I came into town for the weekend and ended up doing the 5K and the Half Marathon, since I came from the west coast. Here goes the half:

Places to stay: I stayed at the Hampton Downtown. A few parts were a little meh, but it was close to the start. There were some other places close by and a host of hotels by the finish to stay as well with shuttles going back and forth race day between the start and finish

Expo: open 3-8pm on Friday and 9-6 or so on Saturday. No race day pick up, but I did see some being handed out on race day. Bibs organized based off last name so when I went to get bibs on Friday, it was a bit of a wait and a cluster. Everything for the bib and shirts were jammed together and needed spaced out because once you got your bib, you were cutting across lines to get out. You could have someone else pick up your bib, but they needed your ID. Plenty of vendors and freebies at the expo and your typical running stuff. Needed a bit of work with signage on where to go, as there were other events going on in the Broward County Convention Center at the same time.

Shirts: seemed a little cheap. I got a women's medium that was smaller than my women's small 5K shirt. Wish the quality was better and the sizes were true to size.

Race morning: Walked to the start and got there no problem. Race time was fun 6 AM because of the heat/humidity. Plenty of port o potties at the start, but all had lines, so despite going at the hotel, I waited until the first possible break off to go.
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Race itself: flat course, which was nice. The first few miles were down Las Olas Ave with plenty of shops. The first 3-5 miles were dark since we started so early. By 3 miles, we were running along the beach, I only wish there was a breeze. We took the beach for a few miles before turning down a side street and ultimately through a park area. We left that shortly around mile 6 and went down some various streets that had road work going on and actively moving cars (not always a fan of). Just before mile 9, the half and full races split off and the half marathon turned back towards the beach. We ended up doing the last 4 miles and change along the beach. Little to no shade during this particular race.

I had no problems getting through the start of the race, but a few friends of mine got caught up 1/4 mile into the race because a train came through. It got to the point where anyone stopped by it actually got restarted because they were waiting for 20+ minutes, which would explain why there were two separate times at the finish

Aid Stations: every mile or so. Most but not all had electrolytes, some also had gels. They were a bit of a cluster, I felt like most were filling water/electrolytes as runners were coming through and that there was limited set up before the race, so people were piling up waiting to get something to drink

Medical: I only saw 1 tent for medical for the half at mile 8/9

Weather: 80s and humid today, which I've been told is unseasonably warm, but I felt it the entire way

Post race: plenty of food, vendors, etc. Massages and ice were also available, but i was to the point where I needed nutrition and a shower. Good bling given and shuttles to take you back to the start

Overall: kinda on the fence about this one. It's a flat course and along the beach, but not sure how much heat and humidity I can deal with, especially with no shade. Packet pick up needs to be reworked, too much back up trying to do things by last name. Assign numbers, let us look up the numbers and spread it out. The shirts also looked cheap and sizes varied between races. My 5K small is larger than my half marathon medium and doesn't seem to have good quality with it, so I won't wear it. The water stations were a huge issue this year, it didn't seem like enough was set up/poured ahead of time so volunteers were pouring fluids as runners were coming through and led to people on top of each other and a boat load of congestion. Days like today would have been good for sprinklers, wet sponges, or something to keep runners cool- I saw a few people down and needing transported off course. Good finish line, though again congested. Feel like there needed more places for runners to go

So I found this race on Active and figured I'd sign up while in town for Surf City and it's hard finding any good longer races over the winter in Washington. It's pretty cheap which is a plus. The only downside is that I couldn't find the actual race website, which would have been useful.

Race communication: sent out the Monday before the race, which I think jumped the gun b cause it got lost in the email shuffle. I ended up running the 10k instead of the half. Email said 730 (which I ended up not finding until after the race), Active had the 10k and 5k at 8 am. Needless to say showed up according to an 8 am race start and ended up keeping my own time to correct for it

Packet Pick Up: race day 30-45 min before the race

Race itself: pretty basic. The 5k went out the running path 1.55 mi and back, the 10km, 3.1 mi and back, the half did the 10 k out and back twice and the Marathon did the out and back 4x. Time kept on a timer (handheld). Any sort of arrows were drawn in chalk on the ground so you had to look down to see if you missed anything. No flags or anything. The course was along the running path along Long Beach, which was calming, but you also dealt with other runners/walkers not associated with the race on the same path. In terms of water and Gatorade, it was only at the start/finish area so if you were doing the half, you had one water stop and the full had 3 if you didn't carry your own.

The finish was where you started and the only reason you.lnew where to go was a race flag.

Swag: just a medal, no shirt

Thoughts: I don't mind small races, it I really don't know what I paid for for this race. I felt like I could have done my own 10k and saved money and a 25 min drive one way. The local crowd seemed to enjoy it, which is good if you live here, but I didn't see many racers on course. Seems like on the RD's website, he prefers managing small races, which is fine, but maybe some investment in flags/ mile markers and basic race stuff may be useful. Also, would prefer communication the Thursday/Friday before a race so jigs don't get lost in the email shuffle

Please go run this race! This was my second year running Surf City, my first being in February, 2013. I came back this year since I'm living on the West Coast and have been wanting to do it again. The race is so well run and so much fun, especially if you're looking for a race to get away to

Expo: Friday afternoon 1p-7p and Saturday 9p-5p. It's held under huge tents and has bib look up computers available. Don't forget to sign a release and hand it to them. The bib and shirt pick up is right as you walk in. I went pretty early on Friday and there was a line for Medium Women's shirts. FYI, you're getting the shirt you ordered, switches are only race day if available. This is a pretty decent size expo with plenty of California races to sign up for. I signed up for Surf City 2018 and their 10 miler in October (early bird pricing!). Plenty of vendors and things to do. There's also the beer garden that's open both days. Street and parking lot parking available and within walking distance to places to eat. If you run the Half Marathon 3 years straight, or the Full Marathon 3 years straight, call yourself a legacy runner and get extra shirts (and maybe bling?). If you live in California/LA area do a series of 3 races and get some more bling as well.

Hotels: The Host Hotel is the Hilton Waterfront Beach resort which is right at the start/finish and where I crash the bathrooms. I personally stayed at the DoubleTree Club Orange County Airport, another local hotel. The Double Tree has shuttles to/from the race, carb dinners the Saturday before, warm cookies and a welcoming committee of staff members when you return (best hotel ever!).

Getting to/from the race: parking's limited, roads are shut down. Either carpool or take a shuttle in. I stayed at the DoubleTree (see above) and took the shuttle too and from since I hate driving in California to begin with. Didn't have to pay for parking either! There were shuttles from some of the beaches and the high school as well, so I'd recommend finding something that doesn't involve you driving to the start/finish.

Start Time: the Marathon starts at 6:30 AM and the Half Marathon starts at 7:45 AM

The Course: some hills mixed in with flatness. You start out along Pacific Coast Highway for just over 2-3 miles and turn into a residential area. Enjoy yourselves some hills and circle around the neighborhood through mile 5 before heading back onto the Pacific Coast Highway. Keep running until past mile 7 and pull a hairpin turn and run back towards town for the last 5.5 miles and change. Keep in mind, miles 10-13 (ish) have some gradual uphills and when the sun happens to be around, it can get hot. It was cloudy and breezy this year, which was a change from 2013. Good crowd support mixed in with areas of quietness. You do go out in waves every 3 minutes, but things were a bit congested the first 3 miles. Still run into people who don't get over to the side when they're walking, which is difficult. You do run portions with the marathon and they do split, however, well marked as to what side of the road you should be on for the split from the marathon and half marathon with plenty of people there to direct you.

Aid Stations: every 1-1.5 miles and well spaced. Huge groups of volunteers handing out water and Vitalife (never heard of it). Some stations had gels, some had cliffbars, some had bananas.

Post Race: You finish in the chute and are streamlined to medals. Be prepared for something with a surfboard on it, which changes every year. Plenty of fruit, drinks, heat sheets, etc. The only thing I wish they had were bags. I had too much crap to carry. Bonus points for the unlimited chocolate milk. They also have a beer garden and 2 free drinks. Line was long by the time I finished and I don't drink beer so I skipped it. Enjoy time on the beach as well!

Overall, really well run race. This was year 21 and I thought it went off without a hitch. I wish they would use the D Tag attached to the bib as opposed to the B Tag attached to the shoe. I'm always worried something's going to happen to my tag! Please go do this race, it's worse the stressful driving from LAX to Huntington Beach!