I ran the Palma Half Marathon in 2019 and loved it. I was looking for a destination race with a significant portion of the participants coming from somewhere else and this delivered.

The expo was small but adequate. I had paid for an official shirt but ended up preferring one of the private vendor’s race shirts, so now I have 2. I would recommend waiting for the expo to decide. There’s also a pasta party. I’ve never had expo pasta but I imagine it’s never great and this wouldn’t be an exception. It was fun to sit with the crowds and hear everyone speaking different languages (more on this).

This race also had a 10k and a full marathon. The 10k is the 1st half of the half marathon, though it starts 45 minutes later. The full is simply two loops of the half. I personally do not like looped courses and given the sun and heat, I would not recommend doing the full marathon here.
One of my favorite parts of the race was the crowded starting area. It’s in an amazing location next to the cathedral and the sea, they played great music, the announcers spoke in Spanish, German and English. Also, the race prints country of residence on the bibs, so it’s fun to both look at where people were from and also listen for accents. Note that I did not here a single American in the entire stay. I believe the race was mostly German, Spanish, English, in that order (followed by other Europeans).
The first half of the race runs along the sea and is almost totally flat, with a decent hill at the turn around. It is also completely exposed to the sun. The second half turns up into the city and has some decent hills. There is also a brief section where you share the road with cars, which was not great. Also, the city has a fair bit of cobblestone streets which started to bother me more as I got tired, but I’m also not used to that type of surface.
There is almost no crowd support in the first half, but there is some within the city, where there is also music playing.
It’s worth mentioning that it was super hot. This really killed any idea that I’d have a decent race, but I was not particularly worried about that as I just wanted to have fun in an interesting location. The 10k was hotter, as it started later and there is zero cover in that race.
Aid stations served water bottles, which is new to me but was nice as I kept one at all times to either drink or pour on my head.
The finish line area was decent, but I was mostly looking forward to going back to my hotel, changing, jumping into the sea and having a glass of Spanish wine.
I would highly recommend this as a destination as long as you’re not too worried about time, or at least can race well in the heat and with some hills.
Pros:
-amazing location
-good organization
-friendly people from all over
-a great place to be before and after the race, though it was hard to keep it low key in the 2 days before
Cons:
-high heat
-cobblestone streets for part of the race

If you’re interested in more about my experience, with photos and a short video of the start, check out my RR: https://cabg.run/2019/10/24/2019-palma-half-marathon-race-report/

I had a great time at this race and would definitely recommend it, especially for those traveling from another country. I did not realize how big this was before arriving as I only signed up at the last minute because of a work trip, and I'd never been to Australia. However, it is one of the top 5 or so largest races in the world. Despite this, it is extremely well managed.
The race was very crowded, which limited my ability to appreciate the scenery until the last mile or two approaching the beach. Despite the crowding, my pace was never limited by others.
The expo was nice, but as everything was identical but significantly more expensive than in the U.S., I did not purchase anything.
City2Surf has its own Heartbreak Hill, and therefore this is not a race for a fast overall pace. It's a long, steep hill but once you ascend it's all downhill to the beach.
Transit is great, no need to worry about parking or getting around for either the race or the expo.

Pros:
-Course
-Transit/Access
-Crowds
-Race management
Cons:
-No race shirt included
-Post race experience seemed geared towards customers of an Australian Bank

I've done some version of this race the last three years (2nd Half in 2016, 2017; 5k in 2018 due to illness). I love the entire event, from the expo through post race festivities. I will continue to register and plan around this race every year.

Pros:
-great expo
-long sleeve tech shirts are keepers. I use them a lot and they look great.
-medals are nice with challenge medals if that's your thing
-free beer after in a great beer garden
-weather has been perfect 3 years running. I starts in cold/fog and finishes in sun, such that you're drinking beer in perfect SF summer weather, but you're racing in cool weather (I've even worn gloves one year)
-The 2nd Half marathon starts in GG Park, which is beautiful, and you see some nice neighborhoods in the first 1/2 or so of the race.
Cons:
-The 2nd half of the race isn't that interesting until you hit the water.
-I'm not a fan of the elevation profile, despite the fact that it is "net downhill". There are a fair bit of uphills, and the downhill portions are so steep and quick you don't get much benefit out of them. Note that once you leave the park, there are still more uphills to come later.
-There are shuttle services but that requires getting up quite early. I've used ride sharing to get to the start line (use Beach Chalet as destination).

Overall this is a must do race for me and I would suggest same for any local. It would also be a great destination race followed by a few days seeing SF and surrounding areas.

I love all the KleinClark races I've run (4 total). The Palm Springs Half is great. The weather is always perfect: a bit cool to start but by the time the race is over it can get up to 70 degrees. The on course support is great, as there is a stop every mile or so. The course is pretty flat, though there are a lot of false flats throughout. Most of the course is pretty scenic but there are a few dull parts in the middle. Coming and going isn't an issue as there is plenty of parking. There is no real expo but this isn't an issue for me. Also, in the past the long sleeve tech shirt was much nicer than the 2015 version.

[Edit: This race has been moved from Palm Springs to Palm Desert, and is now in January rather than February, so the review is likely no longer relevant]

I am not a big fan of this course. There seemed to be large sections of the course that only existed to add distance, like looping around parking lots. The hills were quite difficult. I also did not like running in the tunnel for a mile. Running through dodger stadium was very cool though!
Pros:
well managed race
I like the date
I like the time
Dodger stadium loop
Can take public transit
The expo had some decent things to buy
Cons:
Some weird sections of course to make it to 13.1 miles
Difficult course
Getting to the expo was a pain
Not a fan of the 1/2 zip: it's not nice and will likely never be worn

I would recommend this race to a friend if and only if that person liked hills.