Packet pickup was at Roadrunner Sports and the line moved really fast. We got our awesome long sleeve race shirt. We were also given some gloves for the race, since it was going to be cold. Any extra clothing, including the gloves, that were left on the course was donated to charity. After a good wash I hope.
A group of us were dropped off at the start line, so we didn't have any problems parking. It seemed to be very confusing as to where folks should park though. But things seemed to move really smoothly as everyone funneled in. Aside from the cold temp for SoCal (30-40s) everyone was in high spirits, and looking forward to running. The gear check area was not very well put together. Looked like people just dropped their bags and the bags were put into a U-haul. Someone could have easily walked away with bags. Hope to see some improvement for the gear check next year!
Once the race began I was super excited. Figured since I'd done the Craft Classic (if you did both races, you gained another medal), that most of the race would be a repeat. And that was the case. Although the scenery was really pretty, there was just very little excitement. Luckily I was running with a group of friends, so that broke up a lot of the monotony. Had I been running alone I would have felt very underwhelmed.
For newer half marathoners like myself (this was my second half), the thought of a steady decline in elevation is exciting! But unfortunately, there's still a good bit of hills. They were small hills, but you felt them for sure. The water stations were great, the volunteers were outstanding and super enthusiastic.
Around mile 13 there was a hair pin out and back to get to the final stretch... Wish it hadn't been there. By mile 13 I was really hoping to see some ocean, but it never really showed up. Running through the shoot was great, but there wasn't much going on Post-race. A lot of the runners had left in buses and a lot of the fruit and such was gone (which really means I have to start running faster, lol).
Overall I think the Holiday Half Marathon is a nice race. If you plan to run it this year; have music ready, friends around you and don't get caught up in the elevation drop. I plan to do the Turkey trot and the Holiday Half next year (this is another opportunity for a double medal) , change it up a bit!