The Colton Inn - Monterey, CA

So this is a first for me. Doing a hotel review that is. This place was so charming that I thought that I would get the ball rolling with this review. The Colton Inn in Monterey was the hotel I stayed at when I was in town to run the Big Sur Marathon. I went on Yelp and after doing some reading, I found this simple and inexpensive inn. This place is located about a mile from the wharf and you can walk to shops and restaurants but it is nice to have a car when you are here so that you can drive around to different parts of Monterey and into Big Sur.

This is the front office where you go to check in.

The room itself is older and the beds are not as comfortable as I would've liked but the fireplace in the room and the patio out back makes up for it. The wind in this area can get pretty strong and you can hear the wind howl inside the room, pretty loudly at times.

Plus everything was clean which is important to me.

But the nicest part about this inn is the continental breakfast they offer. For the rate I paid, which is competitive in this area, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the breakfast but they had a really nice selection of baked goods, cereals, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal and beverages.

But the one thing that makes this place stand out above the rest, at least for me, was that they were so nice to us runners who had come to town to run the marathon. The night before the race, they set out all the breakfast food for the runners at 8pm since they would not be open until 6am the next morning, at which point we would have already left for the starting line. It was so nice to grab a cup of joe and a bagel and PB the night before for the morning. There is a microwave and pretty large refrigerator in the room to heat up said coffee and store cold things. This really was what made this place so cozy and left such a good impression in my mind. You can say that I'm a fan!

The Colton Inn

707 Pacific St
Monterey, CA 93940

(831) 649-6500

2008 America's Finest City Half Marathon - Race Recap

Date: August 17, 2008
Location: Balboa Park, San Diego
Start: 7:00am
Finish: 1:57:01







Elevation:

Recap written on 6/27/2011: The bad news...I am back-posting this race just to have some record of it but I ran this race back in 2008 so my memory of all the details are sketchy at best. This race also predated when I started really blogging so there aren't too many photos either. The good news is that I am revisiting this race again this year so I will be sure to document my experience better. 

So this is what I remember based on some photos I found and some data I've kept around. America's Finest Half starts out in Historic Cabrillo National Monument (a U.S. National Park Reserve) and ends at Balboa Park. I remember that we had to be bussed to the starting line because there was no parking there. 

I remember that once we arrived at the starting area that it was pretty cold and windy up there so be sure to bring something to keep you warm. Once you get started, you will warm up and it can get pretty hot in August. The first couple of miles are down hill. Then it is flat until almost the end when you are met with a little hill from mile 11.5 to 12.5. It doesn't look that bad on the chart but with tired legs, you will feel it. Looking back I use to think that little hill was such a bear but having ran much bigger and badder hills, it doesn't seem so bad now. If everything goes as planned, I am looking to beat my course PR of 1:57:01 this year and feel that it is not an impossible goal.

This was the only photo I could find of me actually running this race. I don't remember much of the course but the part I do remember was running into Balboa Park at the end.

Medal!

The host hotel which was the site of the race expo was the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina which is located in the half point from the start and the finish but I ended up staying at a boutique hotel near the starting line called the Balboa Park Inn.

Photo credit to Sister K

They offer themed rooms of various sizes but the place is old. Everything was clean and they do offer complimentary continental breakfast.

Photo credit to Sister K

You have to call them when you wake and they will bring a tray of something that looks like this.

Photo credit to Sister K

Completing the Triple Crown Series was the only reason that I even knew about this race back then. I signed up for this series with Sister J (of A Case of the Runs) and you can read about her recap here.