The race was great. There were a lot of people at the race.

I had a friend run the full and his complaints were mostly about the smaller paths along the beach, with runners going in both directions while also dodging non-participant walkers and surfers.

I have no complaints about the organization and spectators, but this is my first half marathon. I have run one previous marathon, but it was much smaller.

It was my first time in California, so the change in weather was great for me. I had been running indoors here in Iowa because of lots of snow accumulation.

I'd go back and run the half again, but the full course might need to be modified... although I wouldn't want it to be anywhere other than on the beach. Can they block that path from walkers/surfers?

I don't really want to be too negative because overall there was a good vibe behind it, but I suppose I came a long way to do it and if asked if it was worth the trip, I'd have to say no. This course was one of the most boring routes I've ever run - I know, I know, the ocean part was lovely, but the amount of doubling back and highway-based running made this a very tedious race and not one that I would wish to run again. Thank God for my Mp3 player.

Pros:
Excellent volunteers - very supportive and encouraging.
Lots of food and drink stands during the race.
Gorgeous medal and cool t-shirt.

Cons:
Initial online registration was a nightmare, as it appears that it was not set up for foreign addresses. Terribly boring route.
Poor standard of souvenirs for purchase - and they were overpriced. The t-shirts etc. for sale were as if the organizers had found left over garments and just slapped the logo on them.

All in all, if you live in California, or you'll be passing this neck of the woods this time of year, it's one to do; other than that, to be honest, it's not worth the trip or the expense.

I had high expectations for this race and it did not disappoint. The wave start prevented congestion in the early miles. There were water stops about every mile and the kids cheering were a great motivator. The finishing miles along the beach were spectacular. I highly recommend this marathon.

I have run this marathon now for the last 8 years, and I appreciate the changes and improvements that the organizers have made to it during that time. It's still one of my favorite "mid-size" marathons, but it's becoming less so each year due to the congestion out on the course. As other reviewers have mentioned, when the marathoners and half-marathoners meet on PCH, it is way too crowded to do any real racing. And for the marathoners, the small path in the park for miles 5 - 8 is too small to accommodate all of the runners (there were sections where we were actually walking this year and I started mid-pack).

Additionally, the bike path from miles 16 - 25 is also too small, not to mention that there are runners going in both directions while simultaneously dodging walkers, surfers, bikers, skateboarders, etc. (if you can close down the streets for a few hours, why can't you do the same with the bike path?).

I realize modifying the course would be unpleasant and the organizers would like to keep the start/finish lines near the Hilton, since it's the host hotel, but if the start/finish lines could be moved back a couple of miles down to Beach Boulevard or Brookhurst, moving the turn-around down at Warner (basically, 13 miles out and 13 miles back), I think that would alleviate a lot of the current overcrowding.

And not to only highlight the negatives, as this race does a lot of stuff right. As usual, the volunteers were great (especially the kids), the shirts are great (thanks for getting away from white!), and the medals are the best!

I have run this race the past five years. Every year small improvements are made and it gets better and better, and I thought it was awesome to begin with! Definitely worth running - I come all the way from MN and plan to keep coming.

Loved the way the halfers start later, and by the time they catch up, we're on the beach walkway rather than the PCH.

Schwag good: medal, bag, shirt.

Post-race food: ok, but there's lots of pre-packed stuff.

Organization: super.

Crowds: the best I've experienced so far. Must be a lot of people with hoarse voices this week. ;)

The 2011 Surf City Marathon was a fairly small marathon (2,000 runners), but a large event (18,000 runners in other distances) with good organization. They ran out of full marathon t-shirts in my size (small) and said they would mail me one - we'll see if that actually happens.

The start area was well organized and controlled. The entry points to the starting waves were close enough together to get reasonably close to my starting wave, but too far apart to enter the exact wave. The crowds were too dense to move around more than a few feet after you entered a starting wave. The race was small enough that it was very easy to move around without any delay once the race started.

The course started on Pacific Coast Highway and then went inland on closed roads through some paths in parks and then back to the ocean on closed roads where it zig-zagged back and forth until you got to 26.2 miles - literally you ran down PCH, up PCH, down the beach path, and back up the beach path until the finish. There were a lot miles of multi-use paths. The beach paths were not closed to pedestrians. There was bike and pedestrian traffic, but it never interfered with my running.

The finish area had people handing out a post-race food bag, water, and an electrolyte replacement drink. The food was pre-packaged into a bag and contained mostly fruit with some granola bars. The post-race expo had several vendors handing out samples, free massages, and some other entertainment type stuff.

I had fun and it was a good event, but I would not travel from Oregon again to do Surf City.

Quite a hassle from beginning to end. First of all, the expo closed at 5 p.m. (way too early). I was working all day, and had to have a friend pick up the packet and print 2 forms of ID. It was a hassle leaving the marathon when the parking lot asked for $10 upon leaving. Sorry, but I locked my wallet in the hotel safe, not expecting to be asked for payment for early parking. Half marathoners had to run through the marathoners without any separation or official direction. Why a competitive half marathon would want to do this is beyond me. There were bikers on the final out-and-back on narrow macadam trail. Vendors were selling drinks in the finish area - again, marathoners don't run with their wallets. The medal was cool, and the weather was ideal for marathoning, mostly foggy.

As much as I love to run marathons, I regret to write that there is a good chance that I will choose never to run the Surf City Marathon again. There were so many good things about this marathon, but for me, the few negatives more than outweighed the many positives.

NEGATIVES:
Required Minimum of Two- & Three-Night Stays At The Host and Surrounding Hotels: I have run marathons in Los Angeles, San Franciso, Long Beach, Tucson, San Diego, and many other cities, and none of the host hotels required more than a one-night stay. This is nothing more than greed on someone's part. I usually like to stay at the host hotel because of the convenience factor, but the two- or three-night minimum stay is ridiculous. I stayed one night at a hotel 20 minutes away and paid less than 25% of what I would have paid if I had stayed at the host hotel.

Parking at the Expo: What a complete mess! I sat in traffic and drove around the expo parking areas for over an hour trying to find a place to park. It wasn't just that there was no place to park - it was that there was no traffic control. Just when we got to the parking entrance, an attendant waved us away and told us to drive a half-mile further down the street to another parking lot, where it cost $15 to park. We finally parked in a shopping center on Beach Boulevard and walked a mile to the expo.

Lines to Get Into the Expo: After driving around for an hour trying to find a place to park, and then walking a mile from our car to the expo, we stood in line for nearly a half an hour waiting to get into the expo. What a complete waste of time. Needless to say, I was so tired and so frustrated that I just picked up my bib number and t-shirt, and immediately left.

The Out & Back Portion of the Course Along the Bike Path: Situated right next to the Pacific Ocean, this should have been the best part of the course. Instead, it was the worst. The bike path was not part of the closed course. It was open to walkers, joggers, moms pushing strollers, families walking three and four abreast, bikers, surfers, and people with nothing better to do than get in the way of runners barreling towards them. Since I was running close to a 3:20 pace, it wasn't so bad on the way out because there were not too many marathoners on their way back from the turn-around point. After I reached the turn-around point just past 20 miles, however, the bike path became very congested with runners on their way out as I was on my way back. The path was just not wide enough to accommodate everyone.

The Marathon and Half-Marathon Courses Merging With One Mile to Go: No matter where the race is held, it never seems to work when the marathon and half-marathon courses merge with one another so they can use the same finish line. Someone needs to figure this one out. If I am running a marathon at a 7:40 pace, why should I merge into a crowd that is running at a 9:30 pace - especially when the half-marathoners outnumber the marathoners by 6 to 1? Yes, there were cones to keep the two groups separate, but do you think that the half-marathon swarm respected the boundary? No, they were in and out of my four foot-wide lane several times as I made my way to the finish.

POSITIVES:
The Starting Area: There were plenty of porta-potties and the starting corrals were very organized.

The Course: Except for the out-and-back portion along the bike path, the course was varied, challenging and scenic. We ran through trees, around several ponds, through a park, through some residential areas, and along the ocean. There were ocean views for more than 20 miles.

On-Course Support. There were more than enough water stops and porta-potties along the course. The volunteers were courteous and helpful.

Spectators: There were some long stretches without spectators, but there were also spectators scattered throughout most of the run. There was live entertainment at a few locations and children cheering us on as we ran through the park.

After Crossing the Finish Line: There were goodies galore both inside and outside the recovery area. Mylar blankets were available. The surfboard medal was placed around our necks. This was a one-of-a-kind medal.

SUMMARY:
It was the mostly the pre-race negatives that made my experience so bad. The out-and-back portion along the bike path and the merging of the half-marathon and marathon courses were not so bad by themselves. When considered in totality, however, the negatives left a sour taste in my mouth. I am hopeful that the organizers of the Surf City Marathon will consider making some changes - otherwise I may not be back.