Package pickup was held at the Running Room on Denman Street but the organizer at work picked everyone’s package up so I never made it there. In the tote, there was a nice navy blue Brooks tech tee with the race logo on it, an Energizer 4 LED headlight, my bib with timing chip, Glow Zone access bracelet (VIP), magazines and flyers for future races. We didn’t get medals, which was fine, I appreciated the headlamp instead. There was face painting at the start line plus glow stuff were handed out (which I didn’t get because I couldn’t make it across to where they were). The race was timed, the chip was built into the bib, although I heard from other people that there were problems with the timing system. Maybe next time they should choose another provider… There were professional photographers at the start/finish only (from what I saw), including a friend of mine, Sandra from Yaletown Photography. It was awesome to cross the finish line and see her! There was a bag check as well but I didn’t use it so I don’t know how well run it was. I think I only saw 2 or 3 aid stations along the course, but I might be wrong. I didn't use them either.

The Course

This was mainly a Stanley Park seawall race. The 5k started at the Stanley Park Pavilion and headed south towards Devonian Park but went back up to the seawall. They passed the Brockton Point lighthouse, then headed back through Lumberman’s Arch and back up the steep hill to the Pavilion. The 10k started and ended at the same place but we looped around the entire park, turned left at Second Beach pool, ran the south side of Lost Lagoon and then hit the final steep hill. This course is actually exactly the same as the Hot Chocolate Run, which I did 6 months ago. It is also NOT 10k, it’s actually 10.4k, which is how the Hot Chocolate Run advertised it as. That makes me question how long the 5k actually was. Running the seawall in complete darkness was pretty amazing. When you look back, all you can see are dancing white lights outlining the seawall. We also lucked out on the weather, it was a clear, cool night with a full moon. Twinkly lights, neon, full moon, it was a neat sight to see.

Post-Race

The finish line was festive, colourful lights, upbeat music, with lots of people cheering at the finish line. They handed out bottles of water, McCafe was there handing out coffee, and there was a long lineup for free beer (unfortunately it was Molson, which I’m not a fan of). We walked in the Pavilion where a DJ was rocking the house. The Glow Zone was in the back and there was free food for runners with access: french fries, burritos, potato chips, veggie and fruit platters, and mini cupcakes. We didn’t stay long though.

Would I Do It Again?

Yes! This race is so unique in many ways that it’s worth doing every year. There’s not a lot of people, you can probably PR it if you’re feeling good, and you get a free headlamp out of it. It’s too bad there aren’t any medals but I guess being able to see in the dark is more of a priority. A medal would be a nice keepsake though. I loved the Brooks tee, I wore it and it was very comfortable. The headlamp was comfortable too, I’ve never run with a headlamp and I had no problems (I wore it on top of my Great Climate Race cap). The seawall is always a fun yet deceptively challenging run. I wish they had multiple face painting and glow stations. They were all set up on one side of the pavilion. Unless you got there early enough, it will be hard to get to with all the people already lined up at the start. The post-race party was fun but I wish there was a better beer sponsor.

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