Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Recap
- Holly Opatz
- Aug 4, 2023
- 12 min read
Updated: Aug 11, 2023
This race, taglined ”Your So-Cal BQ”, certainly attracts a lot of Boston Marathon hopefuls. While a Boston Qualifying time wasn’t on the table for me this race, I definitely will be back for another attempt. As a relatively small event on a beautiful, downhill course, this race sells out every year - and fast. So if you’re hoping to snag a spot on this quick 26.2 miler roster, don’t hesitate to register. The race is held every year around the end of May, starting in the small town of Ojai, descending over 700 feet of elevation into downtown Ventura. This makes for an early race morning complete with some shuttle journeys, but the mountains views and the coast line finish make it all worth it. You also most definitely won’t have any regrets after clenching that Personal Best or BQ.
I personally chose this race desperate to beat my marathon time from back in 2019. I hadn’t been able to do so on my most recent attempt at the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon last year in 2022 and I had heard positive things about this M2B marathon not too far from my SD home. Whether you’re traveling to the start line as a destination race or local, a first time marathoner or Boston legend, here’s some tips for having a successful marathon weekend.
Where to Stay
Hotels in Ventura are rather limited and prices go through the roof during marathon weekend. It especially didn't help that the Strawberry Festival was in town the same weekend, adding to the influx of people. I know people that stayed in downtown Ventura for a pretty penny - but the walking distance convenience to the shuttle, expo and finish line was
worth the price. There's a few other hotel options just outside of town, such as the La Quinta, for a slightly cheaper option. Some other considerations include booking in Ojai, up at the start line of the race or staying out even a bit further in Oxnard, as my friends and I did
in an Airbnb. While it was about 20 minutes from downtown Ventura, it only took us 10 minutes to get to our government center shuttle parking spot in the morning. It was also super nice to have to some have private rooms, multiple bathrooms and a kitchen for a fraction of the price. I thought the Ojai stay was a clever option as well if you can score a place far enough in advance. This way, you could avoid the morning shuttle or long drive to the start line and instead catch a couple extra hours of z's. The only caveat here is you'll need to arrange a ride from the finish line, as shuttles will not take you back to the top of the mountain again from downtown Ventura.
Getting to Ventura
Considering how early of a morning race day is, I wouldn't suggest anything other than staying in the Ventura area the night before. Anything outside a 40 minute radius I would even argue is too far. If this is a destination race for you, as it was for the lovely Nebraska couple I met, you're likely going to be flying into LAX which is a good hour and a half drive from downtown Ventura. While I'm not here to give you turn-by-turn directions coming from multiple locations - we have google maps for that these days - I will say, no matter where you're driving from, LEAVE EARLY. Especially if you are coming from the south or through any part of LA. While I can't speak from experience specifically what traffic patterns are like coming from the north, I wouldn't chance anything. Traffic from the south gets exponentially worse as the day goes on. For example, we had a group for runners coming from San Diego. Google maps told us it would be just under a 3 hour drive. We left shortly after 8am, stopped once for gas and still didn't get there until noon. Not too bad. Our friends left from San Diego at 9am, didn't make it until 2pm. Another friend left at 10am, didn't make it until 3:30pm. We had one person leave shortly before noon and just barely made packet pickup at the expo that closed at 5pm. And trust me, you don't want to miss the expo.
The Expo
What's so great about the expo? Well, nothing in particular. It is right along the beach boardwalk and they've got merch for sale, some great vendors your last chance to buy beer tickets if you happened to forget them at registration check out. Parking was pretty simple using the app provided on the race website and the grounds were rather sparse, lacking the chaotic crowds of people I'm used to seeing at race expos. However, the real kicker with the expo is that it only goes until 5pm. So if you're still stuck in LA traffic at 4:59, you probably didn't realize that you signed in the fine-print terms and conditions of your race registration that the race directors can start selling your bib to wait-listers when you inevitably don't make it there by 5pm. If you didn't pay extra for the race day packet pickup, you're really SOL if you miss that Saturday deadline. Your nerves are probably already running high enough with all the race weekend stress, so don't let this add to your plate.
The Shake Out Run
But Hopefully you make it to the expo with plenty of time! You secure your race bib, take some pictures by the race map backdrops, snag the 5 for $20 beer ticket deal, now what? Time to shake out those nerves! I recently heard in a podcast, now don't quote me on this, that it takes your body two weeks to realize any fitness gains. Learning this, I was tempted to just lay on my couch for the entire two week taper, but as runners, we typically don't do well with pent up energy. Hence the shake out run. Which apparently is going to do absolutely nothing for your physical fitness, but may do wonders for your current mental state. Especially if you had been taking your taper weeks pretty seriously, you want to make sure that your brain still remembers how to make your legs still run, right? Luckily, the expo location puts you at a great start line for a short, easy slog (slow-jog, as my high school cross country coach called it).
From the expo parking lot, you can hop right on the boardwalk and cruise down to the Ventura beach pier. Not only is this a nice way to calm the nervous, it also allows you to see parts of the town that aren't on the race course. Also, that shakeout run will help induce an appetite for all those pre-race carbs you need to take in.
The Pre-Race Meal
Which leads us to lunch time - which, again, don't quote me on this, I hear is actually the most import meal prior to your race. I'll admit, I think I overdid on the carb load this race. But our lunch spot we found was just too good. Rice Mamá 2, in downtown Ventura hit the spot. While I cringed a little hearing each runner in our group of six order, "Please not spicy" in attempt to avoid any GI discomfort for the next day's event, none of our dishes were lacking in flavor in the slightest. I finished my drunken noodles, shared some pad Thai with my friends and somehow still thought I had room for a family pasta dinner back at our Airbnb. Still not sure what was to blame for my scary port-a-potty stop at mile 20 the next morning, but I'll give Rice Mamá the benefit of the doubt. Plus, its right across the street from a Goodwill, arguably the nicest location for a Goodwill I've ever seen, to grab some last minute throw away clothes for the race start line.
Arriving at the Start Line
I truly believe lining up at the start of a race is the single most monumental part of the entire marathon training cycle. All your hard work for the past few months leads up to this very moment. All the early morning Saturday long runs, grueling speed workouts, fuel trialing, nutrition planning, injury prevention and nursing. This. The moment when your waiting in the corral, the national anthem playing, standing still (or maybe bouncing slightly with nerves) in your meticulously planned race outfit. It's a time of reflection of me. Replaying in my head everything that got me to this point. That startline moment is so special to me. For this race though - getting to that moment was without a doubt the most complicated part of this entire race weekend. So here's the rundown to ensure you can make the most of your start line moment:
The race starts in the quaint town center of Ojai at 6am to beat the early summer heat this means you'll have to be prepared for an early morning - Early as in the first shuttle to the start line leaves at 4am, and if you don't make the last one at 5am, you'll be left scrambling to figure out how to travel the 20 miles uphill to the startline. You could opt to drive yourself - but parking is rather limited which could be a risk. There's also the option to get dropped off, but ultimately, the shuttles will be given traffic preferences. Therefore, unless you can manage to snag a hotel in Ojai within walking distance to the start, I would highly recommend the shuttle options. There's an option to park at either the government center, or leave from downtown venture. The government center has tons of parking while the downtown shuttle stop is within walking distance from the finish line. When registering, for the race, you'll need to select your shuttle preference before checking out. Aside from the pick up location, you will be offered a 4am or 5am departure time. While 4am may sound absolutely ridiculously early - the ride does take a good half hour. If you're one of those runner's that needs to use the bathroom four times, stretch, warmup and be the first one in the corral, this might actually be the most attractive option. My group personally went with the 5am shuttle with the government center pick up. We parked around 4:40am and got on the shuttle about 10 minutes later which got us to the start line around 5:20am. (Insider secret - they really don't check what time your registered for the shuttle if you're panicking about the 4am vs. 5am pick)
Arriving at this time was enough to get a quick warm up jog in, shed our goodwill layers (could have done without them honestly) and use the bathroom (Long lines as always with races - side note: why don't race directors learn to double the amount of port-a-potty's they reserve by now?!) Now If you're trying to do the backwards math in your head of what time that means you'll have to wake up - here's what I mapped out for my marathon morning itinery to save you the headache:
3:20AM - Wake up
3:25AM - Make Coffee, Get Dressed
3:30AM - Journal, drink coffee
3:45AM - Make Breakfast
3:50AM - Eat Breakfast, Finish Coffee + pour leftover Coffee
4:00AM - Bathroom, Brush Teeth, Wash face
4:15AM - Foam Roll
4:20AM- Leave Airbnb
4:40AM - Arrive at Shuttle
4:50AM - Shuttle leaves
5:15AM - Finish Coffee on Shuttle
5:20AM- Arrive at start
5:25AM - Bag drop
5:30AM- Warmup
5:40AM- Bathroom
5:50AM- Lineup
6:00AM - Race start
Or if you're normal and don't need write "You can do it" mantra's over and over again in your journal before every run over 10 miles like I do, you could easily roll out of bed 4:15AM grab a granola bar and go. That's a type of madness I refuse to subscribe to, but you do you. Also, nothing new on race day you know? So I was simply sticking to my regularly scheduled programming.
THE RACE
You're probably thinking, isn't this the most important part of the whole training cycle? The actually 26.2 mile running event? Perhaps, but the second I crossed through that start line arch, I knew the hardest part was over. At this point, it's just you and the course. Well,
and all the other runners along it, but you've made it! You're running a marathon! Hopefully your playlist is slapping and your adrenaline is carrying you like a feather in the breeze. We got so lucky with the weather. A perfect cloud cover. A brisk sixty degree morning. A bit of humidity, but the fog hanging over the mountains, lingering spring wild flowers, blossoming orange groves and bright green fields made up for it. At one point there was a freaking llama farm overlooking a river valley that had me kicking myself I that hadn't brought my phone to snap some photos. But you'll have to take my word for it when I say the complex race logistics were so so worth it for the views.
The first three miles are at a slight incline, but you won't notice it with your fresh legs. Still keeping this in mind, I tried my hardest to take it easy and I really stick with my pace group. There course take you on one of the dreaded loop-de-loop out and backs that i usually despise, but this early is a race I was still happy to see some other runners and friends racing past me that I didn't mind. In fact, I got too excited looking for my friends ahead of me that I almost missed the first water station. Don't be a Holly. Grab that first H2O sip.
I'd been doing well sticking with my goal pace, but when that mile four decline hit, I couldn't contain myself. I took off. I felt amazing. I was passing people and the miles were flying by. Seven miles felt like 3. The downhills were in my favor and giving me life. My personal favorite mental snap shot came right at the half-way point. Breaking free from the rather flat, forest covered bike path at mile 13, the course opened up to an incredible downhill view of the Ventura river crossing. The river bluff views kept me going through the rolling hills up until mile 15. I swear they were rollers, except mile 15. I'll allow that one the
title "hill." After that, the course felt relatively flat and supposedly not very memorable as I feel that I truly blacked-out from mile 17 to 20. At mile 20, I made an unfortunate bathroom stop. UGH. There went goal plan A for me. Plan B was still insight though. A little bathroom break and a much better feel tummy sent me flying down the rest of the flat, also forgettable, bike path miles to downtown Ventura. Here, the crowds are ready to cheer you to the finish, but the steady mile long hill through historic venture at mile 23 might say otherwise. At least you can distract yourself from the agony by scoping out your post race bar hoping itinerary. After reaching the top of the hill at mile 24, you'll probably be told it's all downhill to the finish. DON'T BELIEVE IT. There's one more baby hill you've got to tackle, but THEN you're home free. Downhill to the finish (with one little out and back loop-de-loop, ugh) but you've got this! Strong, smooth and steady to the finish. You just descended 700 feet, over 26.2 miles, from Mountains to Beach baby!!
The Post-Race Celebration
To me, race day is like Christmas. A morning that you're excited to wake up early for. The anticipation. Your medal is your gift. Your post race beer is your celebration of the holiday. Because, does any drink ever quite like that post race, finish line beer? No. While the beer tickets may seem like a good idea - drinking all five is probably not wise in such a calorie deficit. Celebrate liberally, but its probably smart to get a real meal in sooner rather than later. Also, be conscious of time if you need to catch a shuttle back to your parking morning parking spot. They do run until 1:30pm, but it you want to travel off course, you might be slightly crunched for time. However, you can stay parked at either lot for the entire day. So if you're able to find another ride to your car, that works as well.
That considered, FOOD. If you hadn't already scoped out your lunch spot while dying on that mile 23-24 hill, allow me to suggest Fluid State Beer Garden. They'll have all the kinds of bar foods you'd want to indulge in after your accomplishment and a full bar outside of their great beer selection. There's outdoor seating as well and even live music if you time it right. I was a little ambitious in my celebration plans thinking I could make it bar hoping well into the night - but we soon returned to our Airbnb and called in a day. A very very good day.
The Journey Home
My friend and I opted to stay the night after the race - originally with the intention that we'd be celebrating a little harder or explore the city a bit, but it ended up being more to avoid driving home through traffic in sleep exhaustion. If you can swing another night of accommodation, I would highly recommend staying another night not only to relax or indulge, but also to not have to worry about rushing home from the finish line to check out of your hotel or airbnb. It was super nice to be able to come home at shower as well, instead of having to sit sweaty in a car stuck in traffic for hours. We ended going to bed at 9pm and getting nearly 12 hours of much needed sleep. That alone was worth the extra night. But also so nice to have a slow morning off of work, and take the scenic drive back home. If you're heading back south after the race, driving highway 1 down the coast is a must. Especially midday on a Monday. We avoided almost all traffic, and bonus, it
was light outside so we could actually take in the views versus missing them all driving in the dark. We also managed to hobble out of the car for a brunch stop at cafe in Santa Monica right on the beach, wearing our matching Mountains 2 Beach marathon shirts. Hey, at least we weren't wearing our bibs and medals.
I love the recap! Takes me back