The Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego 5k is a wonderful trip through Balboa Park, and worth running whether it’s your main event or as a warm-up for one of the weekend’s other races!

Expo / pick-up:
-The expo at the San Diego Convention Center was very well-organized with plentiful, designated bib and shirt pick-up stations, as well as a start-corral adjustment table. I appreciated the vaccine/negative test check at the entrance. So many of us race because of health, and it’s nice that they took this seriously. I also loved the clear pick-up bags we got. They’re so handy for carrying all your race and expo goodies, and necessary for gear drop at the longer races. I don’t understand why some races try to cheap out by not giving these bags. Like most big expos, there’s a spacious area for race weekend merch and the primary shoe sponsor (Brooks this year). My favorite pieces of merch were the 5k/Half/Marathon shirts with all the racers’ names printed on them in alphabetical order—the catch being that you had to have registered for the races at least 60 days early. I wish I’d registered earlier, and this neat little perk is something the Rock ‘n’ Roll organizers should advertise more! The San Diego version of the Rock ‘n’ Roll running events is apparently the original, and the expo set up a neat display of all the medal designs throughout the years, as well as all the bonus medals you can earn for completing multiple Rock ‘n’ Roll races. They’re so bling-tastic and do a good job of appealing to all the medal-collecting completionists out there :-)

Parking:
-Convention center parking for the expo was unfortunately $20. I tried finding cheaper alternatives on Spot Hero, but couldn’t find anything more reasonable. Race-day parking at Balboa Park, though, was FREE at the Inspiration Point lot. The best part is that the parking lot is less than a 5-minute walk to the start corral. Nice!

Pre-race:
-Speakers loudly blast all sorts of music to keep the energy up. An engaging emcee. Plentiful port-a-potties. Runners were divided into multiple corrals—I counted at least 8 corrals, marked by giant guitar picks (get it? Rock and roll?). You know how at some races, entire corrals are released at once? Then you’re expected to cross the start line on your own timing, and end up navigating a congested, slow-mo stampede? The organizers solved this issue by releasing runners in each corral in 5-sec mini-waves, signaled by countdown lights. This way, you can launch out of the start line into a more wide-open road! I hope this practice becomes more commonplace.

Course:
-Mile 0-1: The race starts near the Veterans Museum, and the first mile takes you past Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Plaza de Panama, Museum of Art, and the highlight: crossing Cabrillo Bridge shortly after sunrise.
-Mile 1-2: The second mile loops around Marston Point, where the scenery shifts from pretty architecture to pretty greenery. A few small hills also begin testing your legs at this point, and the crowds start to thin if you can keep your pace.
-Mile 2-3.1: You briefly exit the actual park and run along the streets with some shops on your left and the NW border of Balboa Park on the right. Then, the course turns back into the park for the final stretch down to the finish line!

Scenery/Weather/Support:
-A nice mini-tour of Balboa Park, but it was an overcast day, so the best tourist attractions were shrouded in clouds—not as picturesque as you may like. In terms of aid, I only remember one water station. That felt like enough, but I haven’t run very many 5ks, so I’m not sure if that’s normal or not. Lots of volunteers, a cheer squad, a DJ on the first mile, and the overall energy was great.

Post-race:
-Grab your typical post-race goodies of banana, granola bar, and water. Nothing too special, and nothing to complain about. There’s a Heineken beer garden too if you need some extra carbs. Finish Line photographers are available if you’re ready to pose with your medal.

Swag:
-The 5k race shirt was a light blue tech shirt, with ginormous yellow “5K” lettering on the front so no one can mistake what race you’re running. Silhouettes of Balboa Park and palm trees fill in the lettering—very nicely-done and it’s a shirt I’d wear anytime. The 5k medal is a colorful, blue-orange replica of Balboa Park’s Museum of Us and the museum’s iconic California Tower. The medal is on the smaller side, but it’s still really nice. There’s an outlined area on the back for engraving if you want to record your time or celebrate a PR.

Bottom-line:
-This was my first Rock ‘n’ Roll running event, and it was a great race that I would definitely do again, hopefully on a sunnier day!