Carlsbad 5000

Big weekend coming up on the 16^th! Weather shows clear skies and great coastal views. If you haven’t made any accommodation plans yet, I’d recommend staying in the Village close to the race. No need to worry about parking and traffic on race day. Good luck!

Pretty fun! I think I am officially gonna retire from half marathons and strictly do 5k’s. The reasoning? It’s cheaper, much shorter, more enjoyable, and way more freebies! Win for all.
Only thing I didn’t like was the late start time. Mid 20s heat started at 9:30 so by race time it was already sweltering hot. The course starts behind downtown Carlsbad and loops around the highway. There is a nice beach view for a hot minute. And then you’re done and can stock up on bars galore.

My favorite race of all times! Its a beautiful journey running along the coast each year. The «World’s Fastest Race» is an accurate title for this race.
***** Super organized before and after race.
***** Easy to pick up your race packet and bib the day before. I arrived in the later part of the afternoon so as to avoid the kid’s races on Saturday. PLEASE Don’t forget your ID. Almost couldn’t pick up my bestie’s bib without it. They kindly accepted a texted photo of her ID.
***** Lots of people to cheer you on!
***** I like the medals that each finisher gets.
*** Race start time was much later than in years past.
Funtimes!
If you sign up for next year’s race now you’ll have a lower price.

Race #14! Woohoo.
Registration/​bib pick up on Saturday was really hectic. I would not recommend going in the morning when it opens up because parking is terrible. You have the kiddie races on Saturday on top of everyone else trying to pick up their registration. Also, since the pre-​registered lineds were so close together, a lot of people didn’t realize that the line they were in wasn’t actually for their number. I found that out early on and was lucky enough that there was no one in my line. Just walked up, got my bib, and was on my merry way. Also, got my goodie bag, which would have been more useful on Sunday when they gave us all those drinks to replenish us after we crossed the finish line.
Day of: Parking was smooth sailing. We showed up an hour prior to our race and parked at a park a few blocks away. Earlier participants were leaving and so it was a nice transition. The race itself was good. It was a hot day and my race didn’t start until 9 am so we got a face full of sunlight as we ran it. The Carlsbad 5000 gives out a special medal for the first 250 finishers in each division. It was really the only reason I ran it — that special bragging right. hah I ran my legs off and got it. The medal was okay. The runner on the medal looked a little scary to be honest. Not too many goodies at the expo. Kind of disappointed, but oh well.
All in all: Good race. For $ 20, I’d run it again.
Chip time: 25:15
Pace: 8:08 min/​mile

Carlsbad 5000 has been on my fun run bucket list for a little while now, and what better year than it’s 30^th Anniversary to check it’s box!
Although labeled «Worlds Fastest 5k» I knew before getting here, that it isn’t labeled this because of it’s course but more so because of how many Elite athletes have set records here. It certainly wasn’t my fastest 5k, actually no where near my fastest which is a little disappointing but understandable. My age division didn’t start until after 1030A and I don’t do well racing in any sort of temp above 55 degrees and cloudy ;) so sunny and 75 makes for an awesome country song but not a PR for me.
I did manage to earn the «first 250» medal which I definitely had my heart set on but was running so slow I figured that was a lost dream. Nope! it’s mine :)
Parking was super easy, right behind the start line — which was also very well organized. Packet pick up was super simple, no long lines. Plenty of portable restrooms nearby. The expo was also nearby, with a bunch more restrooms and goodie bag/​t-​shirt pick up.
The beer garden was probably my favorite part of this event. It’s actually the first beer garden I’ve ever attended at any race, and I have a few races under my belt ;) I’m not a huge fan of beer but once I found out it was Pizza Port I was super stoked.
They were offering 2 free beers to each participant. I stopped in, grabbed a beer and met my boyfriend and son against the side to chat. My boyfriend and I joked about our income because if you look at the income stats on the registrants for this race it definitely makes sense to why it’s America’s premier 5k.
We had a good time watching the Elite Women’s race and hoping to see a World record.
Had a great time and definitely wouldn’t rule out running it again in the future. Also, swore if I ever have another child I’m starting her in the diaper dash race.

EDIT: There is NO way this year’s race was worth a 5-​star review! Do not believe all of the «elite reviews»…
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This was my first Carlsbad 5000 race. I probably will not run another Carlsbad 5000 race, but I’ll definitely hang out on the beach and watch the runners next year.
PRO’S
–Good t-​shirt
–Awesome medal
–Watching the elite runners run 2 miles in less than my 1-​mile speed. So inspiring!
CONS:
–They ran out of goodie bags. What the???
There should be enough goodie bags for those of us who sign up before the deadline… especially if they tell us we can pick up our goodie bags after the race. Very disappointed!
**ADVICE: If you want a goodie bag, check-​in on Saturday.**
–No gear-​check
–Parking was a disaster!
–TOO hot!
The race didn’t start until 10:40 am and for some reason, 70 degrees in Carlsbad felt like 90 degrees.
–The course.
The course wasn’t as scenic as I thought it’d be – besides the portion on Carlsbad Blvd which was less than 3 minutes – and there were too many hills. That said, I should have looked at the course map before I signing up so it’s not their fault.
–The volunteers responsible for checking people in seemed like they didn’t want to be there. What happened to recruiting «happy people» for check-​in?