Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”
Alright, Alright, Alright…the San Diego Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon is only one month and I. am. STOKED! 🙂 In case you aren’t familiar with this event, it’s basically a weekend party with some running thrown in. It travels to cities all over the world to ensure that everyone can participate in this epic event. You can also choose from running three different distances: the 5k, Half Marathon, and/or Full Marathon. I love that they offer all three distances because it brings runners of all levels together. So WHY am I so excited to run the San Diego Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon? Well, here are 5 reasons why this event is sure to ROCK!
5. Run for Charity! – If you like running and fundraising, then the Rock-n-Roll series is for you! Help raise funds, increase awareness, and maybe score a free race entry by running for a charity. This year’s featured charity is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but you can check out all of the guaranteed charity listings here. And while we’re talking about raising awareness, Rock-n-Roll San Diego will also feature a “Wear Blue Mile” on its course. Wear Blue: Run to Remember is an organization that honors fallen service members. They accomplish this by displaying tribute photos and American flags throughout a particular section of a race course. It’s an inspirational gesture that I respectfully look forward to experiencing.
4. The Unique Course Experience! – The Rock-n-Roll running series is unlike any other running event because there is live entertainment all throughout the course! Then it will end with a big party with MORE live music from some pretty dope bands. And what makes this experience even more exciting, is that the course will run through the heart of San Diego! You get to start off in beautiful Balboa Park, run past some sweet landmarks, and end in historic downtown. Check out this adorable map to get a better idea!
image courtesy of runrocknroll.com
And just in case you don’t believe me when I say that Balboa Park is beautiful. 😉
3. An Epic Expo! – The expo is a 2-day event happening at the San Diego Convention Center. There will be TONS of vendors, TONS of photo opps, great scenery, SWAG, and maybe even some running celeb sightings. So grab your friends, head down to pick up your race gear, snap some pics, then hang out in downtown for some dinner and drinks! – But not too many drinks because you still have to run the next day. 😉 And you may even run into this guy –
Me w/Meb Keflezighi
2. Run for the Bling! – I seriously have never seen any other race series offer so many medals! Basically, if you run more than two races you will get an extra medal. For instance, I am planning to run the 5k on Saturday and the Half on Sunday – which means that I will also receive a Remix medal!
runrocknroll.com/medals
Let’s say you wanted to run the half in San Diego and then roll on over to Virginia Beach – you would receive a Beach to Beach medal!
runrocknroll.com
I think you get the picture, but to see all of the possible combos check out the extra bling here.
And here are the individual San Diego Medals! 🙂 AND except for the 5k medal, they SPIN!
SWAG! – Okay, I’m sure you knew this was coming. But besides all of the rad medals, there is some swag to be scored at this event. In addition to the above mentioned, you will also receive a t-shirt, gear bag, refreshments, free admission to the finish line concert, free beer, and more! There are also some sweet VIP options! And there’s an app! Pretty fancy, huh? Stay connected and get the latest info by downloading the Rock-n-Roll app!
And just to add a little icing to the cake, this year the Rock-n-Roll Series will be celebrating 20 years in San Diego!!! This is where it all began, y’all! So grab your running friends and make Rock-n-Roll San Diego your next Racecation! I know it won’t disappoint!
The Swag Mama 