It was hot & slightly humid (which is NOT normal conditions for southern California) and it was so worth it. You must run this race!!! The swag is amazing, the course is flat, and it starts and ends at the beach...it is like the dream half marathon course. It also has a super fun after party, which I loved. They also had FREE race photos!!!!! How cool is that?!

The packet pick up, expo and the race start and finish were all right on the beach. The expo had a lot of vendors, many were other races to run, some were running accessories and others were snacks and food vendors. I appreciated some of the running accessories booths as I traveled to the race and didn't bring everything I thought I would need :) It was fun to be outside for the expo and be able to walk in and out as your pleased. There was a music stage and beer garden available both during the expo and on race day. They had some really cool race gear available for purchase too.

This race did not have a corral start. When you got to the start line, the pacers were lined up and you could put yourself with the correct time according to your pace. They did start 2 separate groups, those running 2:15 and under and then those running over.

The course was flat and fun. It was crazy hot that day, so it was definitely a race to beat the heat. It didn't really get hot until about and hour into the race. I wish the aid stations had more electrolyte beverage available, they all had water and some had gels or cliff bloks, but electrolyte beverage was only at 1 station.

The half marathon course was an out and back course, and the half way point was placed slightly past the actual halfway point, so the course was 13.8 miles instead of 13.1. This was disappointing and made the end of the race much harder mentally, however the race organizers were VERY apologetic about it and said it would never happen again. It had never been an issue in the past so I wouldn't be concerned about it in future years.

The medals were both fun and functional. They were a pair of aviator glasses and they also are a bottle opener! SO COOL! The post race fuel/snacks were some of the best. They had cookies and bagels, but they also had tons of fruit! Pineapple, watermelon and other fruit, which are my favorite kind of carbs. They also had lots of whole water bottles for us to take which was great in the heat.

The post race party was a TON of fun. It was cool that there was live music to listen to and the expo vendors were all there to look at again post race. I enjoyed that because it wasn't like the race was over and that was it, you could celebrate and hang around with friends if you wanted.

This race was a great size. It wasn't HUGE but it also wasn't tiny. There was plenty of room on the course and your weren't falling over people at the start line or at the finish. I loved the size of this race and would totally run it again. Despite it being over 13.1 miles and being very hot, it was really enjoyable and I would love to run it again next year.