This race is put on by the Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club, which is the local running club in Reading, PA. It is also timed by Pretzel City Sports. It is part of an annual winter monthly series, with races being held from December to March.

The start/finish is at a park that is located next to the Schuylkill River. There is ample parking and plenty of volunteers. Registration takes place inside the clubhouse at the park. There are also plenty of porta-potties near the clubhouse, and another one in the parking lot. There is a paved path that circles the soccer fields near the start/finish- which is convenient for warmups/cool downs.

The course itself is on paved roads with some small hills. It is a 5k loop, so runners have the option of completing 1 loop or 2. It starts off with a long slight climb to exit the park. The course then winds its way through a residential neighborhood. There was 1 water stop just past the start/finish for those that were running the 10k.

The post race refreshments included: cookies, candy, bagels, chicken noodle soup, and water.
The chicken noodle soup was awesome!

The shirt was a long sleeve cotton tee. There are no awards given for the individual races, but there are awards at the end of the series. Since this race was timed by Pretzel City Sports there was an instant results board, which is always nice.

Overall this is a nice race. It’s fun that you can try to improve your time from one month to the next, and it’s nice to see some familiar faces. It would be even better if the course was actually by the river though. I’m guessing it may have been at some point since this is the 30th year for the series, and the development the course now runs through seems to only be a few years old.

For a more detailed recap check out my blog at:
https://gna35runner.home.blog/2020/01/17/100racesin2020-race-3/

Strava stats:
https://www.strava.com/activities/3005321122/overview