There are two things entrants and spectators of the Monterey Bay Half Marathon can count on: beautiful scenery and a lingering smell coming from the shoreline. For the nearly 8,000 runners who completed the 13.1-mile course Sunday morning, the views seemed to make up for the latter.

The weather did not disappoint, with clear and sunny skies welcoming the runners as they made their way through the streets and shores of Old Monterey, Cannery Row, Pacific Grove, Lovers Point and Asilomar before turning around to cross the finish line at Custom House Plaza.

“It was a perfect day,” said Olivia Lantz, the women’s runner-up with a time of 1 hour, 19 minutes and 26 seconds. “The race went nice and smooth with a lot of really friendly spectators, so that helped keep the momentum up.”

Spectators showed out as soon as the race began at 7 a.m., equipped with cowbells, posters and flowers waiting for their loved ones and some just there to show support to the strangers taking on the course.Charlotte Molosky drove down from San Mateo to support her son Mike in his second time running the half marathon. She spent the morning with her grandsons, who eagerly awaited their father’s return. “They didn’t want him to go so it was a little teary-eyed when he left,” she said.

“I had a couple of moments where I got emotional and I started crying during the race,” said Mike Molosky once he made his way to his family. “I thought about how special these boys are and I was motivated to push through that pain.”

Coming out from Walnut Creek, Mike Molosky enjoyed “the waves crashing on the right side of us as we came up the hill and the sun was rising. It was the most beautiful morning l’ve had in a long time.”

After the runners crossed the finish line, they were greeted by even more spectators congratulating them and ushering them toward the post-race Finish Village in Custom House Plaza. There, runners were met with music, food, a free beer and an Awards Ceremony.

Cheering spectators and volunteers weren’t the only ones motivating the runners to keep going — squealing seals and sea lions on the shore also welcomed them to the Peninsula.

“What was cool was all the seals over there on the finish,” said Noah Iliff, a part of a group that came down from Chico for the race. “We’re used to higher elevations so it was nice to be at sea-level,” he said.

Amy and Tom Schanz made the trip from Sausalito to complete the course for the first time. “I should’ve done it sooner,” said Amy Schanz. “The biggest surprise was the odor from the seals, it was pretty potent,” she said. As far as the course itself, “it’s very rolling which I don’t think I was ready for. It’s hard but it’s beautiful.”

For the couple, the ups and downs of the course were literal. “I was surprised by the amount of (hills),” said Tom Schanz. The rolling course accompanied by Monterey Bay’s treasured marine mammals proved to be an interesting combination. “(They are) tiny mountains but enough to kind of screw you up … the smell at the end was brutal as you’re huffing down there,” said Tom Schanz.

Steven Waydo and his 14-year-old son Max also ran the course together. “It was a lot of fun,” said Max Waydo, who had never run a half marathon before Sunday morning. “It was harder than I thought but still fun.”

“This is my third time but it’s so much fun to do it with him,” said Steven Waydo. “We ran with the 1:45:00 pace group (so) it’s just a group of people getting through it together.”

Karl Lindgren-Streicher made the trip from British Columbia to compete for the first time in the 19th Monterey Bay Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:43:53. Having previously lived near San Francisco, the race was “a good weekend getaway to come back home for a little bit.”

The Peninsula’s infamous shorelines were an added bonus for Lindgren-Streicher. “You turned a corner and it was beautiful,” he said. “You turned another corner and it was (more) beautiful. It was really great.”