Marathon Details - Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > CA > Ojai > Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon

Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon

Ojai, CA USA

June 3, 2012

http://www.ojai2oceanmarathon.com

Results:

2012 | 2011
Top 3 Finishers by Year

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Reviews

Course 4.4

Organization 3.8

Spectators 2.8

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Number of comments: 12 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

J. V. from Dallas, TX (6/17/2012) "Okay experience" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I had heard this is a great BQ course, so I signed up.... Couple of things.. Cool weather, can't beat it. 6am start time also another bonus. If it does get warm, you should be completed prior to it being too hot. Downside - 4am shuttle, we were dropped off, in the dark with no direction. We were told their would be heaters for us and there weren't any available. I walked about 1/4 to the hospital and sat in the emergency room for 90 minutes waiting. Medics - I don't think I saw any for 22 miles. I didn't need one, but not to say someone else didn't. Water - about every 3-4 miles which is a problem. You need to carry your own water. Lastly, when we got to the beach, the sidewalks were open. I was 'fighting' to get by surfboards, homeless people, bikers and lastly dogs without leashes... it would be nice to have to area closed off for the runner. Good course, mentally prepare yourself to run past the finish line at mile 21ish and have no crowd support at all.
C. S. from Southern California (6/8/2012) "Fast run!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Great PR course! A Huge 6mile loop around the start followed by 14 to 15miles straight to the beach! No turns, beautiful scenery. First 6 mile loop is gradual uphill, but nothing difficut. Then a slight down hill all the way to mile 21 when you get to the ocean front. last 5 miles flat to finish. 6am start excellent...especially to beat heat. If it was a warm day, trees did canopy the bike path so that you would get relief from sun. Great medals, cool shirt.Love the small field/cap was 1,000. Felt like a long run with friends! Great communication from race director on facebook and emails. Negative: 1. hardly any waterstops, like every 3to4 miles. Stops packed..few volunteers. Bring your own waterbottle. 2. No expo..only bib pick up I LOVED the hotels being less than one mile from finish and shuttles ...and blocks from ocean! Can not wait for next year!!!!!
Lee Ann Yarbor from San Diego, CA (6/6/2012) "GREAT COURSE" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 If you're trying to qualify for Boston and even want that 5-10 minute buffer for early sign-up, than this could be race for you. If you need to have bands and crowds of people to motivate you than you might not want to do this race. This is for the serious runner and first time marathoners who could care less about all the 'frills' and 'hoop-la'. This was my 18th marathon on my 50 state mission. I've already run a number of races in CA but chose this race because Rock n Roll San Diego is no longer an option...EVER!(which,by the way, is on the same day)! and this course looked very interesting with the moderate drop in elevation. I had to do it! Myself and about 25 peeps from my running club -San Diego Run and Tri Club- chose this race since the majority of us have already been financially raped by Competitor. PROS: * 1st half of this race is gradual downhill and fast! * Downhill is gradual...not like St. George UT or Steamtown PA where your quads are thrashed for a week. Minimal soreness. * 1st half of this race is scenic and beautiful. Ojai is a very cool little country town. Hard to believe you're an hour north of LA. * 1st 20 miles is on a paved and shaded bike path. No traffic to contend with. * 'June gloom' was great with zero wind and 60degree temps. PERFECT CALIFORNIA WEATHER. * Hotel (Crown Plaza) was on the beach, affordable and walking distance to buses and finish line. * Race directors and organization was great. * Cool medal and finishers Tech-T * Last 2 miles on the beach boardwalk. The only CON: * Miles 16-20 were sketchy...but no biggy. Just oil wells and grafitti (ahhh...now I felt like I was in LA). The worst part was seeing the finish line at about mile 20, then having to run away from it through an endless neighborhood. Either way, course stayed flat. Just mentally prepare yourself for that. I finished my 2nd best time ever considering I was not in my best shape...says allot for this course. It's always fun when you finish faster than planned. I WILL TOTALLY DO THIS RACE AGAIN.
J. B. from USA (6/5/2012) "Great, small marathon" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I absolutely loved this marathon! I have run about 18 and this ranked as one of my favorites for several reasons: 1) Scenery - I loved running on the bike trail through nature 2)FAST! This was a downhill marathon, but not too steep where it hurts your quads 3) Small - I like small marathons The only downside I saw was the expo. There wasn't much there at all. I would highly recommend staying in Ojai. Ventura is dirty and the hotels there suck. I stayed in beautiful Ojai where it was sunny and clean. The restaurants there are amazing. I recommend Suzies and Azu.
C. I. from Santa Barbara, CA (6/4/2012) "A good race to run" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this race yesterday for the first time and I really enjoyed it. I do believe it is a fast course, however, I did not PR. The course: The first 18 or so miles are on the bike path are beautiful and very green, then the trail goes through an industrial area that is less beautiful before turning to the beach for an out and (partial) back. The 4 miles on the beach (before you turn and run 2 more) I found particularly brutal, and I would have preferred to end at the beach and not have to do the turn around (but many races are like that). The fans: The fans were great, if I could have convinced more of my friends to wake up for the 6am start time, the first 10 miles were easy access for spectators. It would be particularly nice for someone to follow on a bike. The complaints: 1). There was a long line of traffic in order to make the 5am shuttle, and once we got up to the head of the line (right at 5, though we arrived at 4:40) they had run out of parking. We parked in a side lot, unsure of if it was ok to park there, just to make sure that we got on a shuttle. Although we did not get a ticket, our car was vandalized with surf wax spread all over the windshield spelling out 'go home'. Though not related to the race, it was not a pleasant scene to have to deal with after 26.2 miles 2). Aid stations. I could be wrong, but I feel that there were fewer than stated. I particularly missed one at mile 22. 3). Littering. I know this is a common problem at races, but I had hoped that this 'green' race would have been better. All those affiliated with the race did a great job minimizing waste, however, many participants littered water bottles and gu packets along the course (far away from aid stations where volunteers were picking things up) 4). The finish. There were cheering fans at the end but it lacked something. Perhaps music? or an announcer? This is a small thing but it's nice to have a bit more celebration at the finish. Those are just a few small complaints, nothing too big. I think it was a great race, and look forward to running it again in the future.
j. h. from USA (6/4/2012) "Great downhill course" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my first Ojai marathon and I just loved the course. I am missing Boston just few minutes and will do this next year for sure. I can't think of any other course would be better than this one to qualify Boston. 10 miles of downhill run, mostly tree shades and flat run at the last few miles by the ocean. So beautiful and so scenic. Only think I will ask for improvement would be the bus drop-off at the start line. There were just potable toilets and that was it. No place to sit, not even trash bag to collect trash. We were dropped by around 4:15 am and people were just sitting on the ground and leaning on the tree trunks for almost two hours in dark with one street light. I will just come back just for the course. My favorite favorite full marathon out of my 17 marathons of the year.
S. R. from Las Vegas Nevada (6/4/2012) "Fast Solo Run" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Weather was cool and misty, overcast throughout for a perfect weather day at this one way fast course. Organization was Great, Expo was small as was fitting for the cap of 1000 for both the full and half. Transport up the hill was flawless. I liked the bike path although a bit crowded for the first 6-7 miles then turned into a long solo run as spectators were few. Only real negative was the lack of water at the first few stops due to too many runners for the amount of fillers. Was hoping for a BQ but fell 6 minutes short but still had a great experience and new PR.
K. C. from San Diego, CA (1/1/2012) "Fast course, terrible aid" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The course was fast, pretty much downhill from mile 6 to 18! The scenery was beautiful up until mile 18 then you start running through a neighborhood which was brutally boring. There wasn't as many aid stations as they had advertised and sport drink was very hard to find. There wasn't an aid station the last 6 miles. I ended up collapsing right before mile 26 due to severe dehydration. Luckily my boyfriend was biking next to me and flagged down a lifeguard that brought me to an ambulance. Had he not been there I would have had no aid or assistance. I was running to qualify for Boston and was going to qualify with plenty of time to spare but unfortunately didn't make it this time.
R. E. from San Diego CA (12/24/2011) "PR course for serious runners" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I've run Boston 3 times but, due to knee surgery, had to requalify this year. This is a mostly scenic and very fast course with good volunteer support for such a small race. I easily qualified for Boston but you need to really stay focused the last few miles as you end up on city streets with no one paying much attention except the volunteers. The only bummer was the race hotel had a wedding party with a loud band the night before the race.
K. B. from Central Coast, CA (12/18/2011) "Not sure I would do again" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I am an average runner. I completed this marathon in 4:43. The first 20 miles of the course are great. The last several are terrible for the following: 1. This part of the course intersects with the half marathon course. The course used big surfboards as mile markers, which was very cool. However, by this far in the race is was sooo disappointing to see a surfboard in the distance, feel the relief when I got close..only to be disheartened because it was for a part of the half marathon course, and not the full. 2. Although the volunteers at the finish were so nice and helpful, there was absolutely no fan support and zero hoopla at the finish. What a let down. It was like the end of a long training run....and that's it. I couldn't even tell it was the finish line from a distance. (No big banners, balloons, etc) 3. The last part of the course is on the strand at the beach that was not marked off at all. So regular beach goers were walking 4 wide with their strollers, etc, completely unaware that marathoners were trying to get to the finish. Because this is a smaller marathon, there were not droves of runners taking over the strand. I would have appreciated volunteers cheering us on, or having the course blocked off for the runners or something. Not a deal breaker or anything, but the shirts didn't specify what Ojai2Ocean was..no mention of marathon or 26.2 or running or anything. I kinda want to show off the fact that I survived a marathon, you know? Also, there was no difference between the finish medals, numbers or shirts of the half marathoners and the full marathoners. In fact, the finish medal had no markings at all on it to indicate date, event, or anything. Again, I'm an average runner....but I did not enjoy the last 6 miles for the above reasons.

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J. V. from Dallas, TX (6/17/2012) "Okay experience" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 I had heard this is a great BQ course, so I signed up.... Couple of things.. Cool weather, can't beat it. 6am start time also another bonus. If it does get warm, you should be completed prior to it being too hot. Downside - 4am shuttle, we were dropped off, in the dark with no direction. We were told their would be heaters for us and there weren't any available. I walked about 1/4 to the hospital and sat in the emergency room for 90 minutes waiting. Medics - I don't think I saw any for 22 miles. I didn't need one, but not to say someone else didn't. Water - about every 3-4 miles which is a problem. You need to carry your own water. Lastly, when we got to the beach, the sidewalks were open. I was 'fighting' to get by surfboards, homeless people, bikers and lastly dogs without leashes... it would be nice to have to area closed off for the runner. Good course, mentally prepare yourself to run past the finish line at mile 21ish and have no crowd support at all.
C. S. from Southern California (6/8/2012) "Fast run!" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 Great PR course! A Huge 6mile loop around the start followed by 14 to 15miles straight to the beach! No turns, beautiful scenery. First 6 mile loop is gradual uphill, but nothing difficut. Then a slight down hill all the way to mile 21 when you get to the ocean front. last 5 miles flat to finish. 6am start excellent...especially to beat heat. If it was a warm day, trees did canopy the bike path so that you would get relief from sun. Great medals, cool shirt.Love the small field/cap was 1,000. Felt like a long run with friends! Great communication from race director on facebook and emails. Negative: 1. hardly any waterstops, like every 3to4 miles. Stops packed..few volunteers. Bring your own waterbottle. 2. No expo..only bib pick up I LOVED the hotels being less than one mile from finish and shuttles ...and blocks from ocean! Can not wait for next year!!!!!
Lee Ann Yarbor from San Diego, CA (6/6/2012) "GREAT COURSE" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 If you're trying to qualify for Boston and even want that 5-10 minute buffer for early sign-up, than this could be race for you. If you need to have bands and crowds of people to motivate you than you might not want to do this race. This is for the serious runner and first time marathoners who could care less about all the 'frills' and 'hoop-la'. This was my 18th marathon on my 50 state mission. I've already run a number of races in CA but chose this race because Rock n Roll San Diego is no longer an option...EVER!(which,by the way, is on the same day)! and this course looked very interesting with the moderate drop in elevation. I had to do it! Myself and about 25 peeps from my running club -San Diego Run and Tri Club- chose this race since the majority of us have already been financially raped by Competitor. PROS: * 1st half of this race is gradual downhill and fast! * Downhill is gradual...not like St. George UT or Steamtown PA where your quads are thrashed for a week. Minimal soreness. * 1st half of this race is scenic and beautiful. Ojai is a very cool little country town. Hard to believe you're an hour north of LA. * 1st 20 miles is on a paved and shaded bike path. No traffic to contend with. * 'June gloom' was great with zero wind and 60degree temps. PERFECT CALIFORNIA WEATHER. * Hotel (Crown Plaza) was on the beach, affordable and walking distance to buses and finish line. * Race directors and organization was great. * Cool medal and finishers Tech-T * Last 2 miles on the beach boardwalk. The only CON: * Miles 16-20 were sketchy...but no biggy. Just oil wells and grafitti (ahhh...now I felt like I was in LA). The worst part was seeing the finish line at about mile 20, then having to run away from it through an endless neighborhood. Either way, course stayed flat. Just mentally prepare yourself for that. I finished my 2nd best time ever considering I was not in my best shape...says allot for this course. It's always fun when you finish faster than planned. I WILL TOTALLY DO THIS RACE AGAIN.
J. B. from USA (6/5/2012) "Great, small marathon" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I absolutely loved this marathon! I have run about 18 and this ranked as one of my favorites for several reasons: 1) Scenery - I loved running on the bike trail through nature 2)FAST! This was a downhill marathon, but not too steep where it hurts your quads 3) Small - I like small marathons The only downside I saw was the expo. There wasn't much there at all. I would highly recommend staying in Ojai. Ventura is dirty and the hotels there suck. I stayed in beautiful Ojai where it was sunny and clean. The restaurants there are amazing. I recommend Suzies and Azu.
C. I. from Santa Barbara, CA (6/4/2012) "A good race to run" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this race yesterday for the first time and I really enjoyed it. I do believe it is a fast course, however, I did not PR. The course: The first 18 or so miles are on the bike path are beautiful and very green, then the trail goes through an industrial area that is less beautiful before turning to the beach for an out and (partial) back. The 4 miles on the beach (before you turn and run 2 more) I found particularly brutal, and I would have preferred to end at the beach and not have to do the turn around (but many races are like that). The fans: The fans were great, if I could have convinced more of my friends to wake up for the 6am start time, the first 10 miles were easy access for spectators. It would be particularly nice for someone to follow on a bike. The complaints: 1). There was a long line of traffic in order to make the 5am shuttle, and once we got up to the head of the line (right at 5, though we arrived at 4:40) they had run out of parking. We parked in a side lot, unsure of if it was ok to park there, just to make sure that we got on a shuttle. Although we did not get a ticket, our car was vandalized with surf wax spread all over the windshield spelling out 'go home'. Though not related to the race, it was not a pleasant scene to have to deal with after 26.2 miles 2). Aid stations. I could be wrong, but I feel that there were fewer than stated. I particularly missed one at mile 22. 3). Littering. I know this is a common problem at races, but I had hoped that this 'green' race would have been better. All those affiliated with the race did a great job minimizing waste, however, many participants littered water bottles and gu packets along the course (far away from aid stations where volunteers were picking things up) 4). The finish. There were cheering fans at the end but it lacked something. Perhaps music? or an announcer? This is a small thing but it's nice to have a bit more celebration at the finish. Those are just a few small complaints, nothing too big. I think it was a great race, and look forward to running it again in the future.
j. h. from USA (6/4/2012) "Great downhill course" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my first Ojai marathon and I just loved the course. I am missing Boston just few minutes and will do this next year for sure. I can't think of any other course would be better than this one to qualify Boston. 10 miles of downhill run, mostly tree shades and flat run at the last few miles by the ocean. So beautiful and so scenic. Only think I will ask for improvement would be the bus drop-off at the start line. There were just potable toilets and that was it. No place to sit, not even trash bag to collect trash. We were dropped by around 4:15 am and people were just sitting on the ground and leaning on the tree trunks for almost two hours in dark with one street light. I will just come back just for the course. My favorite favorite full marathon out of my 17 marathons of the year.
S. R. from Las Vegas Nevada (6/4/2012) "Fast Solo Run" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Weather was cool and misty, overcast throughout for a perfect weather day at this one way fast course. Organization was Great, Expo was small as was fitting for the cap of 1000 for both the full and half. Transport up the hill was flawless. I liked the bike path although a bit crowded for the first 6-7 miles then turned into a long solo run as spectators were few. Only real negative was the lack of water at the first few stops due to too many runners for the amount of fillers. Was hoping for a BQ but fell 6 minutes short but still had a great experience and new PR.
K. C. from San Diego, CA (1/1/2012) "Fast course, terrible aid" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 The course was fast, pretty much downhill from mile 6 to 18! The scenery was beautiful up until mile 18 then you start running through a neighborhood which was brutally boring. There wasn't as many aid stations as they had advertised and sport drink was very hard to find. There wasn't an aid station the last 6 miles. I ended up collapsing right before mile 26 due to severe dehydration. Luckily my boyfriend was biking next to me and flagged down a lifeguard that brought me to an ambulance. Had he not been there I would have had no aid or assistance. I was running to qualify for Boston and was going to qualify with plenty of time to spare but unfortunately didn't make it this time.
R. E. from San Diego CA (12/24/2011) "PR course for serious runners" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I've run Boston 3 times but, due to knee surgery, had to requalify this year. This is a mostly scenic and very fast course with good volunteer support for such a small race. I easily qualified for Boston but you need to really stay focused the last few miles as you end up on city streets with no one paying much attention except the volunteers. The only bummer was the race hotel had a wedding party with a loud band the night before the race.
K. B. from Central Coast, CA (12/18/2011) "Not sure I would do again" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I am an average runner. I completed this marathon in 4:43. The first 20 miles of the course are great. The last several are terrible for the following: 1. This part of the course intersects with the half marathon course. The course used big surfboards as mile markers, which was very cool. However, by this far in the race is was sooo disappointing to see a surfboard in the distance, feel the relief when I got close..only to be disheartened because it was for a part of the half marathon course, and not the full. 2. Although the volunteers at the finish were so nice and helpful, there was absolutely no fan support and zero hoopla at the finish. What a let down. It was like the end of a long training run....and that's it. I couldn't even tell it was the finish line from a distance. (No big banners, balloons, etc) 3. The last part of the course is on the strand at the beach that was not marked off at all. So regular beach goers were walking 4 wide with their strollers, etc, completely unaware that marathoners were trying to get to the finish. Because this is a smaller marathon, there were not droves of runners taking over the strand. I would have appreciated volunteers cheering us on, or having the course blocked off for the runners or something. Not a deal breaker or anything, but the shirts didn't specify what Ojai2Ocean was..no mention of marathon or 26.2 or running or anything. I kinda want to show off the fact that I survived a marathon, you know? Also, there was no difference between the finish medals, numbers or shirts of the half marathoners and the full marathoners. In fact, the finish medal had no markings at all on it to indicate date, event, or anything. Again, I'm an average runner....but I did not enjoy the last 6 miles for the above reasons.

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Marathon Details - Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon