Beautiful event, I participated for several years. The organization is good and they resolve any issues very soon and efficiently. The course is not that hard so many different levels of athletes can complete it. read more

Conquer The Bridge - Festivals Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Labor Day 2014 started off great...beautiful coastal morning, sun shining, and a nice and light cool breeze. I decided to register for this race for myself and two kids, as a way to bond and hopefully start a tradition of us finishing races together. We live in San Pedro, so thankfully there was no real commute. From our house, we got there in less than 10 minutes. The parking was great. We parked in the lot shared by The Grinder and a hotel. On our way to park, we noticed that many people parked either at meters on the street and in lots or parked in the same lot that we did. We arrived at 7ish and there was already a significant amount of people there. The atmosphere was great so early in the morning. People were excited, friendly, and chatting it up with those they knew and strangers, alike. The organizers got on the loud speakers and gave us all instructions, which I felt was helpful for all of us who had never done it before. The race promptly started at 8:05 and off we went. Of course there were full on olympic track stars there who took off and spanked us all. I did a combination of running and walking. I'm just now coming back after a long hiatus of physical therapy and reconditioning, so I didn't want to re-injure myself. In all honesty, there were way more walkers than runners. The majority of people seemed to be focusing on finishing, period, not necessarily winning. It was nice because there were people from all walks of life out there, all fitness levels, etc. There was even a woman out there with what I am guessing to be cerebral palsy, crutches and all, but she was doing it and we all cheered her on! The race was nice starting off. We began right in front of The Grinder at Harbor and 5th St. That initial climb up the start of the bridge had my cheeks quivering at the anticipation of the real hill that was coming. And I don't mean the cheeks on my face. Climbing that hill seemed eternally long... what helped to get over it was the slight cool breeze and the spectacular views. There was no water station or port-a-potties on the initial "going up" side. It would have been nice to at least have a water station, because I was dehydrated by the time I got to the water station on the other side. We even said that it would have been nice to have a second water station at the shaded underpass. Climbing back up on the otherside was a serious challenge. By then, it was getting really hot and that nice cool breeze that we cherished earlier was gone. I dont think I was ever as excited than to see that big blue arch coming up. We wanted to collapse in the grass along with others, but we were afraid that we may never get up again. At the finish line, they have timers set up to see how long it took you and we all received finishers medals. That was exciting and the kids were very happy to get a medal. We quickly went and grabbed water and they had oranges and cut up bananas for us. I was looking forward to the oranges, but they had just run out as we stepped up to the table. No problem. We noshed on the bananas and drank water. In all, if you asked me if I would do this again as I walked up that hill, I'd say HELL NO!!! After all, 5.3 miles is no joke, especially when it's hot, but now that I finished, yes I'd probably do it again. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I suggest preparing by going for long walks or runs if that's your thing, and include some hill training, so that you dont struggle too much on the inclines. :) read more

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What a fun race, and an amazing backdrop. I've driven over the VTB 100's of times, but I've never had the chance to walk/run over it, because it's not legal. But, over Labor Day, the Conquer The Bridge race gives participants a chance to take in the bridge and the surrounding harbor area. The race involves a very manageable number of entrants, this year it was around 4,000. This is a fun race! They have activities before and after the race and I found everyone running the race to be friendly and happy. My daughters like this race because you get a medal for completing the race (5.3 MI). I will see you there in 2017. read more

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What a unique race this is! If you've ever driven over the Vincent Thomas Bridge, you know how tall and lengthy it is. So naturally, you want to run over it! Enter "Conquer The Bridge!" This race is held on Labor Day every year and it starts in San Pedro. Parking was easy. We parked up the hill at a meter about a half mile from the start line. Easy peasy. The course is really fun and it's so different than any other race out there! It's flat for about the first and last half mile of the race and everything else is on the bridge. Enjoy the flat part while it lasts, because that bridge is harder to get over than it looks! Once I started running up the bridge, my quads started screaming. It's much longer and steeper than it seems when you're looking at it from afar. When you're running on it, you definitely realize just how big this bridge really is. Once you get to the other side of the bridge, you turn around and get to a water station and then you head back up to do it all over again on the other side! Once you get back to the bottom of the other side, you're almost done. Kick it into high gear and finish the race strong! On the website it says it's a 5.3 mile race, but my watch showed 5.14. No biggie. And with that huge bridge you're crossing, it feels much harder than a 5 mile race. I totally recommend running this race! It's much different than any other race out there. read more

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I ran the Vincent Thomas Bridge race on Labor Day, 9/3/18. I got there early, and found a primo parking spot; first thing I did was get into the massive line for the porta-potties. There were only 4 potties with approximately 80 people waiting to use one! By the time I got into my porta potty, there was one seat protector left, and a smidgeon of toilet paper! No other supplies were anywhere to be found! What was the next person supposed to do? Use their hand? UGH! I had to really budget the use of the toilet paper, if you get my drift. Anyhow - I barely got into the racers shoot by the 7:00 am starting gun. I got in the back because I registered as a walker. Mike - the announcer, did a good job getting us pumped about the race, and informed us about the bridge. There were lots of cops and cadets lining the race course, and of course, many more were running as undercover. The race course itself is the number one BEST race course that I have ever ran. It is fast! It is nicely paved for a smooth, gliding run!!! I loved running on the downhill portions, even though I registered as a walker. My strategy was to walk up the steep side of the bridge, (which wasn't so bad,) and then I wanted to run as fast as I could on the downside of the bridge, which is a longer distance. There were 10 porta-potties on the returning upside of the bridge, with one water station. I think the entire porta-potty situation NEEDS TO BE RETHOUGHT!!! I was happy I did not need them on my return trip, but their location needed to be on the first side of the descending side of the bridge. Anyhow - going back over the bridge was wonderful, and the views of the harbor were amazing!!! They did throw a thin mat of fake grass over the steel grates for the runners to safely cross over, and the weather could not have been more perfect. Overcast - cool - no wind. Thank God for his presence, mercy and cooperation. This race may be in the ghetto portion of San Pedro, but there are angels in the corners, streets and alley ways that make safety for us runners a pure priority. I enjoyed this race very much. In the end, every finisher got a nice medal to hang around their necks. they handed out mushy, rotten bananas to all the race participants. That itself was a slap in the face to someone who was needing a nutritional boost, but what are you going to do about it? That was a rotten ending to a pretty wonderful day, but life isn't perfect sometimes. You have to make the best of things, and you then become a true champion of life. Maybe I'll do this Conquer the Bridge again next year - but I will forewarn all participants to: 1. Bring your own toilet paper (leave some for the next poor sap who needs to take a dump before the race.) 2. Bring your own post-race bananas, (believe me, I would toss those rotten bananas in the trash can - if they were mine to toss.) Those bananas were unacceptable. 3. Enjoy the downhill portions to the max!!!! 4. The race technology is accurate, promptly posted and impressive. My official race time was posted within hours of the race, with video finish. God bless San Pedro, all the volunteers and participants of this amazing bridge race. God bless Vincent Thomas, the man who made the bridge possible. May he rest in peace. X O read more

Conquer The Bridge - Perfect day for a bridge run!!! Thank you to all volunteers, and to the Lord for a great event!!! - Festivals Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Did it. Half marathon over the Vincent Thomas Bridge. And I'm not too sure I'll ever do it again. I'm a Pedro girl at heart, so I couldn't refuse a chance to run over the Vincent Thomas Bridge during Conquer the Bridge's 2011 race. It was an over and back just over 5 miles. In 2013, they offered their first half marathon. I'd sworn I'd never run anything over a 10K again, but I couldn't pass this up so I went for it. And it was brutal (for a non-runner like me) but since I've done a few marathons, I feel I've got enough clout to give input. Don't worry about the bridge incline. It's such a gorgeous view you will enjoy every second of the rare opportunity, taking pictures, chatting with other runners, and it's a good excuse to walk for a bit since you can run on the down slope. However, due to Caltrans nixing water stations on or anywhere near the bridge, they are sparse. Just be prepared, bring your own if you can't walk a mile without a sip. The volunteers who come out to cheer the runners on are the best. There isn't another soul out there on that stretch of concrete, so smiling faces are a welcome sight after trudging along by your lonesome for miles. And that's what happened to me on the half marathon. There were huge gaps between me and the runners in front and behind me, so I spent almost half the race alone. And being alone on that course is... not comforting. The course took us out to the end of Pier 400... the very end. And along the way I spotted lots of concrete, dead seagulls, took in wafts of chemicals/gasoline, and saw even more concrete. I love the half marathon concept for Conquer the Bridge, but I really hope they change the course so that the bulk of it traverses through Pedro. The Port has put in so many bike paths & greenspace, it's a shame to not take advantage of it. Also, passing through neighborhoods (some of them very historic) and involving the residents as spectators/cheerleaders would be fantastic! read more

My 2nd year going with my Weight Watcher group. 5+ miles and it was a beautiful morning, not too hot. Runners went first, then military and families and then the walkers. Held on the tail end of Fleet week. It really was a fun experience. Walking across the bridge was quite the experience. It's a slow incline and very doable for everyone. I plan on going again next year! read more

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Amazing race! Parking was easy, free and no traffic issues. The race route was easier than expected. I walked, kept a place of no more than 3mph. It was a cool day which definitely helped. Had it been hot, this might have been torture. Everything seemed organized well and I earned my medal!! Definitely doing this again. read more

Conquer The Bridge - Team Weight Watchers Conquer The Fridge/Scale 2016 - Festivals Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Race is a great idea but logistics and race management are poor. The idea of running over a bridge and one that is somewhat of a So Cal landmark is great. However, the logistics are the worst I've encountered. There is no race morning bib pickup unless you pay the race day price which is super high. If you pre-register, they expect you to make an additional trip to drive to San Pedro to pick up your bib the day before the race. Now if you happen to live down the street I suppose it's no big deal. If you live in another county, that means several hours of driving to get there and back. Also the race started 45 minutes later than the scheduled time. All of the runners were lined up at the start line and ready to go at 7am. However, every 5 minutes the director would come on and promise everyone we were just a couple minutes from getting underway. This process repeated every 5 minutes for the 45 minutes. Since the director assured everyone the race was going to start at any minute, no one could go to the port-o-potty or go for a brief additional warmup jog or anything in fear of missing the race. Instead everyone had to remain cramped and huddled in tight quarters of the race corral for 45 minutes. It turns out the delay was due to poor planning and could have easily been prevented. Also, the director could have been honest with everyone that the problem wasn't going to be resolved in just a few minutes and that it was going to be 45 minutes late, which would have allowed runners to head back out on a warmup jog or go back and stretch or hit the port-o-potties. If you don't mind a poorly managed race and are okay with potentially standing huddled in a crowded corral for an extra 45 minutes before the race kicks off, then this may be the race for you. Alternately, there are many trail races that offer a similar elevation challenge without having to deal with the massive logistical issues this one seems to have. read more

First time running this race. I enjoyed it a lot. Perfect tie-in with Fleet Week. It was well organized. Location was easy to access. Parking was easy and free. Weather was nice and cool. The course was awesome. Pretty rare opportunity to cross the bridge on foot. The views were amazing. My only gripe was that the starting "waves" could have been organized better. Not sure how they did it before, but this year they had: 1st wave - runners 2nd wave - military 3rd wave - walkers They should have arranged 1st wave by time/ability also. I found that there were a lot of slow runners (power walkers) positioned up front at the starting gate. Naturally, they were holding up the faster runners (and everyone else) behind them. Pretty much the first leg before the bridge on-ramp, the faster runners were hopping on the median or running on the other side of the street to pass the slow runners. I'm not a fast runner myself, but I know to keep to the right and leave the left side open as a passing lane for faster runners. Seems no one really understood this. Other than that, it was a great time. Highly recommend it, for those that want to run a race on an interesting course. Also, it would be great if they had on-site packet pick-up. Road Runner Sports is not the most convenient store to drive to. It's tucked away in a very crowded and busy shopping center, in south Torrance near Palos Verdes. Might as well drive to Mars. Sheesh. read more

I ran this for the first time in 2013. My team had such a great time we are doing it again in 2014. It's a great course and very cool to be running across this bridge we drive all the time. It's a 6% grade and the long incline makes it challenging. There were port-a-potties and water at the midway point last year. If you need water sooner than 2.6 miles you need to bring your own. Lots of convenient parking near the start, if you aren't a runner don't worry, hundreds of people walk this for the views at the top of the bridge. read more

The bridge is tough. Fun and exciting to run knowing they close it down once a year just for us. View is pretty awesome when you're not huffing and puffing with your head down. I was late and started off with the walkers. Next time, I'm not going to do that...too much work getting past them. I finished in 57 minutes. read more

Unlike Jamie, I did it in 63 minutes, I know I can do it much faster, but I've been stressed and distracted so I have not been training much. Oh well! It was an awesome race and there was good fruits and stuff at the end. I love sliced oranges! This was my first year, and the bridge was a massive hill and very tough. read more

this labor day was my first tine doing the race i was so excited i even got more excited and pumped up when i got there seeing all the people waiting to starts the race iam not a runner so i walked and ran only when it was down hill and the last strech to the finish line of course i had to stop to take pix it was a great experience would do it again wasnt hard at all everyone cheers you on at the end you get to see your time and get your medal they also offer you slices of oranges and bananas,water. anyone could do it young ,old,non athletes read more

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This is my second year ! Everyone should do this - walk or run and raise money for a good cause! the LAPD Harbor Cadet Program (benefit the numerous youth programs) read more

This is always so much fun! Special thanks to all the volunteers who work so hard each year to make all of us feel so welcome and cared for.

I've done this race many times & it's always well organized, starts on time, has national anthem prior to start & is clear of any obstacles on course. I strongly advise anyone interested in it to step up & register. The Vincent Thomas Bridge also known to runners as The Big Green Monster is an iconic landmark & the opportunity to run over it (twice!) for such a low entry fee is a great deal. It's an interesting distance at 5.3 miles or 8.5K which is nice to be a bit less than 10K because you have the bridge to go up & over. Great event & wonderful organization & it's a very good value! read more