Registration- Available online up until a week before race day. There was some limited registration available at the expo.

Race Communication- about one email every few weeks until it was closer to race day then the emails increased. All were very clear in providing helpful information about hotels, parking, race times, entertainment or spectators, and wave starts.

Expo- The expo was held in the San Jose Convention Center. It seemed smaller than other Rock N Roll expos I’ve been too but it was very organized. It had a large apparel booth from Brooks as well as the usual booths you would find at a good sized expo

Bib pick up- Bib pick up was organized by number which you needed to know first, they went paperless this race, so runners claimed their race numbers via the Rock n Roll app. Timing chips were located on the backs of the bibs. We then headed into another section to pick up our shirts and goodie bags. The shirts still run very small though, I really need to start asking for mens shirt at this point.

Race morning- My hotel was within walking distance of the start line, it took me less then 10 minutes. There were plenty of porta potties scattered up each side street along the length of the corrals.

The race started at 8:00 with a wave start. The elites and the first few corrals went off without a hitch and then we ground to a halt. There was some transit delay and the rest of the corrals were delayed. I couldn’t quite understand the announcer, but the corrals got really messed up and I didn’t end starting until 8:30.

The course- The course runs you north before looping back down towards Santa Clara. It runs through some cool business districts as well as some amazing residential ones. There wasn’t a ton of crowd support but Rock n Roll provides for you via live music, DJ’s and having the so many local schools’ cheerleaders come out to cheer you on. The cheerleaders were awesome.

Aid stations- The half marathon had 7 aid stations which had water and Gatorade Endurance. It was warm and very humid day and the stations were always well stocked and ready to go. A couple of stations offered SIS gels as fuel.

Elevation- In my opinion, this course is pancake flat but full of turns. For some it could be a great PR course, for me, I really needed some rollers.

Finish- There are multiple photographers around the finish area as you finish. You are handed your medal then funneled towards finisher’s photos then towards the food. Offered was a bottle of water, Gatorade Endurance, Chocolate milk, Cheese-Its, granola bar and a banana. Once again, I wish they would give you something to carry everything in.

This was a great race but a few things seemed squirrelly. The 8:00 AM start for a CA October race is too late, I wish it started sooner. Rock n Roll sent out a heat advisory email the night before the race which is good thinking on their part but an earlier start would have helped that too. I get that any race in a big city is going to have transit issues, but the start delay was a surprise. I read the pre-race info thoroughly and there was nothing about delays. Combine that with the later start, the heat and I was moving slower than planned and I had to hustle back to the hotel to check out immediately crossing the finish line. I barely glimpsed the finish line festival in the park as I was hustling.

I love Rock n Roll events and for the most part this was no exception. I hope to give it another shot next year.
Oh and the medal was awesome.

Dang those targeted Instagram ads that sneak up on you. I was scrolling my feed one evening when a cute wine bottle shaped medal jumped out at me. I don’t know why- I don’t even drink wine- but I saw that it was in Santa Barbara, fit my training plan, reasonably priced and vineyards usually meant dirt of some sort. So I clicked through and registered.

Registration ran 70-75 for the race and wine festival after and 50 for just the race.
The website stated that all participants received bibs, timed results, finisher medals and wine glasses. Shirts (cotton) were only guaranteed if you registered by a certain deadline. I did not but I still received a shirt.

Race proceeds were for the Santa Ynez Valley Aquatic Foundation. I received an email the day before the race with a few last minute details. One thing that threw me was that the winery wasn’t actually in Santa Barbara but in Lompoc and spoiler alert- it wasn’t really there either- more in Buellton.

There was plenty of parking at the winery (dirt roads) and bib and shirt pick up was simple. There were port a potties and real bathrooms available prior to race start. Runners lined up for the start and that's when things got a little confusing. It was very hard to heard the announcer and there was only a couple hundred runners. Then it was go time and we were off through the vineyard.

The path was mostly fire road, though it was more uneven than I would have liked- I had a hurt foot. Some parts of the course took runners literally between the vines. The miles were all clearly labeled with cute wine barrels with painted feet corresponding to each mile. There were 3 water stations serving just water. They did a great job either blocking off side routes or having volunteers at certain points; if you've never run through a vineyard before- it is very easy to take a wrong turn. There was one bigger climb on the course in mile 3 around 300ish feet with a couple small down hills but other than that it seemed like a mostly flat course. There were also photographers throughout the course.

The views were pretty great. The vines, the view from the top of the hill, all great. Plus we got to run through a cute barn.

The finish line had an announcer calling out names as people crossed. Never mine- no one ever wants to pronounce mine. There was also a table with water, sliced fruit and granola bars.

Once across the finish line, there was some confusion. Registration claimed it came with a medal and wine glass for every participant but neither was anywhere to be seen. Now, I downgraded from the festival to just the race so the lack of wine glass was not a huge deal to me but the lack of medal was a little confusing as there had been zero announcements, at least that I could hear.

Runners did receive an email Sunday evening that said there had been a delay with the medals and that they would arrive Monday, then the race would be in touch with us after that. I heard from the race the following Friday that medals had arrived and they were gracious enough to mail it to me as I do not live in the area. Yay!

Communication issues aside, I really did like this race and would consider running it again if it fit my schedule.

Registration- Available online up until a week before race day. There was some limited registration available at the expo.

Race Communication- about one email every few weeks until it was closer to race day then the emails increased. All were very clear in providing helpful information about hotels, transportation, race times, entertainment or spectators.

Expo- The expo was held in the San Diego Convention Center. It seemed smaller than last year but very organized. It had a large apparel booth from Brooks as well as the usual booths you would find at a good sized expo.

Bib pick up- Bib pick up was organized by number which you needed to know first and I got there late Saturday afternoon so it only took a few minutes. New this year was that your bib number did not indicate your corral, so you did not know your corral until after you picked up your bib. The timing chips are now also located on the backs of the bibs instead of D-tags. We then headed into another section to pick up our shirts and goodie bags. The shirts still run very small though.

Race morning- Shuttle transportation is a breeze from Waterfront Park and you arrive at the start within minutes. There were plenty of porta potties scattered throughout the park – I think I heard a volunteer say there were over 200- but as with any race with over 20,000 runners there were long lines at each. UPS trucks were available for gear drop.

The race started right on time-6:15- but with so many corrals -33- each was released a few minutes apart. I crossed the start line at 6:48 and was in corral 17.

The course- I love that the race loop you through San Diego- city streets, neighborhoods, and Balboa Park. You run through North Park and Normal Heights and back down to the waterfront. The city really comes out to cheer on the runners, some in costumes, some create their own aid stations- there’s even a mile 4.5 bar. The people are awesome. And that’s not even counting the entertainment that Rock n Roll provides for you via live music, DJ’s and having the local schools’ cheerleaders come out to cheer you on.

Aid stations- The half marathon had 8 aid stations which had water and Gatorade Endurance. This sounds like a lot but it turned out to be a warm and very humid day and the stations were having trouble keeping up with the demand from the runners as it kept getting warmer. The volunteers were doing their best but the weather was a giant curveball. A couple of stations offered SIS gels as fuel.

Elevation- By my standards this course is fairly flat, it has 2 real hills, one at mile 2 and one just after mile 10. There’s a good downhill just after 11 and a slight downhill finish line. The overall elevation gain is just under 500.

Finish- There are multiple photographers around the finish area as you finish. You are handed your medal then funneled towards finisher’s photos then towards the food. Offered was a bottle of water, Gatorade Endurance, Chocolate milk, Goldfish, granola bar and a banana. Once again, I wish they would give you something to carry everything in. My favorite thing this time though was the volunteer just handing out bags of ice. Thanks, new best friend!

Overall, I still love Rock n Roll San Diego. The humidity level did a number on me and kicked my butt but the course and the volunteers are awesome. This is the second time I've run this race and it's a race I will keep running and I say that knowing it took me 7 hours of driving it get there. :) I'll just keep my fingers crossed for some cloud cover next year.

Registration was available online until a week before the race. Some registration was also available at the expo. Price increases were advertised via email and social media so runners could take advantage of the best prices. The 5K could also be part of a Remix Challenge- run the 5K on Saturday and any of the other distances- 10K, 13.1, 26.2, on Sunday and earn an extra medal.

Swag included a race specific tech tee, Competitor Magazine, fruit snacks and a sample of something similar to BodyGlide. It also included an awesome Medal post race. Note- size up on the tech tee, they tend to run small. Post race swag was a little disappointing with a bottle of water, a banana, pretzels and an Oatmega bar. But that could just be my opinion.

The expo was held in the Las Vegas Convention Center and was pretty big. It opened with an awesome selfie station followed by the amazing organization I love from Rock n Roll. Bibs, shirts, Brooks, expo! There were a variety of venders at the expo- most expected- Roll Recovery, Garmin, ProCompression and few surprising ones- like nail polish. The Rock n Roll Las Vegas merchandise was great and I was unable to leave empty handed.

The race is run on Saturday night and this year's race started at 6:00 PM.

The 5K was a loop course with the start and finish in the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. The corrals were split into color groups and then divided by pace.

Due to a serious backup on the monorail and then a slow entrance due to security checks ( not complaining just a fact- thank you for the added security) a lot of people were running super late getting into their corrals. My original corral had already started by the time we got into the grounds. I was joining a friend for her race so it didn’t bother me but it something that people need to be aware of for the future. We left our hotel more than an hour before the race started but were still late.

The 5K does not run the Strip, instead it takes you on an out and back course through the streets just to the side of the Strip. Rock n Roll does their best to liven it up with music stations- speakers, live bands and DJ’s along the way and lighted mile markers but it isn’t the showiest course. Watching how all the other runners tried to light up the night is fun though. Some people are very creative.

The race only had one aid station at mile 2 and that is my biggest issue. It wasn’t exactly cold out there and security was making people dump their water at the gate so another water station at mile 1 would have been awesome. Or even moving the one station to the center divider between both sides of the race so it could supply both sides with water would have been great.

Coming back into the festival grounds, you ran zigzag through the back lot adding distance. In a daytime race this might have been frustrating but watching the line of glowing and blinking runners was kind of fun. At mile 3, runners ran under the awesome, giant guitar guy and then they could sprint to the finish.

Post race- There were food trucks, a beer tent and places you take selfies or pictures with friends and some lighted props. The concert was taking place that night instead the next day. The Goo Goo Dolls took the stage to rock at 7:45.

All in all it was a good race and was a great way to pump runners up for the main event to come the next day. I had fun and would definitely run it again. However I now know to bring a light for the middle mile. And dress more festive.