Arwin Calix's Staging Area

Flew into Philly, picked up rental car and drove 40 minutes to Newark. Packet pickup was at Courtyard Marriott and also my hotel for the night. 20-minute walk to race start and it was already raining hard. The rain never stopped. Race began on Univ campus and was out-and-back thru neighborhoods and parks, with some hills but nothing too bad. Couldn’t really enjoy it because of the miserable weather, but the race staff and production was great. The volunteers and police were out there in the rain and cheered us on. Post race party was at Deer Tavern bar, but I walked straight to the hotel in yup, you guessed it, the pouring rain. In summary: production and staff were great, swag was a glitter medal with a visor and yellow long sleeve running shirt, easy race morning parking/exit.

Drove up morning of race from Murrieta and picked up packet. Commute, parking, and bib pickup were easy peasy. Gear check next to packet pickup tent. Race started in time and was a little crowded for the first mile. Ran up the hill to the Citrus State Historic Park, then a short steep downhill toward the orchards. Dirt path through approx 2-3 miles through the orchards which was really neat. Course support was good, and so was crowd support. Perfect weather for running a half, and the swag was above average with a long sleeve tech shirt and awesome citrus-themed medal. Finish line party was ok, but the Mexican food line was super long. I heard it was good though. I left early, but I heard they had live music. I recommend this course if you are in the area! My favorite was seeing the sun rise while running through the orchards.

I recommend this course, especially if they incorporate a few logistical improvements.

Packet pickup was the Thursday before the Saturday race, at a Fleet Feet store no where near the race venue. I flew in from out of state, so I could not attend the Thursday pickup. Instead, I picked up my bib on race morning, and it was at the race location Bohicket Marina on Seabrook Island. I stayed at the Marriott just under a mile away, and it took me 16 minutes to walk to the race. The registration table was properly staffed and worked efficiently, and bag drop was in the same location. The bathroom situation sucked, as it appears there weren’t enough potties. I stood in the Men’s line at the Marina, and the latrine had one urinal and two toilet stalls. It seemed to move alright, and two women even joined our line since it was moving 3x as fast as the women’s line. The men and I did not mind at all. Unfortunately, the race did not start on time at 8am because a few shuttle buses with racers still had not arrived. The race was delayed to 8:15am, and it did meet that start time. The course was not closed to traffic, and we ran on a two-lane road for most of the race. The course had a loop for miles 6-10 I think, and it about 90% shaded by huge trees to help with the heat. There was almost no elevation gain at all, and there were plenty of decent views of marshes, nice big homes, and beautiful trees, so I didn’t mind the loop at all. Unfortunately, the water station at mile 6.75 ran out of fluids, which sucked because I chose not to carry my own water bottle after looking a the course map. Then, the next water station at about mile 9 ran out of cups!! They were holding the jugs of Gatorade over the runners’ heads if they wanted to drink, and of course it spilled all over my face, shirt, and shoes. I needed it though, since I hadn’t had water since about mile 2.5. Fortunately, the Gatorade bath held me over til the next and final water station, where the my were handing out full bottles of water. It was smooth sailing to the finish line from there. Post race food included water, beer, hot dog, chips, snacks, and fruit. The race swag was decent; a long sleeved tech shirt with a pelican on the front,and we also got a canvas bag. The medal was a pelican as well. I hope the RD will add more potties at the start, and also ensure the water stations do not run out of fluids and cups. I’m not sure if there any this they can do about the shuttle situation, as I didn’t use the shuttle. Charleston was a beautiful city to visit, and I enjoyed sightseeing in that area.