OC Half Marathon Race Recap (1:35.12)

I wasn’t sure how the OC Half Marathon would go. After getting sick for a couple of weeks, I was uncertain about how my body would handle a half marathon. I’m not someone who can feel sick, then magically gut out a personal record. Before getting sick, I fully believed I could finish under 90 minutes. However, having contracted a throat virus, missing some training, and not being fully recovered (not contagious or ill, of course, but still experiencing congestion effects), I was really unsure.

We were lucky that Tim’s parents came out to visit. We left for the OC Half Marathon on Saturday, arriving at the expo around 3 pm to pick up our bibs. I was somewhat surprised it cost $12 to park. The expo was incredibly congested, crammed into too tight a space, making it nearly impossible to move around. I should have taken this as a precursor to the next day—boy, was it crowded. That night, we went to bed early after an uneventful evening.

I woke up around 4:30 and headed to the OC Half Marathon start with my father-in-law. Instead of taking the buses, we opted for my husband to drop us off. I’m glad we did because I heard some buses arrived late, and people missed the start. The theme of the OC Half Marathon in 2023 was congestion and disorganization. It felt like the 20,000 person event was being ran like a 200 person event.

OC Half Marathon Race:

The OC Marathon started at 5:30 and the OC Half Marathon started without issues at 6:30. So both races started preciously on time. My goal was to not take the race out too hard and then not be able to hang on. After being sick, I really wasn’t sure what I was capable of. The OC Half Marathon is a point-to-point race with about 300 feet of elevation gain. The first mile, with a fair amount of gain, I ran a 7:25. I thought that would be fine if I could maintain it. In fact, I would have been equally as excited.

From there, we went into a pretty steep downhill of over 100 feet. I ran a 7:02 without really trying too hard. I could have pushed more but was nervous about maintaining that pace, especially since I heard there were hills later in the race. I’ve found myself getting nervous in hilly races and probably not pushing the downhill as hard as I could.

Miles 3-4 are in Corona Del Mar, one of my favorite and notably one of the more expensive areas in California. I enjoyed taking in the sights, even though we faced more headwind than tailwind on this point-to-point course. My times were 7:05 and 7:18, and I felt pretty good, but still nervous like I’m implode. My nerves were warranted because it happened at both the RnR San Jose (1:39.30) and WineShine Half Marathon (1:43.36).

Miles 5-6 featured some small rolling hills. I never felt bad, even as we faced a headwind and I found myself passing people. At the halfway point, my watch read 47:10 (or 1:34.20). I knew I wasn’t running the tangents well because the course had many turns and was crowded, making it hard to run the shortest line. I guessed with all of the turns I was going to run 13.3.

Just past the halfway mark, we entered a narrow running path, which was too crowded as we were also passing marathoners who were walking. I felt slightly uncomfortable and it was somewhat dangerous because of how congested it was. I’m sure it got even worse for those behind us. Mile 7 introduced one of the two “big hills,” which, despite being steep, I managed in 7:19, passing many people. It was then I realized people were fading.

From there, we reached what felt like the top of Orange County with some nice flat areas. Miles 8 and 9 went by in a blur with times of 7:06 and 7:10. Another annoyance was the placement of aid stations; they were often mid-hill or far off the path, adding unnecessary distance.

By mile 10, I hit 1:12 on my watch and 1:13 at the mile marker. I told myself, “Just a 5K to go,” and one big hill. Continuing to pass people and feeling good, I tackled the biggest hill at mile 11. Mile 12 wasn’t as bad as I expected, but by then, I just focused on the finish, which felt endless.

Around mile 12, we finally turned away from the marathoners and had some space. But the last mile also faced a headwind. I wasn’t feeling well due to the mucus in my throat, making it hard to breathe. I was surprised to run a 7:08 for the last mile, thinking I was closer to a 9-minute pace.

The finish line of the OC Half Marathon became visible from about half a mile out, and I was in a daze trying to finish. I crossed the finish line in 1:35:12. Immediately after, I managed to clear some of the mucus with a huge snot rocket, thankfully not caught on camera.

OC Half Marathon Thoughts:

I’m happy with my time at the OC Half Marathon. I know I could run faster if I weren’t sick, but I’m really pleased with my splits and how I ran the race. In fact, it was one of my best half marathon executations. A few issues make me question if I’ll ever run the OC Half Marathon again, and it’s unfortunate because I believe the event has great potential.

We stood in line for 90 minutes after the race to pick up our bags, only to be told they would be mailed. I heard some people waited up to 2.5-3 hours. I haven’t received my bag. I did receive one email to fill out a form to have it mailed on May 31st (I did that) but also got a second email saying my bag would be donated on June 1st if I didn’t pick it up.
The course congestion was unprecedented; I have never weaved around so many runners. Also, the shared course between the full and half marathons in the first half created dangerous and congested areas. I think removing those narrow paths is probably expensive due to road closures, but could alleviate some safety issues.
Additionally, some buses were late, causing runners to miss the start.

So, while my performance was good, I’m not sure I will run the OC Half Marathon again.