Carlsbad Marathon & Half

I was pleasantly surprised by the Carlsbad Marathon. I’ve lived in San Diego since I was five, have run 11 marathons, many of which we’re San Diego Rock’n’Roll. I never thought of running a winter marathon because of training during the holidays, cold season, yada yada. But this time I thought I would give Carlsbad a shot. WOW… let me say it again WOW!!! Porta Potties without a line? And not only a long sleeve tech shirt, a beautiful medal, a reusable goodie bag, but a special gift, this year which happens to be an amazing jacket for marathoners?! The jacket rocks! Parking nor traffic seemed to be a problem, at least for marathoners. Besides a slightly late start, everything was absolutely superb: the aid stations, the bands, cheerleaders, the course, the view, the weather, the chocolate milk after the race, the warm tent before the race, and the event organization. Athough the half marathon field was huge, the marathon field was small. It almost felt like a big family. I felt special. Kudos to the organizers! I will be back :)

This is my second marathon and I am a fan. Not only is the course nice but there are many cheerers and supporters. There are cliff gels along the course and it has a separate earlier start than the half marathoners. Marathon start was at 6:15 and it took about 20 minutes to get light. I thought I was going to mind the course looping and such but you don’t really see it as you end up running on the other side of the street. The course does have hills and is challenging at times.
Also, I believe they give a freebie to marathoners (not to halfs). This year, they gave nice sandals. Last year, they gave a jacket that they sell for $ 50. If they give out something cool next year, I am totally in!
If you are not from Carlsbad, the HIlton Garden Inn is nice to stay at and they have a shuttle to bring you to the race and back.

My first marathon and boi was it hard. There’s a lot of planning going on, from the bib pick up days, to all the vendors, to race day, and getting everyone set up and then starting the actually marathon first and then making sure the half marathon gets going as well.
The only complaint I would have is there seems to be way more half marathon runners, so on the ladder miles it’s a bit of a cluster running towards the end although we are confined onto the shoulder of the street by a rope.
I will def run another marathon. Thanks for challenging experience!

I love this marathon. It is not a mega marathon and the organization is always top notch. Most participants during the weekend run their other race, an excellent half marathon which I’ve ran for a couple of years before switching to their full marathon. The course is a roller, you’re almost always either running up or down a gentle hill. There are some few flat spots. 80% of the time, you’re just a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean. Carlsbad in my books is a great city to run a marathon. The logistics for this race could not be any easier. You can park your car in the mall parking lot just a few steps from the starting line.
This is the first race in the Half Marathon Triple Crown series. The other two races are the La Jolla Half Marathon and the AFC Half Marathon.

Beautiful course along Coast Highway in Carlsbad. Relatively flat, unless you did your training in the Great Plains. Plenty of water stations and more enthusiastic volunteers than you can imagine (THANK YOU!).
Race start is at SIX AM. Come on. Really. Who’s feeling their best at 6am? It’s cold, early, and completely pitch black. Two people next to me totally ate it within the first mile because there are no street lights on Jefferson. Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Ultima stations every other mile. Nice gesture, but Ultima is NASTY. Not for the faint of stomach.
Unless you’re super fast, plan on running your last 4 miles with the half-​marathon joggers. Kind of annoying because there’s like ten thousand of them and they’re going half your speed, but it’s hard to really get upset when you’re running along the stunning Carlsbad coastline. You’d have to be a total grinch to be anything but breathlessly in peace.
The volunteers really make it happen. Around mile 16 I saw a sign that read «Getting up early to make this sign wasn’t easy either» and I’m still laughing about it. But it’s true: the fact that hundreds of people choose to wake up hours before daylight to line up along a 26 mile course and scream, high-​five, and cheer us on for four hours on a Sunday morning is crazy to me, but I am so appreciative.
The volunteers are great, the course is beautiful, and at the end you can eat whatever you want guiltlessly. Sounds like a win-​win to me.

Ran the full marathon this year and the half last year. Great race that I would totally do again.
Course: Great course through Carlsbad with a good portion of the course along the beach. One hill at mile 9 with smaller rolling hills throughout. The weather is great in January in Carlsbad (heck its great year round) and its incredible to run in the sun along the beach during a marathon. in the winter!
Logistics: Race starts/​ends at the mall so there is plenty of parking, tons of portapotties.
Course Support: Pretty good course support for the majority of the course.
Expo: Mid-​sized expo, easy to park and get in and out of
Schwag: Long sleeved tech tee for half/​full runners and a nylon drawstring bag, running hat for the full runners. Nice medal with a stylized ribbon.
The full marathon sells out so if you’re going to run this race make sure you don’t wait too long!
More detailed review of my race experience on my blog:

Luckily, the 7 months of training paid off, and I was able to complete my first marathon in Carlsbad without too much difficulty. Out of all the races I’ve done in San Diego, I think this one was certainly the most picturesque and comfortable temperature-​wise.
The marathon commenced at 6am, just before sunrise. The morning temperature couldn’t have been more ideal, and it was exhilarating to run with a group of like-​minded people intent on pounding out 26.2 miles. The course itself was not too challenging. Miles 6 – 13 become a little uninspiring as they wind up and down Palomar Airport Road, a road that, admittedly, does have a couple of gnarly grades. After that, however, the rest of the time is spent along the coast.
At about mile 14 or 15, we converged with the throngs of half marathon cattle that had apparently commenced their race at 7:30am. Supposedly, there were somewhere around 1,300 marathoners vs. 8,000+ half marathoners. Needless to say, there was some confusion to be had by this. One item of confusion occured at a pivotal turnaround point. The half marathoners turned around at a certain intersection on Coast Highway, but many of the marathoners didn’t realize that they had to keep going straight and, instead, turned around with them. I must agree that the communication and signage that was erected was inadequate as far as guidance was concerned. Luckily, I had studied the marathon course intently before the race; therefore, I knew that my turnaround point wasn’t until La Costa Avenue. It’s unfortunate that many marathoners came up short about 3 miles because they inadvertantly followed the half marathon masses. So, yes, the race coordinators should make an effort to separate the two groups throughout the entire race, as opposed to just doing so a fraction of the time.
Miles 21 – 26 were gruelling for me. It’s true what they say, the marathon doesn’t start until mile 20. It’s definitely a ferocious battle between the mind and body.
Overall, though, this was a fantastic experience and I’m already looking forward to running it again next year. Who wants to do it with me? :)

The Carlsbad half and full marathons are definitely among the better races I’ve either run or attended! Between my husband and I, we’ve run in everything from very small scale (approx. 200 runners or less) to huge (30,000+ runners) 5Ks, 10Ks, and half and full marathons, so I feel like I’ve seen a wide range of race day experiences.
There are LOTS of positives about this race:
EXPO: plentiful parking, pretty good variety of vendors with cool new gear and samples, and one year they even had the local labrador rescue at the Expo with their cute dogs for adoption! Nothing like a cute lab to put you in a good mood for race day :)
[LACK OF] TRAFFIC: on race day, there is some traffic build up on the freeway exit that the website tells you to get off at but overall compared to some of the HUGE races (ie, SD RnR) it is not bad at all — TIP: there are plenty of other ways to get to the mall using side streets… just look at the map and figure out a plan. The only exit that is shut completely is Palomar Airport Road, and that is several miles away from the starting line anyway.
PARKING: plentiful parking in the lot. can take a little time to get out of there afterwards, but again, compared to other races this size or bigger, it’s really not bad at all. TIP: I like to park on the edge of the lot, closest to the starting corrals to be able to sit in the car until the gun goes off and stay out of the cold :)
TOILETS: the mall is usually open for people to stay warm and use the bathrooms. There are lines of course for those restrooms and the port-​a-​potties, but these race organizers must do a better than average job of providing toilets per people because the lines at C-​bad really seem to go much faster than other races.
RACE COURSE: scenic and gorgeous! Even though this is an out-​and-​back course, it’s just beautiful seeing those huge waves on the beach right by you; I’m *pretty* sure it beats running a race in a landlocked state… just sayin’!
GEAR: This race consistently has fresh, snazzy looking tech shirts! That really is not always the case with other races (ahem, La Jolla)…so I appreciate having a tech shirt I am excited to wear.
Of course, a few cons:
1) The race course is NOT flat… and for some reason, the rolling hills here seem to be placed right at the parts where you don’t want them to be… lol. Even with proper hill-​training, this course is challenging. 2) There seemed to be a lot of confusion about whether there would be pace groups and if so, where they would meet; on race-​day, I’m pretty sure I did not see pace groups for every ⁵⁄₁₀ minutes or whatever increments they are usually offered in. 3) The very last aid station of the full and half marathon course ran out of CUPS for water… c’mon that’s such a basic thing! Aid stations should not run out of aid! 4) The race should do a little more to provide on-​course support to the full marathoners, especially on the part where they run all the way out and back on Palomar Airport Road. 5) I thankfully did not check a bag… the lines for gear pickup seemed crazylong afterwards! On a plus note though, they sent an official email apologizing for the long wait times at gear pick up.
Overall, this is a very well-​put together race. The race organizers really seem to go the extra mile (get it?!) for the runners and I really appreciate it.

I am a fan of the half-​marathon, not for the actual course, but for the logistics and how the race staff handles themselves.
Race:B+
With that said I have ran in over 26 races and although the half marathon is right along the ocean, the out and back on the same course does get tiring and a bit boring, but I do find that I loose myself in the crashing of the waves which is great on the out course, not so great when you turn around. It is a bit hilly but I enjoy the challenge. The aid stations are good, I do like how the volunteers actually hold out the cups for you and hand out oranges, it allows you not to have to stop and you can continue to run.
Expo:A
As for the logistics, I do think Carlsbad has it together better than some of the other ½ marathons in San Diego. I arrived at the expo on Saturday around 3:00pm, there was more than enough parking and it took me less than 10 minutes to find a spot We were able to get in and out of the expo with no problem and I never waited to retrieve my race bib. There was more than enough staff around to tell your directions and they had staff standing at the exit, thanking you for coming and wishing you well on your race:
Race Day Logistics: A+
Parking in the morning did not take long at all. Of course there was traffic leading off the highway to the mall parking, but that is expected with over 6,000 runners. After parking I made my way to the start line which was easily marked. When I first arrived there was no wait for the bathrooms (which is shocking at most races) and I walked around the grounds for awhile. Just before the race started they announced that everyone needed to move to the corrals and the speaker was loud enough that everyone could hear. A few minutes before the race began I went to use the restroom again and waited less than 5 minutes (another HUGE shocker for races). When I was in the start corral, my friend was able to stand on the sidelines to be able to see me take off. At the end of the race, what I liked the most was that there were BAGS already stuffed with food, so you could just grab and leave. You didn’t have to try and hold all the food with water and your medal in one, while trying to catch your breathe again. The end was so easy to find my friends as we met right outside the caged area. We waited maybe 20 – 25 minutes to exit the parking lot, which was fine considering there were so many people.
Above all I do enjoy the race, this is my 2^nd time doing it, and I continue to do it every 2 years. Sometimes I would appreciate a different running route, but because of the logistics of it I continue to come back.

I was one of the marathoners. I was not impressed with the whole thing. I have to admit that they had the port a potty situation well in hand– no waiting, which was nice. The shirt and cap were nice. The actual run was ok. Their out and back nature of the rout was kind of boring. Maybe because I’m from the area it wasn’t new for me.
Having the half marathon join in was horrible– the marathoners were running in our group, when all of the sudden there are thousands of people mixed in messing up the pace.
I remember the turn around point for the half marathoners– I almost made the turn with them. There was a little tiny sign for the turn around that was blocked by runners. I couldn’t see it until I passed it. I think I knew I had to go further because I’m from the area. Easy to see at mile 6 or whatever on the half marathon, a little harder when your tired on mile 16 of the full.
It was absolutely ridiculous that there wasn’t someone there directing traffic, or at least a big fat sign that said MARATHON GO STRAIGHT.
They should keep them separate with a partition or something. If I were those other guys that made the half marathon turn, I would be mad as hell too.
Towards the end, I was worried that I had missed another turn. I asked volunteers on the side if this was still the marathon course, and they didn’t know. Wow… The end of the marathon was ok. They ran out of cold chocolate milk right when I got there. The little food packets were a little disappointing.
I had to wait for over an hour to get my gear, standing in line, cold, legs seizing up. Wonderfull… If it weren’t for the gear fiasco, I might give it 3 stars.
I had always heard that Carlsbad was a better race because they took better care of their runners… Yeah, right. If I do this one again, it will only be because it’s 15 minutes from my house. It is totally geared towards the half marathoners– The marathoners are just a little side show. I guess that’s the way most of these races are going anyway– more money in half marathons than full. The other marathons I’ve done were way better in how they treat their runners and overall organization.

I didn’t know what I got myself into…
Some of my friends signed up for the half-​marathon and I kept procrastinating the signup and it bit me because by the time I did sign up, the half marathon was full… ahh shizz.
Well I figured since I was already on the website, what the hey… just sign up for the full. And this was just over 3 months before race day… Ouch!!!
First of all, the full marathon starts at 6am. Well I’m not complaining about the early start time. I’m complaining about the weather, it’s January, and it’s by the ocean. So on race day… yah it was 37 degrees.
Another not so great experience is your departure from the mall parking lot. You guys hired these extra parking attendants. but where the f were they when it was time to leave. Luckily every driver seemed cool, maybe everyone finished their race happy and so I didn’t see any disgruntled drivers.
For the race itself. Yah it was fast. Not sure why, but there were several major hills that I encountered, that definitely slowed me down including a +4% grade betweens miles 8 – 9, but overall it was a fast course. I think what made the running experience a lot faster is the motivation that you got from all these random people on the side, the runners themselves and just basically everyone out there. Also, they have pacesetters throughout the race, and you can’t miss them carrying the signs with the expected finish times.
Nutrition — plenty of water, goo, ultra? approximately every 2 miles or so.
Congestion — I think we all met up with the halfers around mile 20 or so. So at that point, things started to slow down, but it was cool since everyone there just wanted to have fun, enjoy the scenery, lots and lots of people cheering you on from mile 23 and up. So it was pretty exciting at this point forward.
Not bad for a first full marathon. I’ve injured myself before because I was acting stupid, but this time I trained conservatively. (Though I don’t think 3 months is conservative?!) But it paid off at the end. Sure I’ll run this again, maybe just the half, but then again, I’ll probably miss the signup and end up doing another full marathon… oh well.
Tip: If you’re ordering your race photos online from Brightroom, use the code «reorder» and get 10% off. I think you can use that code for any race that is sponsored by Brightroom photos.
Another Tip: Don’t text and run at the same time. They kinda frown upon that.
Carlsbad Marathon 2011, 26.2 miles in 3:48…ahh yah!!!

I will forever remember this marathon fondly because it was my first! The course was beautiful and scenic. I was especially happy with the amazing group of pacer setters, provided by free of charge! Sophia helped me keep on pace and gave me lots of great advice about marathoning and running in general. I couldn’t have done it without her! My only complaint is the insanely early start time– SIX AM! It was 38 degrees and still very dark when we began. Boo. I will have to tough it up next year.

I have run this marathon twice. I have run 7 total, not to mention the 7 half marathons I have done and I love this race. However, with that being said, the organizers need to do one thing — -get a new sports drink for the course! I am sorry but Altima is gross, I nearly puked the first time I had it last year and my running partner actually had to go to the hospital for hyponutremia because she didnt drink the sports drink (too much water, no salt, and her body lost way too much salt). On my second time with this race, I brought my own cytomac drink, so that was fine. I love how there are not a lot of people when you start, and the early start is awesome (first time I had enough time to go and watch the Charger game – although they lost). The full is hilly, and I was surprised the first time, but if you prepare for hills it is totally worth it. And the medal was pretty cool too. If you want to run a half, the course is on the beach almost the entire way and it is pretty flat. I will be running this next year hoping the organizers change the drink.

This is my second Carlsbad Marathon and 5^th overall and I love this route! The best part of running 26.2 miles on this one is that at least you are running right along the beach and can feel that nice ocean breeze! Helps keep your mind off the pain! :-) Come join me on January 25^th!!!

My first marathon. It is a good marathon, but has way too much doubling back on the course. The worst part is actually running by the restaurants towards the end with the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting through the air while you are starving from being awake since 4am.