Disclaimer: I received a Marathon Relay entry as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
If you’ve ever read a “top ten marathon destination” list, you’ve probably heard of the Big Sur marathon - at least that was what first introduced me to this race, which runs along the west coast, up pacific highway 1. It’s full of scenic views, and rolling hills, and when bibrave offered up an opportunity to run the race, Mike and I decided to team up and take on the marathon relay together.
My planned trip was short - fly to CA Friday night after work, and then a red eye going home on Sunday. I packed my suitcase, including all my race supplies on Thursday, and on Friday after work Dennis gave me a ride to the airport. I had just enough time to grab some dinner before I hopped on the plane, and when I landed in San Francisco Mike and Jude picked me up from the airport - they had headed out earlier in the week, so they would have more time to explore California. It was late when I landed, so we just headed to the hotel and went to bed.
The plan for Saturday was to grab breakfast and then take a two hour drive down the coast to Monterey, where the Big Sur Marathon ends. We left the hotel around 9 am, and picked a restaurant in Palo Alto called “sweet maple,” where they had a yummy looking brunch menu. We each got a different brunch entree, and split an order of “millionaire’s bacon,” which was the restaurants signature dish.
Once we were all fueled up we got on the road, and it was an easy ride to Monterey. Once we got there we checked into our hotel, and then headed over to the expo to pick up our race bibs. We had good timing with our expo arrival - a bunch of our bibrave team mates were out front, and we were able to grab a photo with them before heading inside.
It was an easy pickup process at the expo - there was a dedicated table for relay runners, and a volunteer pulled our race bibs out. Usually a relay team consists of 4 runners, but Mike and I opted to take on the race as a team of two. The volunteer let us know that only one person needed to be there to pick up the teams bibs, so keep that in mind if you’re ever running the relay.
Once we had our bibs we could go get our shirts. The shirts ran small, but they had limited sizes available for exchange. Overall the expo was pretty big, with 4 aisles of vendors. Mike and I both opted to buy some swag from the official race store - I went for a hot pink Big Sur hat.
The last stop before leaving the expo was picking up the tickets for the pasta party - we attended the 4:30 seating.
We had decided to buy tickets for the pasta party so that we didn’t have to worry about finding a place to eat the night before, and the event did not disappoint! We waited in a short queue at the hotel across the street from where we picked up our bibs to get into the banquet hall, and there were tables all over the room. On each side of the room there were buffets with pasta, salad, vegetables, sauces, and even desert. Mike, Jude and I loaded up our plates, and found a mostly empty table. As we ate we chatted with other runners, and it was neat to connect with other runners. There was even a beverage table in the middle of the room, that had wine and beer - including athletic brewing’s non-alcoholic beer. I thought it was a great touch for all of the runners!
After dinner we headed back to our hotel, and got ready for an early bedtime. Mike and I laid out our outfits and packed all the fuel we would need for the next day - we had an early wakeup the next morning - even though the race didn’t start until 6 am, I had to board the bus at 3:45 a.m. - Since the race is a one way course, all of the runners had to be bussed 26.2 miles to the start.
On race morning Mike and I rolled out of out beds and into the car, leaving Jude behind at the hotel. We were half asleep, but it was a short drive to the race busses. Mike and I had to get on at different times, since I was starting at leg 1 with the marathon runners, and he was starting at leg 2. As I was about to get on to the bus i ran into Sylvia, a fellow BibRave pro, and we wound up sitting together on the bus and chatting as we made our way to the start area.
It took a long time for the bus to get to the start, and when we arrived it was crowded, and a little chilly. From the time that we left the start, I lost cell service, and would not wind up getting any connection until around mile 7 of the race - where a blip of service allowed some texts from Mike to come through. I milled around the start, stopped at the porter potties, checked my bag, and ate a pb&j sandwich, and waited for the sun to come up.
As it got closer to start time, I made my way over to the start line. I though about visiting the porter potties one more time, but the lines were insane. I made my way into my corral, and watched the sun come up over the mountains as I waited for the race to start.
The race wound up beginning a few minutes late, but as soon as the start horn went off the corrals started to collapse, and everyone moved forward. I was so excited to take in the scenery for the next 8 miles as I got moving, and happily clicked on my Garmin as I crossed the start line of the race. Since Mike and I were running the relay in legs, I was doing leg one, then he would meet me at leg 2 and finish the rest of the race.
From the start line we headed onto the highway, where both sides of the road were surrounded by trees - it was beautiful. I got swept up with the start of the race and took off a little too fast, but found by pace and settled in. The course started with a downhill. While the Big Sur marathon is known for its hills, the leg I was running was mostly downhill, ending with an uphill right as the forest opened up and we got our first views of the ocean.
We ran by campgrounds and roadside hotels, many of which had patrons out and cheering as the runners went by. The aid stations were well stocked, with volunteers handing out water and Gatorade. The miles went by quickly, as I was surrounded by runners who had so much energy - with most of them in the beginning miles of a full marathon!
As I approached mile 7 the scenery transitioned from wooded to beachy - the highway opened up and revealed mountains and beach views - it was beautiful, and made up for the gradual uphill that I was climbing, and the wind that had started gusting as soon as the road opened up.
Before I knew it, I was approaching mile 8, and saw the school busses lined up for relay runners, and spotted Mike, who looked just as excited as I was! We took a selfie and ran together for a second, before he took off on his leg of the race.
There were some snacks out for runners that were finishing the first leg of the relay - there had been bagels, but by the time I got there only oranges were left, so I happily filled a cup with orange slices as I boarded the bus.
One regret that I had - a lot of relay runners had given their leg 2 runners a bag of clothes, so that they could change out of sweaty running clothes before climbing onto the bus. Mike and I had not thought of this, and it was a long ride to the finish - so if you ever run this relay, I definitely recommend giving your partner a change of clothes to pass off to you when you finish your leg of the race.
It was a bit of a wait before the bus took off - we did not leave until all of the runners had past by, to ensure that no relay runners would be left behind without a ride to the finish. One side of the highway was still open, so as we made our way to the finish, we caught up to the runners and watched them go - I even spotted Mike on the course as we went! While I was bummed that I did not get to run the more scenic sections of the course, I was glad that I got to watch the views roll by the bus window.
When I got to the finish area, I decided to wait for Mike at the finish line. There was a Starbucks near by, so after grabbing my checked bag I went and got a snack, plus a tea for me and a coffee for Mike, and then found a seat on the stands at the finish line. My only complaint about the finish area is that there was no easy way for relay runners to get post race food (like the boxes that the other finishers got at the finish line) - because I was hungry after the run plus long bus ride. But at least there was something available for me to purchase.
Eventually I spotted Mike nearing the finish line, and cheered my lungs out for him as he finished the race - then I made my way to the exit point for the finishers chute, and found Mike - where he slung a medal around my neck - Marathon relay complete!
From there we headed back to the hotel and packed up, then stopped for food on the way to the airport. Our quick California trip had come to a close, and we had a great time taking on the Big Sur Marathon Relay!
Make sure to check out Mike's blog post about his leg of the relay by clicking here!
If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below!
