• Pilesgrove,
    New Jersey,
    United States
  • October
  • 3 miles/5K
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Meridith Daniel

New Jersey, United States
66 38
2017
"2017 Destination Enoteca"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Meridith Daniel's thoughts:

The Run the Vineyards series, put on by a Good Day for a Run, is a favorite of mine. So much so that I often volunteer for their events. They're local to me and it's a great way to give back to the running community. After volunteering at a few events through the summer/fall - I decided that it was time to run and this 5k at Auburn Road Vineyards worked out well with timing in my schedule.

With over twenty Run the Vineyards events, this race series has their races down to a science when it comes to preparing and having everything covered for their runners. They keep the races manageable for the locations in terms of field size and parking.

There was an option for packet pickup at the local running store (Mullica Hill Running Company) but just as easy is day of pickup, which is what I opted to do race morning.

The weather wasn't looking fantastic for race morning and for a brief moment I even considered just skipping the event, as you run through vineyards, dirt trail, and on paved road. However, I had a friend that I was meeting up with and I'm not really one to let a little (or a lot of) rain scare me away. Thankfully, while overcast, the rain showers moved out for the actual race.

This is the third year this race has been run and it begins running through the vineyard (vines on both sides/grass) which leads to a dirt road. From what I understand the course was slightly different than the previous two years. I asked a few people who had run the race before and they liked this course better. We had the opportunity to run through two sections of vineyards, which was neat! There was a water station in the middle of the race, which we passed twice in case more water was necessary.

The photographer knows exactly where to station himself to grab shots of the runners and (my favorite) they're FREE. He roams through the runners before and after the race, as well as capturing great shots during the event.

The t-shirts were long sleeves tech shirts although this series has a variety of options when it comes to shirts. I've gotten tech t-shirts, tanks, and long sleeves from them - depending on what race and what season I'm running. As you cross the finish line there's a bottle of water offered to each runner, a KIND bar, and the Run the Vineyards wineglass. The results are immediately emailed to you, as you cross the finish line.

On each race bib there's a tear-away ticket for wine from the host vineyard, putting the wineglass to good use right away! I went with the Good Karma red blend from Auburn Road vineyard. My friend and I grabbed seats inside near the musician, ordered a cheese plate, and enjoyed the morning after the run. Run the Vineyards is always an occasion - it's never rushed, it's really easy-going and relaxed (after the running portion, of course). We got to watch the awards given out to overall winners (a bottle of wine and a medal), and age group awards (medals).

Overall, a great time, as usual. I'm already signed up for the 5 miler in the spring!

More pictures/thoughts can be found here: http://www.scootadoot.org/2017/10/11/race-recap-run-the-vineyards-destination-enoteca/

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