On Sunday, Nola and I ran in these Orange County, California events. Still emerging from our mostly-non-running winter in the Rockies, I took on the half marathon and Nola the 5K.
It is an exciting course. The half marathon spans the cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. It was one of the most pleasant I have run, including a stretch on the ocean shore plus some beautiful terrain through the nature reserve around Newport Bay. The course is mostly flat, although there are a couple of very nasty little hills. The marathon extends in a loop from near the end of the half into the cities of Irvine and Santa Ana to end at the same finish line.
My main warning to runners contemplating this event in the future is that the logistics are complex and you need to give good attention in advance to where you stay and how you get around. The start and finish lines are several miles apart and the shuttle services between them are tenuous, not aided by the many street closures that occur. We stayed the night before the event in a hotel near the marathon/half start and had our own vehicle. We were very happy we did it that way.
Bottom line, I finished the half in a respectable time but, more importantly, Nola won her age division in the 5K for a GOLD MEDAL!
Warwick Ford