After running the marathon in 2014, I returned to the Oakland Running Festival to take on the We Run the Town Challenge, in which runners run the 5K, then later in the morning, run the half marathon. Runners received a medal for each event as well as a third for having done both. I received a tech tee for the 5K, a tech long sleeve for the half and the Run the Town Challenge medal joiner is pretty cool. (See it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDOPLHCCaYp/?taken-by=littlebeastling)

Perks include:
- great bling for all three events
- one start line for everything
- easy bag check (which included easy check in, check out, check in, check out for me. I really appreciated being able to change shoes/socks and grab sweats between events.)
- general city support and love on the course

Review rating notes:
- the 5K I ran solo, the half marathon I ran with two co-workers I often "runch" with
- I carried my own fuel again, but the aid stations were stocked and staffed by friendly folks

While not 100% of the course is "Ooh, oh, so beautiful" (let's be real, some of it is pretty urban,) it's still a great, flat tour of Oakland. It was clearly marked, well supported by both official and unofficial aid stations and no one I know got lost. The little village of sorts that they build by the start/finish is nice too, not just for runners but also for those supporting runners. It's a great meet-up spot. I happened to score parking nearby.

Bummers:
- Everyone I talked to who did the 5K agreed it seemed a little long, but how long varied. (You can read about my experience on my blog, link below.) It wasn't bad enough that I wouldn't run it again. I did PR, after all, so I can't be mad about that.
- The expo is always super cramped, and they make it sort of like a rat maze so you have to wiggle in and out all the way through in order to get out. It always seems weird that the expo is crowded when there always seems to be extra space outside the booth area.
- ...can't think of any others!

5K recap: https://littlebeastling.com/2016/03/24/wrttc-5k/
Half marathon recap: https://littlebeastling.com/2016/03/27/wrttc-half/