Registration/swag- Available online up until 4 days before the race. Prices ranged from $80-$130 for the half. With registration, you received a long sleeve gender specific race shirt, race cinch bag and a ¾ zip pullover.

Expo- Expo and packet pickup took place on both the Friday and Saturday preceding the race. The expo was in the parking lot of the Shoppes of Carlsbad so there was ample parking if a little congestion. The expo opened with Bib pickup by number and shirt pickup was in the back. The expo was mid-sized with 10-15 vendors.

Race- The course was an out and back but there a couple places that it deviated slightly so that it wasn’t as dragging as some out and back courses can seem. I am not a huge of fan of out and back courses but I really liked this one. The majority of the course ran along the ocean and was very scenic. The weather was perfect which helped contribute to a very picturesque course. There were only two real climbs on the course, one in mile 1 and one in mile 7. Other than that the course was little rollers to flat in elevation, if you were looking for a PR, this could be a good place to get to get it.

Aid stations were every 1.5 miles or so and were very well stocked and manned. All had plenty of people working throughout the race and I never experienced a table without any water or electrolytes. Water was in cups with Arrowhead on them and the electrolyte provided was Ultima and served in branded paper cups. Stations also had Vaseline for runners with very clear signs that specified it was not to be eaten.  I only wish there was more consistency in which came first- water or Ultima.

The course had more crowd support then I expected but it is not a crowd heavy race. The crowds did pick up towards the finish line. The finish line was located near the expo. There was an announcer calling out names as you finished. Once across the line you were handed your medal, then a mylar blanket and a bottle of water. From there you were funneled into a chute and handed a chocolate milk, paper bag with snacks and a coconut water. There were a couple of places to take finishers photos but they had really long lines.

Overall, this was a great race from start to finish, it is definitely one that I would recommend and would run again.