San Diego Half Marathon

The 2015 San Diego Half Marathon was my FIRST-​EVER half marathon. The race was recommended to me by my girlfriend, who ran it last year. We both signed up and trained for it with the San Diego Track Club. It was an amazing experience that brought us closer together.
The best thing about the San Diego Half Marathon is that the course takes you through some of the most beautiful parts of San Diego. You will run through parts of downtown, along the harbor, across Hillcrest, and down 6^th street along Balboa Park. In terms of elevation gain, the course starts out fairly flat, builds to a mile long incline (which is brutal but completely do-​able), and ends downhill where thousands of spectators will be cheering as you cross the finish line.
A defining feature of the San Diego Half Marathon is how organized it is. The course is well-​marked with directional arrows and mile markers. There are more than enough water and re-​fuel stations scattered about, so that you do not need to make any tactical decisions about when you should stop and take a break. Moreover, all of the volunteers were enthusiastic about assisting you and giving words of encouragement.
Leading up to the race, the organizers issued updates through Facebook and Twitter. I particularly like their inspirational posts, which kept me motivated during my training. The organizers were also keen on notifying when the registration price would increase for those who were still on the fence about signing up. There is also an expo the weekend of the race, where you will pick up your race packet and technical t-​shirt, as well as have the opportunity to mingle with other runners and check out various vendors for running products.
Bottom line, what you pay for is a very well-​organized race that gives great support leading up to and during the race. You should also take pride in that the money you give will go towards local charities and the time you spend training can be personally quite rewarding. I would recommend the San Diego Half Marathon to anyone, especially those contemplating running a half marathon for the first time.
PS– In case anyone was wondering, my finishing time was around 1 hour and 49 minutes. I just signed up to run this again in 2016 and it will be my second-​ever half marathon.

Easily the best organized run I’ve ever been a part of. 2015 marks my 3^rd year running in this event. It also marks the 3^rd year I take part in the San Diego-​Mammoth Challenge. Very well worth it.
The San Diego Half leaves the runner with no room for guessing about anything. The signs they post tell you exactly how long before the next water and bathroom stops occur, the medical support along the course is fantastic, the volunteers are some of the best I’ve ever seen, the spectators are phenomenal, and they have plenty of portajohns along the course.
The t-​shirts are nice, the medals are huge and have always been beautiful, you get a service member that hands you your medal, and the course is very scenic.
Love love love their legacy program.
Washington St hill is a killer if you dont train with hills but aside from that this run will keep me coming back.

LEGACY RUNNER IN THE HIZ-​OUSE! lol.
Okay, so this is was my 2^nd year running this race, and all I was really entitled to was a star on the sleeve of my shirt, and bib designation — whatever that means. Lol. I’m going to aim for the 5 year mark, and earn that legacy jacket.
This has been one of my favorite races (half marathon) in San Diego. The race is very well organized, and shows off the beautiful parts of San Diego. The Rock n Roll fellas need to consult with the San Diego Half Marathon fellas because the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in San Diego is just a hot mess.
PROS
– The race starts by Petco Park, and ends at The Gaslamp on 5^th. Life is so much easier when races begin/​end in close proximity of each other.
– Parking is plentiful, it’s just a matter of picking and choosing where you want to park: far/​free, cheap, moderately pricey, parking lot, parking structure, street, by the homeless, ect.
– Prefilled re-​usable bag with goodies after the race.
– An actual Gaslamp Block Party Map for race day discounts from local businesses. Hello, $ 1 craft beer!
– Free entry to Historic USS Midway Museum
CONS
– Always lands on Daylight Savings Time. Why!?!
– I’m not exactly fond of the expo at Broadway Pier. Parking sucks, and I don’t even spend that much time at the expo. I heard it used to be at Petco Park before…
– It would be nice to have a portion of the race inside Petco Park. Other cities run inside their baseball park.
– OR have the finish line in Petco Park, as it was previously. It’s not like there are any baseball games going on in March anyways.
– Can you tell I am a fan of Petco Park? Lol.
– And let’s not forget WASHINGTON STREET on mile 9. (Refer to my review written in 2014 about WASHINGTON STREET.)
– And again, men had the nicer shirt. Luckily I do my «research» prior to registration, thus earn my blue shirt instead of purple. However, I still think last years shirt was better.

(Half #8, 2015)
This Half raises the bar: The «San Diego — Mammoth Challenge.» Running both in the same calendar year – San Diego in March and Mammoth in June – earns you an additional, extra-​large commemorative medal at the finish! It’s «challenges» such as this that pushed me into long-​distance running in the first place: setting personal goals (even when it’s a 13-​mile run) and completing them, as tired and as sore as I become, make me feel great… about myself. So I push back…
San Diego’s Half, USATF Certified and now in its 5^th year, began at Petco Park and wound around the beautifully scenic city itself: amidst the San Diego Bay, Liberty Station, and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD); through Mission Hills, Hillcrest, and Balboa Park. And the big finish: down 5^th Avenue and into the Gaslamp District.
This race, however, requires a little grit: Washington Street, climbing almost a quarter-​mile at a 4−5% grade, was ominous, especially at mile 10; but it didn’t hinder most. The sooner you reach the top, the sooner it’s over. Like a band-​aid: One motion! Right Off!
San Diego delivers one of its premier runs with this event. The route was adventurous; the participation was brimming; the excitement was evident; and – as expected – the medals, shining in the morning sun, were exceptional! For those who love this race, and there are many who do, there are Legacy perks as well: legacy bib designations; premium tech shirts; awesome-​looking half-​zip, long-​sleeved techs; and very cool, commemorative jackets as well. Take a look:
Mammoth…I’m comin’ for ya!
Tips:
1) Parking is simple. There’s plenty. For $ 10, I parked in the Convention Center’s structure: easy in, easy out.
2) There’s no race-​day registration, and it costs extra to have your bib sent in the mail (I believe it was $ 20); but if you’re not planning to attend the Expo anyway, it’s worth it.

This was my 2^nd year running this half marathon and it’s so awesome that I plan to run this race for as many years as I can.
Among the many reasons are:
* Ease of race packet pickup with free entry into USS Midway
* The best quality drawstring gear bag
* Nice race shirt with «Legacy» printed on sleeve starting with 2^nd (not 3^rd) consecutive run!
* Numerous hotel choices in the area (my hotel was only about a block and a half from the start line)
* A wonderful area at that! Can’t beat the vibe of downtown SD on Friday and Saturday night with so many choice places to go out and play/​dine. So much to do within walking distance!
* Race starts around 7:30, but it usually coincides with DST so your body will feel like it’s 6:30 am (good or bad, you decide)
* On-​time race wave starts with a decent announcer/​veejay and music
* Very secure, easy and efficient gear check and pickup!
* Awesome course with a great challenge up Washington St. Also didn’t come upon too many bottlenecks.
* Powerful sense of community and top notch volunteers (THANK YOU!)
* Adequate water (plus electrolyte drinks, Clif shot gels, vaseline, iodized salt), first aid, pitstop stations that are clearly marked along the way. Really great signs and mile markers.
* Exhilarating jumbotron finish and great race photos (and they called my name out as I crossed!)
* Lots of goodies at finish: water, coconut water, chocolate milk, banana, chips, Dole fruit, Clif Bar, and Larabar all in yet another awesome SD bag! Bonus: wipes being handed out as you grab your pre-​packaged bags.
All of the above comes with a very decent registration fee, even more so if you register early, which is what I plan to do once again because I can’t wait for next year! Hats off to the organizers and volunteers of this fantastic race!

SD Half Marathon & 5K 3÷8÷2015
…emphasis on 5K. :)
Excellent race and extremely well-​organized! From the race packet pick-​up, to the morning shuttles, to the finish line – everything was flawless. Whoever is in charge of organizing this race should help the Mardi Gras Run next year.
I also enjoyed the 5K course – I had a blast running down 6^th street by beautiful Balboa Park. I’ll be back next year!

If you want to experience the way cattle feel on the way to the slaughter house, check out this marathon! Featuring a forced march thru the packet pick up «expo» with loud announcers shouting at you over a PA. During this punishment hawkers of crappy sunglasses and vegan free range power bars bark at you from all sides for a half hour while you stand in line waiting to pick up your mandatory goodie bag full of coupons for stuff you don’t need.
After you make it to the aptly named Petco park super dome and thru the maze of crowd control police with bullet proof vests and riot control garb, you start the race after the mandatory national anthem is sang and final prayers made. You start in waves to make the stampeding horde of crazed soccer moms and dads easier to manage. After running the 13 miles thru an urban hell scape you enter the final fenced off stretch back to the Finish line. From here you are funneling and forced thru a phalanx all runners must climb and descend two flights of stairs at the finish line, security personnel yelling to keep moving, take off your shoes for the last security check point. This «race» was a nightmare. Great training for the riot police and the future slaves preparing for the FEMA camps.
You have been warned.

Finally got a chance to run a half marathon here in my hometown and I managed to set a new PR for myself in my 5^th half marathon. Official time 2:17:27 !
I went to the expo on Friday after I got off work and got to the Broadway Pier around 3:15pm. I thought the expo wouldn’t be as busy and crowded compared to going on Saturday. But nope wrong. I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t notice until I got home that my free tech shirt already lost the 2015 part on the logo of the shirt on the front.
Race morning was really simple and I had no problem with parking. I got to the Petco Park tailgate parking lot around 6:15am.I did not want to be cheap by wasting time and chancing it with parking in some bad shady parts of downtown SD where your car might get broken into. Besides it was $ 10.Gear check in was simple and easy as well.
This race from top to bottom is really great being very well organized and the course showcases San Diego really well. Well except for the dreaded Washington St. hill climb at. Since this year will be the first time I run Rock N Rolll SD we’ll see how it compares to this half marathon course.
Finishing in the Gaslamp Quarter was great. But I kind of hope they bring back the epic Petco Park finish sometime in future.
Will I race this in the future? Absolutely !
Half marathon #3 in 2015 complete and in the books !

Ran this race in 2013 and 2014, and a had a great experience both times. The expo at the cruise ship terminal downtown is a little crowded but not too bad, and parking wasn’t a big deal; just park at the meters on the south side of USS Midway near the sailor/​nurse kissing statue and walk over… easy peasy.
Parking at the start line is simple, plentiful, and cheap if you get there early. The course starts downtown and follows Harbor Drive to Liberty Station. From there it crosses Pacific Highway and hits the infamous mile 9 hill on Washington Street. Personally, I didn’t find the hill to be too bad. It is maybe a half to ¾ of a mile and admittedly quite steep and difficult, but once you’ve crested it you are up in Hillcrest with a pretty sweet downhill from mile 11 all the way to the finish downtown. I’ve run my two fastest half marathon times at this race (to this date my only two halfs under 1:30), so it is definitely a PR course if you’re prepared for the hill.
Well-​organized finish and nice T-​shirt and medal. It was annoying that they announced unofficial times via e-​mail that were a minute off, but hopefully they fix the problem next year.
Great race overall; I’m already registered for next year!

From the start you can tell this race was well planned, meaning…
Thorough «Final Race Info» email/​info
Great recommendations on local hotels (We stayed at Hotel Indigo, 3 blocks away)
A ton of port-​o-​lets at the start so you don’t waste time stretching in lines
Several bag check-​in people to assist
Bib pickup event: great vendors that had all your essential needs (food & equipment)
Great finish line experience with huge screens and wide lanes w/​no traffic jam
Live high school bands every few miles
Markers that tell you exactly how far the next water & port-​o-​lets are
Awesome reusable finish line goodie bags
Super duper, high quality, large/​heavy finish medals
Quick online results and even photos
And of course the race course route itself: Beautiful San Diego
The only improvement I thought they could have made was the design of the technical shirts. I thought they were a bit boring
TIPS:
Mile 9 sucks… super long incline and the last 25% gets even steeper so prepare yourself!
Keep watch for MarathonFoto guys in the yellow vests

Am I the only one who had a total «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» opinion of this run? I’ve run plenty of half marathons (this was my 15^th if I’m counting right, and my third this year — one a month for 2014, woo!) and while the course was (mostly) beautiful and they paid attention to many small details, they fell super short on others.
I appreciated that expo parking was cheap and plentiful, but the expo was pretty cramped and I was personally annoyed that the woman at the solutions table refused to let me swap out my pink shirt for a way less obnoxious men’s black one. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I like pink — races, stop forcing neon pink onto ladies! I was also kind of confused why everyone I interacted with (bib person, goodie bag person, shirt person) all were asking EVERY patron «Are you nervous for tomorrow?!» Uh, no. Am I supposed to be? Please just kindly give me my items and let me be on my way.
Race morning was also a little frustrating. For a field of only 6,000−7,000 runners, they had 15+ waves. It was a little excessive. The official start time was 7:20. I’m slow, I know that, so I was in wave 12. I didn’t cross the finish line until after 8:00 am. I don’t necessarily have an issue with that, other than the fact that I could have gotten 40 more minutes of sleep on Daylight Savings day (seriously, the dumbest day to schedule an early race). I’ve done the Surf City half going on 6 years in a row now — they have a field of 20,000+ runners and it’s broken up into about 20 waves. That’s more reasonable. If you’re going to delay the waves that much fine, but how about publish a predicted start time for the later waves so I can not be stuck standing around for 40 minutes?
The thing that really ruined the race in my opinion was the poorly stocked water stops. They had water stops roughly every two miles. It was an unusually hot day (the whole week was 80-​ish degrees). Mile 2 had water, then mile 4, but mile 6 was out of cups so the only people who got water were those that were carrying bottles that could be refilled. Whatever, one water stop, not a huge deal. Then, mile 8 was also out of water — but they were still handing out Gu’s, which you NEED to take with water. Dumb. About a half a mile past this water stop I heard people talking about how huge the hill at mile 9 was and I began to wonder if there would be water at the next stops, so I diverted off the course into a gas station with a bunch of other people (including some pacers) and spent close to 5 minutes waiting in line and purchasing water. I thought some of the high registration fees were supposed to go towards course support? Apparently water isn’t essential.
The hill at mile 9 was annoying. I know I’m just being a complainer on this one because really, what are you going to do about it, but still by mile 9 I’m tired and grumpy and why on earth are you making me run up a big hill? Jerks.
The finish area had lots of little things most people would appreciate. The jumbotron finish was cool, but probably made more sense when the course used to have you finish inside petco park. The medal was heavy, but I see no reason to keep them so it just goes straight into the recycle bin for me unless it serves another purpose (I’m in an anti-​clutter phase of life — I keep bottle opener or keychain medals, that’s about it). I did like that the post race snacks were all bagged up and ready to go so I didn’t have to attempt to carry 5 things and find my way back to my hotel. A salty option in the bag would have been a nice addition as they provided a banana, a tangerine, coconut water, a tiny clif bar and some tiny chocolates.
Overall, I would only consider doing this run again if I got crazy cheap early bird registration, falsely report my predicted time as super slow to just be in the very last corral to get close to an extra hour of sleep and carry my own water bottle just in case.

For 2013, the expo was located at the Broadway pier. Nice venue, that is the perfect size for the number of runners for this event.
As for the course itself, well this was a fun course; although I was slightly deceived when they said that the start line was at Petco Park. Well, technically it was true, but the start line was right outside the park, so we never actually got to run through the park.
And the finish line is near where you started at. And you can do your post-​race celebrating right away with the access of all the bars in downtown San Diego.
The course wasn’t at all that challenging with the exception of the big hill on Washington St. Just conserve your energy up to this point so you can bolt down the last two miles for a strong finish. And you really do need to conserve your energy, as the drink stations were sparse and very far apart from the next station. So if you’re used to getting a drink on every mile, well, this race might not be the best for you.
But the post-​race refreshment was worth the strong finish, with endless supplies of Zico, chocolate, oranges, bananas, water, and bagels. The medal for 2013 was very nice with the Gaslamp arch on the medal. Pretty cool, since that’s where the finish line is.
This is a great, early year half-​marathon that everyone can do. It was fun, cheap, semi-​organized, with plenty of free goodies at the end. I can definitely do this again.
Note to self: 1:40:04 in 2013.

San Diego Half Marathon should be held as «Evidence A» for what a race should aspire to be.
By far, the biggest and most pleasant surprise was the fact that if I had so desired, I could have showed up to the lot next to the start 20 minutes before the race. Traffic coming into downtown was minimal, and parking was a breeze. Unlike the AFC half or La Jolla Half, you don’t have to get shuttled to your starting position, so you don’t need to get there hours early to avoid getting stuck in traffic (Curse you, AFC Half and your Balboa Park bottleneck from hell!) or having to worry about not making the shuttle. Honestly, it helps your pre-​race psyche so much when you can focus on the race and not have to worry about getting to the start line on time.
Second, I was blown away by the amount of port-​a-​potties they set up. Honestly, you have no idea how unbelievably happy that made me. I get those pre-​race jitters, and the kids need to be dropped off at the pool. The last thing any runner wants is to have to wait in a damn line for 45 minutes in the cold (AFC, I’m looking at you again!) while trying to stave off the trots. The organizers were awesome though. Tons of toilets and no wait! Seriously, you can’t discount how awesome this is.
As far as the actual race goes, I love that they set everything up in waves, based on your estimated times. The course ran as expected. Nice and flat for the first 2/​3, followed by the Washington hill. Surprisingly enough, the worst part of the race was the beginning of the downhill portion into the Gaslamp. When you look at the race topo, you see that it’s all downhill, and you’re expecting that downgrade will help pick up your pace. Oddly enough, that didn’t seem to be the case for me. The only lame thing was that the 5K finish line popped up about a ¹⁄₈ mile before the half marathon finish line. I thought I was almost done, but then I saw the people in front of me chugging away still. I guess I should have paid attention to the map better.
Post-​race, it was a really organized and plentiful setup. Lots of food and water, and the addition of laptops to immediately check your results was really a nice extra touch.
Overall, you can really see that the organizers really have their ducks in a row. All the things that I put up with the other half marathons never really was an issue with this race. For that, you can expect me back in the years to come (or at least until my knees give out).

Ran this twice (of 2) now. First time it started at Petco and ended «inside Petco». 2^nd time around (a few weeks ago), it started at Petco and ended at Gaslamp 5^th.
Both times very organized. 2^nd time… even more organized it seemed. Well appointed port-​a-​potties, and bag-​check for seasoned runners. Mileage markers sufficient with more than enough water/​energy drink/​power-​shot stops.
The killer is going up Washington at mile 9 – 10. I’d swear it’s gotta be a least a 6% grade incline. 1^st time/​year it killed me. 2^nd time/​year, i killed it.
This is one of the more fun, and scenic half marathons in San Diego — as the course takes you through Harbor Island and by Bayside. Great race. Will do again for sure. Kudos to the event organizers. Very well done.

Oh Heeeeeeeeeeeeeyy !!! It’s another one !
If you LOVE San Diego, you’ll LOVE this run !
Perfect weather !!!
Course was picturesque and fairly flat except for two hills. Washington St. kicked my arse, but it wasn’t the most difficult hill I’ve ever ran. Torrey Pines hill is still the number one BEAST compared to this. Anyway, I’m not bragging, because I ended up walking half of it. Oy !
.more.lunges
Other than that, I can see how people can set a PR since it was a fun and overall easy course, especially for noobs. I stayed in downtown so I was pretty close to the start line and it’s super convenient since I didn’t want to deal with traffic. Considering I have a small bladder I have to always use the restroom a gazillion times before a run so I was happy to see plenty of port-​a-​potties. Pacers and waves were also well-​organized.
Supporters/​fans/​volunteers were amazing as always. Not many spectators as I had hoped, but I really enjoyed the live bands and running through the communities of Hillcrest and Downtown. If you really want to see beautiful San Diego and get a great workout at the same time, I recommend signing up for this race.
Fuel stations were well stocked and I made sure to take advantage of it. Nice downhill finish, but man if you have knee problems this is a no-​no ! I had to side step my finish and do some funky moves since my knees started to bother me. Ugh… the last couple miles were torture.
It was worth it though. Sweet looking tech t-​shirt and medal ! One of the nicest medals I’ve gotten ! Plus, I’m a local San Diegan so this hits close to home. San Diego pride baby !
Overall, 4.5 STARS !
Running Fans: Taking a break from halfies and taking up a new sport. kettlebells ??

First half-​marathon = successo.
WINNING STRATEGY: Follow the cute girls who pass you if you suck at setting your own pace like I do, but avoid running to close behind them as you’ll be a creep tailing them in all their photos.
PRE-​RACE:
— parking /​traffic for the expo was a pain, try to go earlier in the day
— the pickup expo was neat, some decent sponsors trying out products
— the actual packet pickup was slightly disorganized, they didn’t give me any information, just handed me a bag with my bib inside, had to figure out the t-​shirt thing myself (they ran out of my size, even though all sizes were pre-​registered for)
— I had asked a staff member about parking the next day, and they had no idea, which is fine, as I know all the info was online, I just thought I’d ask while I was there
RACE-​DAY:
— parking was a breeze, was able to find one of the many free parking spots on the street (meters are free on Sunday)
— race started right on time and the waves were well spaced out
— «Many the Miles» was the first song to come on the running playlist, I thought that was a good sign
— race itself was a solid course. Only one semi-​difficult hill around mile 8 – 9.
— lots of food /​goodies at the finish line
POST-​RACE:
— pictures were available the following day: AWESOME
— pictures were not free (not only not free, but pretty outrageously priced): NOT AWESOME
I’ve run a few Spartan Races and the fact that they give hi-​res photos for free is such a monumental perk for me… it’s a shame most races charge so much for the photos on top of the high registration fee
Overall, super positive experience. A lot of great energy surrounding the entire event.
Finish: 1:48:54 Pace: 8:19

Ready, set, rave review go!
For a second annual race, the SD half-​marathon was simply perfect and I am boldly labeling it as my favorite race of San Diego (counting the Triple Crown Series).
EXPO:
Held at the Port Pavilion, easy access from both the I-​5 and I-​163. I was able to park in a free 30 minute spot to get my bib and goodies. The number of vendors were plenty, just as many as the Carlsbad Expo. The volunteers were very helpful and efficient in directing racers to their destinations.
RACE DAY:
No traffic jam anywhere (thank goodness, I can’t imagine going through the nightmare traffic jam again as I did for the LJ half… it took me an hour just to exit the freeway before the race).
I actually thought for a second I tripped up on Daylights Savings Time and came too early (or late). Turns out having the race downtown is a great idea.
COURSE SUPPORT:
There was a station with a concert band and another with marching bands/​color guard in uniform, playing for us. How GREAT is that? Thank you for coming out to play and thanks to all the volunteers/​spectators!
The dreaded hill on Washington is manageable if you ran the LJ half and its awful Torrey Pines hill. I still had to grit my teeth and repeat mind-​over-​matter a few times but still jogged the entire hill. Plus, it’s basically a steady down incline after so a great pay-​off.
What I loved most about the race is our pace leader, Gina. While I couldn’t hang with the group without a fear of being trampled on, I was able to stay ahead of them by a few yards at all times.
It was pretty awesome to hear Gina shout words of motivation and reminding us to relax our posture at every mile… Almost like a personal cheerleader throughout the entire race.
I was able to finish with a new PR, 1:49:28!
As a final note, the organizers definitely spoiled us with replenishments after. Coconut water, fruits, chocolates, bagels, naked juice… Just perfect.

First up — having the expo at Petco was fantastic. The area was wide open, and I didn’t have to fight my way through crowds to check out the booths or to the registration area. I registered onsite (again — I wasn’t even sure I was going to be able to run the event), and the onsite registration was a breeze — if stinkin expensive! ($ 150). The packet pickup itself was the only snafu of the expo — it was down an odd hallway with unclear lines and poor traffic management.
The morning of the race the one thing I noticed was the inability to find any water before the start of the race (or at least I couldn’t find any). But the corals were well spaced out and managed, which anyone who’s run a large event will tell you is very important.
The pace groups were easy to find and I toed the line with the 1:45 pace group. The start of the course was great — through downtown and along the harbor. I could have done without the stretch through the rental car center, though. ;-) I enjoyed the tour through Liberty Station (and resisted the urge to stop at Oggi’s). All was going well until we took that left onto to (*@^ing Washington. That did my race in. The course was still scenic, but I was done for.
The finish in Petco was awesome. Cuz really — how often do you get to run on the field of a ballpark and not risk being arrested? And the medal is awesome.
During the race, outside of the rental car stretch the course was well done — if designed by a sadist. :-) The one complaint that I did have was the water tables needed to be longer — it was hard to fight to get over and get water.
But — beyond that, this was extremely well run. Two little things to change for next year:
1. Longer tables for the water stations, especially the early ones when people are more compacted together.
2. Better traffic management for the packet pickup.
This is already on the edge of a «must-​do» event every year — those couple of little changes and this race is a gem.
As for my time — well, Washington did me in. I finished at about 1:50. :-/​Next time I’ll train more for that hill.

The BEST half marathon that I’ve ever participated in, and the most organized, too! For an inaguaral race, the organizers really pulled out all the stops to ensure that everything was seamless.
The expo, situated at Petco Park, was an ideal location. Packet & bib pickup flowed flawlessly without any hitches. Vendors were aplenty, and I ended up purchasing, at stellar prices, some new running threads at both the Cariloha and Halo booths.
Overall, the course was fabulous. I could have done without running through the uninspiring rental car lots off of Harbor Dr, but, aside from that, the route was thoughtful and provided a well-​rounded tour of the highlights of beautiful San Diego. Luckily for me, I studied the route in advance and had no problems with the Washington Ave incline. I did see many poor souls dropping off like flies, though :(Miles 10 – 13 were a breeze, mostly downhill, leading you straight into the stadium for an «epic finish.»
This is a race that I foresee doing year after year. I can’t wait for 2013!
Finish: 1:46:16 Pace: 8:07

4.5…
DAMN you hill on Washington!!! You cost me my PR!!! I was 4 seconds shy by beating my PR that I got a week prior in NOLA’s RnR Half…
I was pleasantly surprised that this event was as organized as it was for being an inaug race. Kudos!
The expo was a little awkward being at Petco, but free parking in the streets if you are able to find a spot. Parking on race morning was free also if you’re familiar with downtown SD. I saw that some people paid for spots while I parked on the street literally like 5 feet away where it was FREE.
The port-​o-​potty line was LONG, but it actually went pretty quick and we were in our corrals on time. I would suggest more ports in another area since the line did create a bottleneck near the corrals.
The corrals were not crowded and I had room to run and not bump into anyone. Bottleneck at the beginning since walkers were in the wrong corral, but once you pass them, it was wide open.
I really enjoyed this route — 80% of the run was scenic and I got to see many attractions I typically bypass in the downtown area. What got to me (as well as everyone else) is the Washington hill during mile 8 – 9. HOLY ISHT! People were dropping off like flies. This hill was nuts and I swear it was never-​ending.
It was all downhill after, however. Another con is the fact that they stopped some runners for the trolley to pass (almost near the finish). Luckily, I wasn’t in that group.
What was cool was that you finish in Petco Park. Your «epic» finish is your face on the jumbo-​tron. Unfortunately, my cheerleader missed me and didn’t get my pic as I crossed the finish. BUMMED that MY finish was not so «epic».
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STATS:
Overall: 2132 out of 5488
Women: 871 out of 3130
F 30 – 34: 174 out of 576
Age/​Grade: 53.48% Place: 2016
5 Km: 27:58 Pace: 9:01
3.7 Mi: 33:37 Pace: 9:05
10 Km: 56:25 Pace: 9:05
15 Km: 1:27:31 Pace: 9:24
Finish: 2:03:55 Pace: 9:28
Gun Time: 2:05:35
Tag Time: 2:03:55