My Profile

@mahesh3566

Irvine, CA Raving since 2016 Run Roll Rest Repeat Active 6 years, 11 months ago

About Me

  • Running club(s):

    A Snail's Pace Running Club

  • Rave race:
  • Race that's calling my name:
  • I run because:

    I love running!

My Races

Organize, track & review your races and personal bests here.

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Half Marathon

Marathon

Ultramarathon

(Marathon or Ultra) + Half

Marathon + Ultra

Other

Future Races

Personal Bests (3)

Race Distance Location Date Result
Half Marathon Carlsbad, CA Jan 15, 2017 1:40:16
10K Huntington Beach, CA Oct 16, 2016 47:41
5K Coronado, CA Jul 4, 2016 23:15

Future Races (0)

Race Distance Location Date Paid

Past Races (16)

Race Distance Location Date Result My Raves My Performance
10K Huntington Beach, CA Oct 15, 2017
Marathon Long Beach, CA Oct 8, 2017
5K Carlsbad, CA Apr 2, 2017
Half Marathon Encinitas, CA Mar 26, 2017 1:41:11
Half Marathon Carlsbad, CA Jan 15, 2017 1:40:16
Half Marathon Riverside, CA Dec 4, 2016 1:42:05
Half Marathon Ventura, CA Oct 22, 2016 1:47:22
10K Huntington Beach, CA Oct 16, 2016 47:41
Half Marathon Long Beach, CA Oct 9, 2016 1:51:04
Marathon Relay Irvine, CA Sep 3, 2016
5K Coronado, CA Jul 4, 2016 23:15
5K Huntington Beach, CA Jun 25, 2016 23:19
5K Corona Del Mar, CA Jun 4, 2016 24:10
Half Marathon Laguna Hills, CA May 30, 2016 1:56:31
5K Del Mar, CA Apr 24, 2016 23:47
5K Carlsbad, CA Apr 3, 2016 24:43

My Raves

If its upto me, each city should have its own half marathon and 5ks. Nothing brings out people as community than races! I am glad Encinitas joins growing number of … MORE

If its upto me, each city should have its own half marathon and 5ks. Nothing brings out people as community than races! I am glad Encinitas joins growing number of cities that are adding a signature race to their calendar! This was their inaugural race, and organized by same people that do the surfing madonna race. So the race directors knew what they were doing. The social media reach of this race was very well seen, as they constantly posted on fb and other digital social media about the course and swags. For an inaugural race, the course attracted about 4008 people. Its a pretty big crowd for a first year race! I also like that its just half marathon. There is a beauty in just a single distance. When I do races where they have 5k, half and full, a lot of time you are passing someone and you can’t tell if its good or bad. I have passed people that were walking from the earlier race which confuses me a lot. The course was advertised as ‘fast and flat’, but its more san diego flat, not OC flat. it was pretty h illy course if you ask me, and I struggled quite a bit. (if you are familiar with OC’s corona del mar scenic 5k course – its similar to that). The race swag was nothing out of ordinary. A nice shirt, a solid medal, and a cheesy marathon mug. I like it tho!

There were aid stations and water stations, wish there were few more of it.

All in all I like the race, and the course. I wouldnt cancel any other favorite race to add this to my list, but if you find yourself free during this race weekend – make it there! They also had a very liberal policy around transfers, ( to other people, and to future races etc). I respect and like that a lot about a race! YOu can tell they werent expecting that much crowd, coz their site went crashing the race night. Race results werent online until next day. But results were posted at the course if you took the time to check the printouts!

DIFFICULTY
4
PRODUCTION
4
SCENERY
4
SWAG
3

1 member marked this review helpful. Agree?

TriCrown is a must do race series if you are as race crazed as I am. Carlsbad, La Joll and San Diego (AFC) courses are some fo the beautiful courses. … MORE

TriCrown is a must do race series if you are as race crazed as I am. Carlsbad, La Joll and San Diego (AFC) courses are some fo the beautiful courses. I believe we have most amazing runners that participate in these races, and every time I run a race here in San Diego, my heart fills with gratitutde and joy! here are 5 reasons I like this race and why you should too!
1. Beautiful Course which was not as Hilly
Its not a flat course, or all down hill course, but its relatively sane. with few hills here and there. Its an out and back course, so if you go down, you come back up and if you go up you eventually come back down, so it all balances out at the end. The course is beautiful, running by the ocean for majority of it. Its absolutely breath taking when I got to mile 3/4, and to look at the entire course, and the ocean view by it! Their course runs about .1 longer, so be patient with your Garmin time and the race finish line!

2. Aid Stations and Cheer all through the course
I have run races, where I absolutely saw no one in the course cheering. (its true!). But this is a race to remember for people that showed up and cheered along the entire course, Not just at mile 1, but all the way to mile 6 and back! Aid stations were plenty. If I am not mistaken, it seemed pretty much every mile had an aid station, with water and electrolytes. The Volunteers were some of the best I have ever seen. Tons of them! Super Cheerful! Even if you aren’t feeling upto running,t his crowd will sure pump you up to get a PR!

3. Generous Free Parking right by the start line
Parking is always a nightmarish situation when I plan my San Diego county races, but this one is a cake walk. Being out and back course, where you start is where you finish, it gives you so much convenience, not having to be Bussed to the start line or anything like that. The start line is by a mall, so there is plenty of parking. So you don’t have to rush to get there any earlier than you need to. It’s right by the freeway so it wasn’t any hassle to get to the mall with street closures. I liked the convenience of it!

4. Swag Swag Swag
Best Swag. Period. Part of the bib pick up, they gave me a tech long sleeve T which is almost $20 worth. And a 1/4 zip jacket, which is almost $50 worth. Its well made, and infact, I got a wrong size so my boy friend loved wearing it to work today. Its absolutely beautiful looking jacket! I usually get medium for jackets, but go with your regular tshirt sizes for jacket as well. the Medium I got ran too large.

5. Beer Garden (with one beer)
I love when races have beer garden. Its not so much I love drinking beer, but it usually gives me an excuse to sip something and sit down and reflect on my race and socialize with fellow runners who have just finished races. Its hard to stop and ask someone how their race was at the finish line, but its nice to chat with people at a beer garden. I am glad they had one here. (AFC – please take notes!). For the first time Carlsbad Half Marathon/Marathon had beer garden with my favorite Ballast Point Brewery beer. We were only given one beer, which is kind of sad, but I am glad we had that. (More beers next year? Pls!)

DIFFICULTY
3
PRODUCTION
5
My Report
SCENERY
5
SWAG
5

1 member marked this review helpful. Agree?

I have lived in Orange County about 16 years now, and if its not for Lexus Laceup Running Series Races, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go visit Ventura, … MORE

I have lived in Orange County about 16 years now, and if its not for Lexus Laceup Running Series Races, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go visit Ventura, Palos Verdes orRiverside! I live and work in Irvine in Orange County, and my life revolves around San Diego, LA and OC mostly and I had no reasons to go to these places! But I am glad I got to go run these towns, because of Lexus Laceup Running Series!

The last stop of the series was this Sunday at Riverside. Those of you that have been running this entire series would have noticed this is the only Sunday race, and every other ones were on Saturday. Why? I don’t know, but in hind sight, I like Sunday races better! I feel like I have more time to rest/carb load and hydrate all day Saturday!

I originally thought the Riverside Course was hilly, hillier than the Palos Verdes from their elevation chart on their website, but my running buddy Victor, sent his last year’s course chart, and I realized it was a tough course, but not as tough as Palos Verdes. This helped to revise how I wanted to run this race. For Palos Verdes, I wanted to start off with the aim of 1:50 pace, and as I go , I thought I would speed, and cut time. But with Riverside, I wanted to start off faster, and as I go decided to slow down. I am still learning, and I don’t know what the right approach is, but for Riverside, this approach paid off, as I finished with a new PR of 1:42. There had been couple of factors that helped with this time. Its been super cold last few weeks, and I feel like I run little faster in the cold. The race day at Riverside started off at 45 degree, which tremendously helped with the time. On top of that, just few days ago Mike Bertram from our running group offered to pace my 5 mile training at 7:30 pace, which helped me get a taste of running at this speed a little bit.

The course itself was pretty good course, tough at times, but it was fun nevertheless. It had a small residential loop, that we climbed up about 80 ft at a stretch. Other than that it was mostly an out and back loop.

Compare to other events of this series, Riverside event, at Fairmont Park, had a big space for their post event expo. As I already got used to their events by now, it was again one of the well organized, coordinated event, with options for same day bib pickup, nice tech-t-shirt, gear check, enough portable toilets, nice water bottles, photo print booth! Compare to the previous events, they stepped up their results booth, with a scanner, so getting the result was much faster this time! I usually don’t bother checking my time, as I don’t ever place as I am still trying to get better time, but you should have seen the smile on my face, when I learnt I got the 3rd place in my age division!

One of the thing I like about this race is, even tho Lexus is the main sponsor, the way they go about injecting Lexus brand name into the event. Its done very so subtle way, as an immersion of the brand to everyone that come run this race! The race focus is to get families and runners to come participate, run , enjoy, and while doing it get to see the Lexus car, and see how luxurious it is, without sounding it as a sales event! Its an art, and somehow this event group managed to make this happen! When I talk to others, I can tell how much everyone love this event! I am pretty sure these events managed to get Lexus as a house hold name and brand for these 1000+ runners that ran the event!
So Cal does have series medals, but its mostly different races try to come up with an idea of ‘series’ like the Tri-crown in SD or beach cities in OC/LB. But Lexus series is similar race experience, but localized with each town the race happens. The courses are different, the medals are different, Its kind of same experience, but I am looking forward to what this specific town has it as a twist! And, to me it seems like they have represented the cities in a very best of way, and in a good mix. To have me drive 5 mins to go run in Irvine (down the street from me), to get me to drive 2 hrs to get Ventura and run the trail and ocean side, and an hour to get to Palos Verdes to run the beautiful hilly seaside course, and to run in Riverside, at a park – its a very beautifully mixed experience. I got to experience each community at these cities part of this race!

he post race Food truck line up was pretty awesome. They always good pretty good name trucks down, and this race was no exception! and Sierra Nevada beers have always been a fixture at the post race party! I enjoyed both!

DIFFICULTY
5
PRODUCTION
5
SCENERY
4
SWAG
5
My Media

3 members marked this review helpful. Agree?

Lexus Laceup Ventura is my second Lexus Laceup Running series Stop. I genuinely like Lexus Laceup Running series. Its one of the well coordinated races. The word ‘Hospitality’ is what … MORE

Lexus Laceup Ventura is my second Lexus Laceup Running series Stop. I genuinely like Lexus Laceup Running series. Its one of the well coordinated races. The word ‘Hospitality’ is what I think of when I attend their races. They allow race day BIB pickup/registration. Their online registration is open all the way into the race weekend. They usually bring out water/electrolyte/snacks prior to the race! There is always enough portable toilets. The ambassador discount codes are way more generous with a 30% off. Its very affordable in any sense. You get a nice quality tech-t, a finisher medal you would be proud to show off, and a shopping bag, which I think will help out any triathlete, to carry their wet clothes! Apart from that, the BIB comes with free tickets for food and beer! There is photo booth at the expo, and free shoe give away part of the instagram posts ( if you post with #lexuslaceup and get highest like). I also like the water stations where they give out beautiful water bottles to take home! This is pretty much standard at all of their races. To top it all of you get to download free race photos!

exus Laceup Ventura had everything and some more. Picture perfect weather to start the running at 7am for half/10k. The course even tho had a elevation gain of about 150, also had a drop after, which helped with better time. It was an out and back course for a bit, but they managed in such a way that you don’t feel bored of the course. For Half, the course ran through streets, into the beach with a gorgeous ocean view, and into the trail.

One thing I would say that is common in both Irvine Lexus Laceup race weekend and here, is the people! Everyone is super friendly. Between Half/5k and 10k they had little over 600 people which is typical for this race. If you are used to running with thousands of people you might get weirded out, but I do like small races.

They had Beast Pacing pacers at the race, and I initially wanted to follow the 1:50 pacer, but the weather was really good, so I thought I would just chase my own pace today! The course was pretty normal flat course for about 4 miles, and uphill for the next 4, and downhill for the last 4. It was a good mix. I finished with 1:47, but I would attribute that to the nice weather we had!

My boy friend had to work, so we left right after the race, after checking our results, but the expo seemed fun! I wish I had stopped by to get a lexus photo print.
One thing I would say about this race is if you are doing other big city races with lot of people, this is a good way to get your training/pre-race run in. They mark every mile, and with aid stations, and for a less than $60, this is a perfect race to try out before your big race!

DIFFICULTY
4
PRODUCTION
5
SCENERY
4
SWAG
5

2 members marked this review helpful. Agree?

I just wanted to run a descent pace of 8:00 mins, as I have just run a 7:58 pace at Irvine Lexus Laceup Marathon Relay for a 5.24 mile distance … MORE

I just wanted to run a descent pace of 8:00 mins, as I have just run a 7:58 pace at Irvine Lexus Laceup Marathon Relay for a 5.24 mile distance – a month ago, and I have been consistently running a 8:15/8:20 pace during my training runs. The weather was perfect, with a little mist and absolutely no harsh sun! At the end of the race, I was pleasantly surprised with my finish time of 47:41 min, which was unbelievable, but I don’t mind accepting a PR of 7:41 pace for a 10k.

As much joy as it was to see my PR time, I had a doubt in my mind that this couldn’t be right. So I did some research, and luckily I have several of my friends who ran the same race, so I got to check their time. Especially my Snail’s Pace Pacers, who did the 8:00 min pace at the 10k. The 8:00 min snail’s pace pacers reported 8:01 on their Strava as finish time however the race result had them at 7:44 pace. If you know anything about our Snail’s pace pacers, they get stressed out, if they finish sooner, because they like to keep on time, and not over-run their speed as that they will put their group at risk. I ran with the 8:00 min pace group, and they consistently made the 8:00 min mark, with a second or two to bank. So a 7:44, was unrealistic. Looking through several of our data, it was pretty obvious the course was short by .2 mile distance. I would have been 49 mins, with a 7:55 pace possibly.

Anyways, if you ran your 10k at Surfcity, chances are you ran your PR at this race, and congrats on your PR. As much as I am congratulating myself on my own PR of 7:41, I am taking it to my heart that, my time really was 7:55 not 7:41, so for my next race, I would still aim for 7:50 as my realistic goal.

With that, lets get to the Goods and Bad and my brunch suggestion for this race! (FYI: Next year’s registration is open at super cheap price of $35 for 10k.)

GOODs

Good Start time & Perfect Weather
I know the race director has nothing to do with the weather, but the day turned out to be beautiful and perfect for the run! It was nice and cold and misty. the 10 milers started at 7:00 am, the 10k team started at 7:45 am and the 5k team started around 8:15 am. The timing was perfect. we all finished close to 8:30 or so, and the Sun wasn’t out with its harsh waves up until 9:30.

Beautiful almost flat Course
It was an out back loop on PCH right by the HB Pier/Beach. the 10milers/10k and 5k all shared the same road, but they looped around at different points. Slight hills if you can call it. I liked the fact that I could see the entire course in my eye sight as its pretty flat. the 10k people were back on the other side, by the time we were on mile 2, so it was nice cheering them as we ran through our miles! On the way back We saw the 5k runner speed through. It was a very different dynamic, as I passed lot of 10milers, but lot of 5Kers passed us. You run the entire course by the water, so its such a pretty site, and the idea of looking at the HB Pier on the way back is all the more reason to get to the finish line faster!

Snail’s Pace Pacers
Its nice that they provide pacers for 10ks. Being my first year of running, I like to run with pacers, to help keep my pace consistent. I followed the 8:00min pacers, and they did a great job of being consistent. Sometime the pacers go out too fast, to make up for time later, and throw you off, but none of that happened with these guys! Great energy running with them!

Almost Everyone ran our PRs at 10k
Its not good, but they made a mistake and ended up with a .2mile short on 10k turn around, so most everyone ran our PRs! I know my time is not real, but it does make me happy! lol. Infact, I wish they keep it this way for next year too!(JK!)

Love my medal and tech-t
I absolutely love my medal and tech-t! The material feels expensive, and its tailored well, and the color is gorgeous! Infact, I wore it to work today! Surfcity 10 medals are one of the best medals out there. (Surfcity 10 medals are on the top 11 medals in US/Active.com list and they sure lived up to the expectation!)

Friendly people
Lot of my South Coast Road Runner/Snail’s Pace running group members were running this race, along with my friends Priscilla, Amber, Lisa , Meghan and of course my BF! It was such a fun time on the course, cheering my fellow running group buddies! I saw my running mentor Marc Owen speed through his mile 9 as I was on my mile 2. Ran into our friend Judy on the course! Ran with Cathy for a few mins. It was so much fun, as I ran through the miles, to cheer my friends and hear my friends cheer me. also, since the course was out and back, we had tons of opportunities to cheer most everyone as we looped around.

Plenty of Rest Rooms
There is nothing like seeing rows of porta Potties at a race start. Since the race start line was at the beach, there already tons of Rest rooms along the beach /board walk. There were also porta potties at the start line.

Plenty of Water Stations
They had about 3 water stations, but because of the out and back it turned out to be passing them about 4 to 6 times depending on the mile one was running. They had tons of volunteers, and no shortage on water! I was impressed with the aid station, and the offerings.

Awesome Announcers Fitz and Andrea
If there is one thing that turns me off, is to see a random DJ who never ran a mile in his day, cheering group of runners. But to keep our spirits up they got Fitz Koehler and Andrea Kooiman as announcers! Fitz is the creator of the ‘Morning Mile’ program that encourages school children to walk/run. Andrea Kooiman is a seasoned ultra-runner, who also part of the We Run Orange County’s Kids, a nonprofit, public-service corporation that provides after-school intervention programs for Middle and High School students in the Orange County, California area. Seeing these ladies cheer the crowd – was something special and inspiring!

Parking
Parking was good, as long as you knew how to drive into HB /Main beach on race day. There were street parking, and also the parking at the beach for $15. There was no issue finding parking even if you come in last minute.

BADs
an extra .3 mile added to 10miler was no fun
Lot of 10milers reported their course was little over 10miles. I think around .3 extra miles. I am glad I wasn’t running, but those who ran 10milers had to work a little hard!

Recommendation for Post Race Brunch
My friends and I believe in Burnch. Our friend Lisa recommended WaterTable at the Hyat Resort for our Post Race Brunch. . Its reasonably priced, and I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast with a $8 zonin champagne! It was an easy walk-in brunch place, and the brunch entrees ranges from 14 to 19$s. There is a buffet for $29 if you are really hungry. My Crab Hash benedict was about $18, and super delicious.

DIFFICULTY
2
PRODUCTION
3
SCENERY
4
SWAG
5
My Media

1 member marked this review helpful. Agree?

Long Beach Half Marathon is my 4th Half Marathon. At this point, I am mentally prepared for a 13 mile distance. I know it is going to take about 2 … MORE

Long Beach Half Marathon is my 4th Half Marathon. At this point, I am mentally prepared for a 13 mile distance. I know it is going to take about 2 hours and all I have to do when I am on the course is to count my blessings every time when the Garmin Mile Beeper goes off. Over all I enjoyed the Long Beach Half Marathon, and here is my list of 11 things I liked and 2 things I didn’t! (Also, this is my first of the Beach Cities Challenge. I will be doing the Surfcity Half in February and OC Half in May.)

What I liked

#1 Nice Scenic Flat Course with almost no Hills
The course was beautiful. We started not far from the Pike Outlets, passing through downtown, Queen Mary and light house. The beach part of the course is nice. The last 4 miles is back on the Ocean Blvd, with people cheering!. Not that many hills, but there are some minor spikes of 30 to 60 ft few times.

#2 Well Organized Expo with tons of Freebies/Race Discounts.
I have picked up bib at expos in the past, but the Long Beach Marthon weekend expo was one of the well organized one. Tons of vendors were there giving out free stuff. Lot of races were on site, providing discounts, and on-site registration saving tons of money on registration! Orange County’s standard running stores were all present with their discounts. I spent good amount of time talking to several different race exhibits, and vendors. I recommend anyone to attend the expo, even if you aren’t doing the race here just for the race discounts they provide onsite. (Disney Super Hero Race was $35 off!).

#3 Excellent Parking Arrangement
Race organizers and the city has worked together so well, to provide excellent parking for the attendants. Pike parking was ‘prepaid’ only, assuring a spot for sure. Its such a relief not having to worry about parking situation on the race morning. It was very reasonable at $10. There were other alternate options provided as well, covering everyone! I kept wondering how will 15,000 people find parking in that little downtown, but it worked out perfectly fine! Kudos to the race team!

#4 Awesome Medal and tech-T
I am not an elite runner, aiming for age divisions or front pack awards, so my gratification is the fact that I get to run a race with tons of like minded people, and get a nice finisher medal to take home as souvenir. (Mind you, I am the kind of person who collects refrigerator magnet from every airport I visit, yes – including orange county airport and I know I live here – still!). I absolutely adore the finisher medal! The tech-t was very high quality and something I would love to wear to work or in public!

#5 Plenty of Water/Electrolyte Stations
Every mile and half had a water stations, and enough frequent Nuun electrolyte stations. I don’t carry water bottle when I run, so It was such a treat to have that many water stations! I know it takes tons of volunteers to execute that many water stations, but the race team did an excellent job! I loved it!

#6 Donut Station at Mile 9
Believe it or not, at mile 9, they were handing out Donuts! What is not to like about that…..

#7 Excellent Race Announcer
I am so glad to see Long Beach Marathon race team didn’t invite some random DJ to come cheer people on, but rather invited a serious athletes like Rudy Novotny & Fitz. They knew how to keep the crowd motivated/inspired. Rudy brought in other Boston elites to the stage and shouted out to veterans! It was a good spirited start because of the announcement team! Congrats to them!

#8 Snail’s Pace – Race Pacers
Snail’s Pace team provided race pacers, and the race pacers were available at most every time. I followed the 1:50 pacer to the most part of the race, and missed them at mile 9, as my body gave up because of the heat, but still managed to score a 1:51 time. Pacers are such a blessing for any race, and I am glad they had the pacers at the race helping everyone!

#9 Well thought out Official Program Booklet
Usually at races, I get a page of printout about the race day events, but Long Beach Marathon went out in full force and published a well thought out Official Program Booklet. It had every information I needed, about driving directions on race day, road closure, parking, elevation and other key information.

#10 jetBlue Flight Ticket Giveaways
I didn’t win, but it was nice to know they were giving out jetBlue Flight tickets at the race to 550 marathoners, and few half marathoners! It was extraordinary that they do that at the race! I absolutely love jetBlue for embracing Long Beach and helping with this race the way they did!

#11 High Tech Race Result Page
I work as a computer engineer, and numbers and graph make me happy! Every race has a race result at the end, but Long Beach race had a high tech race result page, that was such a delight to my data science loving brain. The page included percentage lead, and how many people passed/got passed and other vital information! Also, where I was when the first finisher finished! Good job on this reporting https://www.runpix.co/arace10/11/lbc16/rp.php.

What I didn’t Like

#1 Start time and the Heat
Half Marathon started at 7:30, with waves leaving through 8:00am. I know its fall, but still it feels like summer time heat and October mornings are always a bet with temperature. By the time we hit the boardwalk, the sun was out in full force, so we ended up running against the sun for 4 miles, and the sun heating up our back for another 4 miles as we turned around into Ocean Blvd. I wish the start time was little earlier – around 6:30 or even 7:00 consistent with other race start times. 7:30 is just too late of a start time for a race!

#2 Raffle announcement at the Start line
I am a genuinely happy person to see others win and proper, but something about raffle ticket announcements that just doesn’t sit well with me.When the numbers get called out and I realize I didn’t have the winning number, it does disappoint me for a fraction of second. At the running races, at the front line, I like to spend my first few minutes to gather all my positive vibes and energy and get into the race mode, but the announcers having to announce the JetBlue Free Ticket at the start line right before the race, did take a min away from my ‘zone mode’. I wish they had done that another time, not at the start line, making every one else start off on a bad note – that we didn’t win a ticket. Congrats to the winning person tho!

My request to Race Organizers for next year’s race!
-You have done an amazing job executing such an extraordinary race with about 13,000 people running the race + more participating with them! Congrats!
-Can you please consider a early start time for half marathon. 7:30 is too late, and the heat was bad. Or please provide an early start as an option. This will help us a lot!!
-I love you guys giving out raffle, but can you please not do that at the start of the race, but may be later! We like to be in our positive mindset and mood to get through the miles!

My note to fellow Runners who want to run this next year!
-If the race start time doesn’t change, just be prepared for the heat and the sun. Lot of fast runners I personally know, ran slower this year, so reset your expectation and enjoy the run if you don’t make your PR.
-Be careful around the Shoreline Aquatic Park area. I hit a kiosk cart, parked on the side, not looking ahead. Not a good thing. Its better to look ahead but I have a tendency to look down, as a way of tricking my brain not to think too much about the run, but backfired on me, given the narrow route in this area, with lot of stuff on the side walk. So be careful!
-I was worried about the drive into downtown, but if you take 710, its a breeze to get into parking lot.-
-Make sure to check out the Expo. Its so worth it!
-Its not a good idea to be in the first wave if you run slow, but if the start time is 7:30, I would say you cut the line and go with wave 1. The longer you wait, the hotter it will get close to the second half of the race! If you are already a slow runner, you will be running in heat wave for most of your race. If the start time is early , do respect the wave rules!

DIFFICULTY
2
PRODUCTION
5
My Report
SCENERY
4
SWAG
4
My Media

2 members marked this review helpful. Agree?

My friends Amber, Agatha, Ashley, my boy friend Matt and I did the Lexus Laceup Marathon Relay in Irvine back in September. It was one of the well organized races, … MORE

My friends Amber, Agatha, Ashley, my boy friend Matt and I did the Lexus Laceup Marathon Relay in Irvine back in September. It was one of the well organized races, I have been to. Lexus Laceup races attract close to 600 to 700 people. If you are tired of big city races with thousands of people, this is a good break! As much as I enjoy races like Long Beach Half Marathon with thousands of fellow runners, once in a while its nice to run a race that is not that crowded.

At the Irvine race, the medals were beautiful. There were photo booths ( I still have my printed photo from the event!). Gourmet Food trucks, served up nice delicious brunch, as the race entry includes free food. To top it all off, there was a beer garden, with Sierra Nevada beers. Even big races like America’s Finest City aren’t offering beer, so I can always appreciate an opportunite to re-carb after a run! They were giving out these beautiful Lexus Water Bottles at the event, which are still my favorite! The race itself, was a nice out and back course, on a trail. Being a small race, means, most everyone had a chance at their age division awards

Lexus Laceup Running series is 4 parts. Irvine was their first one. Ventura, Palos Verdes(their most sought after race, that attracts 1000 people and sells out fast!), and riverside are the next 3 stops. You get a challenge medal at the end of the seiries which is one of the biggest race medal I have so far!

I really like running LExus Laceup Races!

DIFFICULTY
3
PRODUCTION
5
SCENERY
3
SWAG
5

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I was looking for a 4th of July Race and this one stood out because of its history and the idea of running in the beautiful Coronado Island! The price … MORE

I was looking for a 4th of July Race and this one stood out because of its history and the idea of running in the beautiful Coronado Island! The price of the race was reasonable. (If you register its better, but close to the end it was about 40$, but look for coupons before you register). Its a very well organized race, and you can pickup the bib on the race day. They open at 5:30am so its pretty convenient.

If you live in SD or close this is a perfect race. But for me to drive from Irvine, at an awful early hour was little too much. so Unless you live in the area, consider either staying close to SD the day before!

the worst part was parking. they had designated parking for runners, but if you already had Bib picked up the day before. Being out of towners, we had to pick ours on the day of the race, so we couldnt use that space. Street parking was like a last minute race, and we found a parking like a mile from where the start line was. It wasnt bad. The Mariot next to the start line has valet parking for 35$, but cash only, so be prepared for that, if you want to park there. Its a good alternate if you can afford, and have cash in hand!

The race has a 12k(7.4) and 5k. I did the 5k, but the 12k I think just loops the same 5k path twice. The medals were nice. Nothing like Carlsbad 5000 or other races, but descent.

if you are into parades, you might want to stay after the race for coronado 4th of July parade.

the one thing i have to say was really impressive and good, is the number of porta potties. they were at every street corner, so dont worry about finding a restroom prior to the race. there are tons with no lines! that is a great plus, and if you run races early morning you know what a blessing that is!

I liked the race, but being in OC, i would find something close to me next time, but if you live in SD keep this on your list!

DIFFICULTY
3
PRODUCTION
4
SCENERY
4
SWAG
3
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SoCal Pirates Run 5k is organized by Caren Ware, who is a National Champion and world class athlete, a USA Track & Field Level II Coach. The race itself can … MORE

SoCal Pirates Run 5k is organized by Caren Ware, who is a National Champion and world class athlete, a USA Track & Field Level II Coach. The race itself can be a real race, or fun race depending on how you want to do it. The race is 5k, and chip timed, and you get all the things that come with a real race, which is age group awards, time/pace at the end of the race, and your time doesnt start until you cross the start line ( so ignore the crowd etc). ITs also a fun activity for familis, as its at the beach, and everyone is encouraged to wear costumes. ITs at Bolsa CHica Beach, so if you live close by it could be a family/fun activity.

Unlike most races, this is on a Saturday which I absolutely love, Most races are on sunday, which means you have to spend entire saturday worrying about the race day, but this one can be super casual! The medals were beautiful! and this particular race, I saw lot of kids run the race, and a 3 year old got a medal for his under 6 age group – the most adorable thing! and every one gets a finisher medal, which I am all in support of! that is how every race should be!

It costs about 35$s, but you can look up discount codes, and also sign up old school skipping internet, and save money on processing fee.

Being an Athelete, I think Caren has the most relaxing policy with bib pickups. You can pick up on the day of the race (yay!), and if you pick up the day before you can pick up for others in your party with little proof(Yay again!). The tshirts we got were cute, and so were the beverage cozy!.

All in all, its a fun easy race, and if you are doing serious races, take a time off and do it, and its such a nice little break – everything you want in a race + fun!(No beer tho, being state beach and no alcohol policy.. !)

DIFFICULTY
2
PRODUCTION
4
SCENERY
4
SWAG
3

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I was in between races. I just finished my first half marathon on memorial day (may 30th), and I had the XTerra Trail Run race coming up on June 5th. … MORE

I was in between races. I just finished my first half marathon on memorial day (may 30th), and I had the XTerra Trail Run race coming up on June 5th. A friend of mine asked if I would like to do a 5k, as she had an extra ticket, I totally opted to do it, as a way to get in my training run before my sunday race. I wasnt expecting too much of this race, as the race route seems to be around bunch of streets in corona del mar, with a short run next to this beautiful ocean and beach! Little did I know this race would challenge me beyond my beliefs.

Apparently this is a local tradition, and the city has been organizing this event for almost 35 years now. I stood next to a gentleman, who has run all the 35 years! Such a privilege, and rich history to the race. May be their really old custom/history, they start the race for men at 7:55, and women at 8:30. Dont understand the logic, but that s how it is. But I did see some women run along with men at 7:55, because either they wanted to run with their spouse, or they didnt want to wait for another 30minutes). The race day this year was a nice foggy day, with little mist. Perfect temperature to run if you ask me. the race starts by the beach, and the first mile is not that hard, but you start to pick up little hills, on and off, and it killed me. Being streets it didnt look that steep, but boy oh boy it was hard! end of the mile 3, you get to run in a narrow bridge, so you might either speed up , or plan on staying behind whoever runs before you. You might gather your strength and run this bridge, as the finish line is just right after it.

Unlike other races, this race has a row of really nice restaurants providing you super delicious breakfast food, which is a plus, but I really wanted a banana after my run, and some electrolytes.

Its a local race, and very community centric, so if you live close by you should do this race, but I wouldnt recommend people to drop their life and fly down to do this race. becuase its not that crazy fun!

DIFFICULTY
4
PRODUCTION
4
SCENERY
4
SWAG
2

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Its not the best race but I still would give it a hearty 4 stars, and here is why. 1. I live in Irvine, so this race is literally 5mins … MORE

Its not the best race but I still would give it a hearty 4 stars, and here is why.

1. I live in Irvine, so this race is literally 5mins away. if you understand the logistics of driving to a race, awful early in the morning or late nights, you will realize what a convenience that is.

2. the startline is by Laguna Hills mall. Which means, there is plenty of parking.

3. The race starts at 7:30am which is pretty good time, the entire run can be in a pleasant nice temperature.

4. Its a community event, and you feel that every minute when you do this event. Part of the course, runs through Laguna Woods senior village and its beautiful, and to see the old people sitting by the side trying to cheer the runners, makes my heart melt. Lot of them are really old, and I am pretty sure they look forward to this event, like christmas. the first mile runs through this village, and looking at the residents cheering us made me emotional, I even forgot I was trying to race, and I was in the moment. You have to experience that. Its very different feeling running this race compare to all other races I have done.

5. Plenty Plenty water stations. and the the race includes a 5k/10k and a half marathon, and they have enough signs directing the different race groups so its not as confusing as it sounds when you initially read through their fliers.

6. for half marathoners, they have tons of electrolyte stations, and they were hading out gels, whcih was pretty amazing. and if you know how expensive they are, i feel like I got my moneys worth by grabbing enough for the trail and for some later. jk.

7. part of the course runs through the trail so its beautiful. Its up and down hill. you go down for half thew ay and climb back up. its a gradual climb, so nothing too steep. I would say its a pretty easy course.

8. I ran with some of the nicest people.

9. you kind of loop back so you get to see the people that are ahead of you , or behind you. it gives you a perspective in some odd strange way!

10. nice medal!

now the bad:(not that bad, but makes me not wanna give 5 star)
1. Its a pretty expensive race(100$for half, and about 40$ for 5k), but the tshirts/hats were pretty cheap looking. I dont think they get good sponsors, being a small event.but i have to remember they donate part of the money to military /camp pendleton, so that might be it.

2. The event is hosted by renegade race group, but the event itself doesnt have a facebook page or anything like that , so its hard to find the people that run the race and network ahead of time.

3. i wish they included free beer with it, but you have to pay 10$ for beer, which we didnt bother. but when you run long distance, recarbing is as critical!

4. their website had the route map, but they didnt have elevation graph or anything so it was hard to plan the pace.

5. the division placement medals were beer mugs, which was pretty stupid.

6. last but not least, your bib has a 5$ off coupon for 20$ at Rubys/laguna hills mall, and that is what you are running with for all the distance. kind of ghetto, but its a low key race!

final note: if you live close by and need a race do it. but if you are driving miles and miles, i woudl recommend either Ventura mountain2sea(May last week) or SD’s Rock nRoll(Jun 1st week) as alternative/better ones.

btw, this was my first time running a half marathon, so I will always remember this run for rest of my life!

DIFFICULTY
4
PRODUCTION
5
SCENERY
3
SWAG
5

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4.0 star rating 5/18/2016 Since one of our friend was doing the half marathon, while we wanted to wait and cheer her, we decided to do the 5k. This is … MORE

4.0 star rating 5/18/2016
Since one of our friend was doing the half marathon, while we wanted to wait and cheer her, we decided to do the 5k. This is one of the well organized event. I participated in OC Marathon/5k, but in OC 5k, you have to pay to park to pick up the bib, and you have to pay again the next day to park when you go to run. (10$ each), which is ridiculous. But La Jolla one is super chill. there is plenty of parking on the day of bib pickup , next to hiltons. the bib pickup itself was super easy. the next day they warned us about the downtown parking situation, so we got there early, and found the place where the buses were taking people to either half marathon startline, or the 5k start line. it was very efficient. the Run itself was nice, with hills. TOns of volunteers. there was only one water stop for 5k, which i was expecting. but with all the hills i wish there were atleast one more. the beer garden had plenty of beers for us. the lines werent that long. even tho about 5000+ people ran this race.

Only reason i give them 4 star is for the expensive 5k price, there arent any medals for 5k. but oh well, i guess they do the 5k just to keep people entertained, but their focus is half marathon. so if you want to do half do this, if you want to do 5k, check out the carlsbad 5000. the best!

DIFFICULTY
5
PRODUCTION
5
SCENERY
5
SWAG
3

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have run a race back in 2012 (surfcity), but Carlsbad 5k is my first official Race where I ran for time. Never having run a 5k with chip timing and … MORE

have run a race back in 2012 (surfcity), but Carlsbad 5k is my first official Race where I ran for time. Never having run a 5k with chip timing and serious stuff like that, I didnt know what to expect. I showed up with my bf and our friends to the race without realizing what an amazing experience I was in for! Its one of the popular 5ks out there, and the race medal is one of the top 10 best race medals!

Best:
1. Every one gets an awesome finisher medal.
2. 2 beers at the end of the race at the beer garden(one of the local brewery beer, not the corona or can stuff)
3. top notch tech tshirt.
4. if you register ahead of time, its only 20 to 25$ to register for the 5k.
5. there is no half marathon and other types of races, so you wont feel bad after you finish your 5k, and you see these half marathoners and full marathoners storming off, making you feel so little and stupid for your 3 mile run lol. this is important for me!
6. the race is pretty serious, with olympic elites making world records here.
7. the course is so beautiful right by the ocean. The race finishes before even you realize.
8. everyone runs. all ages, all body shapes, fitness level. there is a train track so watch out!
9. they allow race day pickups which is amazing especially if you are out of town person that treks here just for race. it seems choatic but its an organized choas to pick up packets on teh race day! and somehow they manage it well.
10. just to make you little special, they have first 250 finisher medals which is nice. to give you a sense of achievement even if you dont make top 3.

things I didnt like:
unfortunately there is nothing bad to say about this race.

Tip:
1. once you finish your run, head out and register for the next year right away as they offer the cheapest registration price here. (i paid 50$ on the regiration day, but for next year i paid 20$ which pays itself with all the freebie/goodies).

DIFFICULTY
4
PRODUCTION
5
SCENERY
5
SWAG
5

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