I signed up to run this race well in advance, then took a killer group ex class in the morning and slept almost right up to the starting time. Oops. When I woke up there was barely enough time to throw on clothes (and in my sleepiness I put on trail shoes for a 95% paved race, oops). As I was fixing my parking job--about a block away, within view of the start--the race started. Oops.

I headed over to the bib pick-up, and asked if I could still run. (For those that don't know me, I'm in zero danger of finishing the race first, especially since I have a tendency to stop and give belly rubs to cute dogs along the way.) The woman handing out bibs was so nice--OF COURSE I could still run--helped me get a shirt (cute, but limited sizes and they ran very small--I wear a 10-12 and the women's large is snug and has high-water sleeves), and got me over the starting line.

I had a lovely run.

The course itself is a quick loop around Lake Merritt. (My office is right on the lake, and this is more or less the same path the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders use for the fourth Sunday races, though with a different start/end, so I'm very familiar with it.) While the course wasn't closed, I had no problems and faced no congestion. There was one aid station with water and electrolytes, still staffed by some volunteers. The weather was pretty, and since it was post-afternoon, the temps were dropping around me as I was heating up.

Across the finish line there were awards for fast runners and for costumes. Some of the costumes were amazeballs, like the guy whose costume was a gorilla carrying a giant cage with a cross-legged man inside. (Mind-boggling.) There were also a variety of snacks and drinks aplenty. (Enough that I took home an armful of the sealed beverages for the next week's smoothies at the urging of the sponsors.) Other post-race rah-rah included a DJ and some cheerleaders.

This race was a relaxed run through the one of the hearts of Oakland. It was a relatively small group, and fun to see the clever costumes people created.