This was everything a race called 'Surf City' should be. Spectacular ocean views for miles, beach boys music in all the right spots, HAPPY volunteers, and an overall chilled out atmosphere. The school kids lining the course to volunteer were AMAZING! Be prepared to share the course with the general vacationing public for the last section, and like another commenter said, it's all part of the atmosphere. Organization for the race itself was excellent, however, we had multiple challenges trying to pick up a promised pre-ordered finishers jacket. Would absolutely run this race again.

Had an excellent race experience overall. Stayed at the Hyatt very near the start and expo, even though it wasn't the official 'race' hotel, they looked after all the runners very well including opening up the cafe at 4:30 for breakfast for runners. The expo was one of the best organized and stocked that I have been to in recent years. The course was quite nice with plenty of ocean views and aid stations. The aid stations were particularly well done, the young people who were staffing them were absolutely over the top in enthusiasm and helpfulness. I thoroughly enjoyed this race and will definitely keep it on my list of mid-winter races for future contemplation. Well worth the travel and highly recommended.

Ran this marathon for the first time and it is heads above any of the other 30 marathons I've run. Great views of the ocean and a great detour through a park that had kids at every corner cheering us on. I loved the school band in the park and the rock bands in the last few miles. Kudos to the volunteers at all the water stations who worked so hard to keep us going!

As a SoCal resident, Surf City has been on my list of races to do for a while and this year I finally decided to do the half-marathon. I'm glad I did - it was an overall good experience.

Things I liked:
- Organization was pretty solid. Lots of water stations (was it me or were there water stations at like every half mile? I had to skip taking drinks at each of them because I was getting waterlogged). Start line was pretty organized. Of course there were some people going into faster waves than they should have been but that's every race...
- Parking. I've heard parking and traffic can be awful for the expo and race, but I didn't have any problems. If you get to the expo right when it opens you won't have any problems finding a relatively close spot and can breeze thru packet pick up in 15 minutes or less. For race day: get there really early (5 am) and take a nap in the car and parking will also be a breeze.
- Nice finish line organization and give outs.
- Great weather and decent spectator support.

Things I wish were different:
- Personally I found the course pretty boring  just long straight stretches of endless pavement; too many out and backs. You are running parallel to the beach for most of it, which has some nice views (maybe that just doesn't matter to me since I live in a beach town...).
- The electrolyte drink was Vitalyte and it was terrible.
- It really bothered me that the marathoners and half marathoners all merged into one big mass after the first few miles. It meant the faster half runners had to weave around slower full runners for the second half of the course. Not only is that physically draining but I also found it mentally draining (my body was sooo tempted to slow down and keep pace with the slower marathoners...took a lot of willpower not to!)

All in all, a nice race experience.

I ran the half marathon here and I was glad I did as it was very warm and sunny and being from Vancouver Island I am not used to heat in February. I found the course somewhat boring running along the PCH but the ocean views were nice and I could hear the surf at points.
The expo was good but parking was difficult. The attendants would not let cars into the free expo lot even though lots of cars were leaving and there were plenty of free spots. We drove up and down the highway until they decided to let people in. A bit bizarre really, like they were on a power trip.
The organization in every other way was superb. Loads of aid stations, portapotties, great volunteers, they even had a dog minding tent at the expo. I really liked the food bags. You went through the finish area in streamline fashion. I wish all races could do that. Everyone gets food this way.
The medal and shirts were superb. The only downside was the overcrowding in the half. Most of the race I was trying to run around people some three and four abreast. I ran it in 2:22 but I kept running behind walkers who must have started in the wrong corrals. I think it would be hard to PB in these conditions.
Overall a good experience though.

I knew what I was getting into with the seaside portion of the marathon course, but I was pleasantly surprised by the inland portion. The run through Huntington Central Park was actually my favorite part of the whole course. I thought the organizers did a nice job with many of the little touches to make it a great courseinspring quotes along the last few miles or beach boys music at the perfect spot, for example. Lots of volunteers. The only thing that is strange about the event is that the last 10 miles are on a bike path that isn't blocked off for the race... many people crossing the path are blissfully unaware that a marathon is in progress. Don't know how to fix that exactly... in a way it is almost part of the charm of the whole thing. Really nice weather, awesome ocean scenery, great pacers. This was marathon #5 for me and I liked that it wasn't too huge (~2000), wasn't too hilly (highest point is ~100 ft), or too elitist (no big prize money or appearance fees that my registration fee needs to cover)... Overall, Good job RSC organizers and HB community.

This is one of the flattest marathons I have run, resulting in a big PR for me. There is only one significant hill on the course, and it is short. You can also see the ocean for at least half of the course. This event has significantly more half marathoners making it far less crowded for the full marathoners. The aid stations were well staffed with plenty of water, sports drink, gel, energy chews, and even bananas.

The start was well organized with a wave start and plenty of pace groups.

If you are looking for a fast course close to the beach, this course is for you.

The marathon starts and ends at about the same area which is convenient. The course is relatively good except the bike path near the beach has numerous cracks and hurt my feet. The staff at the water stations are too young to understand the value of helping and cheering the runners. They were trying their best to entertain themselves by trying to spash buckets of water and making rude remarks on clothes runners wear. It gets tough to put up with all this while in pain and exhausted. I've run several other marathons and find Surf City staff to be a bit unprofessional. Even on the first expo day (Friday), I got there at noon and when I asked when they open, they called security and rudely asked me to leave the unmarked area. They looked like they were too busy preparing to make a profit rather than show a friendly face to a local. Another item that can be improved are the signs to get to the shuttle. The signs are difficult to find and when you eventually get to the shuttle with sore legs, the shuttle skips over several parking areas. If you are the unlucky one who happened to park in the middle of shuttle stops, you'll be walking a few blocks. They should hire a runner to plan all of this instead of some bean counter with a dollar sign tatooed on his/her forehead. Regarding spectators, there are hoards of them cheering for the half marathon. The full marathon is divided and out of view from the big crowd supporting the half. You feel bummed out after running all the extra miles. I'm not enthusiastic in signing up again.

Like the event. I did my PB and BQ there.

The pacers are great. Appreciate their constant speed to guide the course.

The last part of the Marathon course is on the beach bike route. It is dangerous to share the route with some crazy bikers while you are in extreme fatigue conditions. Need at least one more water station in the last 6 miles.

Well orginized event.. The course was a little boring but hard to complain about that when the weather was so nice and the fact that you are running along the ocean. Nice shirt nice medal and well stocked aid stations