Jimbo Fischer's Staging Area

If you want to run a half marathon that starts in the USA and finishes in Mexico this is the one. I’m glad I did it once for the experience. It’s only the second year they’ve done it (2025), so I’m sure they will keep tweaking it and improving it. I ran this race with several friends.

-AID STATIONS
I’d HIGHLY recommend bringing your own water supply via CamelBak or bottle. The half marathoners cross the border into Mexico at around the 10k mark, and there was no water/Gatorade after the border crossing until the finish line, so basically the second half of the race.

The only aid station we saw in Mexico was around mile 9 after the BIG hill, and it was out of everything. The 10k Race starts in Mexico and never enters the US. The half marathon runs the first 10k in the US and second part of race in Mexico. So I assume the folks running the actual 10k and the faster half marathoners depleted whatever was brought by the time we got there, but there were a LOT of half marathoners behind me at this point in the race.

I ran off the road into a gas station somewhere around mile 10 and bought a bottle of water from a guy selling them in the parking lot at a little stand he had setup. There were several other runners that had peeled off from the course and were doing the same. I chugged a bottle of water I bought and then ran back onto the course.

-COURSE
The first 10k on the USA side you do a little loop starting from the outlets and then you come back through the shopping center. Running through the shopping center again at around the 5 or 6 mile mark and seeing the starting line again was a tad boring, but just shortly after this you cross the border. To me, this was the highlight of the route, crossing the border and the band there to greet you. This is obviously something you won’t get at any other race, so that was cool. Shortly after that somewhere around the 7 mile mark you run by an area that smells like sewage for about a quarter mile. It was rough. I was gagging for a few seconds and several runners started speeding up, so I guess there’s that for motivation. Nothing anyone can do about that, but just be aware. Around the 8 mile mark you hit a hill the course is famous for. Towards the end of the race you’ll start running through the town. It finishes right near the beach, so you can go down to the ocean and relax.

-FINISH FESTIVAL
The finish festival they hand you a Fanta soda, and I chugged it. Most of what is available at the finish festival is for sale from local vendors, but there’s a lot to choose from. I bought a mimosa and some food. There’s also a a live band playing.

-SHUTTLE BACK TO USA CROSSING
I think if I had to do it over again, I’d just Uber to the border and walk across after the race. This would’ve allowed more time to find a local restaurant and sit down and eat etc. Last shuttle left at 12, so we went over there around 1115 and waited for one. The race shuttles are available for purchase with race registration, and you’ll get a wristband to wear. However, even on the bus you still have to unload on the Mexican side and walk through border crossing the same as an Uber. However, the shuttle offers you the assurance of a guaranteed ride at the end, so it’s good it is offered as an option.

-FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, me and the friends I ran with were all glad we did it once. I think it’s a cool idea to bring two countries together.