My friends and I are part of a run club through A Snails Pace Running Shop. Members of our team…read morehave run races of every distance up to a marathon with a few having run distances into the ultra marathon category. Two years ago, Kodiak 2017, about 8 of us decided to run our first 50K and Kodiak was going to be it. Kodiak is awesome. A number of us took advantage of the Course Preview / Training runs that are scheduled before race day. Their course previews are well executed. They even offer an opportunity for us to volunteer to help with trail maintenance earning some good "Trail Karma"! Giving back to the community makes it easy for me to want to be a part of this race. I can attest to how well run this race is. Our team members that ran the 100 miler also had high praise for this race! For Kodiak 2018, we returned! I stayed at the 50K distance while a few of the others moved up to the 50 mile option. This year, the race got a little better. Great aid station locations and offerings. Trail markings were great and the camaraderie on the trail is always a cool thing! The course changes from year to year keeping it interesting and challenging. Speaking for our seasoned 100 mile racers, they had great races with Kodiak. Speaking for myself as a 50K racer and as an AC 100 volunteer for 3 years, Kodiak is not only a UTMB point qualifier but a top quality race! If you're a total bad ass, Kodiak actually has a purse! Happy trail running!!

I swear to God if I ever meet the person that designed the Big Bear, & Lake Tahoe course I'm going…read moreto attempt to kick their a$$. This was my 11th Spartan Race & I know the idea of these are to be tough & challenging, but for crying out loud can we cut it back with all the f-ing hills. This race was almost impossible to actually run in because the inclines were so steep & long. But my whining aside this Beast race lives up to its name, the hills & altitude/elevation in Big Bear will push your conditioning to the limits. This event was just as tough as the 16 mile world championship in Lake Tahoe a month earlier. A few tips for this location, general parking is about a mile away that they provide buggy/shuttle service up to the venue. Since the event is on Snow Summit they actually have regular bathrooms available for use as well as the porta potties, and last the course is pretty dusty up on the hills so if you're sensitivity to dust/dirt getting in your nose you might want to bring a bandana or something to cover up your mouth or nose. Overall this is a brutal challenging race, unless I'm going after another trifecta or actually running with a group I'm playing the puss card & skipping out of the next one here. Conquering this Beast once was good enough to me, I'm not willing to put myself through that much pain again.

TRIFECTA!!! This run is literally a BEAST! If you want to challenge your mind and body to the…read moremaximum level, this run will cripple you in the greatest way possible. Parking was $10. Quick half mile shuttle ride to the village. Check in was easy and decently fast. There were a lot of vendors and sample booths. Good amount of food and drink choices. The village was really clean and accommodating to spectators. There is bag check and hose showers and changing tents. Spectators can take the ski lift to the top for $20 to watch from the top. They are also free to roam the bottom obstacle area were the run ends. Great crowd for Saturdays run. All the Spartan vets I talked to said Big Bear is probably the hardest beast in the US. I ran the sprint and super in Chino this year and this was a 100 times harder. 12.5 miles, 8-9 miles are inclines up the mountain, you end up reaching the peak which is around 8000 ft elevation. Total climbed elevation is roughly 5500 ft. The longest straight incline during the run before a decline was around 1 mile. Most of the declines were steep and full of rocks, sticks, and holes, you have to be really careful running down. Mile 1 through 6 were the hardest portions of the run. Over 80% of this was scaling the mountain with a few obstacle in between. Afterwards you have a good 2-3 mile trail run, mostly up and down flats with a few tough inclines. Mile 9 - 12 was basically quarter to half mile inclines, obstacle, decline, obstacle, then repeat. It was never ending. Finally the last half mile was at the village area full some of the common obstacles Spartan normally has. A lot of the obstacles are repeats from other runs. Some were modified. The obstacles are fun and challenging. Only one mud/wet obstacle and it was at the very end. I HATE YOU BURPEES! Volunteers were all nice and encouraging. About 10 water stations. 1 with electrolytes. 2 with energy snacks. This run is no joke and tough. You see the fittest people crumbling during the inclines. You see people getting carted out. My friend fractured her ankle and could not finish. I think the average finish is over 5-6 hours and some people are out there 10+ hours. Expect to be on the course for a LONG time. Prepare yourself! Tips - MUSTARD PACKETS! Gross but it literally is a cramp killer. Take it right when you feel tight and the cramp disappears. - Bring snacks, candy, chews to keep your energy and sugar levels up. - Wear sunscreen on your face, I have a bib headband tan. - Do not wear ankle socks, my shoes tore up my achilles skin. - Bring warm clothes to change into. The wind was freezing after 1 pm. I wanted to quit so many times during the run but eventually you realize you kept moving forward and you are the bottom of the mountain looking at the finish line. I can barely walk and still licking my wounds and expect to be sore this whole week but it was all worth it to complete the TRIFECTA!!! AROO!

My thoughts on the Big Bear North Shore inaugural half marathon: scenic, challenging,…read morewell-organized. Held on a crisp, cool Autumn's morning at North Shore in Big Bear, CA, this half marathon was more than I could ask for. It tested my endurance in large part due to the elevation, 6,750 ft. The course was advertised as being flat with only 444 ft elevation gain, yet the soft rolling hills proved more daunting than I anticipated. Ultimately, it all made for a challenging and utterly fun experience. The course was well marked, mile markers were spot on, and the community support was strong in this small town race. Water stations were well-manned and cup litter wasn't a big issue, mainly because there were no more than 1,500 participants in all events combined (half marathon, 10k, and 5k). Fast notes: -Registration is through Active.com. The 2nd annual half will be held on October 3, 2015 -Starting temperature was 41 deg, wind chill made it feel about 35. Dress for the environment. Pro tip: -Make this a weekend getaway, it's taxing driving to Big Bear early in the morning and then driving back home right after. There's plenty to see and do in this beautiful town, take advantage of it.

Beautiful race in the BEAUTIFUL Big Bear mountains!!! Breathtaking scenery the whole way! Not alot…read moreof elev gain, so great place for a PR! Yeah, it ain't on dirt. You can do that to Holcomb Vly or on one of the other many exciting trails later (just watch out for black rattlesnakes-yes, they are up here). But it sure is exhillarting (almost as much as running single-track in the mtns)! LOVE IT!

KASKADE KASKADE KASKADE! I will admit the major reason why I wanted to do this 5K is because I knew…read morehe would be performing at the end of the run! This is my first time doing a 5K and it was held at the Pomona Fairplex. The door opened at 6pm but the run itself didn't start till 7:45. Parking was plentiful and easy to find and it was $10. My running buddy and I did arrive kind of late so we were the last group to be let in. I had other friends doing this run but we didn't meet because they were let in first. Getting in took some time because I'm sure they didn't want just a mob of people rushing in. Finally we started and at first I didn't really want to run but I knew we wouldn't make it in time to see Kaskade. The run wasn't bad at all and we ran some and walked some and we saw the entire fairplex so that was cool! There were some areas where you could take pictures of Kaskade (murals and things like it, not the person). At the end, Kaskade had started so we pushed our way through and I did see him perform! The music is awesome! I fist pumped the whole night!!!! I love Kaskade and I'm so happy that I did this event because I finally got to see a big EDM DJ! I hope he does the Spark Run again!

I participated in the 2015 5k last year. It was their inaugural year. This was my first 5k ever and…read moredidn't know what to expect and was not able to compare it to others. I must say after completing many other 5ks this past year that this was a very well run event. They had well placed water stations along course, plenty of volunteers, pacers and a nice course. I definitely recommend this run for all levels. You can get your time or walk it with your children. I enjoyed seeing the volunteers along the course with signs of encouragement.

Amazing staff! Friendly and eager to help!!! It was kinda hard figuring out the whole process as…read morethe person on the phone ( BBM customer service) had given me the wrong info ( twice), she told me twice ( I had called twice as the confirmation email I received said the opposite of what she had told me on the phone) that the adventure academy would provide the rental and all I had to do was show up there and drop the kid, when in fact we need to pick up rental, lift pass then head to the academy, FYI. Other than that, amazing experience!! Liam was very patient and did a great job! My niece is now in love with skiing and is my new skiing buddy

It was the second time that we had booked a one hour private snowboarding lesson with Gus Buckner…read more He is a great teacher, personable, explaining everything very well, patient and correcting mistakes quickly. We learned a lot and the lesson passed too quickly. Looking forward to the next one. Can highly recommend him and the school.

This is our second year of doing the Riverside Color Vibe 5K run. You sign up ahead of time for…read morethe upcoming event. In the case of the Riverside event, it happens on November 11, 2015. Next year it will probably be around the same date. When you sign up you can choose to purchase t-shirts, socks, and other clothing. Then you purchase color packs. This is where the fun begins. The whole idea of this run is to spread this color all over yourself and other friends while on a 5K run. By the time your a finished, you are covered in all kinds of color. The run is short. It is at a regional park and you are always kept close to the center of the activities during the run. Before the run starts, they have a stage set up with music playing and dancers. It kind of gets you into the mood of doing the run. This year lots of people were gathered around the stage. Color was flying everywhere. The color packets are non-toxic. They are made of corn starch with coloring added. During the run you pass by about 5 different color stations where people are throwing around the color. Each station is a different color. There was also a water station to get some refreshment. At the end of the run they have water bottles and other drinks to refresh. Because of the colors, make sure to place your cell phones in zip lock bags. Otherwise they will get color dust in all of their ports. Also bring towels for the car ride home. Unless you want colors in you car. It gets everywhere. This time someone threw color in my ear. It eventually came out. Once I got home, I took a shower and could see colored water going down the drain. It was a lot of fun and we will be going next year.

Gorgeous trail in an area of the forest that is recovering from the Bridge Fire in 2024. While it's…read moreshocking to see so many burnt trees, it's also cool to see signs of life emerging from the ashes. There were many pine seedlings to be found along the trail and lots of wildflowers called "fire-followers" that actually require and benefit from the fire to bloom. To find the trailhead, look for the Big Pines Visitor Center. The parking lot for the trail is right across the street and the standard Adventure Pass is required to park in this lot (thank goodness, it is not part of the Mountain High Ski Resort cabal, so you don't have to buy the "Big Pines" parking pass as well.) It was a bit tricky to find the actual trailhead, as it's a few feet away from the parking lot. The parking lot does have restrooms as well as ADA parking available. The trail itself is very well maintained and offers stunning views. It's pretty much uphill all the way to the Blue Ridge Campsite and (of course) downhill all the way back. It's mostly in the shade but can get warm, so make sure you have plenty of water and snacks. Look for fungi, mariposa lilies, butterflies, squirrels and birds. Highly recommended!

The good: I came on a Tuesday and it was completely empty…read moreand serene. We came with our almost 3 year old but we carried him most of the time. The trail was mostly shaded and there were creeks with running water. We saw blue jays, chipmunks, squirrels, woodpecker and other birds. It was breezy with nice views of the mountains and far out in the canyon areas. The bad: We didn't get to finish the trail because we had a toddler. I think there were only 2 parking spots. I am not sure if there were other areas you can park. It was just on the dirt by the campgrounds sign. The interesting: Lots of the trees were burnt and fallen over. We saw red plants and some interesting mushroom growing on the trees. Some areas of the trail are more narrow with a sloping hill off to the side so be careful if you're coming with kids.