Santa Cruz Half Marathon 2016 Recap

It rained! It hasn’t rained in years for the Santa Cruz Half Marathon, but I’m pretty sure it is because I decided to run it that week that made the rain clouds roll in.  It was still beautiful though.

There is something very calming about running along the ocean.  The Santa Cruz Half Marathon starts in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
You make your way along the ocean over to Wilder Park where you have approximately 3 miles of a trail, most of which is dirt.  It was a little muddy because of the rain, but on the flip side it was nice that is was overcast and not hot.  This picture is a little blurry because I was running, but you get an idea for the terrain.  

The course in an out and back except those miles through the park is a loop.

The views are breathtaking.

You make your way back towards the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  When you pass the lighthouse you know you have about a mile left.You can see the Wharf and the Boardwalk in the distance.

The finish line is on the sand right next to the wharf.  I love the medal this year!

I was pretty wet and my legs were really dirty at the end.  It is a really fun local race for me, but also beautiful for a destination race for others.  It ins’t huge, but also not super tiny.  It is that perfect in between size! (Like the Goldilocks of races).

Have you ran the Santa Cruz Half Marathon before?