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May 10, 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 161 to 171]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 15 16 17 18 19 .. 21 > ]

a. y. from los angeles (2/7/2005) "awesome course for a first-timer" (about: 2005) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 When I decided to run my first marathon a few months back, I knew that LA was not for me. For those of you who want to avoid scorching temps and crowded streets, Huntington is perfect. The course is great, winding along PCH and looping into a scenic park. Aside from a wind that blew directly in my face as I came down the last three miles, I have no complaints about this run. Great for a first-timer seeking a scenic, less crowded run.
A. B. from Los Angeles (2/7/2005) "Fix the parking situation" (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 I ran the half marathon, so not sure how full marathoners would rate. I have run 6 marathons and several half marathons. I have done Pac. Shoreline half twice before and have had good experiences. I disagree with past participants who said the entire race is unorganized. The expo and post-race refreshments were great, and I never like to give a low score for fans, b/c weather, location, etc., play a part and if anyone is there at all I appreciate it. I love the medal and the T-shirt is okay. I was more than upset, however, with the parking situation. I arrived at Hwy. 1 at 5:50 a.m., more than enough time to ready myself for the race. I stayed in that line until 6:53. This was not good, since the race started at 7. After running to the bib pick-up and tying on my chip, I missed the start by 8 minutes, and spent the whole race playing catch-up. There were many people in worse situations than I, judging by all the cars that were behind me. Most of them probably just threw in the towel and went home. It was painful waiting in a line of cars when to my right I can see hundreds of empty parking spots. A suggestion to the Huntington Beach folks who funneled everyone into one lane to purchase parking: it seems smarter to allow people to park at will, then charge them on their way out, after the race when runners are leaving at different times, as opposed to beforehand, when we are all trying to get in at once. Unless I hear that this problem is taken care of, I will not do this race again. No sense in waking up at 4 a.m. only to miss the start anyway.
L. D. from Los Angeles, CA (2/6/2005) "ehhh" (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Parking and shuttles were not organized enough. I was at the race an hour early but because of the wait to get into a parking lot and then the wait for the shuttle had me starting the race 23 minutes late! Then the course winds back on itself too much. And I agree with the runner who complained about the cyclists. They were all over and dangerous. There is a reason the LA Marathon has a bicycle race and it starts at 5:45am to keep them away from the runners. BUT the shirts and medals are cool.
K. W. from Los Angeles, CA (1/19/2005) "Bad Street Closure Enforcement" (about: 2004) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 There is something evil about this course and it's called "bicyclists." It's poorly manned (or, rather, the street closures are poorly enforced) and they allow bicyclists (not racers, just pleasure riders) onto the course during the race! I was almost taken out by more than one kid on a Schwinn and his nasty parents! And these people out for their Sunday ride actually expect you to move out of their way during your race! Add to that the race officials are snarky and snotty and they are very poorly prepared as far as race materials and post-race refreshments are concerned. A level but boring course isn't worth the hassle of the poor organization of this race.
D. D. from Huntington Beach, CA (1/18/2005) "Decent course for first time racers" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 I've ran several half and full marathons. This one is not bad, but organization can be improved. Start time of half and full marathoners caused the late start. Suggestion is to stagger start time by 1/2 hour to avoid the crowd. Otherwise, course location was awesome. Course design can be improved with reduction of the many wind backs.
K. S. from Canada (4/27/2004) "Great for my first one!" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was a great course for a first-timer. It is scenic with lots of room to run and the weather was perfect. I didn't want to have to be bumping shoulders with people in my first ever marathon, and this course gave me the freedom to just run hard and enjoy the sights. (I didn't know how well I would do, but if I was just 6 minutes faster I would have qualified for Boston!) I agree with some other people on the less than sufficient food and drink at the finish. If they improve that and the water stops near the end of the marathon, then they would have a great event. Overall, I was not disappointed at all and this was a great experience for a first-timer. Highly recommend!
r. a. from PAC NW (3/21/2004) "lackluster" (about: 2004) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The physical location of this race is beautiful but the course winds back on itself too many times. Starting 15 minutes late is not a big deal, but it would have been nice to know the the race directors were running late. This would have allowed for last minute trips to the porta johns or water fountains. However, running out of food is a big deal after 26.2 miles and people are right to be unhappy about that. Shirts were okay, if you like mock turtle necks.
Brett Koplin from Rochester MN (2/18/2004) "One of the best" (about: 2004) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The weather was great, the course beautiful and fast! Nice hotels too.
Kyle EricSon from Riverside, CA (2/16/2004) "A very nice 'smaller' marathon" (about: 2004) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I agree with some of the other comments regarding this marathon and am disappointed on people's insistence on finding something wrong with it. Yes, there is a major hill around mile 16 or so, and yes, PCH does have a slight incline to it as you near the finish line, but all in all, I think it's one of the best kept secrets in marathoning. I like the size (fewer than 1,000 people finished the full marathon), the time/date (beats sitting around watching Super Bowl pregame shows all day) and the weather (just right). Yes, it started 15 minutes late (so what!) and yes, they ran out of food (be prepared and pack a cooler), but the positives far outweigh these few negatives. Besides getting to spread out across all 6 lanes of PCH at the start (much easier to pass people and post a better time), you get the best T-shirt and finishers medal of all the marathons I've run and I definitely plan on being back next year.
A. R. from Oxnard, California (2/14/2004) "Great way to spend Super Bowl Sunday morning" (about: 2004) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The Pacific Shoreline Marathon was my first marathon and I had a blast. The course was awesome. It's scenic and flat for the first 16 or so miles then takes you in land through a very nice park and over a few hills to see how well prepared you really are. The chance to get to run on the Pacific Coast Highway closed off to traffic is worth the price by itself. Do yourself a favor and stay at one of the host hotels(Hilton or the Hyatt). Being able to sleep in, leave the room 15 minutes before the race and avoid the parking and traffic is well worth it. This was my first medal and it is really nice. On the flip side, there are some things that could have been done better. The race starting 15 minutes late, the water station at the top of the biggest hill (mile 21.5) running out of cups when I really needed it, and very little food left over for the marathoners. I really liked the volunteers in the park. They were very enthusiastic and supportive at a point when I needed it. However, besides for the park and the start/finish, it seemed like anyone else you ran across was pissed that you were clogging up their beach/making them walk to their surf spots. All in all it was a lot of fun.

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