Surf City Marathon & Half Marathon

The Surf City Half is a good time by the beach! It’s flat, fast, and features nice (though somewhat repetitive) views of the beach.

Expo / pickup:

-The race expo and packet pick-up was set up outdoors at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington St. There were large, individual tents for bib pickup, shirt pickup, and merch sales. If you fancy the shirts from last year’s race, those are on sale at a discounted price. Smaller tents housed the sponsors and exhibitors. If you’re a Longboard Legacy Runner, the Legacy tent is located among the sponsor tents, not with the regular shirt pickup tent—it’s easy to miss. As you exit the expo, you’ll be greeted with photo ops including a surfboard/wave display, as well as rows of VW surf vans on display!

Parking/Pre-race:

-The start line is near the southern corner of Huntington St and PCH, so your closest parking options are public beach lots up and down PCH, or private parking garages at higher rates, including the Pacific City Mall or the Huntington Beach Pier. This year, the race also organized free shuttles from the Civic Center and Edison High School. The start-line and expo area had plenty of port-a-potties, and the local beach restrooms were also available (though less clean, I’ve heard!). The start corral was clearly divided by pace groups, but the front corral gates seemed to close pretty quickly, forcing late arrivers to start navigating from the back. One thing to keep in mind: the Marathon runners start over an hour before the Half, and the 5k runners start 45 minutes before the Half. There were many returning 5k participants crowding the area outside the corral, so it added to a slightly chaotic energy to proceedings.

Course:

-The Surf City Half Marathon is an out-and-back course, with the majority on the Pacific Coast Highway. Miles 1-3 go north on PCH, with hotels, restaurants, shops, and houses on your right, and Huntington Beach, including the Pier, on your left. Crowd support is strong in this stretch! Before Mile 3, you turn right onto Seapoint Street to head inland through residential neighborhoods, up the highest inclines of the course (my Strava noted a ~4% incline for about tenth of a mile). This portion was also the narrowest of the race since you’re going from a wide-open highway to smaller streets, and at the same time sharing the route with the full-marathoners. You make a loop near Overlook Park and the Bluffs residential area, head back down Seapoint Street, and return to PCH just ahead of Mile 6. Miles 6-8 are a flat stretch with Bolsa Chica State Beach on your left, and Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve on your right. It’s a neat experience to run with 2 different bodies of water on either side of you. The water stations and turnaround at Mile 8 are the start of your long trek back. Miles 8-11 can be the toughest because the sun is starting to emerge, but this year’s cloud cover provided some great relief. The second steepest “hill” kicks in at Mile 10.5, right when your legs are getting heavy. Miles 11-13 are the home stretch—familiar beach sights and the return of the crowd’s cheers give you a boost right when you need it. It’s a flat, straight shot all the way to the finish line, a great ending to the race!

Scenery/Weather/Support:

-The Surf City Half’s greatest strength is the views of the beach. On the other hand, the particular view of the beach doesn’t vary much. It’s the same type of beach, from basically the same elevation, with only the intensity of the sun increasing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very pretty view of the beach, but the monotony adds a grind to the second half of the race. And when you can’t look at the beach it’s because you’re staring at parking lots filled trucks and RVs blocking your view of the beach. Hydration stations serving water and electrolytes were adequate, the Chargel gels at Mile 8 were refreshing, and the volunteers were awesome. Crowd support and bands/DJs in the 1-2 miles near the start/finish line was great, but it is relatively quiet for the rest of the race, especially when coming back. Temperatures at the start line began in the mid-50s. It was a cloudy day, perfect for running, and temperatures were just about to hit 60 degrees when I finished.

Post-race:

-Finish-line goodies included your finisher medal, Aquafina water, Snyder’s Mini Pretzels, a Dole Fruit cup, an Over Easy Oatmeal Raisin breakfast bar, a banana, and TruMoo chocolate milk. The post-race festival by the beach is ideal for pictures, drinking, and celebrating, in whatever order you prefer. The beer garden was sponsored by Michelob Ultra.

Swag:

-Running at Surf City is a celebration of Huntington Beach’s surf culture. The finisher medal features graphics of a VW surf van, palm trees, the pier, and the Surf City logo on a horizontal orange surf board. The surf board medal is looped in an orange ribbon, but the best part is that the medal is mounted on a small stand, so you can hang the medal or display it upright anywhere! I liked this year’s official race shirt as well—a navy blue, long-sleeve tech shirt with a surf van, surf board, and palm trees at the center, and the left sleeve colored in a bright orange. Very nice! I wasn’t as thrilled with the Longboard Legacy shirt. The shirt design on the website looks great—a light blue, long-sleeve shirt, with a yellow sunset behind blue/orange surfboards and palm trees. Unfortunately, that’s the BACK of the shirt. The front just has the simplest white text across the chest, with no colors or interesting graphics. Wish there was a little more color or energy in the front!

Bottom-line:

-The Surf City Half Marathon is fun and well-organized. You get a fast and flat course, and the beach views are always a good time.