City to the Sea

City to the Sea

City to the Sea

( 10 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • San Luis Obispo,
    California,
    United States
  • October
  • 13.1 miles/Half Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Fallon C

California, United States
55 50
2016
"From downtown to an ocean view"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Fallon C's thoughts:

City to the Sea is a point to point race that starts in San Luis Obispo and ends in Pismo Beach. 2016 was the 21st year it was put on. The race is a fundraiser for Cuesta College athletics. Shuttles are provided to bring the runners back to the starting location.

Registration-
Available online up to the day before packet pickup. Also available at packet pickup if the event was not sold out. The race usually draws around 2000 runners.

Packet pickup-
This occurs in the parking lot of the Running Warehouse. There is little to no expo just a few booths from local businesses. Bibs are not assigned before the race, they are assigned on a first come, first assigned basis. Timing chips are provided for your shoes. After getting your bib and chip, runners are directed to the shirt tables. The race shirt this year was cute but ran extremely small. It was also made out of a soft cotton material instead of tech fabric. I’ve run this race 4 times and this was the first time I was disappointed with the shirts. I heard later that they would exchange the shirts after the race if you brought yours to the finish line. I did not. Another thing I was surprised by was that there were no bags this year- everything was just handed to you- safety pins, bib, chip, tie straps and shirt. It was a lot of little things to carry.

Race-
The race starts at 7AM in downtown SLO. There is plenty of street parking and garages nearby, being a Sunday the meters don’t start until 1:00 PM. There also seemed to be sufficient port a potties. This year was the first time I’ve seen the race start late- it did not start until 7:10. There were a few announcements and I believe the National Anthem was sung but it was very hard to hear. Pace groups are provided for 1:30-3:00 and the pacers are dressed in costume so they are easy to spot. There are 5 on course aid stations that provided water and Fluid and bathrooms. I saw one at mile 5 that was offering Gu’s. All the stations seemed to be adequately staffed. The volunteers are often students from Cuesta College. The event has a 3 hour time limit but they do not kick you off the course if you go over that- you just need to move to side and watch for traffic.

Course-
The course heads south out of SLO- you stay on the main drag for a little over 4 miles, it is flat to downhill. The roads are not closed but volunteers and police do a good job with traffic control. Just before mile 5 you cross under the freeway and head up a long, slow incline before making a hard right around mile 7 for another climb. Once past that, you are greeted with a nice downhill as you head into Avila Beach. The course deviates from the road here to add some distance on the Bob Jones Trail. The trail is paved and heavily lined with trees, the shade is nice. Once off the trail you head towards the main street in Avila with a hard left to climb another hill. Once there, runners make a right up another hill and into Pismo around mile 10. The remaining 3 miles are run through neighborhoods as you wind your way up and down to the finish. I feel the course has just the right amount of hills and flat portions. One warning though- parts of the roads are very slanted which can mess with your stride.

Finish-
The finish line is located on the street by Dinosaur Caves Park. The chute is usually lined with spectators. Once finishing, a volunteer will cut off your chip, then you are given your medal. New this year you were also given a plastic tumbler and a race sticker. Printed results are available on a nearby table. Plenty of water was available as well. There is a finish line expo with booths, breakfast and a live band but I did not check it out, I wasn't feeling too great.

Overall, this is one of my favorite races. I will continue to run it. The course is very scenic and I like the mix of town and nature. The medals are always nice and the finish line are is very pretty. In my opinion this can be a PR friendly course as well.

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