Ventura Marathon

2015 race
Course is billed as scenic and flat. I won’t argue with the flat but if scenery is what you desire, this marathon is not for you. The only scenery to be had on this is at the marathon turn around point at Point Hueneme Beach and perhaps coming back and being able to see the mountains in the far far distance. I did get a laugh on the 3:03 Pacer who appeared to falter around the 15 – 18 mile mark and then came bolting past me at a sub 6 minute pace around mile 25 – 26. Needless to say his ‘group’ was unable to keep up.
Negatives
–not scenic
–boring medal (Bike event had a good one!)
–aid stations (only two with nutrition)
–distance issue with ½ marathon (.5 miles off!)
–finish line amenities lacking
**small tent, little shade
**no recovery drinks (gatoraide or chocolate milk)
–Photographs, although free require you to share all your facebook information with pic2go (a foreign company) to obtain.
GOOD POINTS
–Fantastic organization in many aspects
**police and traffic support was TOP NOTCH!
**Organization at the finish line was great and kept people moving in an orderly direction
**Information was clear on website
**Parking location and information was clear and convenient
**Marathon distance was spot on
–Free marathon photos (at the cost of your privacy)
–Volunteers were enthusiastic
–Expo was pretty good and had some children’s activities on Saturday.
–Ventura and Oxnard are friendly and fun communities.

I’m a bit conflicted on this one. I participated in both the century bike ride as well as the marathon. The marathon would probably get 4 stars, the bike ride 1.5−2 stars (5 stars for the course itself, 1 star for the rest). I’ll start with the bike ride, as it was first. I signed up to do the century ride a few weeks before the marathon as part of their «Beast Man Challenge.» I believe this was the first year they offered the challenge. The organization for the bike ride was very poor, especially since I paid $ 90 to register for it (which is in line with/​higher than other, larger cycling events).
First, there was no real starting line or starting time. In general, I think it’s poor form to charge people $ 90 for a ride and not even bother to set up a start line or have volunteers tell you where to go. Secondly, we paid money and had a bib with a timing chip, but the race was un-​timed. That’s not a huge deal, I suppose, except that it does make me wonder what we were paying for at all if there’s no start or finish line and no timing and very little support from either police or volunteers along the route.
The course itself? Gorgeous and wonderful. It’s a bit challenging, especially around Ojai with some heavy climbs, but the course really is just absolutely lovely. The course was marked, but marginally. They had several turning points that were not well marked, as well as having some areas where they had the same color arrows pointing different directions, and at UCSB there was a part where the course forked with no directional arrows whatsoever. Same issue toward the finish with arrows pointing in conflicting directions, and of course, no volunteers directing people where to go. Lastly, aid stations were poorly stocked and poorly spaced. The first aid station was very early into the bike ride, then there wasn’t a second one for 30 miles. Some of the aid stations didn’t even have things like floor pumps, which I thought was not very helpful for riders. One of the aid stations was off the course and was so poorly marked that many riders missed it altogether. The aid station with food of substance wasn’t until mile 80 or so, which seemed like a poor logistical choice. The medal was great, though.
Still, I think this event seemed like a tacked on moneymaker without commensurate planning to make it a truly great event. This ride has the potential to be so much bigger and better — I can’t imagine a more scenic course in CA. Lastly, there was no police support at all which is atypical for an organized long ride. If I had paid $ 50 for this, my expectations would be lower, but I would suggest the organizers participate in other cycling events and see the difference. I did the Tehachapi Gran Fondo two weeks later and the difference was night and day. Not only was it a less expensive race, there were fully stocked, more frequent and better stocked aid stations, a formal start and finish line, a finish line festival, and constant police presence to ensure rider safety.
The marathon itself was good, but somewhat unmemorable. It’s a smaller race, so runners should temper their expectations for lots of crowd support because it isn’t there. The course is quite flat and under good weather conditions should be a nice candidate for a PR. It was quite hot this year, but I can’t hold that against the race. The course isn’t very scenic for much of it, and the out and back nature may be boring for some. Be prepared for a lot of sun exposure and dress appropriately for that. With all that said, the race started on time and went smoothly (although the half marathon course apparently was improperly measured and was about a half mile long). The marathon had tons of volunteers and aid stations — in contrast to the bike ride, the organization of this event was very evident. Bib pickup was quick and easy as well. The expo is a little blah, but that’s typical of small races.
The other thing that bugged me is that for the Beast Man challenge (century ride and full marathon), volunteers didn’t seem to be aware of it and we never got the brick we were supposed to get for competing it. I emailed the race organizer and was told they weren’t able to get what they wanted for finishers of the challenge (which isn’t a huge deal, except that even now weeks following the event the website still gives inaccurate information about what finishers will receive). I was also told a week and a half ago I’d be mailed my tile for completing the challenge, and it still hasn’t arrived (UPDATE: It did eventually arrive). Again, these aren’t huge issues taken alone, but in conjunction with one another and given that I paid a lot to do these two events, it does bother me. I paid $ 200 for the events I participated in that weekend, so I do expect a certain degree of professionalism which just doesn’t seem to be there — yet. Maybe it’s just growing pains?

Very good organization this year. Sadly, it was very toasty. Good and fast out and back course. I was very happy that I only grab the half given the weather, but hope to return and run the full. Expo needs some more running related vendors, but there was a nice adidas tent. A fantastic smart smaller marathon, would highly recommend. PS have run a few marathons and half marathons.

This review is for the half marathon (long overdue but better late than never). For a 2^nd year race, this event is VERY good! Seriously, many race organizers could take a lesson from Ventura. Super job!
Since this is a fairly small race (less than 2,000 people), everything is pretty scaled down. Well, almost everything.
Expo … outside by the pier. Beautiful area. Not much of an Expo but a really fun vibe … a couple of beer vendors and a band with a lot of people dancing and having a great time.
Parking … both at Expo and race morning was pretty easy. Event advertised a lot of parking at the nearby Fairground. For the Expo, I was able to park pretty easily on the street by the pier. Race morning, my strategy is always the same — I park a few blocks away. I consider it race warm-​up /​recovery walk. No issues with traffic that way. In this case, I parked at the Courthouse. It was practically empty and free.
Course … first of all, I’m ALWAYS a fan of races that start/​finish in the same spot. Shuttles suck. This is a very simple out/​back course that runs mostly along the coastline … some neighborhood areas at the beginning and end … and a really pretty section along the Harbor. Only drawback was the few miles around the turnaround point mid-​way … that section was pretty non-​scenic and boring … especially since there was little crowd support at that end.
The course map says this race has a elevation of 49.64 ft. I don’t know where that 50 ft was cause this course is as flat as a pancake (and frankly, 50′ is a blip). Considering the field of runners is small, this is a GOOD RACE to PR! (which was my hope but I was running on a bit of a bum knee so … that wasn’t in the cards for me)
Post race … as other reviews have stated, WOW! The food was great. TONS of fresh fruit, bagels, etc. I’ve never seen a food spread quite like this one. Very well done.
Those are the «pros» … now to the «cons»:
Though the food was great … there was ZERO monitoring of who was taking the food. And the finish chute was non-​existent. The finish line dumped right into the crowd of waiting friends and family. And those folks had no qualms about taking food, either. And with how crowded it was at the end, it also made getting to the food a bit of a chore. I emailed the Race Director after this race and he said that is something the are going to fix this year. They need a finish chute that gives the runners some space.
Other than that, if you like race photos … again because this race is still very young … they didn’t have MarathonFoto or anything like that. And though the photos were «free» … good luck searching thru thousands of them to find YOUR photos. They said it was sorted by finish time but … to this day, I was never able to find a single photo of mine (and my bib was clearly in the right spot).
Overall, major thumb’s up to Ventura Marathon! With a few minor tweaks, I could give this 5-​stars. I’m definitely a fan, though.

Hello, number 7!
For a chance to snag one of Ventura Marathon’s tubular wave medals alone, I ran! (Call me shallow.)
I mean, Ventura is beautiful, alluring, you know? Running alongside the sandy coast, next to the ocean – well, close to the ocean, anyway – is as refreshing of a run as you can ask for. And since I am from Central California to begin with – a place where the pace is a bit slower, the culture a bit more relaxed, perhaps – the temporary reprieve from the cityscape is warmly welcomed.
Noteworthy:
1. If you’re from out-​of-​town, like I am, you’re probably skipping out on the expo. That means that you’ll probably be wanting to pick up your packet the morning of the race. That’s fine, but there is an extra fee for that.
2. Parking is a cinch. There are plenty of parking lots, identified as such via Ventura Marathon participant emails. I, however, did not park directly next to the beach, where many of the cars were heading. Instead, I parked on the east side of the 101, in the lots and structures wedged in by the various hipster bars, funky thrift shops, brasseries, and coffee houses. It was also about 5:30am when I arrived. (I didn’t even have to pay!)
3. You’ll love the eco-​friendly Virtual Goodie Bag!: upcoming discounts and promo codes for the 2015 New Year’s Race, Santa to the Sea, The Hollywood Half, and the Temecula Wine Country Half, to name just a few. Who doesn’t appreciate saving money?
For Ventura’s scenic 13.1, I’d run again… easily. Getting back to the beach, getting some sun, getting away from the hustle (if only for a few hours or so), and running…

Yay I PR’d it!!! I love Ventura! For it’s second year, this race was extremely well organized. The volunteers were everywhere! There were plenty of aide stations with both water and electrolyte drinks as well as mile markers. Also, at mile 8 they gave out GU packets. And to top all this off, the snacks at the end were the best I’ve seen handed out at any race! Huge chunks of watermelon, pineapple, bagels, coconut water, regular water, bananas, granola bars, Clif bars, you name it! The swag — shirts, medals and bags– were all delightful. I love the designs, bright colors and the neon! This race had a LOT of people! I like racing with a lot of people. It adds to the excitement and competition of the race.
The course was mostly in the sun, but as it’s starts at 7 AM that was ok because I was finished before 9 AM. The full marathon started earlier around 6:15 — 6:30ish. The half was started in waves to make it easier for the aide stations. This was nice because I was in the back of the first wave and wasn’t forced to walk because I started with people who ran my pace. The course is a little boring as you run up Harbor Ave out and back pretty much the whole way. You even run so far you reach the sign that says you are entering Oxnard. I didn’t dock any stars for this, because the course is nice and flat and starting and ending at the Ventura Pier more than made up for it. It’s nice to have one location to start and finish from rather than getting on a shuttle in the wee hours of the morning. The after race party was great! Thank you to the volunteers, organizers and fans who cheered us all on! This is a great event in the beautiful town of Ventura!!! I’ll be back next year to hopefully run the FULL MARATHON! Any reason to come back to Ventura for a weekend is more than reason enough in my book! Such a great town!
Distance: 13.109 375 miles
Time: 1:51:03.1
Pace: 8:28 p/​mile
Age Group: 25 – 29 F — ¹⁷⁄₁₃₈
Women: ¹¹⁴⁄₁₀₄₇
Overall: 296 /​1,656

INFINITY STARS!
Once again, Josh and his staff did a magnificent job organizing this event. It’s on my top fave halves so far.
I have not gone to the Expo, but the ease of maneuvering through the bib pick-​up and resolving any race issues was flawless (according to my friends).
Post race is the best part of this race, IMO. You are showered with food (fruits, fruit in a cup, cold water, coconut water, bananas, pineapple, pretzels, bagels, granola bars). Along the boardwalk, there are food trucks and vendors available.
Medal is very useful… like last year, it had the bottle opener portion. ;) The tech shirt is also top quality material. Ventura Marathon is definitely one race to put on your bucket list!

I’ll write a more in-​length review later, but for now…
Super flat out-​and-​back course which was really nice but at the same time had some not-​so-​pristine moments (roadkill…stinky water treatment plant… stuff like that).
THE MOST AMAZING post-​race snack table ever! I mean seriously. Someone posted a picture of it, and it really deserves 6 stars.
This race isn’t getting 5 stars because:
A) having to pay for parking (THANK YOU to the parking gate guy who worked with me when I couldn’t pony up the full bill!)
B) I had to pay extra to pick up my packet on the morning of. Not sure where the «VIP area» that was included in my $ 20 extra charge was supposed to be, but, either way I wasn’t going to be able to drive from Lancaster to Ventura two days in a row to so the extra $ 20 was a necessary evil.
C) The final mile was a mess. I’m chugging along trying to tell myself to just keep running, but the course at that point was on the beach path where people were just meandering. It was a struggle to stay in the game and keep focused while dodging strollers and random beachgoers.
All in all, I might just have to do this race again next year!

As far as inaugural races go this one was very well organized. The race expo was a bit of a let down. They only had a couple of vendors and no freebies … wah wah. There is also no day of bib pick up, which is kind of a bummer for people traveling to the race. Well, correction, you can pay an extra $ 20 and enjoy the convenience of rolling in the day of the race to pick your number up.
The race was pretty small, with only about 800 participants in the half and less then that for the full. At around 6:30 am a group of 5k’ers took off and I think there were only like 30 people in that pack.
The course itself was pretty dang flat, I mean like the flattest course I’ve ever run… ever. It went from the Ventura pier to Oxnard on Harbor Blvd. There were water stations throughout the course, I think I counted four during the half. No GU shots or Cliff reps anywhere on the course though… again…wah wah.
The course has you running past what I could only guess is a water treatment plant. And let me tell you, I think that the rotten egg smell made me PR. I wanted to run away from that treatment plant as fast as I possibly could. The halfers turned back around at mile 7 to enjoy the same views we just ran through. Most of it is pretty scenic. You run through the Ventura residential streets, estuary, and strawberry fields … and yes … the water treatment plant. The last mile you actually get to run on the beach’s bike path and runners have a gorgeous view of the ocean, which is about the only time you get to see the ocean other then the start of the race.
The finish is a bit awkward and narrow but I guess it makes you increase your speed.
The inaugural medal was super cute. It’s the Ventura Pier sign doubling as a bottle opener. Aaaand it has a velcro tab to open and close the lanyard, I’m guessing in case you want to hang it up.
The finish line had a whole bunch of goodies. Probably one of the best goodies line I’ve seen.
Overall, this is a great flat course for first timers and a pretty cool one for veteran racers who are looking to do a weekender.