Michael McEachern's Staging Area

This race should be on every self respecting marathoner’s bucket list.

The scenery is absolutely amazing and it is a true treat to have the coast highway shutdown for us to run on. The BSIM foundation does an excellent job at logistics every year and this year was no exception.

As a repeat runner, my continual advice to anyone running the full marathon is to not get over confident and ditch your outerwear on the initial 6 mile down hill section. This year, runners were treated to brutal wind so a lightweight windbreaker will really save your butt if you are a slower runner like myself.

This race has ample aid stations, restrooms, and everything you need to have a good time. Many treats and surprises are annual traditions that I will not spoil in this review.

Moral of the story? Make sure you get to experience the big sur marathon at least once in your life

This was my fourth year running the Surf City Marathon. Course support and swag is on point once again. The event is early enough in the year that you are usually blessed with decent temperatures and cloud coverage, the day before this event it got into the mid 80s however temps remained below 70 up until around 11.

The two out and backs on the beach are beautiful but really test your mental game as seeing the distances you have to go back and forth can mess with your head. Mile markers between 19 and 22 were way off this year which also played with my head but eventually they evened out towards the end. Love the bacon and beer guys after mile 20

All in all I will be back next year. My only gripe is I finished slower than I had in previous years (just over 5 hours) and there was zero food or beverages other than water at the finish line. Seriously, a banana would have been awesome after the race or anything really. Instead there was a single roach coach serving swarmas and I opted to crush my free finish beer and find food elsewhere rather than roll the dice on a food truck.

Didn’t enjoy the OC marathon as much as I did last year. It was hot and humid and I got bored after the halfway point where you just run inland. The first half of the race keeps you pretty engaged running by multimillion dollar houses but the second half leaves a lot to be desired

Swag is on point. A bit of a cluster at the beginning of the race but this is the 2nd time this race has happened so I’m sure event organizers will figure it out. Awesome course, super chill. Weather was perfect. Good aid stations. Can’t complain about running next to the ocean

This was a relatively flat race thru some rolling hills. Overall it was an easy course, the heat definitely kicked my butt towards the end of the race. Great support on the course and well put together. Only part of the course that wasn’t enjoyable was when it transitioned to a dirt/pea gravel section for a few miles that led to a ton of dust being kicked up. Also a bit annoying to have half-marathon walkers hogging up the course on the way in but hey.

Expo to pick up materials was held at a winery which was a bit of a pain to get in and out of and took a lot more time than expected.

All in all would do again, hopefully the temp is a bit cooler in future years, probably be back in 2019 or 2020

Rock n’ rolls flagship race. This year was their 20th year anniversary. Great support throughout race, well marked course etc. Festival at the end was a bit more of a cluster than previous years but all in all this is a must do race

I forgot to mention. The roads are awful through normal heights and hillcrest. I almost ruined my ankle around mile 7. The race producers really need to coordinate with the city to make some much needed repairs. It is pretty dangerous out there

This is the hardest race I’ve have ever participated in. Race didn’t start until just after 730am and with temperatures reaching ~82 degrees this made it a tough race. Very cool scenery and it was awesome running through my old Cal Poly neighborhood 😉 What made this course difficult was after leaving downtown and heading out into the countryside, rolling hills and high heat with very little support in terms of aid stations made this tough. Between miles 21 and 25 there were no aids stations and I literally saw a guy puke next to me and my friend told me he watched a guy collapse at mile 24. Hopefully they get this right in future races, early start time for marathoners and more aid stations on the back end miles.

The Long beach marathon is an awesome course, winds you all throughout long beach, along hte waterfront, CSULB and elsewhere. Great support throughout the course. The weather this year got to me, I would suggest staying extra hydrated as it can get quiet warm!