Extremely small field, don't know why? I loved this marathon. The scenery was absolutely amazing. It was very well organized and the volunteers and Sheriff Dept. were WONDERFUL. I would highly recommend this marathon. I ran it in 5:05, so was myself alot of the run, but who cares with views like this! Parking and race day packet pickup was a breeze!

First of all, the organizers postponed the run twice very unsure of when the run will be held, not very considerate to the paid participants, just an email saying 'race postponed to...' no explanation of why race is postponed twice, nor were they apologetic. Second of all, I asked for refund because of frustration of unanswered questions about the run, and no response at all. So we decided to run it because we didn't get our money back, then we go and get our bibs and they don't have our names down. Third of all, we finished the run and we are placed anonymously in the male category. Lastly, the cost for this kind of run should be as less as what it offers the participants.

Very low-key event. 'Expo' consisted of a few tiny tents outside the Camarillo Airport. So as expected, this marathon was tiny with 66 finishers. Finish area shone half marathon time which started 30min after marathon (whatdya gonna do, right? Next time I'll have to be first because I heard they changed the clock over for him).

Course: flat, could be fast but this year saw 30-40mph winds which were a HUGE factor.

Clearly marked? Not really. I read the course map before so I had a general sense. Good thing I stopped where the half marathoners were turning to head back. I drank some water. Another marathoner passed me and I said where you going? He said this is the marathon over here. Then I asked the volunteer at the aid station. He goes 'Oh, yeah, marathoners go that way.' Otherwise, I honestly wouldn't have known. Same goes for at mile 23 when the half marathoners are finishing. Luckily I was conscious and asking questions still by then. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known because volunteers weren't looking at my bib # for me and saying 'Oh, marathoners go this way!' (like I thought they should've)

Shirt: a little small for the size it said on it, but a solid polypro (100% polyester 'wick-a-way' shirt).

Packet pick-up: a cinch. No lines because was low-key. Packet had a clifbuilder sample and shirt. That's it :( No coupons, or other freebies. Oh well.

Weather: perfect. 45 at start and maybe 60 at finish (felt cooler with wind). Lots of sun.

Aid stations: good through 14 miles. Then there were ONLY TWO AID STATIONS from miles 16-23 (I promise you, I'm not lying. Some runners I passed were really hurting. I told them to drink plenty fluids. Then as the miles dragged on, I realized there wasn't any! My heart went out to those who didn't drink as much as me in the early miles).

Gels: NONE. bring your own.

Finisher's medal: large. legit. Nice.

Finisher food: supposed to have pancakes but the wind blew out the flame to the grill so subsisted on a few bananas, oranges, pretzels, and water. I promise I'm not lying about this. I've seen better food for a 2 mile fun run.

Location: Camarillo. Easy to get to. Next to hills but on flat ranch land surrounded by strawberry patches everywhere! Was beautiful to view.

Fans: I'm not lying. I think I saw less than 10 fans on the course. No lie. If you get energy from others cheering you on, bring your own fan club or music.

Race Director: seemed super nice and sincere. Had his act together. While not overly warm and helpful (because he had a tiny staff and logistics were enough to keep everyone plenty busy), seemed quite competent and he did a great job.

Flat run through fields of winter vegetables! A nice alternative to nearby congested urban marathons. Plenty of water and potties.

It was quite an epic day out there. A day of epic failure. I have run 6 marathons, and a handful of halfs, 5Ks and 10Ks. This was by far the worst race yet.

No cups. No spectators. No bands. No expo. I couldn't believe that there were so many things wrong, and they kept going wrong as the race progressed. The last mile was completely terrible along with the finish line festival that didn't exist. It was just disappointing to see someone get away with all that happened at Camarillo.

I never got a t-shirt. I still have yet to try Gleukos. I'm just thankful there was a porta-potty out there that was made for the farmers. I was so close to just knocking on someone's door along the course like a homeless person.

What a disgrace to racing.

Not enough porta-potties at the race start. Talk about cutting it close. Oh yea, there were no porta-potties on the course either. I was told every 3 miles. No bands, though the website said they'd be at every mile. No sports drink. Thankfully I had my Clif Bloks. No cups or volunteers after mile 13. I had to open boxes under a table and drink from a gallon jug. The whole thing was an unorganized joke. Won't see me back in Camarillo. The race director should have let us know what we were in for. Would like to have my money back.

No course markings, no mile markers, no sports drink, no port-o-potties.... I don't mind self-supporting my runs, but when things are promised, they should be provided. And no medical aid after 26.2 miles with limited water and no electrolytes. Scary.

No expo, mind-numbingly boring course, no announcements at the start, no porta-johns on the course, no water cups at many aid stations, no volunteers at many aid stations, no communication between aid stations and start/finish, no medical support, no mile markers after mile 10 (did I say how boring the race was?), no post-event food, no ELECTROLYTE REPLACEMENT on the course as promised, no music or bands as promised. Really the worst marathon I have done.

I'm not sure what everybody is complaining about. Sure, the course was barren, ugly and poorly marked. Sure, there was no nutrition, no sports drink and no accessible water for 1/3 of the race. Sure, there were no bands, no medical personnel and no port-a-potties. But, let's be honest, those shirts were pretty stylish, right? ; ) Yes, of my 9 marathons and 60-70 races, this was the most poorly planned event I have ever registered for (including my 8th grade "graduation" dance, the "Comedy for Less, No Work, No Test" traffic school, and all of the hazing I endured in my college fraternity). No more inaugural, not-yet-reviewed races for me.... I'm switching to more established marathons from now on.

My recent letter to the RD:

Bill,
I thought long and hard about writing you with my experience at your race yesterday. I typically have empathy for race directors as I know quite well how difficult it is to put on an event. I am the president of a racing club.

Unfortunately the race that you produced yesterday was a complete failure on even the most basic levels. I appreciate that this was your first year producing a marathon but as a race director you were responsible to ensure the simple BASICS:

1. Safety - NO medical support at the finish line or anywhere on the course - what was your plan if someone collapsed on course? No communication with aid stations.
2. Aid stations - no cups? No volunteers? No Glukos? No gels, pretzels, bananas?? I finished top 10 and most of the time I had to open the boxes and pull out the jugs of water, open the jug and drink from it - crazy.
3. Mile markers - seemed to be in place up until mile 8 or so, but otherwise nothing.
4. No porta-potties on the course - the only one I saw was for the workers at a farm.


The BASICS are MANDATORY for any race director. There is no room for skimping on these items.

These items below are not mandatory but things that I felt were simply poorly planned:

1. Start line was a joke
2. "Expo" and finish line were cluttered, unorganized
3. Announcing - none to speak of
4. Half marathon and full marathon finishers coming in at the same time
5. You marketed your race as having "bands every mile" - not sure what happened here but obviously that didn't happen.

Again - I have empathy for race directors but this was ridiculous. I was concerned going in to this race that it might be a no frills race - but I never imagined that we would be dealing with what we dealt with.

I am honestly concerned that my Boston Qualifier may not be legit - I hope that this is not the case.

Unfortunately this is a "one strike and your out" business and I can tell you that our team won't be back.

On a positive note: the shirt and finisher medal were nice.