This was my first half marathon. I signed up last Christmas with my sister, knowing I’d have enough time to either hang myself or be a success. I joined a local run club and was progressing nicely, when a nasty bit of hip bursitis flared up. At one point I really wondered if I’d be able to start the pain was so bad. After a visit to my Orthopedist and his PT group with little to no improvement, I went to Positive Energy PT in Redondo and they fixed me right up. I was able to run the 13 mile distance a couple times in training before race day, even throwing in a big hill at mile 10 just like the SB course. My sister has run a few halfs already and is a bit faster than me, but I felt confident! The weather was perfect (starting around 52 -54 and ending about 69 or 70 degrees, light clouds giving way to sunny skies). The race seemed well organized based on my experience, tho I heard others got lost (they ran the full marathon) and they ran out of water at one of the water stations. The course was very pretty, going thru rural areas & neighborhoods, on well paved roads or the bike path (the only time I felt a little crowded as it was narrow) and finishing with great fanfare on oceanfront Shoreline Drive with the American flags and veterans lining the course. The hill at mile 10 was long, but not very steep, so I made it up without stopping. One thing I noticed was how many people were using their phones while running. A trio of girls had a pal on speaker and were talking to her about later plans. Other people were either talking or trying to text. I was so tempted to yell “IF YOU'RE ON THE PHONE, over to the right!” but I restrained myself and just ran past them. I had kept an eye on my Garmin and tried to keep my pace slow (in the 10s) banking it for the big hill, so was able to pick it up at the end. There was a good crowd at the SB City College stadium, including my sister who had finished about 5 mins ahead of me. After the finish chute we got water and our medal, then they had a good set up of bananas/oranges, bars and drinks on the way out to the expo. Finish time (chip) 2:19:58 (Garmin) 2:16:59