Latest reviews by Fallon C

(2022)
"Return to Santa Rosa"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Santa Rosa half consists of 13.1 miles of flat, potentially fast miles along a pretty great running trail.
Race started right on time on a nice, slightly overcast morning- good race weather.

I opted to have my bib mailed to me so I don’t know how the expo was. My bib arrived a few weeks before the race- the earliness alleviated a lot of race week stress.

The course involved a couple miles of city streets before heading off the road onto a river path that was part paved and part dirt. I love dirt paths so I love that part.

Aid stations were interspersed every few miles with electrolytes, water. They also had plenty of porta-potties at each station.

I was slower and the finish line was still putting out a lot of energy as I crossed the line. That’s always nice to have. Since I was not able to attend the expo, I needed to pick up my swag from the solutions tent. The bottle of wine was easy, finding my size shirt was harder. Then they told me they didn’t have any more bags even though I could see them sitting on a table. Huh? Overall the only down spot of the race.

The swag was great- nice medal, great ¼ zip pullover, and a bottle of wine from DeLoach Vineyard. Race pictures were also up an hour after the race. Speedy! And it was only 11 bucks to buy all my race pictures!

This is definitely a race I would run again- this was my second time after all.

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(2022)
"Melting at Silver Moon"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

I first heard about Silver Moon back in 2021 but it was the same weekend I was running a race up in Idaho.
So when it came back for 2022, I was on board. Except it was pricey. I had trouble rationalizing that kind of $$$ for a 10K. The race offered a 10k, 6-12-24 hour, and 100 mile option and a wine walk. The 6 hour was only $10 more than the 10k so I thought why not? Plus the race started at 6pm and ran until midnight which meant hours of running under the full moon. I figured I could do between 3-4 mile an hour and just have fun and enjoy a new challenge. I knew I was in no shape for any form of speed.
I was abnormally sore from a previous race as well as suffering from a Migraine so by Friday of race week I was questioning if I could even do the race.
For the next 24 hours, I went back and forth on DNS’ing, dropping to the 10k or stupidly trying for the whole thing. Did I mention it was supposed to be in the low 90’s at go time? The slightly smarter part of me prevailed and I dropped to the 10k which the race made super easy at bib pickup.
The race takes place at Cass Winery and consists of a 2 mile loop around the vineyards. Dirt road is my favorite surface and I didn’t even need my trail shoes.
The race actually started a little early and we were off on our first loop. The 10k had 3, so slightly shorter than a full 10K. It was 91 degrees. I died 1/4 mile in. I was so damn hot, I don’t know if I’ve ever felt that hot before. I almost lost my lunch around mile 5, never been that nauseous at a race before. I would say I walked 99.9% of this “race”. Even walking, my heart rate was in the red for the entirety of the 6 miles. Ouch.
I crossed the finish line and wanted nothing more than an ice cold Coke. I found warm coke at the finish line aid but found ice cold water up in the Barrel Room at the after party for the 10K runners and the wine walkers. I also may have hid in the air conditioned room until I was less tomato red, ha!
The party was still going when I left but all I could think about was a nice cold Frappuccino from Starbucks.
Heat aside, I really enjoyed this race and hope that it comes back to town in 2023, I need redemption.
Also the medal and the towel you get for swag are kind of awesome.

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(2022)
"Art in the 10K"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Registration/Communication-
Available online until the race sold out the week before the race date.. Once I registered, I received 1-2 emails a week detailing race information. One included a very in depth runner’s handbook just for race weekend.
Expo/ Races
The expo was on the smaller side this year and based at Snow Park. Parking was a little tricky but I lucked out and got one just around the corner. The race offers a full marathon, half marathon, and 5k and now a 10K . There is also a We Run This Town challenge with an extra medal for running the half and 5k on the same day.
Race morning-
The 10K starts at 7AM with the marathoners. The 5k and the half both started later. There were plenty of port a potties for the early runners but bring a flashlight because it was still very dark. The race started right on time but I didn’t hear any announcements or starting messages, I just headed to corals a little before 7AM.
Course
The course loops around Lake Merritt for the first 2 miles before heading into the city for 2 miles. The last 2 miles were in downtown and back to Lake Merritt. With an uphill finish. There were aid stations with water and Gatorade every 2 miles-ish. They seemed well staffed and organized. As for elevation, I consider this to be a flat course. The best thing about the course is checking out the local street art along the way.
Once across the finish line, runners were given medals and had the chance to choose from a variety of the usual post race snacks. Swag-
Swag- Every runner received a race specific shirt, and a truly awesome medal showing off some of the great local street art.

I still love this race and would run it again.

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(2021)
"Rolling Hills with Ocean Views"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Marin Endurance Festival was held on Halloween weekend and I did see some runners in costume.

Registration was easy to sign up and later manage your profile. I added packet shipping as I was driving from hours south and knew the packet pickup window ended at 2 on 10/30 and that would have been hard to meet. The bib arrived the week before the race with safety pins too. I was a little confused as there was no shirt included and I hadn’t heard anything else in regards to event shirts.

The race was great with email communications in regard to parking but between the rains the week before and the location of the beach, parking was extremely limited. I parked 2 miles away from the start/finish at McNear’s Beach. This could partly be my fault as I am not local but a bigger race map would have been nice.

I was registered for the half but needed to drop to the 10k due to training and life not being what I had planned leading the race. I messaged the race but never heard anything back. On race morning with the help of other runners, I managed to find the solutions table. From there dropping to the 10K was easy.

The race is a late start, the half starts at 9 and the 10K at 9:45. Part of me liked the ability to sleep later but at the same time would have preferred an earlier start. But that also could be because I made the rookie mistake of overdressing and ended up roasting, ha ha.

The course is awesome though. Even if I think we were misdirected. The course description stated that it is all road except for .4 miles at the finish line. We sent up the trail on the way back around mile 4. Now I love trails so I didn’t mind but I did feel like we were not where we were supposed to be. Also there were no mile marker signs for the 10k after that. 2 lone runners had passed me on the road going the opposite way before the trail so I don't know if they were misdirected or the rest of us were.

The course was very scenic with some awesome views though. I also preferred the trail return on the last out and back, I was just confused. Also, prepare for hills.

The medals were great, both sides were detailed and colorful. Post race, I randomly found a table handing out race shirts but I don’t recall it being communicated that would get them post race.

The aid stations were spaced well throughout the course with water. Electrolytes were not available until the station around mile 4 right before the trail portion.

The start/finish area was at McNear’s Beach and there were various booths set up with local businesses or running stores. Live music was being played and all runners got 1 free beer. The beach is very pretty so it made for a nice start/finish.

Even with all the confusion, I would do this race again and do recommend it to everyone too.

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(2021)
"Racing in Santa Rosa"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Santa Rosa half boasts 13.1 miles of flat, potentially fast miles along a pretty great running trail.
Race started right on time on a nice, clear morning.

The course involved a couple miles of city streets before heading off the road onto a river path that was part paved and part dirt. I do wish there was more dirt but that’s just my preference.

Aid stations were interspersed every few miles with Nuun, water and wet towels. The wet towels turned out to be a good thing as the morning did warm up. They also had plenty of porta-potties at each station.

The swag was great- nice medal, great full zip jacket, wine tumbler and a bottle of wine from DeLoach Vineyard. Race pictures were also up a few hours after the race. Speedy! Parking was also surprisingly easy.

This is definitely a race I would run again.

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