My friends have been doing this race for years and I finally got a chance to do it this I year....until...I fractured my ankle. Womp womp. I was hoping it’d heal in time but unfortunately my current max is 1 mile without it hurting too much. I did however still get to go to the race expo, check out things on race day, cheer on my friends, and collect the free beer of course. I know the route already since I live and drive around the area a lot. The 5k isn’t too bad but the hills for that half were no joke! Packet pickup is available the Friday and Saturday before race day. It’s conveniently at Road Runner. It was super fast and efficient. A few vendors and booths there but not too big of a pre race expo. The swag is decent. I always love their beer run shirts. Plus you get a pint glass. Half gunners get a medal that is also a bottle opener!

Race day ran very smoothly. Ample parking right behind Green Flash. Right by the 5k start line. There were shuttles for the half runners. Plenty of cheering and volunteers handing out water, bananas, snacks at the finish line. Then you go to get your +21 wristband if you want some free beer. Every race bib comes with a ticket for a free beer from Green Flash. The post race expo was great! You could get more beer inside the brewery. There were lots of stands giving out free snacks, coconut water, cake! There were also food trucks if you needed something more.

Overall the race was great even though I didn’t actually get to run it. Also on a side note, lots of puppies at the post race expo!

First Spartan Race so I started out with a sprint. I've done a Tough Mudder before so I've always wanted to compare them. Plus I just love obstacle courses. Unfortunately I had been having a stubborn stomach flu for 2 weeks and still hadn't recovered so I was running this race on an empty tank. So I was pretty proud of myself for even making it through. I ran in the open afternoon group. There is age group and elite for those who are a bit more competitive. I ran with a group of friends and we just took it slow and made sure everyone was having fun, could attempt an obstacle and helped people get through them. I had a lot of fun and would definitely recommend trying it out. I saw a lot of different people doing the races and everyone was helping each other and it was a nice vibe. We actually ended up adopting someone into our group, I think he was 14 so we had him come along with us after thee atlas carry and helped him out.

I think this is a really good intro to obstacle course races. The run is about 3.5 miles with lots of obstacles spaced throughout. I avoided the mud dip one (because I didn't want to swallow more mud and make my stomach virus/flu worse). But aside from that I actually got through all the obstacles myself minus the spear throw. I was reaaallly bad at that one. It's a fun time to do with friends and the shorter sprint distance is good for anyone that isn't ready for a longer distance. If you are super competitive I would recommend doing age group or elite. There was an occasional bottle neck at obstacles. People were mentally preparing themselves for obstacles, or there were just a lot of people waiting, etc.

Decided to do a 10k to kick off 4th of July celebrations during this hot hot San Diego summer! The route pretty much included a giant chunk I’ve done many many times, Lake Miramar’s 5 mile loop. So it wasn’t too bad of a race, especially since we started relatively early enough to avoid most of the heat. The start was a slight and gradual elevation gain through the (closed off) streets to get to the lake. The lake itself didn’t have too much incline or decline throughout and had pretty scenic views. The last mile or so to the finish line was a nice easy down hill through the neighborhood streets back to a park.

There are 2 aid stations during the run, one about 1 mile in and one at about mile 5. Pretty much a little into the lake entrance and at the end of the lake loop. Unfortunately this wasn’t a cup free race and there are no trash cans along the lake. So there was sadly a lot of littering (paper cups, plastic bottles, etc). I think this would be a big thing they could improve on! But aside from that the race was well run and enjoyable.

There’s a nice little festival at the end, free beer garden for 21+, food trucks, vendors, etc. A nice little race. It’s a pretty good one if you’ve never done it or if you’re looking to check a 10k off your list. It’s a little expensive for what it is, especially since I didn’t really do the beer garden. But it is a pretty run and not a difficult route. I don’t know if I’d pay to do it again, since I usually run around the lake for free anyways. But I’d recommend it to those who have never been to the lake before or are looking for an active way to kick off Independence Day!

*Shorter fun run route available. Bike race options also available. Some serious runners do hit this race. Winner was at about 32 min if I remember correctly!

Woooo kicking off some cardio with the UCSD Triton 5k. And super cheap (ya alumni prices!!!) plus part of the race price goes to a fund to help students if I recall correctly.

The course pretty much went around the west part of the campus loop. Starting off at the north end of campus in the track & field area. It went down ERC and around Muir, looping around the Revelle parking lots through York Plaza and up behind Marshall back past RIMAC to the track and field. All of which means nothing unless you know the campus.

So for those who don’t know the campus, it was a pretty nice loop around half of the campus. With minimal incline. A nice, relatively easy course hitting most of the different colleges.

The race itself is very family & pet friendly. There were lots of families with young children and strollers. The best part: there were plenty of dogs around too! Runners & walkers are all welcome. You can go at your own pace. We brought the corgi so we were walking most of the race except for the parts where he decided he wanted to run around a bit. He also got stopped a lot for cuddles and belly rubs. It was his first 5k and he only gave up once!

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The weather was perfect! Not too cold but not too hot. It was overcast for the first half so the sun wasn’t burning down on you. The race started a little later at 9am. So it did get a little hotter at the end. There was one water stop about halfway in York Plaza. The end of the course had a water station with volunteers also handing out bananas.

There is also an end of race festival. It was pretty cool, it is in the field with lots of food vendors, photo ops, and a beer garden (for 21+) with one free beer for runners. Overall it was a nice race for a great price (especially for students who only pay $5/alum $30). Would definitely do it again.

Finally completed my first half marathon and this was the best one to do it! The elevation for this race wasn't too bad, lots of flat patches but the only negative was that there were a lot of really harsh down hill slopes. It ended up being super hard on the knees. But you can't beat the views! Nice nature scenery to run through and the last stretch is a run by the lake!

Parking is pretty straight forward, dirt lot and a shuttle to the race start with shuttles back to the lot after. The main thing was that it was freezing out there at 4am! But the organizers built us some fires, although I was probably close to freezing to death a few times.

My favorite thing about the race (aside from the amazin scenery) would be that it was a cups free race! Races tend to create a lot of waster and this was a bring your own cup type race. They provided you with a nice little reusable one to take with you or you could bring your own system (I used a double bottle belt). Just refill at the stations as needed, my 2 bottles were more than enough and there weren't a million paper cups after the event!

The expo was on the smaller side but still some pretty cool things to look at and some cool raffles/prizes. We got really cute/nice race shirts too! They were soft and had 3 different color options! It was also the sweat/moisture wicking fabric! Overall I would love to do this race again and hit a PR for a half! The downhill helps a lot with your time!