Avocado Half Marathon & 5K

This review is the for 2^nd Annual Avocado 5K. I did this with my Aunt and Mother, and we all agreed this was one of the better runs we signed up for because of all the FREEBIES… and the relatively easy/​moderate 5K course to get us back on the fitness track.
Yucatan Guacamole really pulled out all the stops at their booth. They had t-​shirts, burlap tote bags, chips & guacamole, and coupons for free guacamole at grocery stores. This was THE booth to hit up, but tbh there wasn’t that much going on at the other handful of booths.
The 5K course was pretty easy, given a few spots with a more difficult gradual incline, and goes through neighborhoods I’ve never seen before. Several families of Fallbrook residents came out and sat down by their driveway to cheer all the runners on.
We arrived at the venue about 1.5 hours before the race started in order to get a prime parking spot and to pick up our bibs and chips. My Aunt responded to the email offering limited parking passes for $ 10 and fortunately we acquired one. The parking pass spaces were located in the nursery close to Live Oak Park where the event starts/​finishes. Free shuttles are available for those who parked at the other lots.
At the finish line we received our medal and were given a bottle of water (no more than 1 per person) and an avocado!
p. s. An email was already sent out for the following 3^rd Annual Avocado Half Marathon & 5K on May 28^th, 2016. Apparently the first 1500 runners to register will receive a free water bottle and there’s a $ 500 cash prize in one of the bottles.

I ran the Avocado half marathon yesterday and had a great time! There were only a couple thousand people running so it was actually pretty nice compared to some huge, crowded races. I signed up for this mainly because I got a killer living social deal for $ 35. It was definitely worth the money.
Parking: We signed up to get a parking pass and paid $ 10 to park a block from Live Oak Park (where it starts and finishes) at a nursery. This was a definite plus but there were not many parking spaces available. Most people had to park at a couple churches east of the park and shuttle over. This seemed to be a bad deal for many of the 5K runners since they did not resume the shuttle until a long time after the 5K finished. As I was finishing my half, I saw about a hundred people hiking up the huge hill to their cars. Not sure if these people were happy to walk another 2 miles after the race!
Spectators: Unfortunately, this course is NOT spectator friendly. One friend was able to find a place to park near mile 5 but could not get back to the finish. It would be nice if there were some tips for spectators posted on the website. Maybe there could be a spectator bike lane along the route?
Bathrooms: There were 3 public park bathroom buildings (Maybe like 10 stalls?) and a handful of porta-​potties. I’m pretty sure some women waited in line for more than 45 minutes to go to the bathroom pre-​race. A priority for next year should be more porta-​potties at Live Oak and a few more along the course.
Volunteers: There were tons of volunteers along the route and they were so nice! I enjoyed waving at them as I ran by. I think their main job was to made sure Fallbrook residents did not pull out of their driveways onto the race course. I was glad they were there to monitor! (And with that, thank you to all the residents who were trapped for the entire morning because of this race. We appreciate your sacrifice.)
The Course: I loved it! It is true that you run by more trees than buildings (tagline for the event). It really is refreshing to run somewhere so pretty. I though the double out and back course was kind of strange at first, but after running it, I give it two thumbs up! The first mile and a half is down hill and then everyone turns around and goes back up. The 5K ends back at the park and then the half marathoners go out another 5 miles and again turn around and run back the same way.
I ran the race with 8 of my friends so as I was heading back the first time I got to cheer for all of them and give them high fives! I loved this! Normally you never see anyone in your group during a race unless you run the same pace. During the second out and back, I got to do this again and it really boosted all of our spirits. It’s also nice knowing what to expect for the last 5 miles of the race.
The course was all rolling hills but I didn’t mind it since I usually trail run and run a lot of peaks. The downhills were great for getting my legs moving and the last mile and a half was all downhill and super fast! As I approached the finish line, I started sprinting and then saw that I had to make a very quick Uturn to actually finish. I came to the Uturn and heard people yelling «slow down! be careful!». This was the most horrible finish line I’d ever seen. I saw one girl slip and fall and I really worried for people’s knees going around that turn. What good is a race if you can’t sprint to the finish without fearing for your life!?!
Other comments:
–The tshirts were awesome! Cool max neon green with a nice logo. The metals were really nice too.
–The party pumper/​DJ at the startline was pretty fun. I actually liked that he led some dancing because it kept me warm while we waited for the race to start.
–There was a drone taking video footage. I already saw the trailer for the video and it looks great!
–Finish line goodies were delicious. The oranges were so sweet. The guac and chips hit the spot after sweating for 13 miles.
–A couple of my friends finished towards the end and after running for over 3 hours they were horrified to find out that they had run out of water and cups at the finish line. Totally unacceptable. This is the main reason I’m giving 3 stars instead of 4 stars.
All in all, not bad for the second time around. I would for sure do it again!

Disappointing race. I have no idea why this was called the avocado half marathon. I was expecting many booths with avocado post race stuff but no :(There were no avocados at the end. I did see some people with one avocado but they were all gone by the time half marathoners arrived.
I think they should have passed them out with the medal. The course was all right. I didn’t like that some parts of of the road were slanted, which affect the knees. The end of the race was too abrupt as it was preceded with a sharp turn. Won’t do it again.

I didn’t run the half. As a new runner the 5k was my race, growing up in Fallbrook, I knew how hard it was getting this race going! Hats off to Vicki! I thought everything ran smoothly! Had I run the half, I may have had constructive criticism but my team that ran all loved it! They said it was a challenging run (more so than the San Fran half that they ran in the fall) all in all for an inaugural race, I felt it was AMAZING. The kinks people talked about can be ironed out next year! I would definitely do it again! Fallbrook residents that ran LOVED it! Maybe next year we will get more local support and participants. Great race!

My sister, Neice, nephew, and I all ran in the first annual avocado run! They drove from San Clemente to enjoy the weekend. I live in Fallbrook and the half route past my house twice which was very nice for my husband and neighbors who in turn helped hand out water to all the runners. We all had so much fun and so many people made awesome signs of encouragement and I especially liked the Kid on the loud speaker at the high school, It was a boost to see all the supporters along the route. What a great morning and finally a VERY special thanks to Vickie Barr Knox who had the strenght and fortitude to put this all together ! I am looking forward to next years race as I know it will be even better!

Great race! I ran the 5k and the course was beautiful, plenty of room to run, clearly marked miles and supportive volunteers along the way. I noticed a few reviews regarding no portable bathrooms. There were several at the top parking lot along with several park restrooms. Although, there were lines, I’ve never experienced a race where more bathrooms weren’t a concern! Maybe it’s the nerves but everyone seems to line up!
The scenery was beautiful, the medals were high quality and the overall experience was an A+ for me! I will definitely do it again next year!

Fun race, well organized, awesome metals & lots of community support. This race has beautiful scenery as you run thru Fallbrook’s rolling hills. I’m looking forward to this race again next year!

The race was so great. It was well organized, packet pickup was very easy, and the race support was great. It was so great doing a race where I live. It made the race experience so much better having people you know cheer you on. There were tons on water on the course and the race was fun, I can’t wait till next year to improve my time. Also as a resident who was effected by the road closure I don’t care. If I had not been racing I would have gone done and cheered people I or just spent some time at home. It’s not like I don’t have things to do around the house. We here giving plenty of notice of what was going on. It is one morning a year, not everyday of the week. Great job to the race organizers, can’t wait till next year.

Anyone can run a 5K, I just prefer to do my 5k’s off the couch. Getting offered a free run on Unilocal’s tab and running with friends was enough for me to break out the old dusty running shoes.
This was the inaugural Avocado 5K & Half Marathon and if you know anything about Fallbrook it’s a quiet, secluded and sprawling community. With that being said it’s quite difficult to get approval and permits for closing down miles and miles of road, organizing parking, vendors, safety, security of an event like this. Granted this is a fraction of the size of Carlsbad 5000, TriRock or Rock & Roll so I’m sure it will get better, but usually organizers will pay an established organization to get them set up. I’m not sure they did that here.
The e-​mails could have been more clear, the logistics of the closures were not ideal, shuttles to and from the parking and event were sporadic. The staging and end staging areas were really disorganized and not scalable to say a 3000 participant run. They had less than expected nutrition, vendors, food for non participants to buy. It was a mediocre event in it’s infancy. I had a banana, orange and some recovery chocolates. Walked across the street for a coffee. First off you should make the 5k out be uphill and the way back downhill. The weather was great. I didn’t do the half marathon so I can’t tell you about the full course, but much of it was flat and downhill on the way back along stagecoach. It’s always nice to have fan support along the way, but I got the overwhelming feeling from the participants that have done other events that this was lacking. I’m sure they will do better next year, but so will I as I did this one off the couch. Having lots of volunteers was a good and bad thing because they seemed aloof and disorganized. I was impressed with the tech t and medals, both pretty impressive and due to the small turnout the bag check was pretty easy. All in all it was a fun event that I’d come off the bench for again next year.

GREAT run! Parking was easy, volunteers were very friendly and there were plenty of them. My favorite part besides the beauty of Fallbrook were the residents cheering us on along the route. Many of them had signs and American flags and cheered us on loudly. I will DEFINITELY be signing up for the Avocado Half Marathon and 5 K next year. I can’t wait!
Stephanie B.

I cannot speak for all the people who have said this was «an unorganized race,» or that it «fell short,» but I thought the race was run great. It was the city’s first race and I’m sure the organizers had a lot of hoops to jump through to get it done. I thought the organizers did a great job of getting the community involved with all of the volunteers.
Although it was an out and back course, it was quite challenging. I really appreciated how fast the results were posted following the 5k. Due to the challenge of the hills, I can’t even imagine what the half marathon would have been like ;)
I highly recommend this event to anyone looking for a challenge. If you are someone who needs to get some avocados or some other piece of priceless memorabilia, this may not be the race for you (right now). But if you’re the type of person who runs tough hilly courses to push yourself and be around similar people with the same mindset, then this the race for you! I really hope this is around next year and can get the 20 minute time I originally set out for. Thank you to everyone who set this up!

Fallbrook’s «First Annual» fell a bit short…
I realize this was the first Half Marathon and 5K for Fallbrook’s Avocado Festival; and, as such, inaugural events are usually then prone to glitches, misfirings, snags, and snafu’s. I get that. I do. Neverthesless, out of all the runs I’ve registered for over the past three months, I was most looking forward to Fallbrook’s. I mean, c’mon, avocados will make everything better, won’t they?
After all, Fallbrook is the unofficial «Avocado Capital of the World!» So running amidst groves upon groves of avocado trees; being included in their Annual Avocado Festival; and, upon finishing, expecting a blissfully fruitful avocado saturation (the run promoted «plenty» of avocados for everyone) was what I had in mind. However, we didn’t run among farms of avocado trees (we 5Kers ran down one road and back up again,) we didn’t arrive during the famed festival (it was the following day,) and there weren’t «plenty» of avocados awaiting us (there were about four, small buckets full.)
I noted, in fact, that the Half Marathoners didn’t even receive avocados. I do feel bad, but there didn’t seem to me to be any 5K runners with armfuls of them. We just picked up one or two. No one policed those efforts, and I’m sure that no one understood that so few avocados were being made available. The word «plenty,» it’s relative, I guess. I mean, there could just as easily have been four buckets of bananas, and we could have run the «Banana Half Marathon & 5K» instead, right? The «Avocado Capital» ran out, did they? Uh-​huh.
Having run the 5K, and because we were redirected to park at a church three miles away from the event – then to be shuttled in – I wish I had opted to purchase a parking pass for the Live Oak Park lot nestled directly next to packet pick-​up and registration. I assume there was an email inviting runners to do just that, but I parked at the church anyway. The problem was that after running the 5K, we weren’t shuttled back to our cars until over two hours later! No one – not any of the volunteers – seemed to have answers to this. But we – with many frustrated others – waited…and waited… and waited… (By the way, our bus – when it finally did arrive – broke down en route to the 5K church parking. Add another 20 minutes.)
And the medals… Wrong date, on those that had a date; others were dateless. And the ribbons: some were simply green (like mine) and some were more colorful, promoting the race itself. I don’t know… This run, it just didn’t live up to what I was hoping for. So Fallbrook, I’m sorry for the 2-​stars. But that’s what updates are for. And if you didn’t receive criticism such as these, you wouldn’t have the need to improve. And improving is what I expect will be on the table for next year. I congratulate your hosting this what-​could-​have-​been-​so-​much-​better run. This is constructive, by the way. Mistakes allow for growth. So… keep growing.
Having an uphill run, 30:36:3. (Seems wrong though. Maybe it was gun time.)
O.o

For a first time race, I thought the organizers did a great job and I am sure in the years to come, this race will only get better and better. It was my first half marathon and I am proud to say I finished it! No, I’m not very fast, 2:45 for me, but again, for a first timer, I am proud of myself. Yes people, there are some hills. Maybe it’s because I live and train in a hilly neighborhood, but I really didn’t think it was so bad. As one adorable kid’s sign said, «It’s a hill. Get over it!»
Yes, they needed porta potties along the route, and I’m sure they will be there next year. As for the avocados, I’m sure there will be plenty of those next year too. But seriously, did you run 13.1 just for the chance to eat a post race avocado? As for some reviews that complained about the mile markers. I agree, they need to be clearer, but they did have markers that I saw on orange cones at miles 8, 9, 10 and probably after that. Also, the race route with elevation was posted on the website, along with lots of instructions about parking, shuttles, etc. Just make a little effort pre-​race to be prepared. Check out the website. Simple.
As for the date on the medal, I know the date of this race had to be changed pretty late in the game, and no doubt the medals were already ordered. Oh well. No biggie.
Bottom line, a beautiful course, and for a first time race, well done. It will only get better and better and I for one will be looking forward to running it again next year!

Represented Team Unilocal in the inaugural Avocado race. Thanks Trish!!!
I was offered to run the half or the 5k the Tuesday before this race and, just coming from the SF Rock N Roll Half Marathon the weekend before, I opted to do the 5k since (1) I have injuries to my hip and foot, and (2) I know how hilly Fallbrook is!
Pros for 5k:
–Small race
–Free parking
–No traffic!
–Shuttle service if you parked at the church
–Friendly volunteers
–AMPLE volunteers
–Slight downhill start
–Bananas, orange slices, granola bars, Sport Beans recovery beans, water and avocados at the end
–Tech T
–Bag check easy breezy
–Medals!
Cons for 5k:
–TONS of volunteers, but they didn’t know any information. I stopped to ask some volunteers where the parking was for the 5k and they looked at me as if I was from another planet. I asked «You are volunteers for the race, right?» All I got were blank stares. Hmmmmm, really?! I guess there was no communication to the volunteers on the deets of this race.
–While I was driving around trying to find the church parking, why were there so many volunteers lined up every several feet along the roads? That’s weird…
–No signage where to park. The email said to follow the signs. WHAT SIGNS?
–Barely noticed the avocados at the end. I saw people holding avocados and they said that the avocados were in the buckets by the bananas. When I went to check them out, they were almost gone! Luckily I grabbed one!
–I asked a volunteer about the awards on whether it’s Top 3 OVERALL individuals or per division. Of course he didn’t know! :/​
–Small after party with only a handful of booths.
–Shuttles going back to the designated parking lots were very disorganized. Our driver mentioned that it was a big mix-​up and they were told to come back at 11a. Contradictory of the emails that participants received! I definitely didn’t want to stay until 11a when my race was done before 8a.
–No separate corrals for half marathoners/​5kers.
–No mile markers. I was confused towards the split — 5kers veered right as the halfers went straight. Would have been nice if there was signage before the split. I almost went straight! Plus I would have totally picked up my pace with a quarter mile left.
–I believe their timing system is inaccurate. I looked at the timing chip on back of the bib and it says «patent pending». Sorry, I don’t consider your time to be my official «chip time». My Garmin is pretty accurate and I started and stopped it exactly as I crossed the start and finish lines.
–Did I miss the National Anthem and the American flag at the start?
Kudos for Fallbrook getting a race together. The surroundings are pretty, but race organizers please take heed to these comments from Unilocal reviewers. I do appreciate the fact that you put this inaugural event, but please work out the kinks. I really want you to come back as I do want to run this race again. Oh and please consider awards for top finishers in each division. Even if it’s a bag full of avocados!
==========
STATS:
Per Garmin 25:44
1^st in 30 – 39 Female Division
25^th in Overall 5k

They tried really hard! I’ve had an amazing time. The volunteers and cheerleaders were helpful and enthusiastic. I am so happy I finished strong and with great motivation from my ladies in Moms Run This Town. I cannot wait to come back next year.

Got the parking pass for Live Oak Park which was nice and close, start line was right there too. Pick up of bib on day of was smooth. Shirt was white (bleah, and kind of see through) but has a neat avocado design on it)
However there were no port-​a-​potties along the way (or none that I noticed) which was weird. Luckily I didn’t need it.
Lots of support and spectators which was nice. Lots of rolling hills which made it challenging.
Disappointed that the medal had the old date (event date change) and that there were NO avocados at all when I finished the half (2:11). No one I saw had any either.
Apparently on their fb page they said they had plenty of avocados in buckets in front of the bananas. I’m guessing that they were left unsupervised and the people that ran the 5k probably took all, if my lost of them. (We started at the same time, so I still had 10mi to go when many of them were finishing.) or maybe someone just took off with the entire bucket of avocados.
I was really really disappointed. They promised to have ‘plenty of avocados’ and there were NONE.
I get that this is an inaugural race, but seriously?!? Very disappointing to say the least. Drove 80+ mi out for this :(

Great course. I have run a lot of rural races and have not seen another one so well staffed with this many volunteers. I think there were some first-​year growing pains that will hopefully go smoother next year. Overall a strong first effort. I will probably run it next year.

Amazing event!!! Thank you so much for brining this to our community! I can’t wait for next year to run again.

Disorganized is the best word to describe this race. $ 40 for nobody around to answer questions or information, no signs to tell you which way to the finish, horrible shuttle system, had to run all uphill on the way back, the shirt size I ordered they were out of and I picked up day ahead of time, finisher metals had wrong date 2÷22÷14, uhhh … No 4÷12÷14!!! I want a refund! Will not be doing it ever again.

No avocados after running 13.1 miles. Ridiculous! Also, the fact there weren’t any mile markers from the 5k finish to the end is completely unacceptable… That’s 10 miles with no idea how far left I had left to run!!! I bonked feet before the finish line! I believe having no idea how many miles I had left on the course to run attributed to this!!!
Fallbrook is beautiful and everyone was so nice including the Fallbrook HS cheerleaders & cross country team, but no avocados at the AVOCADO HALF MARATHON! Major fail. I think the race organizers need to send a gift certificate or send avocados from Amazon Fresh to all half marathoners who didn’t receive the avocados which the website promised would be plentiful at the finish line. A race volunteer said all the 5K finishers took all the avocados. Way to regulate race organizers. We run 10 more miles than them and are left with half a banana, an orange slice and some water. And you call this the avocado capital of the world?
The course was extremely hilly and was hands down the toughest half marathon I’ve ever done. In addition to water stations, there were a few nice residents handing out Gatorade and Powerade. Having oranges and Gu energy packs at mile 9 would of been VERY helpful, especially considering the endless hills. My blood sugar depleted and my body gave out. Thank you to those who helped me get up as I stumbled to the finish line after laying on the pavement for a couple minutes totally bonked. I’ll make sure I have a watch so I can measure the distance ran and my time and my own Gu and nutritional aide in the future!!!
I do understand this was the first annual running of this race and the first ever race held in Fallbrook, CA. Hopefully, the race organizers take these suggestions to heart and improve the race going forward.
Race Distance: Half Marathon — 13.1094 miles
Race Time: 2:07
Race Pace: 9:44 min/​mile
Overall Place: ¹²⁵⁄₃₁₄
Age Division Place: 19–29 °F | ⁹⁄₃₉