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City of Laguna Hills Memorial Half Marathon & 5K
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
2 reviews for City of Laguna Hills Memorial Half Marathon & 5K
Ran my first half marathon here, and picked it 'cause of the scenic trail, overall descent in elevation (though with some rolling hills) and because the 1/2 is the featured event (often 1/2-maras are piggybacked onto full marathons, making all the 13.1 milers feel like wannabes who can't tough out the full distance.)
Pros:
+ Chip timed event
+ Frequent water/electrolyte drink stations and porter potties (about every 1.5 to 2 miles)
+ Scenic route that takes you inside a park trail
+ Nice expo at the end (good vendors, at least 3 chiropractor/massage places offering free 5 min. massages, CPK handing out slices of pizza)
+ Good event schwag (A t-shirt I'll actually wear 'cause it's not tackily overloaded with sponsor logos, plus a decent pint glass)
Cons:
- As always, could use more porter potties at start point (lots of runners overhydrate, and thus a tendency for a mad rush to empty their bladders before their start times)
- Could've used pace signs/posters to help line people up at the start point (there were some real slowpokes that obviously shouldn't be near the front of the crowd, forcing the faster folks behind to weave in and out.)
- Shuttles from finish to start point could be more frequent (lines were uber-long, I wound up walking the mile and a half to the start point)
But overall, a great half and it's great to know that I can handle it (and finished in decent time too - 1:51:20), looking forward to participating again next year.
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The first year I did this race, it was called the Flo-Jo Memorial Half Marathon & 5K. Then it changed to the Saddleback Memorial Half Marathon & 5K. This year it became the City of Laguna Hills Memorial Half Marathon & 5K. No matter what you call it, it's a well-organized event and fun way to start your Memorial Day.
As the location suggests, it's a fairly hilly race, especially the half marathon. This time I ran the 5K, which had a pretty significant hill in the last mile, but was thankfully followed by a rather steep downhill almost all the way to the finish line.
We got to run the first mile through Leisure World, which was rather interesting. Not many residents were outside watching, but those that were cheered us on with their zany banter, such as "go faster!" and "c'mon, smile!"
The race had chip timing, which is always preferable, and we got nice t-shirts and goodie bags that included coupons for Rubio's. At the finish line area, CPK and Jamba Juice gave out refreshments. They also had some kids races on the grass.
The best part about running a race on Memorial Day is that then you can spend the rest of the day eating burgers, hot dogs, chips, and cookies and drinking beer, and not feel at all guilty about consuming the extra calories. You earned it!
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