Jayme Brindle's Staging Area

This was my first racecation but I have run many many half marathons. We had a group of 10 ladies traveling mostly from Colorado and it was a great time! The race was beautiful and not as hard as advertised. The hill at mile 6.4 was steep but only half a mile with lots of downhill after. Great course to negative split on:) I thought the smaller hills near the end when you were tired were more difficult. My watch only said 700+ feet of elevation gain, not the 1200 advertised that made us all a little nervous – I am glad we drove the course beforehand. I felt aid stations were adequate and offered electrolytes and water. The relay option was great for having friends come along that didn’t want to commit to the half marathon distance. The Danish town of Solvang was adorable and we enjoyed great breakfasts, dinners and wine tastings. The Hotel Corque was conveniently located to the race start and finish and had great amenities and very comfortable beds. We loved the ease of flying into Santa Barbara airport. I would definitely consider running this race again! My only wishes were that the wine festival started later as 9:30 is a little early yo drink wine and that the shirt was a little better quality so I would be proud to wear it often.