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Apr 28, 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 51 to 61]

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M. W. from Irvine, Ca (2/17/2010) "Sure to have a good time in Surf City!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course for this race is easy to traverse but pretty stunning, especially with the last stretch of miles along the beach bike path, seeing the waves rolling in. The first few miles are also nice enough, going all around a local park. Out-and-backs are always fun because you can see friends and fellow racers coming and going. The staggered starts for the half made it a bit annoying, as the really fast halfers darted through the slower marathoners when we were in double digit miles and they were still fresh and strong. It was like bullets whizzing by - a bit scary! Organization was pretty fine. The expo is set up okay, but it is very warm and stuffy in the tent. But there was quite a bit to see and do. Race morning is not easy - parking is sort of hellish and far away! Post-race is fun, though, with coffee (it gets chilly despite the pretty sunshine), beer, and massages (which take forever to get to!). Spectators along the course were great, quite attentive to our needs, cheering, and even offering to splash water on me when I was really hot! Overall, another great experience here - it was my very first marathon in 2007, and now, almost 50 marathons later, it's still a gem! :)
Ali KP from Long Beach, USA (2/13/2010) "I had a fantastic day!!!" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I had a wonderful time at a great race. What a beautiful day for a run. The energy of the other competitors and the crowd was amazing.
D. H. from Oregon (2/12/2010) "Very nice marathon" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Overall, I liked this race. It had numerous positive features, and only a few areas for improvement, in my opinion. Positives: 1. Generally a scenic course. Especially liked the park. The beach views were also good. 2. Well organized. 3. Fairly flat and fast. 4. Unique finisher "medal." 5. Environmentally friendly, reusable bag at expo pick-up. 6. Nice technical shirt. 7. Enthusiastic volunteers. Some potential for improvement: 1. The path along the beach was definitely too narrow for the mid-pack marathoners. I often had to slow down behind slower groups, and saw several near collisions with runners coming the opposite direction. 2. Gear bag area location was not displayed in the race information and not obvious at the start. 3. Aid stations need to consistently have water first and sports drink next (or vice versa). The lack of consistency is problematic for tired, thirsty runners who don't want to have to think about where to go for fluids. This should be an easy fix to make. 4. No finisher certificate. An online certificate that finishers could print themselves would be a very nice feature to add, at not much cost to the marathon organizers. Not subject to anyone's control: A. Few spectators, and those that were present were quiet and not motivating in the least. B. The weather was cool at the start, but got quite warm (at least for me) later in the race. I can see that the weather could be hot, cold, wet or windy on any given day. Or it can be beautiful! On the whole, I would recommend this as a very good marathon that would be well worth participating in and which met or exceeded my expectations. Nice job to the race director and all the staff and volunteers.
Kyle EricSon from Riverside, CA (2/11/2010) "Always One of My Favorites" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 6+ Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Having now run this marathon 8 years in a row, I can see the improvements from year to year. I agree with most of the previous reviewer's comments regarding the beauty of the course and area, the good organization of the race and expo (but I really don't care about receiving a goody bag filled with junk), the cool finisher's medal, and some of the hassle of traffic and parking (although one thing this race does that others could learn from is having people pay their parking fee on the way out instead of the way in). My only reservation regarding the race is now due to its increased popularity (2,400 in the full, 12,000 in the half) and crowding out on the course. As other reviewers have commented, the bike path along the beach is getting a little crowded, with 2,400 marathoners having to go out and back along the same narrow path (I think in previous years they capped the field at 2,000). If the race continues to grow in popularity, I think they're going to have to reroute the couse so the marathoners are back out on PCH for a majority of the time the way it used to be several years ago. I did appreciate the marathon starting a half-hour earlier than the half, as well as the wave starts, but unlike one other reviewer, I do not want to see the start pushed all the way back to 6:00 a.m. Other than that, I think this race is one of the better ones in the area, and I plan on being back again next year (just like the Colts!).
A. S. from Lake Elmo, MN (2/10/2010) "I love it!!!!!" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 3 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)s COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my fourth year coming from MN and I still love it!! Will be back again next year. The course is beautiful, has lots of variety, and is flat!! The weather is always the perfect temperature. Lots of food handed out on the course. I love the wave start; this is probably the only race I have been in where I actually can start out at my pace and not get stuck behind slow people who always think they need to start out front. As for the person complaining about the goody bag, I guess I'm not sure what you expect. This race has the best medals and shirts around.
J. M. from Chicago (2/9/2010) "Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This is one FUN race. Everything and everyone seemed geared to make sure every runner had a good time. Some runners have criticized parts of the course, but I think the organizers have made the most with what they have to work with. I gave the course 4 stars because of the narrow pavement and the numerous locals blithely snaking their bicycles in and around the runners. I got a chuckle out of all these people with their little toy dogs riding in baskets on the bike's handlebars. While this is far from ideal for the runners; if you want to run along the beach, the paths are narrow, and no race is going to build wider paths. I know lots of runners raved about the views along the shore, but personally, I think that if you have run along one large body of water, you've run along all of 'em. So I found that part of the course boring (except for the risk-to-life-and-limb surprises caused by bubbleheads on their bikes). The leg through the park was my favorite part, and whoever recruits those kids (course marshals) does a great job. A bunch of nice, fun kids, cracking jokes, and making sure you don't take one of the many possible wrong turns on the park path. As example of a joke, one of the kids stood there facing the oncoming runners, arms out, palms up, saying in a whiney voice, "Come on, guys. I need some help here. Don't I get any encouragement?" Really cracked me up. The spectators were pretty sparse, and only in a few places were there enough spectators to sustain a party atmosphere (as far as I could tell running by). The weather was OK, but the sun was strong and once out of the park, shade was nowhere to be found. I made the mistake of wearing a black singlet, and it was hot to the touch from the sun. Staying hydrated took real effort, and I could not pass any hydration stations (though I usually do).
R. G. from Rowland Heights, California (2/9/2010) "No Goodies" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Weather was perfect. It was tough for the full marathoners to see finish line just ahead only to make a right turn at the last minute to get on the bike path for additional mileage. :-( It wasn't tough as in hard to complete, but it was disheartening - now you see finish line, now you don't! The only other complaint I have is about the bag: great bag, beautiful design, but that's all it was - a bag. There was not one single goody inside, unless you call the t-shirt a goody. I did appreciate the snacks at the end of the race. I was SO hungry, and they were enough to tide me over until I made my way to a restaurant. Very helpful volunteers at aid stations. Please offer orange slices and bananas on the course. Music was much appreciated. Wouldn't mind running this race again.
M. S. from Orange County (2/9/2010) "Beautiful course - not much cheering" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons \| 3 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)s COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This course is very pretty - along the coast in Huntington Beach. The race organizers are great and lots of kids volunteer. It's nice to see. The wave start takes WAY too long! It either needs to start earlier or move faster. Police stopped spectators from coming onto PCH (from the north) to cheer on runners. Got a little sparse out there! The only real cheerleaders were at the finish. Course was relatively flat and pretty fast. Would recommend doing it once for the scenery. I probably won't do it again because it's too crowded and there are not enough spectators throughout the course. Oh, and it's pretty expensive too!
n. h. from idaho (2/9/2010) "Wow! This marathon was perfect! A+!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Just do it!
Kevin Murphy from Long Beach, CA (2/9/2010) "Great Race; Great Views" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 For a race that takes place along the ocean, in a city that is known for surfing, on the biggest sports day of the year, with 20,000 runners, you set your expectations high and want the race to be top-notch. The Surf City Half Marathon pretty much met those high expectations. The course is mostly an up-and-back along the water, which has its pros and cons - you don't get to see a lot of the city, but you see a lot of runners in an area where spectators have trouble getting to, and you see a lot of ocean, which for a guy from the East Coast, never loses its luster. The hydration stations are plentiful and there are a decent number of bands. They could do more wave starts in the half to help with the first mile, but other than that, a great morning all around.

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