Expo

Parking was pretty chaotic this year (2026) around 11 a.m. on Saturday. I don’t remember it being nearly this bad in 2021 or 2023.

Race Day Parking

I entered through the Magnolia parking entrance on race morning, and it was free. I left home at 4:50 a.m. and arrived around 5:17 a.m., which worked out well.

Race Day

It was about 54°F in the morning—warmer than previous years. I woke up feeling fresh and ready to go, which gave me confidence. I had all my gels prepared and felt well organized.

The race started at 6:30 a.m., and the sun came out almost immediately. At first, I didn’t think it would be an issue, but after about an hour of exposure, I started to feel the effects of the heat.

I stayed on pace until around mile 17, but then things began to fall apart. My pace dropped significantly. Early on, I thought I could recover and pick it back up, but instead, I kept getting slower.

This was especially frustrating because my training had gone really well. I put together four solid weeks of 60-mile volume and even made trips to Huntington Beach twice to train in similar conditions.

Final Thoughts

In the end, I felt disappointed. I truly believed I was fully prepared, but I underestimated the impact of the heat, and it caught up to me.