Thousands of runners took off from Balboa Park on Sunday for day two of the annual Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. Participants took to the streets of San Diego, all headed for the finish line in downtown near Waterfront Park. June gloom or not, a little drizzle didn't keep anyone down.
"I think it's just a wonderful crowd, wonderful city and I love running here," said Dakota Bliler, who finished as the first woman for the full marathon. She came to San Diego from Scottsdale, Arizona to participate in the marathon. Last year she ran, she placed in second. This time around, she pushed herself to the limit.
"It's just a place where everybody wants people to succeed and obviously it's competitive but you know the people I'm running next to, I want them to run their absolute best and I know they want the best for me," said Bliler.
Whether participants came to compete, or just have fun, others came to add to their growing list of accomplishments.
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"I'm 42. I'm going to continue to run and do this forever," said Tatiana Sell, who ran the half marathon. This is Sell's 55th half marathon in all different parts of the world.
"I just finished a series in April now in London. So I'm Brazilian, I'm among the 435 Brazilians in the world that has finished a series," said Sell.
More than 27,000 runners participated in the marathon and half marathon, and got to wind down at Waterfront Park near the finish line.
