San Diego Resolution Run

What a great run to start out for the year! I haven’t been to the years previously but from the reviews I guess they really took the runners feedback seriously and did some major changes to it.
Registration was easy, parking was so-​so and the communication up to the race was on point. Thank for the email informing us that Sea World Drive would be closed!
I ran the 5k while my friends walked it and two others did the 15k. It was smart to have the 15k start 30 mins before the 5k group. The path they had us on was one of the best runs I’ve been on. It was a continuous loop around the island which was great for runner to keep going and not having to avoid other runners if there was a turn about. No one was fighting for space or running to avoid trees, objects or incoming runners from the opposite direction.
I liked how the 5k finish line and the 15k finish line were in two different locations. This really opened up the space and people didn’t crowd around the finish lines. It was also a pretty good distance away from the vendors.
The «medal» was unique in where you got to write down your resolution with chalk/​pain chalk. (too bad it rubbed off after moving around so much) but it also doubled as a magnet!
Def a great run to benchmark the rest of my runs this year.

Several runs start and end at this same location. We just recently attended the Girls on the Go run and it was a nice little 5k run. Great vendors come to these runs and love the free coconut juices that come also.

I have done lots of races, but the Resolution Run stands out as the most fun I have ever had at a race!

Sandy Feet Events is the most organized and well run events company that I have had the pleasure of experiencing. I have run many of their races and also worked with them as a sponsor and have had an exceptional experience every time. They are well organized, very friendly and their events are always lots of fun with great activities for the family and BEER at the end! Thanks!!!

My wife and 12 of her friends ran this race while my company took out a booth space as a vendor for the event the last 2 years running, both parties felt the organization of the race has evolved tremendously. Just between 2011 and 2012 there was tremendous growth and from what I have heard, this year is going to be even better. We are so excited for the race this year that my wife has already signed up to run, kicking off her first race as a new mom!
We absolutely recommend the race to anyone looking for the perfect start to the new year and that comes from both sides of the tape!!! Hope to see you out there =)

I’ve done this event for the past 2 years (2012 and 2013).
My first year was a 5K and I wasn’t heavy into running so I didn’t really know what to expect or what flaws to look for. I do remember that I had a great time and that I liked the shirt. I still use the shirt now on many of my workouts. The route was flat and the weather was perfect. Love the New Years «Resolution» theme. They had several stations giving away stuff I actually wanted to take home with me.
This year I ran the 15K and I’ve definitely taken it up a notch from the year before. I run half and full marathons now. And I’ve been to events throughout California and in general throughout the nation. I will say that this is still one of my favorite events. This year they featured a medal :) And I LOVE medals hahah The medal for event is one of my favorite medals… I just wish that they had marked the year on it. But aside from that I really loved the medal. I will say that the t-​shirt from last year was better than the one from this year. The route was great and it was flat. Loved that it was alongside the beach. The booths were giving away great stuff and our swag bag was on point :)
Would be nice to have a legacy recognition type thing for people who do these yearly.
To summarize, I have done two of these events and I have not been disappointed. Looking forward to my 3^rd event in 2014.

A really great way to start the year. The SD Resolution Run is normally the first Sunday of January. Run along the pavement of Mission Bay. It starts at De Anza and make your way around the Bay. Good vibes and great feeling!

After reading the Unilocal reviews for the event that occurred in previous years, I wasn’t expecting much, yet, it seems that the race organizers learned from previous years.
No complaints — it was very well organized with plenty of volunteers, stocked drink stations, and lots of goodies.
One minor gripe is that the 15k race started at 7am (sunrise was at ~6:58am) and they didn’t have any powered lighting (except for the volunteer college students using their phone as flashlights to help check you in).
As for the crowds, it wasn’t that bad since I was expecting narrow paths in Mission Bay. The paths are narrow and there’s nothing the organizers can do about that. Come prepared and stop whining.

A nice way to start off the year. My 2^nd year doing the 15K. It’s a fast, flat course which helped me get my PR at 6:39/mile for 1:02 and 3^rd place in my age group. Overall well organized and fun with plenty of parking. 2 recommendations: 1) don’t mix 5K and 15K as it creates a huge bottleneck for the 15K runners during the last 2 miles. Everyone vying for space on the sidewalk. 3) offer technical race shirts v cotton.

This was my first time running the Resolution Run. I’m not a local San Diegan, but happened to be town over this weekend. Looking at the results, I’d say that I was one of very few people who traveled to run here. I’ll try to break down my experiences.
Packet Pickup:
This was at Road Runner Sports. It was pretty well organized in the beginning, but the line seemed to get chaotic later in the day. We picked up our packets within 30 minutes of «opening» and it was great. Received a sturdy reuseable Unilocal!grocery bag with a lot of fliers and some portable Icy Hot packs.
Race:
Arrived at 6:35am on race day for the 7:00am start. Plenty of parking if you don’t mind walking a little. The actual lot seems to fill up quickly at Mission Bay but there’s tons of side parking. In January, it was pretty dark and chilly (for SD) at 6:45am but nothing too severe.
15K started at 7:00am and the 5K started at 7:05am. The 5K course is the same as the 15K for the first 1.5ish miles, then they turn around. The 15K course continues, loops around the water a bit (you’re always running around the water), and is predominantly flat. The sun rises around 7:15−20ish so you’re running in daylight most of the time.
Clear mile markers, and volunteers/​high school students call out your times as your run past. Water stations (with enviro-​safe water cups, cool) about every mile to 1.5 mi.
Photos were by photocrazy, which took automated shots at both ¾ mi and towards the end. Try to look at your watch when you pass the booth, because the photos are mostly organized by time of picture, not by your bib #. Preview on the website afterwards is really tough with the crazy amount of watermarks…
Post run «expo»:
Tons of vendors. Liked the gait analysis on treadmills by Road Runners. Pitaya was also a big sponsor so they repeated were giving out smoothies (per my taste– pass on this) and raffle tix to a spa thing. My favorite vendors were Specialty farms, giving away free fruit (wish they had more selection, though, bc they were 75% out by the time the 15K finished). Also some sport/​vitamin waters, protein powders, and local business stands.
All in all: I’d do this again. I’d even travel down to SD and make a weekend of it. The price to sign up is reasonable if you register early, and it’s a nice community run.

I did the 5k and I thought this was a simple run to start the new year off. Reading previous 2010 reviews, many people were saying that it was unorganized. so I guess this year they just decided to do a 5k and 15k, no 10k.
I thought this event was fairly organized. I was concerned on how narrow the path was for the amount of people running. but people had their own pace which ended up spreading all over the place and thus left a nice path for me to run. I liked it. This was my fastest 5k cause it was a nice and flat run. The vendors were the usual vendors. free muscle milk! free water! free drinks! Free (useful) stuff makes me happy.
I’d do this again next year, but I’ll probably for the 15k.

This was a nice, comfortable run. The terrain was relatively flat, and the view of the bay was beautiful, as expected. I ran the 5k, but they also had a 15k that commenced 5 minutes prior. Judging by the crowd, it looked as if there were more participants for the 15k than the 5k.
I thought the race could have been thought out better. In my opinion, it was a poor choice to use the walkway as the race route. There was just not enough room. Many of us were hindered severely because there was hardly any room to pass. I know that my time was impacted by this. Moreover, I would like to slightly vent by stating that I really get pissed when soccer moms think it’s apt to push their kids in a stroller, thereby obstructing the ability of those to manuever, especially when restricted to a narrow route such as the one at this particular race. Or, consider those that think it’s fashionable or cute to try and run the race with their dogs. It’s hard enough passing throngs of human cattle, but I surely shouldn’t have to worry about trampling over a dog or predicting how the animal is going to behave as I approach.
Those foibles aside, it was a fairly organized event that I will undoubtedly participate in again. I just hope next year they will consider having the race on E. Mission Bay Dr, rather than the walkway.

Mixed feelings about this one.
Love the fact this benefits a worthwhile organization and I enjoyed being on the bay… nice environment. Pretty good expo and loved the fresh fruit!
But I reallllllly did not like having a MANDATORY race packet pickup at Road Runner Sports the day before the race. If this was announced in advance, my husband and I likely would have not participated. To top it off, the parking lot was packed, so was the store, and you have to walk through the store to get the back room to pick up the goods.
It’s hard to believe that a race benefiting renewable energy encourages us to waste a lot of gas! Per the official web site:
«The Resolution Run benefits the San Diego Renewable Energy Society. This nonprofit membership organization is dedicated to increasing the intelligent use of renewable and sustainable energy technologies in San Diego County.» Hmmmmmmmm…
I would have gladly spent an extra couple bucks to have my packet sent to me and of course wish I didn’t have to spend an extra hour of my life just driving there…
Might do it again, might not… hard to say…

So at the crack of dawn this morning I participated in the Resolution 2010 Run that was put on by Sun Strides. This was not my first 10K race, but it was my first of the year and in San Diego. =) GO #1146!
I really liked the location and the course chosen. Running along the water and in nature was a nice change of scenery from my usual route of college area. The chalk designs were so funny! «Stop reading this and run» The overall event seemed very organized and information of where to park, register, and other directions were all very clear.
The reason why I gave it 3 stars instead of 5 is because of the amount of people on the damn race track. You had the 15K, 10k, and the 5K running in between and in opposite directions of each other which made it extremely difficult to pass your opponents. It was like a herd of cows. MOOOOO-​ve people! Some people got really aggressive and knocked people down or brushed up against them roughly. I am not a serious runner but I set a goal for myself to always run a 10K in 40 minutes and under… SO when you are running against the clock with every second counting. it gets frustrating. Also, I kept getting the 10K and 15K signs confused that indicate what mile you are on. one time I thought I was on mile 4 according to the sign, then saw a sign that said mile 3.hahaha. I know I should be able to tell the difference, but I was jammin and groovin to my music that I just run and get lost in my own world.
There were some pretty sa-​wheet booths. No Unilocal one =(but there was an awesome banner that was hanging at the end of finish line. FREE massages-​always a fav after any race. The snacks were pretty
too after the race… fresh fruit, bagel, and protein bars. YUMMM-​O! I absolutely love getting «goodie bags» at the end of the race also. It is like I am 5 again at a birthday party and you never know what you may get. In this bag there were a variety of nutrition bars, cereal, and news about upcoming events and sport leagues you can join as well as discounts from sponsors.
I enjoy running in races like these because the money is going to a great cause. Even though I didn’t have to pay ha ha because I found a special discount through Unilocal,I wouldn’t mind paying the $ 20 – 35 dollars. I really wanted a t-​shirt though but whatever. in order to get a t-​shirt you had to raise $ 100! If I had more time and didn’t sign up last minutes I would of def. tried to raise money for this cause.
Happy New Years everyone and participating in a Resolutions Race like this is an excellent way to start fresh!

This is a fun run that showcases SD’s beauty and benefits a great cause.
Being that it’s operated by the small nonprofit company that it benefits, the operation of this run is a little rough around the edges. Two things that gave me a little annoyance were: no RFID chipping and the backup at the finish line to hand in our bib tags. My ‘official’ finish time will be considerably slower than my real watch time. In the whole scheme of things, my issues are trivial and I knew beforehand that the RR is a smaller, independently run event. And again all the money goes towards funding solar power in Africa.
Since I ran the 15k — earliest start time of 7am, I didn’t have any problems with navigating through the 5 and 10k’ers until the very end when I had to do some creative weaving and interval running. I am sure that this will prove to be beneficial training for me soon enough. Another benefit of running the 15k is that you encounter four hydration stations; three of which you have to yourself and your fellow 15k’ers before the others.
Another pro that I enjoyed is that the course is fairly flat (
). If you come in trained, I don’t have much doubt that the RR can be the fastest 9.34 miles you’ll ever run.
I also liked the scene before the race. One of the sponsors, Bootcamp 619 led a voluntary warm up for the 15k’ers that included plyo pushups, burpees and split switch jumps. At the time I didn’t enjoy it but it definitely worked to warm and limber me up.
Considering the small size of the event, RR has some pretty big name sponsors that hooked us up with some sweet freebies: FRS, Premier Nutrition, massage table, Clif Bar, etc. before and after the runs. All of these were very much appreciated.
The Resolution Run is a great run especially if you use it as a tuneup for the Carlsbad Half that’s coming up on January 24^th. I was a little apprehensive before the run considering my penchant for drinking beer and wine (even the night before), but my hydration and nutrition strategy saved me from calf cramps today. If you are in town next January and this is still being offered, I’d say with no hesitation: Just Do It!
Thanks Unilocal