It does feel weird to describe a race as intimate. The Estrella Cactus 5K was indeed intimate, personal yet accommodating, safe and managed well.

This race is put on by Race Timers. They are a local company that times races as well as hosts their own races. I love their 5k trail series. This is the 3rd race I ran with them so far. Running on trail is challenging and their trailies are all 5ks. That makes them doable, aka, no stress! I've done my share of long trail runs and sometimes you want a low key 3 mile race that is fun and challenging. This race does that.

Parking is perfect, there are tons of spots and you don't have to walk far. Although, since these runs are on State parks, bring cash to pay for your parking fee.

I appreciated how green Race Timers are. They wanted everyone to not use pins for their bib! So they offered bib holders instead. Also, they gave a race discount if you didn't use paper cups. I run with my Amphipod and didn't need to waste a paper cup so I saved $3 off my registration.

They also offer free finish line photos. Their finish line snack spread was nice and had lots of free goodies.