I ran this race twice (in 2015 and 2017) and I can say that 2017 was a fantastic race experience. This race is in August, meaning that you have a high likelihood that it'll be hot and humid. Thankfully, this year it was overcast the entire time and I beat my course PR by 18 minutes! I will note that despite it not being hot and humid, the organizers definitely had way more water stations out this time around.

Packet pick-up was a breeze. I was in and out of there within 15 minutes. The expo is medium sized and you can get a lot of last minute fuel/gear if you need it.

Parking the morning of the race was SO EASY. Shuttles started taking people from the finish line to the start at 4 am. I got to the finish line at 4:30 am and there was very little traffic. I was pleasantly surprised by how fast I got into the parking lot. Shuttling over was really easy and by 5 am, I was at the start line at Cabrillo National Monument. The view was really beautiful, but I ended up waiting 1.5 h for the race to start. Shuttles stopped running at 5:30 am so you could probably cut it a little closer and not have to wait at the start as long as I did. Eh. You live and you learn. Anyway, the start line can get a little congested at the beginning because they don't allow you to get into your corral until the race actually starts.

I didn't experience that much bottlenecking at the start of the course. I think it's because the bottlenecking starts before the start line so people are already thinned out by the start, which is nice. After crossing the start line, we immediately ran down a hill and ran past the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, a cemetery that is dedicated to veterans. The first 2.5 miles had rolling hills, which weren't that great for my not warmed up legs, but I managed. We headed into neighborhoods and were greeted with people cheering and shots of whiskey. We then headed towards the bay and ran along the bay from mile 4 to 10. There is a portion where you run by the airport, which isn't very scenic, but the rest of the route by the bay is really scenic. At mile 8, my lower back started hurting and I had to slow down my pace by quite a bit. By mile 9, I was mentally drained. I didn't want to start walking because I knew once I started, I'd be more likely to walk again later on so I just pushed on. At mile 10, we started entering downtown and at mile 11, something amazing happened. People were handing out mini sliders! I took one and munched on it as I made my way towards the 6th avenue hill, which everyone pretty much hates. It's probably a 150 ft increase in elevation and just destroys runners because it's so late in the half. The mini sliders must have given me magical powers or something because I powered through that hill. I also grabbed half an otter pop that someone was handing out and munched on it. It was great. I normally don't eat during halfs, but these were what I needed to get my head back in the game. At mile 12.5, we entered Balboa Park, which is this beautiful HUGE park that has museums, a botanical garden, and even street performers on the weekends. With about a half mile to go, I sprinted again. I don't know what it is, but something about finishing strong is really invigorating.

The post-race goodies are packed in a brown paper bag and given to you. This is SO CONVENIENT. I don't like races that don't have bags for you to carry your goodies in. There were a lot of photo opportunities for Triple Crown Finishers and honestly, I wanted to take a photo with their royalty paraphernalia even though I didn't do the challenge. LOL. Maybe next year.

The only thing I didn't really like was getting out of the parking lot at the finish line. Because there are so many runners trying to leave, the parking lot was very congested and it took me 15 minutes to get out of the area. I'd run it again. San Diego is a beautiful city and it'd be silly to not explore it by foot. :)

Packet Pick-up: The packet pick-up was held at Road Runner Sports on Friday and Saturday. I went on Friday afternoon and packet pick up was a breeze. There was no issue with parking because Road Runner Sports has a pretty big parking lot. Yay! Also, you don't have to pay for parking. With registration, you get your race bib, a nice "On a Beer Run" shirt, and a shiny Craft Classic pint glass.

Pre-race: Left my house around 4 am and got to the parking lot by the finish line with no delay. There was no traffic, no waiting in a long line of cars, and no paying for parking. Double hooray! Their parking lot was big so I had no issues finding parking. I parked, took the shuttle to the start line, and waited only about an hour before the race started. Because it's a summer race in San Diego, you won't have to bring a jacket to wear. It's warm enough that you can just show up in your racing gear and be ready to go.

The Course: The race starts out on a bike path, which causes a huge bottleneck at the beginning. The path ran west along a freeway (route 56) before diverting south. For the most part, the first half of the race is downhill. At mile 8, you hit your first big hill. At mile 10, you hit the "king of the mountain," which is of course a monstrous hill. At mile 12, it's a glorious down hill run and at mile 12.5, you hit your last hill because honestly, the organizers of the race really wanted you to earn that beer. LOL. There are also a lot of posters about running for beer along the course. The organizers definitely stick true to the "on a beer run" theme. There are quite a few water stations sprinkled throughout the course, but because of the heat, they did email everyone suggesting that we bring extra water just in case. I had a hydration vest on and only stopped by 3 aid stations and was fine.

My experience with the race: I wanted to finish around the 2 hour mark so I initiall stuck by the 2 hour pacers. Unfortunately with the initial bottleneck, I struggled to keep up with them. I rushed out too fast to catch up with them and ended up paying for it later around mile 10. (Tip: Don't rush at the beginning. You won't have enough energy for the end.) After the first mile, the path cleared up and I got into my groove. I was on pace until mile 9. I slowed down quite a bit knowing that THE hill was coming up. Unfortunately, due to my initial running burst, I was pretty mentally drained at that point. I saw the hill and said "F--- it." I walked up a chunk of the hill and tried to stay positive. I was able to jog up some of the hill, but I spent a lot of time just encouraging others up the hill. At the top of the hill, a spectator told everyone that we'd love what's around the corner and boy was he right. What goes up must come down, right? :) I ran my legs off on that downhill only to see another hill near the finish line. LOL. I ended up walking a bit of that last hill, but pushed for it when I saw that I the gun time sign said 2:00:20. I had no idea how close I was to 2 hours so I sprinted for the finish line.

My official time? 2:00:01. LOL.

Post-race: I got my shiny new medal, met up with some more people, and headed to the beer garden. There was a Nuun hydration station, which I was super grateful for. I think I hit up that station three or four times to get electrolytes. :) I stayed for the announcement of the overall winners who won their weight in beer (wow) and headed home. Overall, I had a great time and will probably do it again next year. I mean, I have to take another crack at "king of the mountain." I'm all about redemption. :)

Despite it being a hilly course, I think it's challenging enough that you will definitely pat yourself on the back after finishing it. It's a race I'm proud of running.