FYI. This race is not to be confused with the defunct Temecula Valley Half Marathon which took place for 1 year back in 2012 and was canceled for 2013 after people had already registered. Here's an article about what happened to that race. It does appear that the current Temecula Half Marathon has taken over the same web domain name as the former race.
While I do love races with race day packet pick up, it also means that I needed to get to the race earlier to make sure I had enough time to get my packet and get ready for the race. I got my stuff ready and left the house at about a quarter to 4 am. I timed it so that I would get there right at 5 am which was when the packet pick up was to begin. I didn't realize that this race venue, Galway Downs, was located so close to Pechanga Resort Casino. Per the instructions that was emailed to us, after making a left on Los Caballos Rd, I headed towards the northeast entrance. Shortly after entering, I came up to a few stations where there were people collecting $12 for parking. The actual amount charged on my card was $12.48. After collecting the parking fee, the person told me to drive a lap around the track and there would be someone there directing me where to park. Unfortunately, it was still pitch black. I initially stopped at the first set of portapotties because that's what the cars ahead of me had done. Turns out that that was only a half lap of the track. Eventually, I hopped back into my car and continued until I finally did see that volunteer that directed me to park along the track railing.
Parking map
I was reluctant to leave the warm car with heated seats as it was pretty darn chilly outside. Once I finally got out of the car, a couple of fellow runners and I went searching in the dark for the bib pick up location. We decided to just head towards the lights on the grassy area inside the track. After getting assigned a bib number, I got my race shirt, and then headed back to my car. I liked the shirt design and that it was made out of cotton.
Bib pick up
Race shirt pick up
Race shirt
With about half an hour before the start of the race, I got everything that I needed for the race and used one of the nearby portapotties. I then headed over to the start line on the grassy area. It was much nicer to see all of the race setup with daylight. I warmed up a bit with some slog jogging before positioning myself next to the 2 hour pacers.
Start line
2 hour pacers
The race began with us running east and exiting onto Pauba Rd where we turned right for our 1st of 3 out and backs. I took a short walk break after reaching mile 1 as I was a tad quicker than my desired race pace of 9 mins per mile. The turnaround point was right before we reached highway 79 at about mile 1.5 into the race. We then made a right turn onto De Portola Rd for the 2nd out and back section. Prior to the race, I had briefly looked at the topography of the race course so I knew that most of the climbs would be on this outbound section. The 2 hour pacers caught and overtook me during the steeper section of this climb. I took an extra walk break after reaching mile 5 just to let my heartrate calm down a bit. The turnaround point was at the intersection of Monte de Oro Rd at just about the 10k mark. What was uphill now turned into some nice long stretches of downhill. I took full advantage of that free speed and passed the 2 hour pacers on my way back down to Pauba Rd. The final out and back took us out to Dash for Cash Cir at a little past mile 10 for the turnaround. With about 5k left, I took a walk break hoping to finish the race strong. However, there was a very slight incline as we ran back to Pauba Rd and I was feeling a bit gassed. I was only able to grind out 9 min miles the rest of the way. Maintaining that pace ensured that I would come in under 2 hours.
Course map
Photo from Latino Heat: Approaching finish line
Photo from Latino Heat: Finish line
Finish: 1:56:57
Click here for my Garmin data.
I must say that it felt good to be under 2 hours again for a half marathon! The last time I finished a half marathon in under 2 hours was way back in February of 2022 at the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon. All of the power walking around my neighborhood on a daily basis has been paying off! For a while when I was dealing with nagging Achilles tendinitis, running wasn't very fun or enjoyable. Now I have to continue to be cautious with my training and hopefully be able to increase my endurance to cover the full marathon distance.
After getting my finisher medal, I met up with my friend, Robert. Per the usual, he had finished a few minutes ahead of me. I then grabbed a bottle of water and a cutie tangerine before we made our way over to the finish line to watch our friend pacing the 2 hour group cross the finish line.
Finisher medal
Post race water bottle and cutie tangerine
2 hour pacers coming in for the finish
We then made our way over to the vendor booths where they were arranged into several rows. Some were selling items or giving out samples of their products. We were more interested in the ones that were selling food! Most of the selection were either Mexican or Filipino food. They all smelled good, but it was only about 9 am and I wasn't hungry yet. After that we went our separate ways.
Reggae Darth Vader
Before hopping back in my car for the drive home, I used one of the portapotties. As I got out, I bumped into my friend who was pacing the 2:20 group. It's always good to see him at local races. It was also good to see his wife prior to the race. It's been a while since I've seen her.
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