Annual San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon
The bands set up early in the morning, with sound checks well before the race started. They were placed all along the route. It’s what gives this race its flavor. The event's first race was in 1998, and it bills itself as the first of its kind.
Both the half marathon and the entire race started at 06:15 in the morning. Race weather was good since it was a classic June gloomy day. This makes the race far more accessible to the runners. (Though it means light for photos could be better.)
We watched some of the race for the entire course at a donut shop on the corner of Linda Vista Road and Morena. It was very crowded, and some runners' families were also there. Some runners got off the track for a quick carb load (and the donuts were good.)
It becomes a thing to do every year since that is all there is to do.
Now, how many people participated this year? It’s over 30,000 runners. And when I say runners, not everybody ran. Some walk the course. There is also a category for disabled participants (we were not up early enough to capture those photos) who use wheelchairs and are paired with bike riders.
Here are the winners and times for this year.
Men’s Half Marathon Winner: Kibrom Elias, 25, San Diego, 1:05:08
Women’s Half Marathon Winner: Zoe Baker, 22, Golden, CO, 1:16:02
Men’s Marathon Winner: Chris Frias, 32, Ventura, CA, 2:29:23
Women’s Marathon Winner: Bonnie Keating, 38, San Diego, 2:45:47
The series is pretty global if you are interested in running in any of these marathons. So if you want to run in Las Vegas or San Jose, there you are. Perhaps Madrid is more your style.