Real runner feedback on course feel, crowd support, aid stations, and logistics (parking, hotels, restaurants).
It would have been excellent had the course been well marked. Instead, I found myself often looking for bread crumbs to help me guess which direction to go when there was more than one choice. Sometimes there were no bread crumbs or tea leaves, and with about a mile to go I guessed wrong, ending up way off course and forfeiting what would have been my best time by over 13 minutes, on a perfect weather day when everything had otherwise cooperated.
Otherwise good organization, nicely done; good food, beer and massage when it was over. Gels were hard to come by at the aid stations, which were fine otherwise. Plenty of porta potties at the start, but scarce on the course.
While a fast course, it's not all downhill. The steep uphills are relatively short and good places to take walk breaks.
The bus ride to the start is at 0500, so get as much sleep as you can leading up to race day.
I arrived ~0445 and was able to park at the finish. If you arrive much later you'll have a modest jog or walk to the finish area where you catch the bus to the start.
