This is one of my favorite marathons to date. First, it's very small, which is highly preferable the majority of the time, at least in my opinion. Second, it's on Catalina Island, which if you've never been there, is not to be missed. It's truly gorgeous, and very challenging. This marathon is put on for and by runners. Here's my rundown.

Getting there - Catalina Island is...you guessed it, an island. My hubby and I flew in from VA to LAX, and from LAX, we splurged for a scenic helicopter ride. It was worth it, and actually not that bad in terms of cost. We caught our helo near Long Beach, piece of cake. It was a beautiful flight in and a nice little extra. We actually "hitchhiked" with someone the mile from the helo pad on Catalina into Avalon, the magical little seaside town. It was actually one of the locals who lives there year round and takes the helo into LA every week. Friendly folk on Catalina! Avalon itself is very small, no need for a car, and you probably couldn't rent one anyway (maybe, not sure). We stayed in a little B&B one or two streets back from the main street, the Seacrest Inn. Very comfortable and quiet. Getting back to LAX - we reserved our seats on the ferry, which is also a beautiful ride back to the coast, and an easy cab ride to the airport.

Catalina doesn't hit the "high season" for another month or so, so a March race was perfect. The weather was beautiful; cool and crisp in the morning and sunny all day. Warmed up in the afternoons but it was very pleasant. Make sure you get out and walk around the town, get ice cream by the beach, great restaurants abound in such a small place.

Race expo was small and simple. They do a night-before talk about the course which is helpful. It's a challenging elevation profile, with lots of ups and downs and then a major up-up-up. It's all nicely graded dirt roads, nothing technical other than the elevation itself. I wore road shoes with gaiters and it was perfect. The very end of the race you're on pavement.

Getting to the start. There are a couple of ways to do it, but the easiest way from Avalon is to take the ferry (there are bathrooms on board) which goes to Two Harbors where you walk a short distance to the start. There is an early start option as well. There are so many runners that have run this marathon for years and years, it's incredible. It's almost a cult race. You get a little date bar that can be hung off of a race pin. Some runners had them on their hats and the chain of bars was like 20+ long. Incredible devotion to this race!

Anyway, the course runs past meadows, valleys, and of course, hills. We saw bison not even a mile in. All of the climbs are well worth it, as the vistas are breathtaking. The downhills are fast and the last three-ish are downhill and then flat on pavement heading into Avalon. The finish line is surprisingly festive, and you can kick your shoes off and walk right into the Pacific.

The t-shirt: unlike most races, you don't get the t-shirt until you cross the finish line, which is kind of neat. It was an awesome black long-sleeve tech tee with vibrant logos on it. One of my favorites that I still wear. The "medal" is actually a hand-made ceramic tile on a ribbon, and changes each year. It's very cool and very unique.

My overall assessment: absolutely one of my favorite races. I suggest carrying a hydration pack. Even though there are aid stations, the course isn't shaded so it was nice to have my own water. I also carried my phone to take photos and was glad to have done so. It's not a race I ran for speed, but rather for joy. Soak up this event, talk to the other runners too. It's one of the only races were I had headphones, but didn't once use them. It was too beautiful of a day, too beautiful of a course, and the other runners were so friendly. Enjoy it!!