Rock n Roll San Diego is huge. It boasted upwards of 30,000 runners and offered a 5K, half marathon, half marathon relay and marathon. There was also a remix challenge if runners ran the 5K on Saturday and then one of the other races on Sunday.

Registration- was available online up until May 28. Discount codes were available online to help offset registration.

Packet pickup- Bib pickup was available at the expo Friday and Saturday at the San Diego Convention Center. Parking was available across the street for $15.00. Pickup was very organized. You started with your bib then went to the shirt pickup area. The expo was set up in a way that each section guided you to the next one. There were plenty of people around to help you if you needed it too.

Expo- The expo started off with the Brooks booth which was by far the biggest before runners headed into the main expo. The expo was large featuring a good variety of booths. Garmin, Eagle Creek, Honey Stinger, Fitletic, On Shoes, numerous races and many more. The race merchandise booth was large as well.

Transportation- As the race was a point to point- shuttles were offered from the finish with the purchase of a wristband or you could park elsewhere and ride the trolley. I hear parking was difficult. My hotel was 1 block from the finish line and across from the festival so walking to the shuttle was a breeze.

The course- The race started outside Balboa Park. It then leads you through San Diego up and away from the park before heading back down through the park towards the finish line which is a few blocks from the bay. The course took you through various city neighborhoods and the locals came out to cheer or provide their own aid stations. There were bands or DJ’s every few miles to keep you entertained. There was also a selfie station at one point. Mile 5 was emotional as it was the Run to Remember mile and honored fallen soldiers. The course was very organized and I actually liked looking at the city and neighborhoods of San Diego.
Finish- Once across the finish, you were handed your medal and a bottle of water. There were finisher photos being taken as well. The food at the finish was awesome- water bottle, full size chocolate milk and full size Gatorade plus a variety of snacks but no bags. That is a big pet peeve of mine- give us bag to hold everything- we are all tired and sweaty. Medical was also on hand if they were needed.

Elevation- By my standards this race is almost flat. My Garmin shows an elevation gain of 300 ft. I only noticed 2 real hills and both were after mile 10. But you also had 2 decent downhills to go along with those.

Course Aid- There were water stations with water and Gatorade every 2 miles, some sooner. All were well stocked and were well staffed with volunteers. They were also very enthusiastic. Aid stations were often set up by block- first block would be water, next block Gatorade. The only confusing part was that the order kept changing. Glukos gels and chews were also handed out around mile 8. That was the official course aid. Unofficially- there were numerous beer and alcohol stations along the way. There were also pop up stations with fruit and water by spectators.

Swag- The race shirt was tech shirt. They do run small, I am glad I sized up. The medal was nice and solid, it resembled a record and the middle spun.

Quirks- Just the bag for the finish line goodies.

Race Pictures- Done by MarathonFoto and some were up same day, talk about fast!

Overall- This race was awesome. I not generally a fan of large crowds but I would run this race again in a heartbeat. The race communication was on point, organization was awesome and the course great. I actually had my best race in years.