Carlsbad Half Marathon Race REVIEW

The Carlsbad Marathon and Half Marathon was held in Carlsbad, CA, on January 23.  There was also a kids “marathon mile” at Legoland the day before.  Both events sold out so register early.  I think the half was $70 until July 15th and $80 after.

THE EXPO

The expo was held at the Carlsbad Mall (Westfield Plaza Camino Real) on Friday and Saturday in a large tent out in the parking lot.  That meant plenty of free mall parking, but the tent was a little small.

I arrived at a really bad time, about 10 minutes before the expo opened on Saturday morning so there was a huge, long line of people waiting to get in and then get their bibs once it opened.

I had to rush to get out of there so I didn’t really see much of the expo at all, but it looked okay, a little on the small side.  We got cute long sleeve t shirts and one of those fabricy bag things.

THE RACE

There was around 7,000 people running the half so this is a big half race considering the location.  Carlsbad isn’t that big…  Only about 2,000 people ran the full I believe, and that also was capped.

The race start was also held at the mall so again, free parking=awesome.  But get there early!  I arrived 70 minutes before the start and the freeway exit was already backed up.

There were wave starts which was great for the amount of people.  The first wave that I was in was empty, but the other waves looked pretty crowded.

From what I noticed, there were a lot of walkers, walker/joggers, casual runners, people taking it slower so this could be a great race for someone who’s really just being introduced to running or wants to walk the course or just take it easy, etc.

THE COURSE

This is what you run this race for – the course.  It’s awesome: very scenic and pretty.  The first couple miles are through Carlsbad and then it’s along the beach until the turnaround point.

It’s an out-and-back course which normally I don’t like, but I really enjoyed this course.  It kept me interested, it was gorgeous, and it was fun to watch the people running out as I was running back.

Although the course is billed as “one of the fastest in the US”, it’s got some rolling hills.  It’s not flat like I expected.  Just a heads up.

THE COURSE SUPPORT

There were a surprising amount of spectators which was awesome.  There were groups of people dressed up, families, lots of people cheering and making noise.

After mile 2, there was water about every mile and Ultima Replenisher energy drink every couple miles which tasted disgusting.  Stick with the water instead.

GU’s were being handed out at mile 3, a little early in the race, but I grabbed one.  I read that they were being handed out at mile 9 as well, but I must have missed them.

THE POST RACE

Right after you finished, you got a sack full of goodies.  Love this idea, it’s efficient and fast.  You get all your food and get moving so there’s no back up.

They also handed out bottles of water.  In the sack:

Although I left right away, it looked like there might be a post-race concert or something going on:

THE SUMMARY

Overall I’d give this race a 8.97 out of 10.  It was a fabulous course but a little on the pricier side.  If you want to run it, register early because it will sell out.  They do allow people to transfer bibs (that’s how I got mine) but there’s a $20 transfer fee.

I thought the turquoise beachy medal was pretty sweet:

TIPS

-Dress warm because it is chilly in the morning before the sun comes up.  I think it was around 44 degrees.

-Get there early because there’s going to be a lot of people in a smallish area.  The porta potties were pretty dang busy.

-If you’re a serious runner, make sure you’re in the first wave or else you will be weaving in and out of a lot of people.

-Wear sunglasses.  I didn’t bring any and regretted it the whole race.

-Be prepared for some rolling hills, nothing major but still not flat.

Need sunglasses!  And a nostril reduction….

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