I love a race that gives out nice medals and jackets! Throw in the beautiful ocean view, hot cocoa, and post-race vibes, it makes for a great race day experience. The course is a challenging course. Be prepared for an uphill battle the last three miles of the race!!! The first three miles are downhill, miles 4-7 are flat, and the last few miles are uphill. It's a nice combination of Golden Gate Park and ocean views. They gave out honey stinger electrolyte drink, water, and gummy bears on the course! Post-race you can get a bowl with hot chocolate, pretzels, a banana, and cookies/rice crispy treats. Added bonus, they provide a shuttle from three different locations for an additional $15.

If you’re looking for a race that doesn’t disappoint on the views, M2B is it! Starting in the mountains, Ojai, this course takes you down through beautiful views of orange groves, skylines, and small towns before landing on the beach of Ventura. There is a stretch at the end that goes through an industrial area, but landing on the beach is worth it. The weather is beautiful and the downhill makes for a speedy race! Be prepared for a monster hill around mile 15!

The entire city truly invests in the entire race weekend, it’s a culture thing! The crowd support is amazing all 26.2 miles, which is super helpful in the backend of this hilly course. For a flat runner such as myself, it can be hard to prep for the rolling hills that are around every corner of this race. Don’t slack on your hill and strength training!

I ran this race as the final leg of the Disney Dopey Challenge so I was a bit spent by time I got to this race day. I recommend this race if you live for everything Disney! You’ll get a 26.2 tour through the parks, but for the most part you’re on roads and parking lots. The course is lined with characters, but the lines are long if you’re trying to stop and take pictures. There’s also a relatively long wait in the corrals in the morning so come prepared. That wait is worth it though because every corral gets their own magical firework starts!