Carlsbad 5000 is a fun and simple race next to the ocean.

Overall, my experience was a positive one at the Carlsbad 5000. I picked up my bib the morning of the race, and it was easy to locate and find the tent where to do so. There wasn’t a line when I got there, so that’s a plus.

The race had the beautiful Pacific Ocean on one side, and the beach town on the other. Running through it was serene, and he race was stroller friendly, which was a plus. (You mother runners know how important that can be!) The course was flat and very stroller friendly. There were quite a few strollers on the course, so if you wanted to stroller run, you wouldn’t be alone.

I know some people complained about the train interference that happened at points, but it didn’t affect my run so I cannot judge the race on that. Plus, I feel race management was open about the train schedule and interference ahead of the race itself, so runners should have been aware. I appreciated how the emcee held the start of my race group until the scheduled train passed so it wouldn’t affect us.

The afterparty was fun. There were fun little activities for the kiddos, a beer garden, music, and all the yummy food readily available in Carlsbad - walking distance from the race area. I walked through the festivities, had a beer, and left shortly afterwards.

Parking was easy for me to find on the other side of the freeway. It was just a short walk (no more than a mile) to the Carlsbad 5000 to my car. I can appreciate that a beach town had easy parking that was walking distance from the race.

Overall, great race and great course. I signed my little one up for the Junior Carlsbad for 2020, so I will give a review on that for the mother runners when the time comes.

Man, oh, man. What a journey. My first marathon was a great one. Rock ‘n Roll San Diego did not disappoint.

First off, I would like to preface this with the fact that I was pregnant during this race, so pregnancy may have swayed my ratings. I tried to be pregnancy-unbiased, but it’s hard to when that’s how you experienced the race.

Overall, I felt this year the race was well put together. The starting experience was better than years past. I felt this year finding and starting in the appropriate corral was easier than in past years. I had zero difficulty finding access to the restroom prior to the race starting. Since everything was organized better at the starting line, I was even able to locate my friends and get some moral support before starting my race. The energy level of the starting line emcee was on fire, and I was so pumped to begin the race when it was time to go through my mental and physical running journey.

The race started, and off I went. I made friends with a girl in my corral who convinced me to run the full that I originally signed up for (I was going to drop down to the half but peer pressure.)

Throughout the course there were plenty of aid stations and restrooms. With the pregnant lady bladder and thirst, I had no difficulty staying hydrated and there were little to no lines at the port-a-potties when I needed to use the restroom. I felt the staff at the aid stations were very accommodating, friendly, and encouraging. I remember sunscreen being readily available along the full marathon course, as well, which I haven’t encountered in other races. (Not sure if that was just excessively friendly volunteers or planned by the Rock ‘n Roll organizers.)

The race itself was manageable. The course was nice, but I wish there was more cheering and music along the full marathon course. I felt the half marathon course was a better experience in that regard. The views throughout San Diego, from Mission Bay to Downtown, we’re amazing.

As I’m sure past reviews have mentioned, there is a humongous hill when you reach the end of the course. You get to climb the 163 South freeway, which is quite the hill. But, hey, not many people can say they have ran on a freeway, so in that aspect it’s cool. From a runner aspect, it’s mentally and physically challenging at that point. Most people were walking up it when I reached it. Heck, I joined them.

This year, there was some police activity downtown so it affected some runners. Thankfully, being pregnant and having to pee all the time, I was a back-of-the-pack runner and my run wasn’t affected by the activity. I appreciate how I heard the race organizers (and first responders) handled the situation and put runner safety first.

Overall, a great race, but with the lack of entertainment on the full marathon course, I think I’ll stick to the half marathon for this one.

The AFC race is one of my favorites in San Diego. You start at a Nationals monument and end at a historically San Diego location. I don’t think any other race parallels the views seen on this course.

Firstly, the expo is easy to access on Harbor Island and I like how they allow you to pick up bibs for others. (Sometimes work duties call and it’s tough to make it to packet pick up.) Luckily, this time I made it to the expo. I thought there was a decent amount of freebies and photo opportunities to make the expo worthwhile to walk around. They also had running fuel/apparel available for purchase, which was nice for any individuals who had last minute needs before the race. Packet pickup itself was quick, painless, and easy! I thought the shirt given to registered runners was of good quality, too.

The day of, parking was well organized. I opted to park at the finish and shuttle to the start. If I recall correctly, they do have limited parking about a mile from the start which they will shuttle you to from the finish. Personally, I feel parking at the finish is the best way to go as Balboa Park does not lack any spaces.

There are plenty of shuttles and the shuttle locations are easy to spot. (There are two different shuttle locations for runner convenience.) The shuttle drivers are nice and efficient, and it’s nice to not have to trek to the start as you have to in some races. I hopped on a later shuttle (whoopsie) at around 5:00 and barely made it to the start on time, so do plan on arriving earlier than expected and don’t wait for the last shuttle.

The start had gorgeous views of the San Diego Bay and there was some room to warm up. You won’t have enough space to go crazy with your warm up, but there is enough space to stretch. Also, they have plenty of portable bathrooms available for use at the start. I feel it’s a rare occurrence when a race gets this right, so huge plus from me. Once the race started, there was some bottlenecking before the start line due to a narrowing of the road, but it was nothing unbearable.

The course starts down some gentle, rolling hills next to the military graveyards (still with that beautiful view of the water) and transitions to Point Loma neighborhoods where people cheered the runners on. Next you ran by the airport, around Harbor Island, and into downtown. The next part of the race took you up some hills in the downtown area into Balboa Park.

There were plenty of aid stations throughout the course, as usually San Diego is scorching in August, but luckily this year the marine layer stuck around to keep the temperature a little cooler for the runners. (Thank you, Mother Nature!)

At the finish line there were plenty of spectators cheering on he finishers. You received your medal and a goodie bag filled with some snacks. The post race hunger was real after this run, so it was nice to have the snacks quickly given to me.

The finisher festival was on a grassy area in Balboa Park where you could visit booths, pick up any gear you had checked, and take photos. I didn’t stick around for this, so I can’t speak much on it.

My favorite part of this all was the ease of getting out of the area. Some half marathons create huge traffic issues when leaving the race, but it took me all of five minutes to get out of the area and on my merry way. Huge plus from me for this.

Overall, the views of this race are gorgeous and the race organization is top-notch. I have zero complaints for this race (minus the heat some years, but that’s not the race’s fault) and I cant wait to run it in 2018 to get that snazzy “three consecutive year” medal.

Overall, the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon in San Diego is such a fun race and I highly recommend it.

The expo is held at the Convention Center, which is in the middle of the downtown district so parking can be tough to find (or spendy). I opted to park at a trolley station (free!) and pay $5 to take the trolley to the Convention Center. While it isn’t the quickest way to get there, it does provide a great opportunity to people watching.

The expo itself was quite standard. It had your freebies, photo opportunities, and most importantly, race bibs! The staff was quick and efficient at the bib pickup station, and that is all I could ever ask for.

Before I knew it, race day arrived. Again, I parked at the trolley station and took the trolley downtown. Once I arrived, I just followed the masses of people from the trolley to the start. (I’m directionally challenged.) If you do opt to take the trolley, leave 30 minutes earlier than you think to allow some wiggle room in case there are issues with the trolley. I remember some people missing their corral start times and yelling at the staff, which isn’t fun for anyone.

At the start, there was a DJ playing music and everyone lined up according to their corral numbers. There was some miscommunication between the volunteers at one point regarding the placement of the corral numbers. It went from 27 to 31 to 35, etc., but who cares because everyone was going to run the race regardless.

Along the course there were plenty of aid stations and a ton of people around cheering the crowd on as they raced. There were a few places where people set up bars and offered shots and other liquor options to help “numb the pain.” One mile was dedicated to fallen soldiers, which I thought was very thoughtful and added to the uniqueness of the event. Throughout the course there were a few bands, but I thought there would be more music involved. The energy of the volunteers and the spectators was very contagious and helped me when I was running on empty near the end.

In regards to the race support, I felt that they had enough first aid stations and water stations for an event of this caliber. A few more restrooms at the start line to decrease the length of the lines at the port-a-potty station would be nice.

The end you receive your medal and walk to the Waterfront Park to partake in the post race festivities, grab other medals you may have obtained (Remix Challenge, etc), and enjoy live music, beer, and FOOD. They had a wide variety of food trucks where oh could purchase food. The area was perfect to kick back and hang out after the race.

The only downside is the traffic leaving the race. If you drove, then plan on traffic due to the road closures for the marathoners. If you took the trolley, then you should be able to avoid the trafficked area.

If you have never run a half marathon and are looking for a fun first experience, then this is your race.