Marathon Details - SOCAL River Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > CA > Santa Ana > SOCAL River Marathon

On Hill Events SOCAL River Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

Santa Ana, CA USA

March 2, 2024

http://www.socalmarathon.com

Results:

2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019
Top 3 Finishers by Year

Contact

Name:	Joe Coles
Address:	5992 Stampede Lane Morgan Utah 84050
Phone Number:	8013354940
Email:	Email the organizers



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Reviews

Course 3.8

Organization 2.6

Spectators 1.9

Write a review

Number of comments: 9

C. O. from Virginia (3/6/2024) "This marathon was well organized and supported!!" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 SOCAL River Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran this race March 2 2024 and was a little worried after reading reviews. I discussed this with the race director at my bib pick up and he assured me that the course would be well marked with plenty of hydration stations. Race day weather was not ideal and my ankle injury was bothering me so I didn't do too well as far as time but everything from parking, to bus loading, course markings, volunteers helpfulness and energy was fabulous. I would definitely run this race again!!
W. R. from Orange County (3/4/2023) "Never again" (about: 2023) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The only thing that worked out was the parking since it wasn't ran by them. Course not marked as they said. They explain about green and red cones with arrows that were never put on the course. Only one water station for six miles! Watered down Powerade. Gross. No volunteers to guide you. The medal is the same for everyone. Started almost an hour late. They put both 5k and 10k together. Huge mess. Worst part 10k cut short by almost a mile!!!
W. W. from Los Angeles (6/16/2022) "A Race Can be Better" (about: 2022) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 SOCAL River Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 In general, I agree with S.C.'s write up. I have waited long after the race to write these comments to make sure my comments are fair. The schedules planned some problems: bus loading, parking lot open, and same day bib pick up were all set to 6:00am at the finish area. The race was scheduled to start at 7:00am, which was 26 miles away. There was no way all could be done as 'planned'. The organizers provided bus loading address which was a mile away from the actual location. Many runners waited at the wrong location. Even the buses drivers were confused. Eventually, after all settled, the race started at 8:00am. It was a windy cold morning. The one hour extra in the cold wind costed a lot energy to everyone. The route was along Santa Anna River. The first few miles were not far from a freeway. The loud noise made me tired very fast. The view was boring most of the time. A strong gust headwind (> 20mile/hr) started at 10:00am that day. The one hour delay made the runners pay for extra energy fighting the headwind. On the river banks, there was no place to hide. Even if the course was gently downhills overall, the route went under many bridges crossing the river. Each time, after crossing a bridge, there would be a section of uphills. Some positive notes: There were plenty of volunteers along the way supporting the runners by providing supplies and by directing routes. They were very helpful in that dry, sunny, and windy day. I did not get my T-shirt at bib pick up. I was told the T-shirts ran out after I finished my run. The organizers mailed a T-shirt to my home after I filled a simple form online. Before the event, some friends warned me that I may encounter homeless camps along the way. To my pleasant surprise, the entire route were clean. It was mainly a bike path. The pavement conditions were smooth in major parts of the route. The path was not closed. The traffic were light and all encounters were polite and courteous.
S. C. from CA (3/6/2022) "Not my best marathon experience, but I'd run again" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 SOCAL River Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I'll start with the bad; Organization. I've run more than 20 marathons and had had good luck. But my luck just ran out. This was the worst experience I've had. Runners meet at the finish line to catch a shuttle to the start (to return to the same spot). The information shared with us was that LAST shuttle would leave by 6 pm (you know the drill......absolute-last-better-not-be-late type of message). At packet pick up I overheard the race director stating that the park services for Huntington Beach State Park would open their gates until 6 am. Knowing this, we were still expected to show up at early. Big surprise, 6 a.m. rolls around and there's a line of people in multiple directions sitting in line waiting to enter (we had to pay $15 to park, which I don't remember reading anywhere). So it may have taken 30+ minutes to get everyone in the lot. I caught the first bus (I think there were two). We arrived around 7:15 for a 7:00 start. The Race Director informed us that we'd start at 8:00. Not sure why we couldn't start earlier since I'm pretty sure all runners were there around 7:30. Instead of starting when all runners arrived, we stood around freezing our buns off. I had to ask other runners how to identify our bag from other bags (of course, no one to ask), no one could help. I had to ask the race director. I didn't have a maker, but luckily had some pens, which worked pretty well....but seriously.....should we have to track down the Race Director borrow a ball point pen? Finally the race starts. We're told that the course includes the runners heading in the our opposite direction of the beach for .20 miles. No problem. But after the turn around around Mile 3 (I think the first posted marker) there was no sign. I didn't see it until approximately mile 3.4. Coincidence that we had an out and back of .4 and the markers are .4 off? I highly doubt it. For the rest of the race I kept wondering, will they make up the distance or will we run an extra .4? (I think there was some mile markers not posted.) To be honest, I'm not sure if they made it up or not. My Garmin Forerunner calculated 26.44, which is more than 26.2 of course, but my watch always shows a slightly longer distance than the official race distance. So in this case, I think they made up for it. At the finish line we were to get medals, peanut butter and jelly, etc. Crossing the finish line there was no one handing out medals directly. I had to get in a separate line. No one pointing me to anything: food, water, medals, etc. My primary interest was food, and after getting that I forgot about getting the medal. So, I take half the blame for that one. The PB&J.....none to be found. Bad form! There were oranges, cheese sticks and granola bars. My favorite, the mini ice cream sandwiches. Yum! But overall, a limited selection of food. Water and some other drinks (juice packs?). Not great, but not horrible. Spectators were very, very low. I don't care too much about that, but some may have an issue. The aid stations all had people serving water and Power Aid. One aid station was located on the opposite side of the path. I had to cross in front of a biker moving about 25mph and check my blind spot, which was lame. At roughly 17 miles into the race, one tends to get a bit delirious. I almost got hit. They could have easily set up on the correct side of the trail had they moved it 100 yards down the path. Overall, the organization was very bad. It was the 2nd year of the race, so I will give some latitude. But the thing that bothered me is the Race Director's attitude about the errors. He could have started the race later, or informed us to not worry about arriving by 6 am if we were to sit in line until 6 am. He also didn't seem to take any ownership about the late start on race morning. When he spoke to the group he blamed the park service. Maybe they changed the time, but he had an opportunity to adapt, and he didn't. The shirt is very basic. I like that there's no ads, but there's nothing special about it; no logo, picture of the river, beach, etc. Okay, I mentioned 'I'd run again'......and I think I would. The course is mostly flat. Lots of short rolling hills, mostly around bridges (ducking under them coming back up). It was fairly smooth; no big cracks, potholes, etc. It's a bike path along the Santa Ana River. So, you need to very careful about the bikers. Some are moving 20+ miles per hour! And if you tend to zone out like I do, you can get clipped easily. The scenery, overall, is decent. Some nice mountains, golf courses the first section. It turns a bit residential, which was meh, and at one point we're running past Angels stadium, which was cool. The biggest issue for me - and I'm sure for everyone else - the brutal head winds. It wasn't much of an issue until mile 19, but when it got bad, it got very bad!! My 9:40 pace to that point ended up being about 10:04 overall. I was starting to slow down, but I think I could have held a 10 minute mile instead of about 11 for a few miles then closer to 12 minute pace for the final 2-3 miles. Assuming the wind was an anomaly (it was a stormy day, but luckily no rain), it would be a nice course to run. Overall, some avoidable mistakes by the race director, and a brutal wind, but hopefully the director will get his you-know-what together and the winds will be much better. Given those things, sign me up! I'll run it again.

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C. O. from Virginia (3/6/2024) "This marathon was well organized and supported!!" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 SOCAL River Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I ran this race March 2 2024 and was a little worried after reading reviews. I discussed this with the race director at my bib pick up and he assured me that the course would be well marked with plenty of hydration stations. Race day weather was not ideal and my ankle injury was bothering me so I didn't do too well as far as time but everything from parking, to bus loading, course markings, volunteers helpfulness and energy was fabulous. I would definitely run this race again!!
W. R. from Orange County (3/4/2023) "Never again" (about: 2023) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 The only thing that worked out was the parking since it wasn't ran by them. Course not marked as they said. They explain about green and red cones with arrows that were never put on the course. Only one water station for six miles! Watered down Powerade. Gross. No volunteers to guide you. The medal is the same for everyone. Started almost an hour late. They put both 5k and 10k together. Huge mess. Worst part 10k cut short by almost a mile!!!
W. W. from Los Angeles (6/16/2022) "A Race Can be Better" (about: 2022) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 SOCAL River Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 In general, I agree with S.C.'s write up. I have waited long after the race to write these comments to make sure my comments are fair. The schedules planned some problems: bus loading, parking lot open, and same day bib pick up were all set to 6:00am at the finish area. The race was scheduled to start at 7:00am, which was 26 miles away. There was no way all could be done as 'planned'. The organizers provided bus loading address which was a mile away from the actual location. Many runners waited at the wrong location. Even the buses drivers were confused. Eventually, after all settled, the race started at 8:00am. It was a windy cold morning. The one hour extra in the cold wind costed a lot energy to everyone. The route was along Santa Anna River. The first few miles were not far from a freeway. The loud noise made me tired very fast. The view was boring most of the time. A strong gust headwind (> 20mile/hr) started at 10:00am that day. The one hour delay made the runners pay for extra energy fighting the headwind. On the river banks, there was no place to hide. Even if the course was gently downhills overall, the route went under many bridges crossing the river. Each time, after crossing a bridge, there would be a section of uphills. Some positive notes: There were plenty of volunteers along the way supporting the runners by providing supplies and by directing routes. They were very helpful in that dry, sunny, and windy day. I did not get my T-shirt at bib pick up. I was told the T-shirts ran out after I finished my run. The organizers mailed a T-shirt to my home after I filled a simple form online. Before the event, some friends warned me that I may encounter homeless camps along the way. To my pleasant surprise, the entire route were clean. It was mainly a bike path. The pavement conditions were smooth in major parts of the route. The path was not closed. The traffic were light and all encounters were polite and courteous.
S. C. from CA (3/6/2022) "Not my best marathon experience, but I'd run again" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 SOCAL River Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I'll start with the bad; Organization. I've run more than 20 marathons and had had good luck. But my luck just ran out. This was the worst experience I've had. Runners meet at the finish line to catch a shuttle to the start (to return to the same spot). The information shared with us was that LAST shuttle would leave by 6 pm (you know the drill......absolute-last-better-not-be-late type of message). At packet pick up I overheard the race director stating that the park services for Huntington Beach State Park would open their gates until 6 am. Knowing this, we were still expected to show up at early. Big surprise, 6 a.m. rolls around and there's a line of people in multiple directions sitting in line waiting to enter (we had to pay $15 to park, which I don't remember reading anywhere). So it may have taken 30+ minutes to get everyone in the lot. I caught the first bus (I think there were two). We arrived around 7:15 for a 7:00 start. The Race Director informed us that we'd start at 8:00. Not sure why we couldn't start earlier since I'm pretty sure all runners were there around 7:30. Instead of starting when all runners arrived, we stood around freezing our buns off. I had to ask other runners how to identify our bag from other bags (of course, no one to ask), no one could help. I had to ask the race director. I didn't have a maker, but luckily had some pens, which worked pretty well....but seriously.....should we have to track down the Race Director borrow a ball point pen? Finally the race starts. We're told that the course includes the runners heading in the our opposite direction of the beach for .20 miles. No problem. But after the turn around around Mile 3 (I think the first posted marker) there was no sign. I didn't see it until approximately mile 3.4. Coincidence that we had an out and back of .4 and the markers are .4 off? I highly doubt it. For the rest of the race I kept wondering, will they make up the distance or will we run an extra .4? (I think there was some mile markers not posted.) To be honest, I'm not sure if they made it up or not. My Garmin Forerunner calculated 26.44, which is more than 26.2 of course, but my watch always shows a slightly longer distance than the official race distance. So in this case, I think they made up for it. At the finish line we were to get medals, peanut butter and jelly, etc. Crossing the finish line there was no one handing out medals directly. I had to get in a separate line. No one pointing me to anything: food, water, medals, etc. My primary interest was food, and after getting that I forgot about getting the medal. So, I take half the blame for that one. The PB&J.....none to be found. Bad form! There were oranges, cheese sticks and granola bars. My favorite, the mini ice cream sandwiches. Yum! But overall, a limited selection of food. Water and some other drinks (juice packs?). Not great, but not horrible. Spectators were very, very low. I don't care too much about that, but some may have an issue. The aid stations all had people serving water and Power Aid. One aid station was located on the opposite side of the path. I had to cross in front of a biker moving about 25mph and check my blind spot, which was lame. At roughly 17 miles into the race, one tends to get a bit delirious. I almost got hit. They could have easily set up on the correct side of the trail had they moved it 100 yards down the path. Overall, the organization was very bad. It was the 2nd year of the race, so I will give some latitude. But the thing that bothered me is the Race Director's attitude about the errors. He could have started the race later, or informed us to not worry about arriving by 6 am if we were to sit in line until 6 am. He also didn't seem to take any ownership about the late start on race morning. When he spoke to the group he blamed the park service. Maybe they changed the time, but he had an opportunity to adapt, and he didn't. The shirt is very basic. I like that there's no ads, but there's nothing special about it; no logo, picture of the river, beach, etc. Okay, I mentioned 'I'd run again'......and I think I would. The course is mostly flat. Lots of short rolling hills, mostly around bridges (ducking under them coming back up). It was fairly smooth; no big cracks, potholes, etc. It's a bike path along the Santa Ana River. So, you need to very careful about the bikers. Some are moving 20+ miles per hour! And if you tend to zone out like I do, you can get clipped easily. The scenery, overall, is decent. Some nice mountains, golf courses the first section. It turns a bit residential, which was meh, and at one point we're running past Angels stadium, which was cool. The biggest issue for me - and I'm sure for everyone else - the brutal head winds. It wasn't much of an issue until mile 19, but when it got bad, it got very bad!! My 9:40 pace to that point ended up being about 10:04 overall. I was starting to slow down, but I think I could have held a 10 minute mile instead of about 11 for a few miles then closer to 12 minute pace for the final 2-3 miles. Assuming the wind was an anomaly (it was a stormy day, but luckily no rain), it would be a nice course to run. Overall, some avoidable mistakes by the race director, and a brutal wind, but hopefully the director will get his you-know-what together and the winds will be much better. Given those things, sign me up! I'll run it again.

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Marathon Details - SOCAL River Marathon