i did the half marathon last year. i really hope they change the course this year. if i recall correctly the course went up san miguel toward newport coast dr, then to bonita canyon near the 73 on that stretch of road that eventually turns into culver. that road has been under construction for what seems like 15 yrs now. then up culver, right on university, and winding around in woodbridge. at this point the route uses bike paths which are extremely crowded. one point requires going over a tiny bridge over a flood channel which is wide enough for about 2 people. the latter half of the run (at least for half marathon) is along the channel eastward toward the spectrum, which is also very narrow. you pretty much had to weave in and out between people, especially all the young high school kids that ran together in a row. imagine how fun it would have been to end the route at the spectrum, as opposed to the parking lot of the mazda hq.
this was the best route the OC marathon had to offer? uncompleted roads through not-fully-built-out neighborhoods, tiny bike paths, corporate parks, and drainage systems?
this year i'm shooting for the pacific shoreline run in HB in february!
for a fun run, check out the urban dare which is like a 1-day scavenger hunt/amazing race. just did the LA one few wks ago and had a BLAST!
