Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon)

INTRODUCTION: I am a racewalker with a median marathon completion time of 5:24:10. The Surf City USA Marathon was my sixty-sixth 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: 46 degrees, 51 percent relative humidity, and calm. Our course began on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) at Huntington Street. In an NNW direction, we passed by downtown in our first mile continuing on toward Seapoint Street at mile 2.9. Turning inland, we headed toward Huntington Beach Park. Upon reaching it just past mile 5, our course narrowed down to a winding foot path, punctuated by occasional dirt and a one-time soft surface underneath a jungle gym, for the next two miles. Mostly backtracking to PCH, we encountered our only significant hill, a short 0.3-mile, 54-foot incline on Edwards Street at mile 9 between Talbert Avenue and Ellis Avenue. Shortly after, we would no longer have the course to ourselves for the rest of the race. Beginning with our turn onto Overlook Drive, we would be joined by the half marathon runners, who outnumbered us by more than six to one. For tortoise marathon participants, we would initially be passed by runners running at a pace more than four minutes per mile faster. Three-fourths into mile ten, we returned back to PCH heading northward toward Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve for the next 2.4 miles. We then returned in the opposite direction for the next 4.2 miles where we separated from the half marathoners at mile 16.4. At 14th Street, U-turning northbound onto the Huntington City Beach bike trail, as warned by the organizers, we encountered cyclists, dog walkers, pedestrians, and marathoners going the opposite way on the eight-foot wide-asphalt path for the next couple of miles. Adjacent to the PCH/Seapoint Street intersection, as we entered Bolsa Chica State Beach, our course widened to, apart from crossing the bridge over the tidal inlet, a pancake flat, 20-foot-wide smooth asphalt surface with an imperceptible cant for the next 2.7 miles. All along, we had vistas of surfers, waves crashing against the beach, and Catalina Island off to the west; and the Long Beach skyline, where their marathon takes place in October, to the north. Turning around just before mile 21, we retraced our steps to 14th Street and slightly beyond, exiting back onto PCH at 11th Street for a total of approximately 9.1 miles of the marathon course on the multi-use trail. We then could count down the streets from 11th to 1st just before crossing the finish line. Atypically, separate finish lines were established for half (on the left) and full (on the right) marathons. Weather at the finish was 67 degrees, 46 percent relative humidity, and calm. ORGANIZATION: A nicely done event. It was a beautiful day for the efficiently run expo, which was held underneath tents in the Huntington City Beach parking lot. Free race day parking was provided at the Huntington State Beach, with the gates opening at 5 am. Those who arrived early were parked 0.8 miles away from the race start. Later arrivals had the option of boarding school busses stationed approximately 1 and 2 miles away from the start. Near by the expo, the beach bar, featuring Michelob Ultra and Kona Longboard Lager, was open Saturday expo day and, of course, race day, where a live band, disappointingly not playing surf music, was present. In keeping with the race theme, four-foot-high blue surfboard shaped mile markers made it easy to keep track of where we were on the course. Good support provided by the volunteers who manned the aid stations. SPECTATORS: Sparse. What appeared to be a junior high school aged brass band was playing in Huntington Beach Park at mile 6.3, and two surf bands were playing alongside PCH at Huntington City Beach parking lot and the entrance to Bolsa Chica State Beach. Faster marathon runners were within earshot of the appropriate tunes three times each, once on PCH and twice while on the multi-use trails. CONCLUSION: For those who enjoy running alongside the Pacific coast for 19.3 miles, this marathon should not be missed. Well done, Surf City.

Lots of beautiful views in Surf City but the course for the marathon is not great and as others have said the half marathon is the star of the show. Expo: I had two separate volunteers yell at me as I was trying to pick up my bib and asking questions. Totally surreal experience. Expo itself was extremely crowded, loud and awful. I almost always buy extra gear but high tailed it out ASAP. Course: a few problems. First of all only 1500 or so runners in the marathon so it widens out fast. There are very few spectators except for cute kids in the park who tell you you're almost there 4 miles in :) Then, you join up with the half marathon about 8 or 9 miles in and have bikes push you to the side to make way for race leaders, no big deal but lots of extra expenses energy. Then you run with the half all the way up to mile 18 or so when they are just finishing their course. You can basically see the finish line as you turn away from the finish and run another 8 miles on the bike path (which isn't closed to others). It's rough, not going to lie. It gets really hot and water stations are pretty far out - I had a hydration pack and I recommend one for this race. Finish line: you finish with half marathoners - for me as a 4:30 marathoner these were a lot of slower runners and walkers that you have to dodge. The lines for beer and food were really long. We skipped it and went to Dukes for a burger. Medals are amazing but I wouldn't run the marathon here again - maybe the half.

I was in SoCal for work, decided to stay to run Surf City. My thoughts: The good: 1. The setting is unreal - the beach and the surf can't be beat. 2. The swag is great. Both the shirt and the medal are my faves from any race I've run. 3. Course is suited to PR or run fast. I barely trained and ran a BQ that was the 4th fastest of my 14 marathons. 4. Expo was easy to get in & out of. 5. Shuttles to and from the race were plentiful and on time. 6. Water stations were awesome. Lots of them, with lots of volunteers at each. 7. Corral system worked very well. 8. The date. I loved running a marathon on Super Bowl Sunday...the beach, a dip in the ocean, and watching the Super Bowl are a fantastic way to wind down after a marathon. The not so good. 1. Starting about mile 16, the race is on a bike path that runs next to the beach. Great views, but the bike path isn't closed. There are pedestrians and bicyclists. 2. I finished in 3:21, about the same time that the 2-2.5 hour half-marathoners were finishing. They were taking up the entire width of the PCH, with marathoners relegated to a very tiny lane on the far right side of the PCH. I wish that the marathoners' lane had been kept clear. 3. Post-race beer tent lines were crazy long. Neutral 1. If you thrive off crowd support, there isn't much. Especially from miles 8 on. Personally, I like that. 2. Sun & heat. If it's hot and sunny, you can't hide from it over the final 11 miles. I was prepared, but saw others who were not. Make sure to have a hat, sun screen, and water. Race does a great job minimizing this by starting at 6:30 AM. 3. No chips in the bibs. Didn't bother me, but don't get confused and forget to put your D-Tag on your shoe.