This was such a fun race! I lived about 6 hours north of Riverside, but didn't want to spend the money on a hotel, so that meant leaving my house at MIDNIGHT in order to get to the race on time! I got there super early (there was no traffic since I drove through the middle of the night), found parking, ate the breakfast and energy drink I packed, and loaded the shuttle to the start line. It was SO DANG COLD at the start. If you aren't used to SoCal winters, it gets super cold during the night and early morning, but warms up to the mid 60s during most days. They had mylar blankets to use at the start, but I just opted to keep my jacket on. Since I lived so far away, I had to pick up my packet on race morning. That was a breeze. As we got closer to the start time, I warmed up, dropped my gear off (which was also super easy), used the restroom, and made my way to the starting corral. Everyone was so happy! I couldn't believe it! Being in early December, everyone was int he holiday spirit, dressed in Christmas costumes and colors. Made for such a fun experience! The race was kind of crowded at the beginning, but spread out pretty quickly. There was an uphill right out of the gates, and then pretty flat until about mile 5. Right at the start of mile 5 there was a very steep, tough hill. But if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, it is over quickly. The road then flattens out as it takes you through a neighborhood, and then you get to go right back down that big hill. So nice! The course goes around a gold course, where there are two more steep but short hills, and then the turn around at mile 8 takes you right back the way you came. The aid stations were frequent and plentiful, there was crowd support in certain sections of the course, and there were even carolers singing Christmas songs! As I made my way to the finish, I realized I was in for a pretty big PR (ended up being a 14 minute PR!), so crossing the finish line was so very sweet. The post race party was amazing! The best I have ever experienced in my 6 half marathons! Food trucks everywhere, yoga, beer, and more carolers made for such a great time! The medal was a huge reindeer face, I loved it! I wish I still lived in California so that I could run every single Lexus Laceup race, i loved it THAT much. Highly recommend!!

I freaking loved this race! This was my 6th half marathon, and I have to say, it was by FAR my favorite! I had just moved to the Missoula area from California 2 weeks before the race, so I knew I just HAD to run this. The expo was pretty well organized and easy to find. Registered at the expo, checked out a few booths, and then headed home. Living about an hour south of Missoula, I had to wake up around 3:30 thanks to the 6AM start time. The website said that all runners had to take the shuttles to the start, which were located at the University of Montana. Figuring out how to get to the shuttles was a little bit difficult and chaotic, but once I found them it was easy to get on, and a quick ride to the start line. Once I got to the start, I noticed a ton of people getting dropped off by their friends/family. Next time, I will definitely opt for that now that I know that is an option. The full and the half both started at the same time, at different locations. This was definitely the biggest race I've ever run, which made the start line festivities a blast! Gear drop off was quick, and there were a TON of porta potties. The race began running through the woods near a river, with two nice downhills, before flattening out for the rest of the race. This was by far the most beautiful course I've ever run! After several miles in the woods, the course moved into neighborhoods before finally finishing across a bridge downtown. BEST. RACE. FINISH. EVER. I literally felt like I was finishing the Boston Marathon. There were hundreds of people lining both sides of the bridge cheering SO loud. Throughout the entire course (particularly the last half through the neighborhoods), there were so many people sitting out on their porch cheering, spectating, and handing out water, oranges, gummy bears, pretzels, and even shots of booze and beer at one! So cool to see the community involvement! I could see my boyfriend waiting along the bridge at the finish, and meeting up with him after the race was super easy even though there were so many people. Picking up my gear after the race was also a breeze! I get nauseous if I eat right after running, so I got my post-race beer, walked around the party for a bit, and then went home with my huge, gorgeous medal hanging proudly around my neck. So glad I got to run this race, and can't wait to run it again next year!

This race was just okay. I didn't have a full training cycle going into this race, but I was moving out of state in a month, so it was my last opportunity to run a half marathon in CA. I lived about an hour to an hour and a half north of the start line (which was in Solvang, NOT Santa Barbara), so I didn't bother to stay in a hotel. I drove down for the expo the day before the race for packet pickup. It was raining all day, so it was a pretty dreary expo. I was one of maybe only 20 people there. Parking was impossible, since so many streets were shut down, and all of the parking lots were for the businesses only. On race morning, parking was just as difficult, despite getting there VERY early. I made my way towards the start line, which was easy to find since there were so many runners, warmed up, used the restroom, and got lined up to start. The first 2-3 miles of this race were EXTREMELY crowded. There was a steep but short hill about a half mile in, which separated some people, but it was still congested. The entire first 10K was all slightly uphill at about a 2% incline. And then came the dreaded CORKSCREW HILL. I had read horror stories about Corkscrew Hill, so as I got going I up it, I just kept telling myself "one foot in front of the other, DON'T YOU DARE STOP!" As I made my way up, I just kept thinking, wow, this is not nearly as bad as I had anticipated... And then I turned a corner and realized I WAS ONLY HALF WAY UP. It was almost 3/4 of a mile up that damn hill... So freaking hard! But coming down the back side felt amazing. The back half of the course was rolling hills, with two other pretty good inclines, before finishing near where we had started. My legs were DEAD. It was a killer race. I picked up my wine glass and went into the garden area to do my tastings. The lines were extremely long, and the wine was very average. Since I am from that area, I have a laundry list of my favorite wineries in SB County, and none of them took part. From what I could tell, it was a bunch of small wineries looking for advertisement. Wasn't impressed by any of them, and probably wouldn't buy a bottle of any of the wines that I tried. It was hot, and I was sweaty and tired, so I only had the patience to try about 5 wines before getting bored of waiting in long lines, and heading home. There was next to no community involvement or spectators, which is fine because the views were above average. But again, being from the area, I wasn't SUPER impressed. The medal was super cool, and serves as a wine stopper that I use regularly. For the price, and all things considered, I don't think I would run this race again, nor would I recommend it.

This wasn't a bad race, but not great either. Packet pickup the day before was quick and easy. At the start line, they said they were going to play the national anthem, but never did. They didn't even count us down, just fired the gun and said to go. All of the runners around me were pretty confused. The course was beautiful and well marked, making it super easy to follow. There were some challenging rolling hills that really got my legs going. This was my first ever 10K race, and I used it as a tune up for my 5th half marathon. The longer distances started earlier, so it was pretty cool to see the marathoners coming out or back for their second loop. The expo at the end was decent, with lots of local businesses present. The best part was that they served 26.2 Brew as the post race beer! I was so excited to try it, and I loved it! The disappointing part was that I expected results and photos to be posted to the website, like all races. However, months after the race, neither the results nor the photos had been posted, nor did we get any notification email/post on FB etc. telling us that results were ready. I emailed the race director and posted on Facebook, however it still took months to get a response saying that results had been posted on the timing company website. It was pretty confusing considering the results and photos from the previous year's race were posted plainly on the website. I still never got an answer regarding the race photos, and now the website is nonexistent. There was a drone and on-course photographers, so I know there were photos taken. Overall, it was a fun race, but disappointing race management. I would probably run it again, but hope that it was managed better.

This was a fun, but tough race! Packet pickup was at Runners Warehouse, which was nice and easy to find. Pickup was quick with not much to it. I loved the tank that we got! I wear mine everywhere! Now onto the race... It starts in quaint downtown San Luis Obispo (where I happened to live), and headed south to Avila Beach. The first 4ish miles of this race are all flat or slightly downhill, before getting into the rolling hills. The rolling hills aren't horrible, until you hit a long, steep incline going into mile 7. From there, it's a nice long downhill, then goes through part of the Bob Jones Hill, before another brutal uphill just as bad as the first. The final miles are all rolling hills, and by then your legs and mind are both exhausted, and it's a mental battle to the finish. But once you do finish, it's fantastic! The ocean breeze feels so good, and the views are amazing! I ran this with my mom on the day before her 50th birthday, and we finished hand in hand! They also had a handcycle division, which my uncle raced in! The medals were big and beautiful, and the post race festivities were super fun. Central Coast Brewing provided the beer, and it was so good! We didn't need to worry about taking the shuttles all the way back to SLO, since my dad drove us. We finished the day wine tasting at Laetitia Winery in Arroyo Grande, which made for the perfect day. If this is a destination race for you, there are tons of wineries in town to hit up once you finish! Will definitely run again, and highly recommend!