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Ventura,
California,
United States - September
- 3 miles/5K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon
- Road Race
- Event Website
Alex
California, United StatesOverall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
I was fortunate enough to receive a comp entry to the Ventura Marathon on behalf of BibRave! A race I wanted to do since its inauguration last year. I was born in Oxnard, Ca so having a chance to run in Oxnard/Ventura was like a dream come true for me.
From the minute I registered, I immediately noticed the 1st class type of folks this race organization was. Although I didn't participate in them, they put on THREE practice runs on 3 different Sundays for all runners participating in event. It would be on the actual course and provide hydration stations! Something that in my 13 previous marathons I have never seen!
My race weekend began on Saturday, the day of the expo. I arrived in Ventura around 1pm. The expo/packet pick up was below the beautiful Ventura Pier. The location for me was a bit sentimental because in high school in 1999 I worked at the Holiday Inn, now called Crown Plaza, right at the Pier. So I immediately felt at home. BIB pick up was seamless and they gave all runners a beautiful bag with the Official Race t-shirt.
I checked into race hotel Ventura Beach Marriott, about 1 mile South from pier along the actual course. The location has a plethora of pre race dining options so my lovely girlfriend and I opted for a Ventura County staple : Toppers Pizza Place.
Sunday/race day!
With a 6:20 start time, I awoke at 4am to begin prep. I used the 1 mile walk as my warm up. The race started right on time at 6:20 and off we went! My girlfriend, Laura, was waiting to cheer for me at mile 1 right outside our hotel!
The course was not gonna provide any surprises for me, as I've ran these same roads hundreds of times throughout my running life. But boy are they gorgeous. Miles 1- 9 travel all along Harbor Blvd into Oxnard. You get to see the classic farm lands of Ventura County as well the beautiful neighborhood of Mandalay Beach. Water stations were plentiful every couple miles!
Mile 9 we turned onto Channel Islands blvd, which runs along the Port Hueneme Naval Base. Mile 10-13 we run along the Base as well into Hueneme Beach area where we turned around and reversed the course.
Although not alot of spectators like you'd get at big events such as the Los Angeles marathon, the volunteers at the water stations were not lacking enthusiasm. Kids ready and cheerful to hand out water and "Fluid", the official race drink, were delightful! I made my back the same routes towards the finish with Laura again waiting to run with me the last mile.
The finish was very well organized with crowds cheering on both sides of the barriers. Sweet kids promptly gave us our gorgeous medals as well as water!
My finish time was 4:29:41. Not quite what my goal was but just as sweet as this race is perhaps my favorite out of the 14 I've done. I have all intentions of going back next year and running it again!