The 2019 Napa to Sonoma Rose 5K was a well organized race, and I was pleasantly surprised with the laid-back feeling I experienced. Runners were able to pickup their bibs the morning of the race (which was great for Bay Area locals not having to make two trips for race and packet pickup). Day of bib pickup went very smooth and I waited no more than 10 minutes. There was a separate shirt pickup, but after waiting in that line, all of the smaller size shirts (XS, S) were gone even though runners requested their size during race signup. We were later told that there was a shipping mistake with the shirts and that the correct size would be shipped to our homes. I have yet to receive my shirt but hopefully it will arrive soon.

The race course was absolutely stunning with the entire course run on a road with vineyards on each side. The relatively flat course was also great and at mile marker 1 there was a Rose hydration stop! This was a fun surprise for me and all of the runners seemed to enjoy stopping for some rose and taking photos in front of the vines. A photo package was offered during race signup and I chose to add it (I think it was $10). To my surprise, the only race photographer was located at the finish line. I'm not sure how many photographers there were for the half marathon the next day, but with such a beautiful course I would've loved to see at least 1 photographer during the race.

Overall I would recommend the 5K race to local-ish runners and would suggest runner who would be flying in for the race to consider running the half marathon as well to get the most 'bang for your buck'. I would also suggest taking photos on your phone instead of purchasing the photo package, especially for 5k runners.