Per the instructions, they had 3 parking locations for this race: Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall, Salvation Army College, and Point Vicente Interpretive Center. Each of the locations were close enough to walk to the start/finish area at Pelican Cove Park, but they had shuttles going around to pick-up and drop-off people.
After the race was forced out of Point Fermin Park years ago due to several circumstances, I parked over at City Hall when I volunteered in 2011 and last ran the half marathon in 2012. This time, I decided to park at the Salvation Army College. I arrived at about a quarter after 5 am and was pretty much the first car at the middle second lot right in front of the college. There was a larger first lot just off of Hawthorne Blvd and a smaller third lot down the hill towards Palos Verdes Dr. I ate my KIND bar around my car as I enjoyed the early morning scenery. A runner from Italy started talking to me. He wanted to make sure that he was in the right place. As it got closer to the scheduled 5:45 am opening of bib pick-up, I boarded the next shuttle that came around. It would turn out that the shuttle just took us down the hill to the corner of Palos Verdes Dr. From there we walked over to the starting area.
Shuttle
It was still kind of dark when I arrived at the bib pick-up tent. Once I got my bib, a race shirt, and a nice durable tote bag, I went to use one of the portapotties. After taking care of business, I found a chair at a table to sit, relax, and enjoy the beautiful cliff-side views. It was a bit chilly, so I kept my jacket on.
Race shirt
Beautiful views!
As the start of the race approached. I got my stuff together so I could check my gear bag. It would turn out that once I had torn off the gear bag tag, the bib only had two bottom holes. Instead of trying to poke 2 new holes, I ended up wearing my bib upside down with my belt. I wrapped myself with my mylar blanket and headed to the starting area on Palos Verdes Dr. One thing that was confusing about this race was that the 5k race had a separate starting location. They had a volunteer cheerleader there holding a sign, but it wasn't well communicated to the runners.
Start line
Staying warm before the start
The race started about 10 minutes later than the scheduled 7 am start. The 10k race started with the half marathon heading East on Palos Verdes Dr. The first mile was pretty much a steady uphill climb with the turnaround at about 1.5 miles into the race. After a 5 year hiatus, I had forgotten just how hilly it was to run through Palos Verdes! The rollers just kept coming! After the turnaround, we headed the other direction on Palos Verdes Dr. For the most part, the course was off of Palos Verdes Dr as much as possible hugging the coastline which gave us beautiful views! I felt like I was a bit overheating, so I decided that it was best that I start taking walk breaks every 30 minutes to cool down. At about mile 4 we turned left at Via Vicente which turned into Calle Entradero. As we approached mile 5, we run back up to Palos Verdes Dr only for a short stretch turning left at Via Pacheco. That was quickly followed by a left turn at La Costa Ln zigzagging our way to Paseo del Mar. This steep downhill section would in turn be the hill challenge on the return trip. After the 10k mark, we took a left at Via Anacapa and another left at Paseo Lunado which became Paseo del Mar. We would stay on this street until the final turnaround at about mile 8. The run back quickly took a turn for the worse as the road camber was causing discomfort in my left ankle. Mentally I was worn out by the time I reached the hill challenge. As soon as I reached the steep climb, I sort of threw in the towel and decided to walk the whole thing. Part of the decision was made because the 2 hr pacer had passed me. Near the end of the climb, I bumped into my friend who was sweeping the course. She encouraged me to go after the 2 hr pacer. For some reason, that got me going again. I didn't think that my legs would hold up, but I took a salt tab and tried my best to catch him.
I never did catch that 2 hr pacer, but with my chip time, I managed to finish just 2 seconds under 2 hrs. Going into the race, I had thought that I could run about 1:50. Clearly, I underestimated the hills! Also I probably shouldn't have worn this old pair of Adidas that needs to be retired. Come to think of it, it was also giving me left ankle discomfort when I wore it for the Craft Classic Half Marathon 4 weekends ago.
Finish line
Finish: 1:59:58
Click here for my Garmin data.
After crossing the finish line, I was given my towel, a bottle of water, and a finisher medal. After walking further down the finishing chute, I picked up a couple of KIND protein bars before going to the gear check tent to get my bag so I could free up my hands.Relive 'Palos Verdes Half Marathon'
Finisher medal
Post race goodies
I then made my way over to the beer area and food trucks. There were several food trucks, but I never made it past the first one, Piaggo. I filled out the order form for a breakfast burrito and got in line. When I got to the window, the lady told me that they were out of the burritos, so I got the Gaucho chicken bowl instead. She collected my food tag from my bib. I gave away my beer tag to another runner in line. I then stood off to the side to wait for them to call my name when the food was ready.
Yea beer!
No alcohol beyond this point
Piaggio food truck
Once I got my food, I found a table with empty chairs to enjoy the food. I've never had such good quality food after a race that was included in the race registration! In fact, I just realized that I did not get my food when I ran the LaceUp OC Half Marathon back in September!
Gaucho chicken bowl
On the way out, I stopped by the Lexus car area to pick up a nice little water bottle. They have been giving out some pretty useful items at these Lexus LaceUp races. After running two of them, they certainly have gotten my attention! I also bumped into a couple of my friends that I see quite often at races. After that I started the walk back to my car. The traffic was a bit chaotic at the Crestmont Ln and Palos Verdes Dr intersection. The people directing traffic were employees from Terranea Resort and you could tell that they were frustrated by some of the drivers wanting to stop and ask questions on where to go.
Once I crossed over to the other side, it was a nice winding uphill walk up to my car. Along the way, I noticed that there was a spot that would be a great place to take a load off and enjoy the views!
Nice view about halfway up the hill
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