The Carlsbad Marathon is one of my favorites! It is extremely well- organized and supported. The views along the Pacific Ocean are incredible. The course is never crowded. The swag is well above average: a very comfortable long-sleeved shirt, an attractive pullover, and a beautiful medal!

This marathon is for the very patient style of marathoner.
Double out and back along the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway with lots of up and down over rolling sea-side hills where it is challenging to maintain even effort and pace. Weather was perfect for a marathon. Cool and overcast during the race.
Laundry and jewelry were excellent. 1/4 zip plus long-sleeved technical shirt that you would wear both again.
Post race food was not excellent, but they had chocolate milk. I would run the Carlsbad marathon again.

I thought that the numerous loops would cause me problems, but on the contrary: they allowed me to cross paths with runners all the time. Loved this race.

I thought that the numerous loops would cause me problems, but on the contrary: they allowed me to cross paths with runners all the time. Loved this race.

A small town race that could rival any big city marathons. The course was beautiful - mostly along the California coast on the 101 Hwy, with gorgeous beaches, surfs, and palm trees.

Some people might hate the course because it had a segment of an out and back and you have to run it twice! This means you get to see or pass through the same place 4 times. Other than being boring, it can also be confusing - like missing a turn or turning too early -- the handbook warned about this. And it said the runners should know the course. Ahh! a potential disaster for people who are prone to get lost.

But I like how they had separated the lanes between the half marathoners and the full marathoners.

I love also the gel packs they offered. It called SIS. It both hydrates and gives you the energy. It was like sucking on apple sauce.

I like the expo, and swags, and finisher snacks except for the steamed rice since there was no way to cook it there.

The marathon started out and hour and a 1/2 before the 1/2 marathon so we got the parking right next to the start and then there was always people on the course with you. Pretty hilly but doable and right on the water. Great scenery, WATER EVERY MILE, paramedics on bikes really watching us. Finish line great, clothes great, can't say anything bad about this one and will definitely do it again.

This was a perfect marathon. Every aspect of it exceeded my expectations: super organized, great swag, easy to get to everything including parking, a beautiful course, not super big (almost 1,000 marathon runners), perfect weather, and friendly and encouraging course support through the entire race. All of these elements came together to yield my (by far) best marathon PR time of WELL under the 4 hour barrier. I cannot recommend this marathon enough. What a wonderful experience! For a full detailed writeup of my review, you can visit https://runningriddles.com/races/the-2019-carlsbad-marathon-in-carlsbad-california/.

Ran the 2018 race with my 15 year old son for his first full. Perfect weather, beautiful course. Mostly level with some hills. People there were great. Take some time to go to the beach and soak up the southern California sun.