I've run half marathons all over the country and this one beats them all! Perfect course down the Pacific Coast highway, packed aid stations, and enthusiastic volunteers! Very special - the surf bands are a great touch.

I have now run this marathon for the last several years, and have to commend the organizers for continually trying to improve it and listening to the input of the runners.

This year there was finally a "wave" start whereby the 1,000 marathoners went off 30 minutes before the nearly 8,000 half-marathoners (which also started in their own separate waves). This went a long way towards alleviating some of the over-crowding of years past when everybody started together. The course was also modified slightly so that at the beginning the marathoners were on the bike path and the half-marathoners were on PCH. This too helped with over crowding and allowed you to get on your pace quickly and stick to it. There was some congestion, though, once the two groups merged around the 13-mile mark of the marathon. Unfortunately, this was also the point where it seemed like a lot of the half-marathoners started walking so you did have to do some weaving in and out of traffic. However, this is a small price to pay for running the PSM within yards of the Pacific Ocean.

Additionally, this year the beer garden did not run out (at least when I finished), there was plenty of food and fluids at the finish line, and we were e-mailed coupons to redeem a free pair of Salomon running shoes.

All in all, I think this is one of the best marathons in Southern California and would strongly suggest that "true" runners give it a try instead of the mega-marathons in LA and San Diego that occur later in the year (you won't be disappointed).

I ran the half marathon but I hope it is okay to post here anyway as I plan on doing the full eventually. This was a great event. Being a California Girl I loved the course along PCH. The 1/2 marathon wave took FOREVER. I started in the middle of the pack and it still took 25 minutes from the initial gun time until I crossed the start mats. The announcer loved to hear himself talk and should never have been given a microphone - people were really getting impatient. I would have preferred a straight out-and-back on PCH rather than looping through a residential area. Plenty of water stations. Great course support.

I was surprised, as was my friend who worked the event, that there was no goodie bag. The participant shirt is the best I have gotten. The beer was plentiful - I actually had to cut myself off. Beer has never tasted so good!! I stayed at a hotel that offered shuttle to and from the event which I highly recommend as parking is a bugger. Too bad the host hotel had a two-night minimum - I would have stayed there. There were still some vendors in the expo tent at the end. I went to buy a hat and was told, "Sorry, we're closed." I was disappointed in that but it is not the event organization's fault. All in all, a great event, although I did not see any food at the finish - but to be honest the beer was all the nourishment I needed. Thanks PSM!! I'll be back.

This was my first marathon and it was better than I anticipated. The course is relatively flat (only one or two hills) and the first 17 miles are along the ocean front. Breathtaking!

Once the course turns into the subdivision and park, it gets tricky - especially with the children volunteers (at times they are annoying - but they are overall very helpful when you're confused which way to go).

This is excellent for the beginner - although be prepared for few spectators and materials/water/Gatorade to run out if you are slower. The race did start breaking down at 6 hours (we finished 5 hours, 50 min).

Overall, great - beautiful course.

I just ran the half marathon of this race and had a great time. The entire weekend was very well organized. Mile markers were outstanding. I'll be back next year.

First off, no goodie bags for the race? What's up with that?

Also, I try to run negative splits, and often put it all on the course at the finish line. What was up with the 5k walkers clogging the finish line area? It was horrible. It was like playing a sprinting version of dodge-person. It is not fun to PR that way. At the end of the race they actually started directing walkers and runners, which did provide some relief to the congestion, but there were many 5k walkers who were not obeying the rules and walking out into the area where there were half-marathoners trying to finish their races.

The course is not flat as advertised. There is plenty of uphill running on this course. Don't be fooled by the advertisement.

Gorgeous from miles 1-6 - ocean views the whole time. Then you turn in to some neighborhoods, and head up and up and up for a long time. Then just as you think it's over, more uphill miles. Uphill grade most of the way back. It can get hot outside too.

I've run this race several times, and understand that up and coming races need time to "get things in order." However, this year seemed to take a step back in several ways. First and foremost... the expo. I had to walk around the expo with everything in my hands. I have been to dozens of expos and each time I go, I'm given a bag filled with flyers, samples, and some type of pamphlet, booklet, or one-pager about race day logistics. I didn't get any of that. Furthermore... there need to be at least 100 more bathrooms; clearly hundreds of people were still waiting in line when the gun announced the start of the half-marathon.

The volunteers - or should I say kids - were cute, but obviously were not prepped for how to act/respond to racers. Many of them were pushy with their water cups and almost all of them were crowding the course.

And much to my surprise, whoever thought it would be a good idea to funnel the 5K into the half marathon course was clearly not thinking. It was so frustrating dodging 5K walkers and listless joggers at the end of a long race. There were no clear markers and it was a huge mess.

The weather was nice, the runners were great, but the organization needs some improvement.

I ran the Pacific Shoreline Marathon this year for the first time. There were some nice views at the beginning, but overall there was nothing spectacular about this race. It was chaotic in the beginning. No one knew where or when they were supposed to line up. There were a very limited number of shuttles, so it took a long time to get to the start line. There were very, very few bathrooms set up, so make sure you don't have to use the bathroom while you are on the course. They advertised having Gu, but didn't give out any on the course. They also only gave apples to the half marathoners at the end and ran out before many people finished. Huntington Beach is an okay area, but not worth the trip if you are looking for a race to travel to. The spectators are also very lacking. Overall, it was a pretty disappointing marathon and one of the worst I've participated in so far with regards to course support and organization.

Positives: The expo was fine, the course markings were great, and there were lots of volunteers on the course with water, amino vital and GU shots. Running along the bike path was fun; even though I do it all the time, it's still beautiful and it's always great to get those bizarre looks from the surfers.

It's great to get a free pair of Solomon trail shoes for finishing. Nice to sleep in my own bed the night before the race. Good little post-race beer garden, and although I skipped the beer, I appreciate the thought.

Medal: Very attractive medal and a nice technical long-sleeve shirt. Chip timing.

Volunteers: Very supportive and they were out in force.

Course map and parking instructions: Both were well done.

Negatives: The marathon course merged into the half marathoners just after mile 13 and it was absolutely brutal trying to maintain a 7:30 pace while weaving through thousands of halfers running 9- to 10-minute miles when they weren't walking. We finally left the masses at mile 18 for a few miles and rejoined at mile 22 for 5 more miles of bob-and-weave fun. Even at the 8:30-8:50 pace I was struggling to maintain at that point, I still had to constantly run around the walking half marathoners. Almost tripped several times. To be honest, without being overly critical, I feel it was disrespectful to the marathoners to merge us onto a packed Pacific Coast Highway and make us weave through the hordes. Why not just hold a half marathon and skip the marathon with a 900-person limit since they have 7,000 in the half marathon?

Another issue was that most of the spectators couldn't tell the marathoners from the jogging half marathoners even though our bibs were different.

Weather: It was sunny and 70 degrees by 9:00 (in the shade), 90 minutes into the race. No one's fault, but we had the warmest day in a month on marathon Sunday. At least it wasn't rainy and windy.

Parking: The overflow parking filled up so my wife had to find street parking. Luckily she found a spot about 1.5 miles from the finish and she's a fast walker so she got to the finish before I did. They had two overflow lots, but they needed more than that with over 7,000 half marathoners.

This was my second Pacific Shoreline Half Marathon and while I always get that "high" after crossing the finish line, I was very disappointed at what the organizers had waiting for me once the endorphines wore off - nada, zip, zilch! Where were the bagels, bananas, and oranges??? A mere 3 hours after the start and you ran out of fuel??? Just a bottle of water??? I drank plenty of water out there on that flat course. Speaking of which, all that water needed to come out. How about placing a few more of those Andy Gumps between miles 2 and 9??? On the positive side of this - great shirts!!! Excellent medals.