Loved the medals, the course, of course the weather helped, too. The promise of a fast time was kept!

The Pacific Shoreline Marathon was my first. I live just a few miles from this area and train along the beach here often, so it was very familar to me. This is a small marathon which should appeal to those who want to avoid the crowds in the big races. There is no expo to speak of. The t-shirt is one of the better ones I've received at a race. Also a great medal and you get a rose! This is not a particularly good race for slower runners or walkers as they start clearing up the aid stations early and after the race, the food and festivities are gone quickly. If you finish in over 5 1/2 hours, you will be alone for much of the time. Not too many spectators or entertainment, but the volunteers were very nice. The course doubles back along the beach course several times which, nice as that is, can get monotonous. However the inland course takes you through a nice park and residential area with a few challenging hills. Most of the course is flat. There are plenty of real bathrooms and water fountains along the beach. The weather was pretty much perfect in 2000, but it can get windy at the beach. Several of my friends set PRs and some from our running club qualified for Boston here. Huntington Beach is laid back and so is this race. No crowds, no parking worries, scenic course, fast times. What else do you need!

I'm from Illinois, and this was my first California marathon. I enjoyed the ocean front part of this race, but the last five miles had a head wind this year only the surfers liked. It put a dent in what I thought was a great race. They have plenty of fluids and great help. The run through the park was my favorite. But, except for the start and finish, I was almost lonely. Most people ran the shorter races. I proudly wear a shirt and sweatshirt that was artistically designed w/o a bunch of advertising.