Silver Strand Half Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Brin C.
Portland, OR

  (11-19-2009)

"I'm going to rate this race 2 out of 5. Yes it's flat & Yes it's an ocean view route, however I personally found it to be a fairly miserable course & overall disappointing experience for the below described reasons. The first 8.5 miles or so are straight along the highway. I'd recommend focusing on taking in the beach setting or 'people watching' your fellow racers, otherwise be prepared to be able to see the next mile marker looong before you get to it. Although the temp wasn't "hot", the sun is intense, even in the morning hours. There weren't enough water stops to accommodate for this. I drank at every stop yet found myself thirsty multiple times during this race. I won't declare my grabbing of an ill-tasting energy drink at one stop on the race set-up. Although that was not pleasant it was my fault for not looking down to notice the pink coloring before I desperately gulped it down. When you are coming up on the naval base from the highway you can see faster runners inside and mile markers 10 & 12. You are inside the fenced area for nearly 3 miles. I was running around a 2:00 pace & saw the 1:30 pace group passing me the other direction two times. I knew where I would be in 30 minutes. Twice. That was my least favorite portion of the course.

The lines at the porta-potties at the beginning of the race were out of control. I waited 30 minutes +. I have no idea what happened to the people in line behind me as I had just minutes until the gun went off by the time I got through.

The packet pick-up was required the day before the race. You had to pick-up your own packet with ID. OK fine. I was staying at the Loews Coronado, recommended by the race with event discount. It's on the race course however it's almost 20 miles away from packet pick-up?! Good thing we had a rental car. Could they not have packet pick-up at the host hotel, or even near the start or finish areas?

I will say that the course was well marked & there were ample food & drink options at the finish. The volunteers were friendly. The medals were nice. The t-shirts OK, especially if you're into the men's sized cotton variety. The shuttle from our hotel to the start, as well as back after the race, worked out just fine.

I will also add that I traveled for this race. I'm not a competitive runner, but I've done a lot of road races. These are some things I observed that I wish I was able to read about before deciding on a half-marathon destination race. The entry price seemed completely reasonable, but I would have paid more for the bathrooms & water stops.
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Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Wayne D.
San Diego, CA

  (08-05-2009)

"The course is flat and fast but it's pretty boring and there's not a lot of crowd support. You're running on the Silver Strand which is a highway that connects Coronado to Imperial Beach. In 2008 we experienced some tough crosswinds after mile 7 and heat started to become a factor. There's an out and back on a base that parallels the strand and while it's nice to see some of your friends running, the last thing you want is to be running away from the finish line.

The only crowd support comes at the end when you're running through a neighborhood on your way towards Imperial Beach pier. Be prepared for people to tell you you're almost there! ..even when you're not.

Getting to the race: You can park on Coronado but I don't recommend it. There's not much parking there as it is. Your best bet is to park at Silver Strand State Beach and take the shuttle. Get there early!

It's a good fast race, but it's kind of boring and crowd support is lacking. But when you're done you can walk out onto the pier and see how far away you started. Also.. the medals are lame. They were exactly the same the last two years."

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2008

Brooke B.
san diego, CA

  (06-21-2009)

"This was actually a beautiful race. It was done more out of convenience than anything else because it was local and I was able to run it with a bunch of friends, and my best friend's mom (she was amazing!). It started off chilly, but the sun came out as we began the run and it was bright and sunny throughout and comfortable with a light ocean breeze. The course is totally flat (other friends called it "BOring" for that reason) so this may or may not appeal to you. It is a relatively straightforward course (i.e. there's no messing up or getting lost...and yes, I HAVE made that mistake before in my high school running days!) and the lack of hills makes for a fast run. The only reason I said that I wouldn't run it again is because I like to mix it up and not run the same course twice. :-)"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2007