R.A.C.E. is a Ralph Appezzato Charity Event. Also proceeds from the event benefit the Midway Shelter for Abused Women and Children in Alameda, CA. It is a small event, run by a small team of volunteers, on a day when everyone else in town is either staking out spots to watch the parade or actually in the parade.

There is no expo. The event is not chip-timed. Race-day registration starts at 7:30, but like all races it really helps with planning if you pre-register. Runners pick up their running tags--a small tear-off with a hole in it, used in manually timed races--and t-shirts starting at 7:30, and the race begins at 9:00. When I arrived at 8:45 there was a long line, but the Boy Scout and parent volunteers processed things quickly and efficiently--I think I waited 5 minutes. There are cotton t-shirts for the first 400 people to register (next year they are upping it to 500), with sizes on a first-come, first-served basis. (It helps with ordering if you pre-register early and select a size.) While I would have liked to pick up my shirt after the race, it was not that bad to hold it during the race--a few people wore theirs, but I already had on a sports bra and a tank top, and didn't think another layer was a good idea in the stickiness--I was planning to wash it before wearing anyway, and since it was a bit humid and hot I used it to wipe the sweat out of my eyes.

The course starts on Park Street, a few blocks in from the start of the parade, and follows the parade route. (Park Street is the heart of Alameda's super-cuteness, with boutiques and restaurants and local ice cream.) Several coffee shops were open early to cater to the pre-parade crowd, there were mobile carts with vendors selling ice cream and snacks, and one cafe had a cronut stand. The course runs down Park Street, turns on Otis Drive (running between residential areas and South Shore), turns on Grand to arrive on Central, and follows Central down to Webster, where the finish line is.

The course is on streets every Alamedan drives all the time, so it isn't that exciting in terms of regular scenery; it is, however, a brilliant way to keep costs low for a charity race--use streets that are already closed for another purpose. Alameda is the kind of town where people set out their parade chairs the night before, and kids set up lemonade stands where you can get ice cold lemonade for $1. What the route lacks in natural/urban interest, it makes up for with all the people. The lucky folks who live along the parade route come out in full force. Some families have a complete brunch set up in the front yard, others have sun shelters over folding chairs, some bring out the dining room chairs. I saw kids with pom-poms, families with cow bells, people decked out in red, white, and blue outfits that would only be socially acceptable on a holiday occasion.

Course support consists of the police escorts and volunteers helping to keep the streets clear for the parade. There is water (served up by the local Boy Scout troop) at the end of the course. This is a point-to-point course (not a full loop). Some people stayed on Webster to watch the parade, and others walked home. Some were picked up by car on adjacent streets. I walked Lincoln back to Park, which has the advantage of being the staging road for the parade--I got a preview of many of the floats, bands, and cars.