Joy Ma's Staging Area

This was my first time running this course, and I loved it! Packet pick-up was efficient and allowed for race distance changes at the table. The expo itself was a small affair and didn’t take too long to peruse through.

The bus shuttles that took participants to the starting line ran on time, and there were plenty of available porta-potties around that area. This is always a worry of mine on race day, and I didn’t have any trouble going to the restroom 3x before the start. The weather was around mid-50s at 6AM, but I took refuge with other runners in an open post office building, so it wasn’t too bad.

The course itself was well marked and scenic in the beginning, with mountain views and an idyllic countryside feeling. I had enough room on the path to set my own pace and appreciated that pacer groups were set at 3 minutes faster than BQ qualifying times (e.g. 3:32 instead of 3:35). The backdrop does change from mountains to more of an urban feel later on with mostly industrial fields and areas without much shade, which can make the last few miles difficult as the temperature did hit 70F with sunny skies near the end. Though advertised as net downhill, the drops didn’t feel as dramatic as the elevation map suggested, and I found the course a good challenge overall since a few rolling hills were sprinkled in near the latter half of the race. As for electrolyte fluids and water, the stations were well spaced for the most part, but I wished there was an extra water station between miles 24-26 as I was parched by the time due to the blistering sun. The ocean view on that last mile though was uplifting and definitely helped put some pep in my step.

The finisher’s medal had a nice design of waves with an insert for your photo, but the tech tee was somewhat plain. Free race photos were a plus though. Post-race food was not too exciting and consisted of a bagel, banana, fruit, and licorice. I did get to ring the BQ gong which was a nice touch after setting a PR and achieving my goal. Overall, I found this race well-organized and runner-friendly, though the post-race fuel could use some improvement.