This was my 20th marathon and maybe my toughest one yet. I obviously checked out the elevation chart prior to the race and thought other than the big hill at mile 22/23, the rest of the course was fairly level&it's not. This is one tough course! The first half had more hills than I was expecting. The crowd support for the first half was good, but not great. Miles 14 through 21 are a lot of running on trails, with little or no crowd support, so it starts getting lonely. Then of course comes THE HILL at around mile 22/23& makes Heartbreak Hill look like a bunny hill! I thought I was ready for it, but it was brutal. Once you get to the top of THE HILL, the last 3 miles were great. San Diego is such a great town, with so many great little neighborhoods. I think if they would incorporate more of the neighborhoods into the course, they could design a much better course, which would also lead to better crowd support.

You need to be ready for this if you are attempting any sort of time that is in your historical reach. It is true - significant 1 mile hill at #22, but not to be ignored are recurring bubbles (overpass, roll, big downhill requiring brakes, etc.) beyond halfway mark. A couple of very short and steep ramps elsewhere. This was marathon #47 for me, and personally I haven't seen a course with these sorts of ascents before. Whew! Its an ideal time for good weather in the area and the race is organized perfectly. Crowds are pretty thin - youngsters scrolling on their iphones, looking up as their next amazon page loads. If you come for Boston-like crowds, forget it, just so you can get what you need. Everyone has their own requirements.

Miles 1-8 - Great start at Balboa Park, thru Hillcreast, up and around residential North Park. This portion of the course gets a 4 out of 5. Miles 9-14 - Back thru North Park, Hillcrest, and thru Mission Hills. An even better section of course, I give it a 5. Then...the wheels come off. I could have picked a hundred better routes than what followed. Miles 15-18 - Morena Ave to Mission Bay, back to Morena and Friars Rd. Flat section of course, but brutally boring! I give it a 2, Miles 19-22 - Friars Rd. Not bad. A noticeable grade, but the uphill run felt good. I give it a 3. Miles 23-24 - Route 163. This is what gets most people upset; a killer highway hill late in the race. It was tough, but AWESOME! 4 out of 5. Miles 25-26.2 - Downtown SD. It would have been great if my legs weren't shot from running Route 163. I give it a 4. Overall, no complaints from me. The route could have been better, but it was okay. I give it a 3 overall. Fans were good. They were especially fervent in North Park and downtown. Lots of bands and local school cheerleaders. The finish was pretty awesome. Expo was above average and post-race party was excellent. I'll do it again next year, but I hope they change the course. Leave Route 163, but ditch Mission Bay.