Exceptional inspirational flat coastal (great distraction as I don't use music for such) exhilarating run! Stayed in neighboring city Goletta 3 days to enjoy coastal city with an equally beautiful … MORE
Exceptional inspirational flat coastal (great distraction as I don’t use music for such) exhilarating run! Stayed in neighboring city Goletta 3 days to enjoy coastal city with an equally beautiful native American significance. No medal but the exhibits & offerings including tastings & freebies for all, kids as well, was very generous! The vibe of both (Santa Cruz & Sta Barbara’s) SIB are fantastic. Family friendly race.
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Coastal run heaven
Exceptional inspirational flat coastal (great distraction as I don't use music for such) exhilarating run! Stayed in neighboring city Goletta 3 days to enjoy coastal city with an equally beautiful … MORE
Exceptional inspirational flat coastal (great distraction as I don’t use music for such) exhilarating run! Stayed in neighboring city Goletta 3 days to enjoy coastal city with an equally beautiful native American significance. No medal but the exhibits & offerings including tastings & freebies for all, kids as well, was very generous! The vibe of both (Santa Cruz & Sta Barbara’s) SIB are fantastic. Family friendly race.
One of my absolute favorite races!
Pre-race: Course details, race day schedule, etc were all posted online, emailed and available at packet pickup. Made it very easy to make sure I was ready to go! The … MORE
Pre-race: Course details, race day schedule, etc were all posted online, emailed and available at packet pickup. Made it very easy to make sure I was ready to go! The community training runs in the months leading up to the race were fantastic. Besides the race itself, this was one of my favorite parts. The SIB race series isn’t just about running a 5k/10k twice a year, its about community year round.
Race morning: While there are a ton of people all packing into a small area, we had no trouble finding street parking only a few blocks away. The new start line and staging area near Chase Palm Park was better this year as there was more room! Start line, registration and bathrooms were all easy to find.
Race: The entire race was filled with positivity and encouragement! My favorite part was how it fast the time went by. Usually, even for a 5k race, I am counting down the time until I am done so I can stop running so hard. But here, there was so much fun stuff, from the other people being silly, the costumes and fun outfits, the signs, the high fives, the volunteers, the Man Stand, the ocean views and so much encouragement. More than an hour had gone by before I knew it. I head things like “We are sticking together and crossing the finish line hand in hand!” and lots of conversations with positive words shared between friends and strangers alike. Usually while running, I zone out and listen to music or an audiobook. Saturday, I barely remember hearing parts 3 or 4 songs playing. Everything around me was so fun, interesting, and just wonderful. No other race creates an atmosphere that just engulfs the entire race course (except for SIB Santa Cruz of course!).
Post race: Lots of fun booths, samples (so many delicious gummy bears!), props for photos and just people having a good time. There was a serious vibe of good energy that started before the race that continued well into the post race party!
Swag: LOVE the finisher’s shirt. I really like the idea of a shirt rather than a medal because I can wear the shirt all the time as a reminder of an awesome race!
Had a great time!
This race was probably the most fun of all the races I have done. Parking was a slight issue. There was a great empowering speech before the race began. Empowering … MORE
This race was probably the most fun of all the races I have done. Parking was a slight issue. There was a great empowering speech before the race began. Empowering quotes were posted along the whole course route which was beautiful mostly along the ocean coast. The shirts given as swag were beautiful! A race medal would have made this race perfect.
Bring your girls...
Such an awesome morning of girl power!! The hardest part of this race is deciding between racing, or just enjoying it with friends. There's prize money 1st-3rd in both the … MORE
Such an awesome morning of girl power!! The hardest part of this race is deciding between racing, or just enjoying it with friends. There’s prize money 1st-3rd in both the 5K and 10K!! The course is hilly, but still fast…what goes up, must come down. If I had a daughter she would be there every year! Perfect 1st race for anyone!!! Bring your PICK and lace-up your shoes!