Shoreline Marathon

INTRODUCTION: I am a racewalker with a median marathon completion time of 5:26:06. The Shoreline Marathon was my seventieth 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: 61 degrees, 93 percent relative humidity, overcast, and south-southeast wind speed of 2 mph with gusts up to 4 mph. Due to a last-minute change, the park rangers obliged us to start on an uneven, potential ankle twisting, turf adjacent to the parking lot of the Emma Wood State Beach for the first 0.15 miles before moving on to the bike trail that ran parallel to the Ventura Freeway (US-101) for the next 1.1 miles. Exiting the park, we merged onto Pacific Coast Highway (SR-1) at mile 1.3. The first 1.8 miles possessed not greatly challenging inclines and declines. The rest of the course was pancake flat all the way to the turnaround at mile 6.55. The marathon comprised of two out-and-back laps. When not obstructed by residences or campers parked parallel to PCH, we were afforded views of the Channel Islands and the Pacific Ocean. Weather at the finish was 70 degrees, 76 percent relative humidity, sunny, and west-southwest wind speed of 6 mph with gusts up to 11 mph. Because of the last-minute change, the course was remeasured, moving the turnaround approximately 12 camper spaces (approximately 0.1 miles) beyond the original turnaround. It may have been the case the course length was at least 26.4 miles. During the race, my Garmin Forerunner 50 had an average measurement of 1.01 miles between mile markers, within tolerance, but between mile 6 and the turnaround, an extra 0.05 miles was added to the sum, thus leading to the conclusion that the segment length was 6.60 miles instead of 6.55 miles. ORGANIZATION: Bill may have been the most approachable, easygoing race director one would have ever met. He was very well organized and was happy to respond to any question a runner may ask. Water and electrolyte drinks came from 10-gallon containers possessive of a rapid flowing spout. They were self-serving and runners brought their own container. Marathoners who did not normally use hydration packs were able purchase a bottle for two dollars from Bill at the expo. Participants could have parked at the local Vons supermarket lot and be bussed 1.1 miles to the starting line. Early arrivals had been known to park their cars on West Main Street just outside Emma Wood State Beach. Return bus service was spotty; after waiting over a half hour for the bus, some of us employed alternate means for return. SPECTATORS: Sparse. Some spectators on the course. No live bands present. CONCLUSION: It made sense over seventy percent of the participants came from southern California: one would not have considered this a destination marathon. It was a good race to contemplate for a local who wanted to get in a marathon at a minimum cost.

Enjoyed the cool temps, scenic course & excellent organization. Great excuse to visit Ventura, CA, about an hours drive from LAX. FREE race day packet pickup, nice tech shirt, well organized event.