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Race Reports for Surf City USA Half Marathon

[1]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I just had a tough day. The event was well organized and well attended by volunteers. The course was kind of boring and I doubt I'd do it again. The surfboard medal is pretty cool though. Probably one of my favorites, right behind the Tiffany medal/necklace from the Nike Women's Half.
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[2]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Fast course, right along the Pacific. Very smooth organization. The most brightly colored yellow race shirt that I’ve ever seen. And an escape from the arctic weather. What’s not to like. If I didn’t live 2500 miles away, I’d certainly do this one again.
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[3]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Excellent venue. Very fun.
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[4]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Always one of my favorite local races. Good beer garden and lots of great people. As always the weather was perfect.
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[5]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is one of my favorite events. The course is scenic and flat, it's always very organized and of course the medals and tech shirts are always the best design. Not to mention it's held a few miles away from my cousin's house, so it's convinient..not a logistic nightmare. Oh yeah, since it's always on Superbowl Sunday, we always have a great "recovery" meal to look forward to!
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[6]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Venerable marathon/half marathon. Flat course made for PRs. Lots of surf music on PA speakers along the beach. Ultra-cool surfboard finisher medals.
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[7]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Surf City did a great job of using social networking to keep everyone posted prior to the race day and answering questions.
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[8]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I love this race, but the secret is definitely out. Never seen the event this crowded, but the shuttles were very timely. Next time, I'm just going to go straight to the offsite lot instead of trying to park on the beach. I think the race is organized well and logistically very easy to get in and out of. Lots of volunteers. Great way to start off the race season.
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[9]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Enjoyed this run. Beautiful course, perfect running weather, loved running along the ocean front. Shuttle service to and from the race was fast and easy. Finished my California Dreamin series, so not only did I get the cool Surf Board medal, I got my big a$$ California Dreamin' medal. Also, the tech shirts for this run have the coolest color & design.
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[10]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: This was my first event in the 50-54 AG (birthday was Friday). My only previous HM was Disneyland in 2008 at 2:53, so this was a PR by almost 15 minutes. Although crowded, the event was very well run. The course was very scenic, and I really enjoyed the day.
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[11]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great fun and a great race. I look forward to doing it again.
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[12]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is a very well organized race. Plenty of volunteers and water stations, plenty of refreshments at the finish. And the souvenir shirt is nice. The 2 mile walk** back to the car is a bit of a pain, but that's more my fault for getting there late. ** I know it was really 1.5 miles, but after running 13 miles it felt like a full 2 miles
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[13]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The race was very well organized and the volunteers did a fantastic job.
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[14]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Even though I cramped at mile 11 and missed my goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon, I cut 0:13:34 off of last years time. I will be happy if I can replicate this time at Ironman California 70.3 in March.
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[15]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is a very well managed race. However, this year they had wave starts instead of a mass start and I don't think that was an improvement. I didn't go to the post-race festivities, so I can't comment.
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[16]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is always a great race.. lots and lots of runners and the volunteers were great.. lots of newbies in the race... you can just tell..The 13.1 was a sell-out and it was so crowded... wasn't until about mile 10 could you start to get a break in traffic to pick up your speed.. the only way to combat that, is definitely start in the first couple of waves next year. we were all worried about the weather as it rained most of Saturday... The bright sunshine was a welcome sight.. very little wind.. Just a great day for a race... I enjoyed this for a training day for LA.. Didn't want to get too crazy aswe have a (43) mile week that brings a 20 mile run next Sunday.. If anyone wants a fun, pretty flat 13.1 that's local, Surf City is the way to go..
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[17]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: They need to improve the waiting line and how they pass out the free beer at the end of the race. I REALLY enjoyed the beer I had to help celebrate the start of my IM AZ training for 2009. After my two beers and one that I mooched, I had a nice relaxing buzz. I knew it was time to leave so I woofed down a $4 hot dog and decided to start my walk back to my car. It's amazing how slow you walk when your legs have tightened up and you have a buzz. Those 5 blocks felt like 5 miles. I made it home just fine, ate the rest of that wonderful Habanera salsa covered burrito and took a nice nap. This is a great 13.1 race that I would recommend to anyone.. Looking forward to next year!
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[18]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is my 3rd year doing this race. It is always fun - well except last year the weather was horrible. The weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny but not too hot with a nice breeze coming in off the ocean. A beautiful day. Kicks off my race season in a most excellent way.
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[19]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too easy

  • Comments: A nice race with good weather but I have run huge races, Bay to Breakers, Cooper River Bridge Run, Bolder Boulder with tens of thousands of more people and yet this one felt more congested?!? I never really felt that I got into a groove and always seemed to be dodging in-n-out. The coc$ pain will be a major learning experience but I guess a 1:49:37 time is pretty decent (and an official pr) albeit that i now have a gauze bandage on my coc$ and will for another day or two.
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[20]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: A PR for me at the half marathon distance. Previous best was a 1:41 at Calrsbad '08.
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[21]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I entered this race because the run is my most dreaded part of a Triathlon. This is mostly due to the fact that it is also my worst event. I want to get better at running and have been working towards that goal. I will be doing a 70.3 this summer and need to be able to run a half marathon and nothing motivates one more than entering a race. During my training for this race, I gradually ran further and faster each week while battling though cold California mornings (relative), soreness and issues caused by improper footwear. Each week I set PR for distance and speed. I now enjoy running and look forward to setting additional PRs. In fact, this race is my new PR for both distance and speed (over 10k). My goal was to finish my first half marathon under 2:30, I was able to beat this by 10 minutes. This race has improved my running confidence and I am looking forward to additional run training. I hope to repeat this performance in my 70.3. Again, I could not be happier!
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[22]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: AHR=169 MHR=177 Splits Mile 1 6:45 Mile 2 6:44 Mile 3 6:45 Mile 4 6:53 Mile 5 6:38 Mile 6 6:40 Mile 7 6:47 Mile 8 6:46 Mile 9 6:47 Mile 10 6:48 Mile 11 6:56 Mile 12 6:51 Mile 13 6:49 I paced this race very well, and felt pretty smooth throughout. Had to push the last mile to get under 1:29. Was 4th in a big AG...like almost 400 in the group....and the race had over 10,000 runners! Sweet... I would be remiss if I did not mention that I missed my cousin Cory and my friend Oguz who have been at this race with me numerous times/years in the past. This continues to be my VERY...VERY favorite 1/2 marathon. It used to be a small race, but has now grown exponentially! Wow. What a race, what a day, what fun!!! Can't wait till next year!!!!!!!!!
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[23]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is a popular, well-organized race. I didn't give it a 5 because I really didn't check out the post-race activities. From a distance it looked OK.
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[24]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Fantastic race. I'm going to make sure that this race is on my calendar every year. It's the coolest medal of all.
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[25]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Race organizers did a GREAT Job despite the weather conditions....the volunteers were the unsung heros! They really braved the elements.
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