Peace Love Run Half Marathon – San Diego
San Diego, CA
- Half Marathon, 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Nothing but Peace and Love at this Scene! Go-Go Girls, Hippie Chicks, Woodstock Dudes, Sonny & Cher will all be there! What will you wear? Can you dig it? Get your “Groove On” as we race along a scenic waterfront course in San Diego! Peace Love Run race Participants receive … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Mar 31):
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
| H (°F) | 66 | 65 | 66 | 69 | 65 |
| L (°F) | 54 | 55 | 49 | 59 | 51 |
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Boring. Disorganized course
Smaller crowd. The course is Very boring and towards the end through the park (approx 3miles) is disgustingly disorganized as the park visitors are allowed to enter the runners course. … MORE
Smaller crowd. The course is Very boring and towards the end through the park (approx 3miles) is disgustingly disorganized as the park visitors are allowed to enter the runners course. Nothing was blocked off or showing there was a race in progress. Won’t do again
Beautiful morning, fun race
It was perfect race day weather – cool at the start with the sun coming out after the finish. 5K course was a straightforward out-and-back along the paved path around … MORE
It was perfect race day weather – cool at the start with the sun coming out after the finish. 5K course was a straightforward out-and-back along the paved path around the lagoons in Mission Bay, though ran a little long (my Garmin measured 3.26 miles). The 10K and half marathon courses overlapped in places and the path was shared by recreational walkers & runners, causing some confusion at certain forks in the paths.
The 60s-themed post-race festival was as chill as expected, with plenty of water & snacks plus a live band for entertainment and winners announced throughout the morning. Some runners wore tie-dye shirts and there were a few more elaborate costumes.
The swag was excellent – substantial medal (ribbons differed depending on the distance run) and cool t-shirt designs (tech tees for half marathoners & cotton tees for 5K and 10K runners). Plus, age group winners (5-yr groupings) were awarded an extra medal. Fun vibe and I’d recommend it, though would encourage half marathoners to study the course map carefully.
Peace Love Disorder
BOTTOM LINE & PRODUCTION: The Peace Love Run Half is a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde race. On the one hand, Mission Bay Park is a beautiful area and … MORE
BOTTOM LINE & PRODUCTION: The Peace Love Run Half is a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde race. On the one hand, Mission Bay Park is a beautiful area and scenic venue for a road race, since a) it’s always sunny in San Diego and b) the course follows paved footpaths removed from automobile traffic. From that perspective, I’d definitely recommend PLR if you’re looking for a leisurely morning run, either alone or with friends.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to race competitively as I was (using it as my tune-up race for the Boston Marathon), then Caveat Emptor — this was a bit of a clusterf#@*, especially once the 10K runners merged with the half marathoners in mile 4. At that point I lost track of the faster half marathoners ahead of me, and ended up expending a lot of energy trying to weave around a) slower runners in the left lane, b) runners wearing earbuds in the left lane so they couldn’t hear me yell “On your left!” or c) a mash-up of the two: slower runners wearing earbuds in the left lane who were completely oblivious to everything going on around them. Unfortunately there were plenty of these runners, as well as groups running together side-by-side-by-side spanning the path like a human wall, so that I actually had to slow to a walk long enough to “Scooz me” my way past them. Certainly this wasn’t intentional on their part; they just weren’t paying attention to the other runners around them.
The course required that half marathoners run two loops around Fiesta Island Park, with confusing signage at the end of each loop directing 10K runners in one direction and half marathoners in another. At the end of the second loop, half marathoners (I know this now) were supposed to ignore the signage and follow the 10K arrows. Confused yet? Then you can imagine how my brain — in its fatigued state, with all mental energy focused on weaving around runners and maintaining pace as the morning heated up — ended up missing a turnoff. The result: I ended up running an extra loop (i.e. 2 miles), meaning that by the time I crossed the finish line, my half marathon ended up being a 25K. No big deal — no harm no foul, since it was actually good mental & physical training, and luckily I wasn’t chasing a personal best. But I did sign up for a half marathon, and I would have won my age group by roughly 12 minutes on a 13.1-mile course. Haphazardly labeled courses are something I’ve come to expect in trail races, not road races… and for a half marathon registration fee of $80, I naturally expect the course to be clearly labeled at all times with unambiguous signage in place if there’s any possibility of confusion. Other half marathoners ahead of me after my bonus third loop were clearly confused by the “10K in one direction/half marathon in the other” signage, despite the valiant (and much-appreciated) efforts of one poor volunteer who was standing at the juncture trying to direct the oncoming flood of runners in the right direction. All in all a chaotic scene, like, “Duuude, where’s my turnoff?”
Another sub-optimal course consideration: the last several miles took us through a section of the park where the path was shared with the public, a situation which always makes for a near-collision or two when someone out for a morning stroll with poochie fails to anticipate or acknowledge oncoming runners.
So my two main recommendations for making Peace Love Run the excellent race it deserves to be: 1) much-improved course markers and signage; 2) pre-race emails/announcements emphasizing to slower runners and earbud wearers that they’re not the only runners on the course, and they need to stay to the right.
That said, the finish line festival was groovy, with plenty of music and a cool backdrop for taking photos (though it should have been facing toward the sun rather than away from it, for less shady results). And the post-race bananas were great!
SWAG: Aside from the chance to run with a good friend who recently moved from Boston to San Diego (and who won his age group), the swag was the highlight of the morning. The race shirt is a shiny white tech tee with the colorful Peace Love Run design on front, while the medal is an equally colorful VW bug decked out with flowers & surfboards (see photos). Very cool and, despite my on-course experience, definitely a medal that makes me smile when I look at it.
Groovy half marathon next to Sea World
This was my first time running the Peace-Love-Run Half Marathon in San Diego, and overall it was a good experience. The weather for race day was perfect (typical sunny San … MORE
This was my first time running the Peace-Love-Run Half Marathon in San Diego, and overall it was a good experience. The weather for race day was perfect (typical sunny San Diego weather) and the winding course had some great scenery along the way… it’s all within the park at Mission Bay and most of the course goes along the water. Although it’s a pretty flat course, the limited shade made it a bit more challenging as the sun started to beat down. There is also a 5K and 10K run at the same time, and these two races share part of the same course as the half marathon, so I needed to dodge around many of these runners during the second loop on the island. The markings/guidance at some key turns could have been better marked since I started going the wrong way twice but got the attention of a volunteer to steer me in the right direction (and a friend of mine ended up running 2 extra miles!). Although the spectator support was limited during much of the race, the finish line area was very nice and the volunteers were great. There was a live band at the finish, and the race medals were really nice… more impressive than most marathon medals I’ve received. Overall, a good race and a fun morning… I’d do it again.