For those of us living in Southern California, we are lucky to have great weather almost year round. I came to live here in 2001 compliments of joining the Marine Corps, and while I’m still a Texas girl at heart, I love living in Sunny San Diego – isn’t it the best?! We live where people vacation!!!
The amazing weather makes for plenty of opportunities to get out and run, or bike, or swim, or all! For instance, the first triathlon took place in Mission Bay in 1974 and Rock’n’Roll San Diego was the first Rock’n’Roll event in the series in 1998. If you’re lucky to live here year round like I do, you can race almost every weekend if you so desire…This past month, I did.
My busy racing month of March began with the Encinitas Half Marathon on Sunday, March 4th. Our very own Brandon was one of the lead cyclists, so I was able to snag a free entry for it. The race was very well organized, there were spectators cheering us on throughout the course, plenty of well stocked aid stations, and not to ment
ion the beautiful views! It was a great race plus the finish line snacks and post-race beer were delicious! That same day, the Desert Tri triathlon took place in La Quinta and OMG made its presence known. This was the start of triathlon season and for some of them, their first triathlon ever! They all did outstanding bringing home some cool medals and placing in their age groups. Congratulations!
The next weekend I raced the Coast to Crest trail 5k on Saturday, March 10th. This race is known as Del Mar’s only trail race, taking place at the San Dieguito River Park and it offers a 5k, 10k, and a kids’ 1k options. I liked that the trail is nice and flat for the most part, the race was very well put together, and the weather that morning was hard to beat! The race also offered a finish line lunch with bratwursts, hot dogs, soda, water, and beer for participants and spectators.
On Friday, March 16th, I participated in the St. Patty’s 5k fun run at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. The race takes place on base, it’s an out and back course, and it is in the afternoon. The course is flat, the expo is full of goodies and freebies for everyone, there is also lunch and beer provided afterwards, and a post-race raffle – in which I won the grand prize! This is one of my favorite races because you get to run with the Marines.
The next day, Saturday, March 17th, I ran the St. Patrick’s Day 10k in Mission Bay. I have been doing this race since 2012 and I love it! It offers a 10k (timed) and a 2 and 4 mile (untimed). The 10k starts in Mission Bay and takes you into Fiesta Island, which makes it for a fast and flat race – I have my sub 1-hr 10k from that race a few years ago! Everyone gets pizza and beer at the finish line, something to look forward to after the run! Kathy Loper Events puts this race together and they do an excellent job – which keeps me coming back year after year!
On Sunday, March 18th, the Super Seal Triathlon organized by Ironman took place in Coronado. I did not participate but many of OMG members did and brought home some nice hardware and snagged some podium spots. Y’all are amazing!!!
My last race of the month took place on Sunday, March 25th. The Carlsbad 5000 is another race that I’ve been running since 2012, when it was put on by Competitor. I especially did not want to miss it this year because the race was sold to Rock’n’Roll and recently, Ironman bought out Rock’n’Roll, so I wanted to see if any of the race dynamics would change “under new ownership”. Short answer: yes. While I still very much enjoyed my time out there, the race price went up, the expo was a lot smaller, there wasn’t an option to register for next year’s race (as it has been in previous years), the race schedules were changed, and the 20k participants had almost a two hour wait between their third and fourth 5k. Oh – and there was no post race free pizza slice this year…Bummer! On the plus side, we were offered pretzels, water, electrolytes, and bananas at the finish line, as well as a ticket for the beer garden. Also, this is a local race so I got to see a lot of my fellow OMG peeps and I ran my 5k with Nancy, who helped me achieve a great finishing time (Thank You Nancy!!!). Another thing I like about this race is getting to watch the elites run. This year, the male winner finished in 14:15 and the female winner in 16:04. What a feat!!!
March was a great month for racing and I am happy I was able to participate in so many races. April brings the Ironman Oceanside 70.3 and OMG will be both participating and volunteering at the event. Ron will be tackling his first half Ironman and I can’t wait to hear how he and everyone else does – I know it will be great! I love being a part of OMG and being able to run alongside such awesome and inspiring athletes. Always remember…Life is better when you run!
