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Jun 2, 2024

Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) Runner Comments

Back to Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) Information & Reviews

Course 4.2

Organization 4.0

Spectators 3.6

Number of comments: 205 [displaying comments 111 to 121]

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Eddie Hahn from Rancho Cucamonga, CA (2/7/2007) "'If You Can Imagine it, You Can Do It'" (about: 2007) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 That isn't my quote, but that of a young male fan on course in one of the parks the marathon runs through. The sheer volume of young boys and girls cheering us on was the aspect of this race I will best remember. They may have been coached by the parents to encourage us, but they definitly get 5 stars for fan support, even if I gave the adults four! The packet pick up went smoothly-be advised there was no 'goody bag', but the long sleeve color all weather race logo'd (surfboard design) shirt (no advertising!) (specific to event one was participating in) is nice; except I would have prefered a large logo on the front rather than the back. (There's a tiny logo on the front too). You can also pick up a copy of the race course/ event directions at the outdoor expo. The beach boy style music while we ran near town was awesome. I also liked the great close up views of the ocean, and the interesting oil derrick fields we ran by. The parts of the marathon that intersect with the half marathon are very very congested, you may need to move to the traffic island in the center to get around the slower half marathon (walkers) which were as many as 5 abrest in places. I found the slightly cool breeze blowing off the water, and the shadey trees between in Huntington Central Park between about 18 and 21 miles, the perfect combination to prevent overheating. There are about 3 hills on the course, none of which I found too difficult. There's more beach music at the end and a free beer in addition to the super cool surf board medal, a pre-sorted post event food replenishing bag, and this year they e mailed full marathoner finishers a code for a 'free' pair of Salomon Comp Trail Running shoes-(that actually cost 1.95 handling).. All in all a great event that I would reccomend, and do again.
R. M. from Long Beach, California, USA (2/7/2007) "Great course, weather & scenery; parking problems" (about: 2007) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I actually ran in the half marathon and this was my 3rd half. Have not yet done a full marathon, but I have great feedback still regarding this race. This location had perfect weather (low 60's to start, low 70's at the end), and a picture-postcard-perfect location running mostly along the beautiful Pacific coastline. The course is relatively flat, with a couple of short hills mixed in. It is a very fast course, especially for the full marathoners since there are only 1,000 spots available. They sell out every year. Being smaller does give you a bit of extra elbow space and allows for a PR. The half marathon was also sold out and much more crowded, with about 7,500 runners. The marathoners get a 30-minute head start too, which helps them get more attention and room. Things they need to improve on: 1. Parking - At the expo they recommended that we park at the Brookhurst or Magnolia lots (free) and take the free shuttle to the start. I was standing with a large group and we waited (in the cold morning air) for almost 30 minutes. No shuttle. I literally ended up jogging the 2 extra miles to the start. I was told that a shuttle eventually came. Luckily this was a known problem and they delayed the start and then had "waves" of additional start times, but everyone was late. After the race? After running 15.1 miles (remember I had to run 2 miles before the start of my race because of the lack of shuttle buses), I had to wait 30 minutes again for a shuttle to take me back. What about those that were cramping up? They cannot wait for 30 minutes for a shuttle, and we sure weren't going to walk or jog the 2 miles back to our cars. This was terrible. I was told they only had 13 buses and had not figured out the logistics as well as they thought they had. Parking needs to be addressed. This was a very big problem this year. 2. Aid stations were well stocked, but I couldn't tell where the GU station was. All of a sudden one would appear in a kid's hand. They should have had that better marked. I will say though there were plenty of aid stations and all were very well stocked with lots of volunteers and water and amino drink - at least for the half marathon that was definitely the case. 3. The finish line was crowded and you could barely find someone to remove your chip. I was looking for water too, but had to walk quite a distance before I found the water. Very narrow and crowded at the finish, but it was nice to have a huge crowd at the finish line too. All that said, a very well organized race (except parking), beautiful course, fun atmosphere, and a great excuse to run before the Super Bowl.
M. J. from Texas (2/7/2007) "A Totally Inspiring Experience!" (about: 2007) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 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.
Kyle EricSon from Riverside, CA (2/7/2007) "Still One of My Favorites" (about: 2007) 11-50 previous marathons \| 4-5 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 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).
M. C. from Sacramento, CA (2/7/2007) "Half-marathon participant" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 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.
M. S. from Los Angeles, CA (2/6/2007) "Perfect First Marathon" (about: 2007) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 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.
J. W. from Kansas City, KS (2/6/2007) "Excellent race! Well organized." (about: 2007) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 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.
j. k. from So ca (2/6/2007) "Congested finish area" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 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.
j. d. from orange county, ca (2/6/2007) "Fast Half Marathon Course, but Poor Expo and Vol." (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 4-5 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 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.
J. R. from California, United States (2/5/2007) "Nice Ocean View, Poor Organization" (about: 2007) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 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.

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