We all know Thanksgiving Day runs are mostly for fun and for a good cause. If you're looking for a nice stroll through San Diego (Balboa Park area) this race is for you. Or I should say, then sign up for the untimed race. I didn't realize there is basically a runner start line and a walker start line. The runners start 5 minutes before the walkers - or at least they are supposed to.

I signed up last minute and didn't care to be timed. Once I got to the race I realized most of the runners choose to be timed, if you're not timed you start with the "fun run" group. I was at the front of the line and had quite a lot of people squeeze in, in front of me. One lady said sorry because she realized that isn't really the polite thing to do, especially when you have a lot of kids and are walking. But I thought, whatever, I can run around them at the start.

This race was VERY unorganized. People were still trying to line up as the race was starting. I contribute that in part to being able to register until 8am even though the races started at 7:35 and 7:40am. Once the timed runners went our wave was supposed to go 5 minutes after them, which most of us did. However there were a lot of walkers that were lined up along the street in front of the start line that just started walking after the first wave went. I thought this was rude. Races start in waves for a reason, number one is safety. While I was in the "fun run" wave, some of us still wanted to run and not have to doge walkers but unfortunately that is what we had to do. Luckily it wasn't hard to do, even with the large amount of walkers and people running/walking with their dogs. I don't think I have ever been to a race with so many dogs! Which is cute and all, but if you can't control you dog around a lot of people, maybe leave them at home.

The course was very beautiful, it was around Balboa Park, so how could it not be? Volunteers were good, but people were running outside the cones and none of the people regulating the course said anything. Again, cones are set up for a reason - safety. I just got the feeling during the whole race it wasn't very well organized. If you want to run this race I would recommend signing up for the timed race. That seems to be the best way to get out of the crowds of walkers and dogs.

Post race they had music, food and beer. I finished a little after 8am so beer did not sound good. Champagne would have been a better choice, or mimosas! They also had vendors in the post run area. It was a nice way to spend time post race, but I never really participate in post race activities. Even though my experience wasn't great, this race is for a good cause so I was happy to have run it and helped contribute to and give back to others.

Ventura is a cute, beautiful city and very flat. So this is a perfect course to run if you are trying to PR. The expo is pretty small, but they had a lot of great stuff; from running related items to women's clothing (strange, but it's nice to have that option). It was below the Ventura Pier, so lots of great photo ops. The packet pick up was a breeze, and it all seemed well organized. At packet pick up I got a nice tech tee, hat, snacks and a bunch of Ventura related info.

The race for the half started at 6:30am. I really have to applaud the volunteers and race management at the start. Very well organized, corrals clearly labeled and the waves went out perfectly. The majority of this race is super flat, so it is an easy race to run in that aspect. It is an out and back, which is one reason I chose to do the half. I am not a fan of out and back courses, but this one was actually pretty nice. I was a little sad that most of the race is not along the ocean, you see it here and there but you are mostly on back roads going through neighborhoods and retail areas. However, there were still plenty of people cheering us on, which I really liked. You do have views of the ocean at the finish, so that was awesome. Aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers did a great job at the aid stations, in fact all of the volunteers at this race were amazing. Up until about mile 9.5 I hung out with the 2:15 pace group. I've never run with a pace group before and I am so glad I did today. Pacing was through Beast Mode and my pacers did a great job! Around mile 9 I was feeling good and told them I was gonna take off and they cheered for me as I left :)

Once you finish the race there is a tent with a TON of food and water. Then there is the post race party...beer, food, pictures, more things to buy. It was a lot of fun, especially right there on the beach. I enjoyed this race a lot. The one thing that really sticks out to me is if you want to PR this is the race for you! As I said, it is super flat and easy and time flew by on this one. Ventura is also a charming town so I'd plan to hang around a little post race and enjoy what the city has to offer.

Ventura is a cute, beautiful city and very flat. So this is a perfect course to run if you are trying to PR. The expo is pretty small, but they had a lot of great stuff; from running related items to women's clothing (strange, but it's nice to have that option). It was below the Ventura Pier, so lots of great photo ops. The packet pick up was a breeze, and it all seemed well organized. At packet pick up I got a nice tech tee, hat, snacks and a bunch of Ventura related info.

The race for the half started at 6:30am. I really have to applaud the volunteers and race management at the start. Very well organized, corrals clearly labeled and the waves went out perfectly. The majority of this race is super flat, so it is an easy race to run in that aspect. It is an out and back, which is one reason I chose to do the half. I am not a fan of out and back courses, but this one was actually pretty nice. I was a little sad that most of the race is not along the ocean, you see it here and there but you are mostly on back roads going through neighborhoods and retail areas. However, there were still plenty of people cheering us on, which I really liked. You do have views of the ocean at the finish, so that was awesome. Aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers did a great job at the aid stations, in fact all of the volunteers at this race were amazing. Up until about mile 9.5 I hung out with the 2:15 pace group. I've never run with a pace group before and I am so glad I did today. Pacing was through Beast Mode and my pacers did a great job! Around mile 9 I was feeling good and told them I was gonna take off and they cheered for me as I left :)

Once you finish the race there is a tent with a TON of food and water. Then there is the post race party...beer, food, pictures, more things to buy. It was a lot of fun, especially right there on the beach. I enjoyed this race a lot. The one thing that really sticks out to me is if you want to PR this is the race for you! As I said, it is super flat and easy and time flew by on this one. Ventura is also a charming town so I'd plan to hang around a little post race and enjoy what the city has to offer.

This was my first year running this race. I went in hearing that it is really hot, some of the course isn't so pretty and the 6th Avenue hill sucks, and people don't like having to be shuttled to the start. I heard a lot of negative things about this race, yet there were still thousands of runners. Here are my thoughts on the race:

The expo was good. I never spend much time at expos so I'm not the best at judging. I was able to get my bib, shirt and leave within 10 minutes. Which is how I like it.

Race day. Apparently they started the race earlier this year. I heard 30 minutes earlier, then I heard an hour earlier - the race was at 6:30am. I like that, I'm sure it is because the past has been so hot. I was dropped off at Balboa Park to catch a bus to Cabrillo National Monument (the start). The drop off was super easy. My by pulled over near the busses, I jumped out and walked right on to a bus. No lines, no waiting. Busses picked up 4:00-5:30am. I chose to arrive around 4:30am. Waiting around for the start was a little boring, and I wanted to sleep but the views from Cabrillo were amazing. The race actually started 5 minutes sooner than scheduled, no complaints here. But the start was a **** show. Too many runners jammed into too little of space. However this was about 1/4 mile and also had a lot to do with slow runners not being in their appropriate pace corral.

Within the first half mile I was a sweaty mess. There was a nice cool breeze, but it was still humid. The first 5 miles was mostly downhill. Which is good and bad. I really prefer uphill if I had to choose. Miles 5-11ish were flat. Nice views for the most part. At mile 7 your running along the ocean with views of the city in the foreground. That was beautiful. Around mile 8 they had misters, which was nice. Miles 8.5 - 9ish we ran near the rental cars near the airport. I didn't like that. It wasn't fun running round a parking lot of cars. But then we were along the harbor, which is always beautiful. The downside of that was the sun right in our faces, it was hot along the harbor. Around mile 10.5 was another mister station...and cheeseburgers. So gross. They were grilling cheese burgers and women were serving them to runners. Personally, smelling meat cooking on my runs - especially bacon - makes me sick. I don't eat meat, but even when I did I didn't like the smell while running. Mile 11 is where it got tough. From 11 - 12ish was ALL UPHILL. I do like uphill, but I was hot so I did have to walk a bit. Then 6th avenue came, but I ran up all of 6th and finished the race. I liked 6th Ave. because of everyone there cheering us on. That was nice.

The finish of the race, we ran down Cabrillo Bridge in Balboa Park (which is SO beautiful), through the museums, past the Organ Pavillion and across the finish. It was a really fun finish, I love running through Balboa. This race is hot, the end is tough, but it is a nice course...for the most part. Water stations were well stocked, however not all stations had electrolytes. I don't usually take course electrolytes because they are often Gatorade, but they had Ultima, so I did drink some. Bathrooms aren't at every station and that sucked. I usually don't use the bathroom during a race but I drank a lot and had to go...so I held it from mile 5-8ish. Which doesn't sound like a lot but it is when your running. You know, you're a runner.

Post race you get bags of food, water and your medal. There are plenty of places for fun photos, and they had post race massages, music and more food. This race was very well organized, nice race shirts and medals. I'd recommend it!