My Profile
@KevinD
Los Angeles, CA Raving since 2016 Marathon Maniacs #12039, Half Fanatics #13249 Active 7 years, 10 months agoAbout Me
My Races
Organize, track & review your races and personal bests here.
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Future Races
Personal Bests (1)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountains 2 Beach Marathon & Half Marathon | Marathon | Ojai, CA | May 29, 2016 | 3:32:39 |
Future Races (0)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Paid |
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Past Races (3)
| Race | Distance | Location | Date | Result | My Raves | My Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego | Marathon | San Diego, CA | Jun 5, 2016 | 3:47:49 |
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| Mountains 2 Beach Marathon & Half Marathon | Marathon | Ojai, CA | May 29, 2016 | 3:32:39 |
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| San Francisco Marathon | Marathon | San Francisco, CA | Jul 26, 2015 |
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Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego
Big race, nice location
Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego
Rock 'n' Roll San Diego is a pretty large race, though most participants are half marathoners. The expo is commensurately large, so if you like having a lot of vendors … MORE
Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego is a pretty large race, though most participants are half marathoners. The expo is commensurately large, so if you like having a lot of vendors to go through, it might be a good opportunity. I signed up during an early registration and paid only $69 to enter, which made it well worth it. The finisher’s jacket for the marathoners is really nice – it’s Brooks and while it is very light, it doesn’t feel cheap like a lot of other race jackets.
The course is pretty great. There’s a significantly hill at the end of the race and you run on a freeway. That is definitely the toughest part of the race, but there’s also a lot of rolling hills. While that makes for a more difficult course, it’s also more engaging as a runner to have different terrains. There’s also a fair amount of crowd support during the race.
Finish line festival was fun, but be prepared to walk a lot at the end of the race. I’m not sure that’s avoidable due to the number of participants.
My main criticism of the race is two fold: pacers seemed to be virtually non-existent. My personal opinion is that a race of this size should have two pacers for every group, and the *only* pacers I saw were a 1:45 half and a 3:40 full. That was it. And believe me, I looked before and during the race. My other criticism is that they started the half and the full at the same time, which I really don’t like. Typically, marathoners begin first, then half marathoners 15 or 30 minutes later, which reduces some of the congestion. It was crowded at the start consequently, but it wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been.
I’d definitely run this again, but at the right price. I believe day before pricing was nearing (or possibly over $200). For that, it would be a no-go, but if you can get an entry under $100 and would like a big race feel, this is a good option.
Mountains 2 Beach Marathon & Half Marathon
Big city caliber, small town feel
Mountains 2 Beach Marathon & Half Marathon
I've run many marathons (18) and half marathons (15), as well as many other races (ultra, 5Ks, 10Ks, relays, etc.) and Mountains 2 Beach still remains one of my favorite … MORE
I’ve run many marathons (18) and half marathons (15), as well as many other races (ultra, 5Ks, 10Ks, relays, etc.) and Mountains 2 Beach still remains one of my favorite races I’ve ever done, which is why I opted to sign up again after my first race in 2015. This race has a nice local flair to it, but maintains a small and intimate feel. If you are interested in a fast course, sign up when registration opens. The race *will* sell out, and the marathon will sell out quickly. The half marathon stays open a bit longer, as the prospect for a BQ makes the marathon a major draw for this race. They changed the marathon course slightly this year, but it retains many of the elements that made me enjoy the course in the first place. You run on wider paths than in past years, which is a nice perk as the bike path can get a little crowded at points. If you need a lot of crowd support, this may not be the right race for you – that’s not a knock against the race, but the location for the first 22 miles or so doesn’t lend itself to a lot of spectators. That said, toward the finish you are in downtown Ventura and around the pier, and support there is strong. The weather this year was nearly optimal race weather – cool but not freezing, lots of cloud coverage. The organization of this event is really well-done and well-orchestrated. Parking in downtown Ventura is easy in the morning, and you are shuttled to the start as this is a point-to-point race. The scenery, of course, is lovely for the large majority of the course. Ojai is absolutely charming, and this year the first 11 miles take you on a loop around town before hitting the long downhill stretch toward Ventura.
I just love this race – I can’t speak highly enough about it. I should caveat all of this by saying I am an ambassador for this race, but my thoughts and opinions of this race are my own. The whole reason I applied to be an ambassador was because of how much I loved the race in 2015, and 2016 was no different and I think, in fact, improved upon the experience of 2015 with the changes to the course. As someone who tries to not repeat races unless they are really special to me, this is one I will try to keep on my race calendar for years to come. It should be noted that this course is ideal for a PR. It has a very gentle downhill for a large portion of it which keeps you flying without killing your legs. I PR’d this year on the course, and hope to do it again next year.
The expo is good too – but remember this is a small race. The expo isn’t as small as some local races I’ve been to, but don’t expect LA Marathon or Rock n Roll levels, either. But the whole operation was smooth and fast – but there were enough vendors to make it interesting. My opinion on expos is if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, but that probably varies depending on the type of race and how many you’ve seen.
San Francisco Marathon
Could be so much more
San Francisco Marathon
First, I should say that I love San Francisco and was super excited to run this race. But for me, it really fell flat and did not do the city … MORE
First, I should say that I love San Francisco and was super excited to run this race. But for me, it really fell flat and did not do the city justice at all. Yes, the marathon (and the first 1/2 marathon) have the allure of running across the Golden Gate Bridge, but runners should also be aware that since the race begins so early, you could run the Golden Gate Bridge at 6AM on any given Sunday and have a similar experience as there won’t be any pedestrian traffic at that time.
As I mentioned, the start time is super early. While I don’t objectively have any issue with early start time, in SF you get the impression the purpose is solely so cars aren’t inconvenienced. After all, it’s rare you would experience a hot day there, so it would be nice to at least begin after the sun came up.
For a big city race, prepare for virtually no crowd support. It was bizarre. You also spend a lot of time looping around Golden Gate Park during the 2nd half of the marathon, which is quite boring. Lastly, the run through the city doesn’t take you through any particularly charming areas, which is a disappointment. I think this could be a really amazing marathon to showcase the city, but they don’t seem to utilize the beautiful SF scenery and architecture to the race’s advantage.
On the other hand, summer marathons are hard to come by in CA, so it’s nice to be able to have something on the calendar in July. With that said, I wouldn’t rush to run it again unless I got a really, really great deal. It’s not that the event was bad, per se, it’s that it could have been so much better and it fell short. People also talk about the hills, but honestly, I think this course was pretty middle of the road in terms of difficulty. None of the hills are particularly long or challenging. San Diego and San Luis Obispo are certainly far more challenging courses, and I’d say SF for me was on par with Los Angeles in terms of course difficulty.
I said I’d never run it again, and nearly 20 marathons deep SF is still among my least favorite races because it could have been so amazing, but it doesn’t seem to be something the city wants to showcase. What a shame. With all that said, I do feel a little bit of FOMO not having it on my race calendar this summer.