was as tall as my knee. haha. She almost bruised my ego by nearly beating me. ooh wee it was close ! (note: still recovering from a knee injury)...not that I'm making excuses or anything. Overall, it was a fairly organized event and their website has more than enough information for participants. Great job Iron Girl ! I would LOVE to make this an annual run and hopefully get my mom involved. We both can go all out with matchy-matchy pink outfits to support breast cancer awareness and hold hands while we sing along and run ! OH JOY !

I have been a participant and supporter for several years now. I have a close friend who is a…read morebreast cancer survivor and an auntie and friends who were diagnosed with breast lumps. I love this event!!! You feel empowered when you're surrounded by so much positive energy and emotions. Lots of people dress the "pink" part and it's an unbelievable sight. It saddens me to see how many people have lost lives due to breast cancer, but participating encourages me to do more on my part to help! Lots of vendors attend and it's a great way to become educated and involved. It was awesome that so many businesses and organizations partake in an event that involves 15K people. This year we decided to run the race and we got pretty good timing. The last half mile was strenuous since there was a steep incline and participants were dropping off like flies!!! Such a great feeling after accomplishing a great run and helping a great cause!!!

It was my first time participating in this race and I absolutely loved it. This event gets packed…read moreso if you go next year, go early or take Uber or lyft or the trolley. The cause is awesome. There are a ton of vendors, live music, snacks, testimonies and just an all around great event! A lot of cancer survivors participate and it's neat to see them and see that they made it! I highly recommend this event and l plan on participating every year now!

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.

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!

"What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?" - Timon, The Lion King…read more One of my favorite local runs! My only "Hawaiian" type of outfit is a wrap I bought years ago from the Bahamas. If it weren't for this race, I probably would have worn it twice. Now I can say I wore it at least 4 times now. Lol. As the years progress, the amount of participants increase. The course they have choose for the 5K is along walkways which are split into two way traffic areas, and still shared by pedestrians. They should make the walkways one way thus giving runners more space, and kick out the pedestrians. lol. For 2016, I believe they changed the route a bit, and even added a 10K. I remember last year, there was this lady looking for her son. I guess he was taken the night before. She was on the side asking runners if anyone has seen a little boy; it was quite the downer. Anyway, it's a fun, easy run for the whole family, and they always provide cute medals. Anything Hawaiian themed means you'll have a good time. :) TIPS -- It is alway hot, so be prepared and wear sunscreen. -- Parking can be a little tricky, so come early -- If you cannot pick up your gear at the day before at Road Runner Sports, you can pick it up on the day of the race. Shirt sizes may vary at that point. -- A timer is provided -- No gear check -- There is a "virtual" version of this race. You pay the fees, run/walk at your own leisure, and your medal and shirt will be mailed to you. -- Long Beach also has a Aloha Run! If you are that desperate, you can go to Long Beach. lol.

A fun festive event,love the good atmosphere live entertainment and the course. Can't wait for next…read morerace.