Expo: The expo was easy to find as you can’t miss a giant finish sign as well as tents set up on the beach. The website stated that there were free parking garages around town, but I didn’t bother to search. We opted for the parking garage nearby which wasn’t the best idea. The parking garage used a ticket system and honestly it had no idea when the lot was full. There simply were not enough spots. I got lucky with and was able to fit a spot that just opened up.It was a nice expo along the beach and it had your typical vendor tents, merchandise tents, as well as a beautiful view of the pier. Now. I will say that more signage was needed to show were you actually get your packet from. If you came from the parking garage like I did, you only saw the first set of vendors and one sign saying “packing pick up” and arrow pointing in a direction. Following said arrow made you believe that you were leaving the expo, not going to the other side. Another sign on the chain link fence there would’ve been helpful. I circled around several times and ended up asking someone for help.

Packet Pick Up: Packet pick up was a breeze. You get in the line according to your bib number, there were no lines by the way, show you ID and get your bag of goodies. The end. If you were unable to make it you had two options. Send a friend with a copy of your ID, or pay extra for same day pick up. Each packet included snacks, bib, pins, local race flyers, shirt, and a hat all in a giant reusable Ventura Marathon bag.

Race Day Parking: The race had information posted well in advance on their website regarding which streets to take to access the free parking areas in the city. If you followed the directions on the website there we no issues, and no long lines to find a spot. Probably the best parking I've had a race. It was a short walk to the start, maybe a ¼ of a mile, maybe more, and there were plenty of runners to keep you company.

Race: You lined up according to your pace group and it was a wave start to avoid congestion. It was a beautiful dark start and at some point I managed to miss the sunrise over the ocean. Oh well, you can’t win them all. The beginning mile was along a paved road that was right next to the coast, but did not provide a coastal view. At about mile two you enter in a residential neighborhood which I LOVED. I imagine that to natives that this isn’t a big deal, but for me I though the neighborhood was adorable was exactly how I pictured a California beach town. At about mile 2 you turn out of the neighborhood and you will spend a good chunk of your time on one road. It’s an out an back course so one you hit 6.55 miles your turned around.

Finish Line: ALL THE SNACKS. Not food, but SNACKS. I LOVE snacks. I was happy and stuffed my face. It was well organized, clean, and efficient. Vendors were back at their tents and the beer garden was open offering a local brew. I personally don’t drink beer so I skipped out on this. Instead I drank my Go-go squeeze and took pictures of my medal and called my facetimed my mama.

Overall: It was a well-organized race with free pictures. The course was accurate, clearly marked, and it did have a beautiful start and finish. The race let the runners choose swag via facebook voting so it was nice to feel as if I had a hand in the picking the swag I received. I will be 100% honest and say that I did expect to see more of the beach/water while running due to the location of the race. Especially with this being an out and back course it would’ve been nice to have more active scenery versus grass. Oh, there's also free race photos which just sends the swag level through the roof for this race.

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