I ran the OC Marathon last year and again this year. The weather was ideal: 60's. There was a lot of water and lots of volunteers on the course. The finish area was bigger and flowed very well. The course was a little more difficult but scenic. After the race I got my goodies, cheered other runners, and then got on a shuttle back to the start. There was no wait for the bus and it dropped me right near my car. Great job OC!! Look forward to next year.

I ran the half last year and remember, vividly, the fiasco at the finish. Well, from the expo to the finish line, this race did a complete 180.

The weather cooperated, and I'm sure that made a huge difference with the number of spectators that came out, as well as crew that manned the course.

The change in course made it somewhat challenging in that miles 10-22ish were on a constant uphill grade. That took its toll. The course deviation at mile 17 was unexpected and threw off racers as well as supporters.

The finish line, though, was great. Plenty of fluids and grub. And Mylar blankets.... All things that were lacking last year.

The course was great for cheering, too, since it was highly accessible even with road closures. I had 30+ people out cheering and crewing and they had no problems getting around.

I'm very happy with an 18-minute PR and BQ time, too!

Great job Bill, Jodi, etc. You guys put on a top-notch race.

One comment to the elite lady at the mile 12 water stop though: A remark like "you need to learn to hand out water" is totally inappropriate to make to a teenage volunteer that has come out to help YOU. Get some class.

Just completed the 2006 OC Marathon and have to compliment the organizers for correcting everything that was wrong with the 2005 version.

First off, the expo was held outside in a large tent at the finish line (similar to the Pacific Shoreline Marathon) and was much better than 2005 when it was at an abandoned warehouse. Plus, if the weather would have turned bad, we would have had shelter from the elements (something that we didn't have in 2005 when it rained). Fortunately, it was a great day and the tent was not needed. Secondly, the course was also greatly improved and we spent very little time on the riverbed where the majority of the 2005 race was held. The course was mainly on city/residential streets with a little bit of parkland and freeway thrown in, and was much, much better than in 2005, in my opinion (although I'll offer some constructive criticism later). Lastly, the finisher's medal was very nice, the T-shirt (at least for the marathoners) was a quality, long-sleeved one (although can we change things up sometime and maybe do a color other than white?), and as always, the spectators and volunteers were greatly appreciated (for all the people who always complain about the spectators and volunteers, I wonder how many times they have volunteered to give up one of their Sundays to hand out water and GU to a bunch of ungrateful marathoners). Lastly, a special "thank you" to McDonald's for providing the disposable drinking cups!

Now for the constructive criticism promised earlier: Although, as I mentioned, I think the course was greatly improved over last year, I think it could still use a little work (and this just may brand me as a wuss, but what the heck!). From mile 10 to about mile 22 you are on a slow but steady incline, going from about sea level to about 400 feet. Granted that's not a dramatic increase, but since it's smack dab in the middle of the course, I think it really does some people in (and in case you're wondering, I finished in 3:50). Although I know you're limited by your surroundings/geography, something a little flatter would be appreciated. The other thing about the course that I think is less than ideal is finishing 13 miles away from where you started and having to ride a bus back to your car. I can only imagine how bad those buses must smell the day after the race, and many people had to be physically helped up the steps to simply get in and out of them. Once again, I realize that you're limited by the surroundings, but finishing where you started is always preferable in my book (Long Beach, Pacific Shoreline and Palos Verdes are some local races who manage to do it). Lastly, I think the motto of "Surf. Sand. Sweat." needs to be dropped, as it misleads out-of-towners into thinking that the race is run along the beach, when in reality it never even comes close.

My last criticism is not directed at the organizers of the race, but at my fellow competitors (and unfortunately, this seems to happen at every race). Can we please start policing ourselves and start in the appropriate place? As I said earlier, I finished in 3:50 and started around the 4:00 pace group. Unfortuantely, I spent the first several miles having to pass hundreds of runners going much slower than I was. Especially guilty seemed to be all the 'Run LA' kids who were apparently running the half-marathon as a precursor to LA in March. Although I think it's great that these kids are training for LA and are actually outside being active instead of sitting inside playing video games, by mile 2 or 3 most of them were already walking and forcing everybody else to run around them. Kids being kids, I don't fault them for this, but rather the adults who should have had them grouped together and at the back of the pack where they didn't interfere with other runners. And for the rest of the adults who force themselves up to the front at every race, you should know better. I know everybody gets excited at the start and has the best of intentions, but please be a bit more realistic about where you're going to finish and start appropriately (if all your other finishing times are in the 4:30 - 5:30 timeframe, I really doubt that all of a sudden you're going to do 2:30 - 3:00 and win any prize money).

In conclusion, I think the OC Marathon is definitely on the right track and one that I plan on adding to my yearly schedule along with Long Beach, Pacific Shoreline and Palos Verdes.

See ya' in 2007!

I did not run it last year but MarathonGuide.Com users had plenty of negative comments about last year. This year none of the problems repeated themselves and the weather was great!!!!! Nice and cool (60) at the end. Line of shuttles waiting for me to pick one at the end. :-)

Great job OC!!!

The race director did a brilliant job correcting the problems from the first annual O.C. Marathon. This year there were ample shuttle buses back to the start, sufficient aid stations with many volunteers, and well stocked "Gu" stations at three well placed points on the course. However, the course needs to be changed if this race is going to be a premier marathon. The course was advertised as "fast," and although the course is faster than most marathons, Miles 13 to Mile 22 were hilly, and were not conducive to fast times. Last year's course was much faster with no hills. Either go back to the course used in the first annual O.C. Marathon or eliminate the hills from 13 to 22. Otherwise, great event.

Well, this was my first marathon, and it was a rewarding experience overall and I met my sub-4 hour goal.

However, I think the course needs improvement. I am not opposed to hills, but I thought it was brutal to decide on making the course hilly right around "the wall" portion of the race. It's just not necessary. Also, I am quite surprised that Newport Beach does not take any advantage of running by the coast. Why are we ignoring the Pacific Ocean? It's the best part about living here.

Also, the course design made the spectator support almost non-existent. Most of the race was completely devoid of spectators, and I was actually disappointed to see how few people were around the finish line (I guess shopping at the Spectrum still takes precedence, even on marathon day).

And organization, why do we have to start and finish at 2 different places? It's not necessary and it creates all sorts of confusion. Directions and guidance were terrible. I know that it's probably one of those "shared venues" between two cities but the confusion will no doubt stop some people from running this race.

Overall, I think a lot of improvement is necessary to catapult this marathon to high-level status. I personally would run Long Beach or Pacific Shoreline any day over this one.

I really enjoyed the second annual Orange County, CA Marathon. The weather started out around 55 and foggy and ended sunny and around 65 degrees. The course (I ran the half this time) was much improved, as it was a point-to-point. It was fun to run through the beautiful rolling hills and nice neighborhoods. Except for the final half-mile, it appeared that most of the course was downhill and/or flat. It was a young crowd, lots of pre-20's and 20-30's, compared to all the other races I've been in, but not complaining. The fans, as last year were nice, but pretty sparse, but the course was so fun, who even cared? The buses to the start, at least for me were great. I loaded up on fruit & energy bars, walked over to the buses, and got right on. Twenty minutes later I was back in Newport Beach, and started to stretch out at my car, and drink chocolate milk. And it was only 10:30 AM. Will do a victory lap next year, for sure.

Well organized!

It was a learning experience. I think the organizers will do much better this time. They know what went wrong, and they will fix it. I look foward to a great '06. Great people. I will do this one every year.

This was my second marathon.... Even though it was chilly at the start, there were perfect racing conditions. The course was pretty flat and the water stations were very well supplied. Everyone alongside the course was very supportive. I would run this race again.