After weeks of deliberation I have signed up for Tustin Hangar Half Marathon. Race date is March 12, 2017. Renegade Racing is organizing this race, but the race is part of Tustin Chamber of Commerce. I guess Tustin wanted to have a race similar to Laguna Hills.

I do find myself visiting Tustin more often these days. Out of all the costcos out there, Tustin Costco does carry good choice of items at the Store. As much as I don’t like Tustin District Parking nightmare, its still charming with its Blimp Hangars! Who hasn’t been to Rutabegorz at Old Town Tustin for lunch or dinner! And with the new addition of ‘Snooze AM’, Tustin has stepped up their brunch game for OC! We were just there few weeks ago, and in all my years of living in OC, that was the first time we went to Tustin for brunch! The reason I say all of this is because Tustin is charming, and the idea of Running in Tustin, isn’t as bad as one make it to be!

The reason I signed up for this race after serious considerations is partly because lot of my running group friends are doing it, and also I heard the ‘inaugural’ race medal is considered special, so why not earn one. On top of that, its a race close to home, and for someone that drives hours to get to races on Sunday morning, I do like the idea of racing close to home when I can! And best of all of this, I will get to run through Tustin Marine Corp Helicopter Base Blimp Hangars. I have seen these hangars for years from far, and never seen the inside, so I am super excited to get to run through these hangars! Above all, its a Renegade Race, and I do absolutely love everything about their races!

Renegade Race does pimp up their medals, so I am excited about this race medals already! (They usually get Ashworth Medals to design/make their medals for most of their races, and if you like medals as much as I do, Ashworth Medals are some of the best!)

 

Half marathon course starts at the District, continues down to Market Place, and on to Old Town Tustin. Mostly an out and back loop. THe route seems like a 7 miles of uphill, and 6 miles of downhill. There will be pacers which I really like about a race. The 5k course runs in and around Tustin District, and its super flat!

For those of you that want to save money on online registration fee, you can mail your registration ( http://tustinhangarhalf.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2017-Tustin-Hangar-Registration.pdf)

For online registration: http://tustinhangarhalf.com/

Prices for The Half goes up to $90 on December 1st; $100 on January 1st; $110 on February 1st; and $120 on March 1st. Race Day cost is $130.

The 5K is $30 now; and goes up to $35 on February 1st; $40 on March 1st; and Race Day registration will be $45.00.

Use Code MAHESH2016 for a 20% off.

15% of the registration fee goes to nonprofits and charities. You get to pick your choice, when you sign up. So you don’t have to feel all that bad spending money on a race!

Other Race Highlights

After I blogged about my registration to this race, I did get more information from Tustin Chamber of Commerce who is hosting this race. there are few extra highlights to this race to consider.

1. Serious prizes for the top finishers. Right now they are looking at $1000 worth of diamond for top finishers, for male and female.
2. Race organizers are planning to put Blinmp Hangar baloons as mile markers at each mile. It sounds so amazing!
3. They are planning to have Bands playing at District(start/finish line), Market Place, and Old Town Tustin. (routes of half marathon). This is pretty cool for a local race here!
4. This is one of the coolest feature of the race – they are offering 5 age division medals for top 5. The first in each age division takes home a trophy, and the other 4 will receive a heavy medal, 5inch wide and 4mm width.

Being an inaugral race, Tustin as a city and Tustin Chamber of Commerce are working hard to make this a race to consider for everyone!

Time Change weekend

The one tricky part to keep in mind is, the race is on March 12th, when we spring forward with our clock. Half marathon starts at 7am.  So you should plan on getting up an hour earlier than you would normally! Or pretend the race is at 6am!

Half Marathon Course Map:

5k Course Map:

Go sign up and let me know if you are running this race!